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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Medicine and Health

University of Vermont

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Series

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Social Media Usage Patterns During Natural Hazards, Meredith T. Niles, Benjamin F. Emery, Andrew J. Reagan, Peter Sheridan Dodds, Christopher M. Danforth Feb 2019

Social Media Usage Patterns During Natural Hazards, Meredith T. Niles, Benjamin F. Emery, Andrew J. Reagan, Peter Sheridan Dodds, Christopher M. Danforth

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Natural hazards are becoming increasingly expensive as climate change and development are exposing communities to greater risks. Preparation and recovery are critical for climate change resilience, and social media are being used more and more to communicate before, during, and after disasters. While there is a growing body of research aimed at understanding how people use social media surrounding disaster events, most existing work has focused on a single disaster case study. In the present study, we analyze five of the costliest disasters in the last decade in the United States (Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, two sets of tornado outbreaks, …


If You've Seen One Worm, Have You Seen Them All? Spatial, Community, And Genetic Variability Of Tubificid Communities In Montana, Nilanjan Lodh, Donna M. Rizzo, Billie L. Kerans, Stephanie Mcginnis, Nikolaos Fytilis, Lori Stevens Sep 2015

If You've Seen One Worm, Have You Seen Them All? Spatial, Community, And Genetic Variability Of Tubificid Communities In Montana, Nilanjan Lodh, Donna M. Rizzo, Billie L. Kerans, Stephanie Mcginnis, Nikolaos Fytilis, Lori Stevens

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Genetic studies are recognized increasingly as important for understanding naturally occurring disease dynamics and are used to predict host genetic diversity and coevolutionary processes and to identify species composition in ecological communities. Tubifex tubifex, the definitive host of the whirling disease parasite Myxobolus cerebralis, comprises 6 known lineages that vary widely in parasite susceptibility. We used 16S ribosomal DNA (16S rDNA) to identify relationships among genetic variability of 3 oligochaete genera (T. tubifex, Rhyacodrilus spp., and Ilyodrilus spp.; Oligochaeta:Tubificidae), oligochaete assemblage composition, and the presence of whirling disease in 9 locations across 4 watersheds in Montana, USA. We assessed genetic …


Climate Change Sentiment On Twitter: An Unsolicited Public Opinion Poll, Emily M. Cody, Andrew J. Reagan, Lewis Mitchell, Peter Sheridan Dodds, Christopher M. Danforth Aug 2015

Climate Change Sentiment On Twitter: An Unsolicited Public Opinion Poll, Emily M. Cody, Andrew J. Reagan, Lewis Mitchell, Peter Sheridan Dodds, Christopher M. Danforth

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

The consequences of anthropogenic climate change are extensively debated through scientific papers, newspaper articles, and blogs. Newspaper articles may lack accuracy, while the severity of findings in scientific papers may be too opaque for the public to understand. Social media, however, is a forum where individuals of diverse backgrounds can share their thoughts and opinions. As consumption shifts from old media to new, Twitter has become a valuable resource for analyzing current events and headline news. In this research, we analyze tweets containing the word "climate" collected between September 2008 and July 2014. Through use of a previously developed sentiment …


Ecohealth Interventions Limit Triatomine Reinfestation Following Insecticide Spraying In La Brea, Guatemala, David E. Lucero, Leslie A. Morrissey, Donna M. Rizzo, Antonieta Rodas, Roberto Garnica, Lori Stevens, Dulce M. Bustamante, Maria Carlota Monroy Apr 2013

Ecohealth Interventions Limit Triatomine Reinfestation Following Insecticide Spraying In La Brea, Guatemala, David E. Lucero, Leslie A. Morrissey, Donna M. Rizzo, Antonieta Rodas, Roberto Garnica, Lori Stevens, Dulce M. Bustamante, Maria Carlota Monroy

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this study, we evaluate the effect of participatory Ecohealth interventions on domestic reinfestation of the Chagas disease vector Triatoma dimidiata after village-wide suppression of the vector population using a residual insecticide. The study was conducted in the rural community of La Brea, Guatemala between 2002 and 2009 where vector infestation was analyzed within a spatial data framework based on entomological and socio-economic surveys of homesteads within the village. Participatory interventions focused on community awareness and low-cost home improvements using local materials to limit areas of refuge and alternative blood meals for the vector within the home, and potential shelter …


Risk Factors Associated With Clinical Malaria Episodes In Bangladesh: A Longitudinal Study, Ubydul Haque, Gregory E. Glass, Arne Bomblies, Masahiro Hashizume, Dipak Mitra, Nawajish Noman, Waziul Haque, M. Moktadir Kabir, Taro Yamamoto, Hans J. Overgaard Apr 2013

Risk Factors Associated With Clinical Malaria Episodes In Bangladesh: A Longitudinal Study, Ubydul Haque, Gregory E. Glass, Arne Bomblies, Masahiro Hashizume, Dipak Mitra, Nawajish Noman, Waziul Haque, M. Moktadir Kabir, Taro Yamamoto, Hans J. Overgaard

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Malaria is endemic to Bangladesh. In this longitudinal study, we used hydrologic, topographic, and socioeconomic risk factors to explain single and multiple malaria infections at individual and household levels. Malaria incidence was determined for 1,634 households in 54 villages in 2009 and 2010. During the entire study period 21.8% of households accounted for all (n = 497) malaria cases detected; 15.4% of households had 1 case and 6.4% had ≥2 cases. The greatest risk factors for malaria infection were low bed net ratio per household, house construction materials (wall), and high density of houses. Hydrologic and topographic factors were not …


Subsurface Characterization Of Groundwater Contaminated By Landfill Leachate Using Microbial Community Profile Data And A Nonparametric Decision-Making Process, Andrea R. Pearce, Donna M. Rizzo, Paula J. Mouser Jun 2011

Subsurface Characterization Of Groundwater Contaminated By Landfill Leachate Using Microbial Community Profile Data And A Nonparametric Decision-Making Process, Andrea R. Pearce, Donna M. Rizzo, Paula J. Mouser

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Microbial biodiversity in groundwater and soil presents a unique opportunity for improving characterization and monitoring at sites with multiple contaminants, yet few computational methods use or incorporate these data because of their high dimensionality and variability. We present a systematic, nonparametric decision-making methodology to help characterize a water quality gradient in leachate-contaminated groundwater using only microbiological data for input. The data-driven methodology is based on clustering a set of molecular genetic-based microbial community profiles. Microbes were sampled from groundwater monitoring wells located within and around an aquifer contaminated with landfill leachate. We modified a self-organizing map (SOM) to weight the …


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 Dec 2010

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 …