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Pricing The Unknown: An Analysis Of Expected Value Of Young Horses And Price-Determining Factors, Rupasri Sura Aug 2025

Pricing The Unknown: An Analysis Of Expected Value Of Young Horses And Price-Determining Factors, Rupasri Sura

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

From a seller’s point of view in a market, it is crucial to plan the pricing strategies based on perceptions of buyer preferences and their willingness to purchase to ensure market success in selling and pricing. Applying this to the equine industry, this paper studies the factors determining the price of young horses (age ≤ 2 years) in digital auction platforms. Using data from Professional Horse Services, LLC (2012–2023), a Heckman’s two-step approach was employed, which involves a probit model as the first step and a hedonic price model as the second, aiming to correct for sample selection bias in …


Tree Rings And The Broader Ocean-Atmospheric Circulation In The Highland Himalayas, Sanjaya Bhandari Aug 2025

Tree Rings And The Broader Ocean-Atmospheric Circulation In The Highland Himalayas, Sanjaya Bhandari

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change has altered tree-growth patterns and resulted in higher sea-surface temperatures across the planet. The Himalayan biome is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to climate change because it has caused changes in forests’ growth and glaciers’ retreat. Dendrochronology has been used to understand the impact of climate change on tree growth and for climate reconstruction. In this dissertation, I discuss the growth of trees in the highlands of the eastern, central, and western Himalayas for the last 500 years and relate these patterns to the present global warming scenario and broad-scale climate modes. I reconstructed …


Acute Exposure Of American Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) To Selected Antidepressant Drug: Histological, Biochemical, And Immunohistochemical Assessments, Md. Faisal Amin Aug 2025

Acute Exposure Of American Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) To Selected Antidepressant Drug: Histological, Biochemical, And Immunohistochemical Assessments, Md. Faisal Amin

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid increase in pharmaceutical use has brought significant health benefits to humans. Studies have shown that many pharmaceuticals, such as antidepressants, are often detected in surface waters, groundwater, and even drinking water. These pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments threaten marine life seriously. Marine bivalves are vital source of seafood for people worldwide. In this study, we examined the effects of short-term exposure to fluoxetine, an antidepressant used to treat depression, at low (0.5 μg/L) and high (5 μg/L) doses over a one-week period on American oysters (Crassostrea virginica) under controlled laboratory conditions. Histological analysis revealed atrophy in the gills and …


Saliva & Circadian Rhythm In Medical Profiling For Early Disease Prevention, Joseph Lewis Aug 2025

Saliva & Circadian Rhythm In Medical Profiling For Early Disease Prevention, Joseph Lewis

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Circadian rhythms affect almost every biological process from hormone secretion, gene expression, immune regulation, and metabolism. Studies show that disruption to these internal rhythms through irregular sleep, artificial sleep, and irregular sleep can significantly increase risk for chronic disease such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Saliva presents a viable alternative for capturing biomarkers found through blood or cerebrospinal fluid, offering substantial utility for diagnostic and chronobiological profiling. Saliva contains hormones such as cortisol and melatonin while containing inflammatory markers that fluctuate rhythmically throughout the day. Due to its ease of collection, saliva is well suited for longitudinal monitoring, …


Integrating Uas And Satellite Data To Improve Classification Of Plant Functional Types In A Forest Landscape, Sky Mae Gennette Aug 2025

Integrating Uas And Satellite Data To Improve Classification Of Plant Functional Types In A Forest Landscape, Sky Mae Gennette

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Remotely sensed land-use/land-cover (LULC) data products are an important tool for understanding landscape processes at all scales. The types of inference researchers can derive from remote sensing data depend on the quality and characterization of these LULC products. Currently, gaps in the detail of widely available vegetation cover products limit inference about processes at the level of plant functional type (PFT). Advanced remote sensing tools, machine learning, and data fusion can be employed to contribute novel methods to produce detailed, accurate vegetation cover products. Here, we combine high resolution Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) multispectral, structural and textural data with large-scale …


Systematics, Evolution, And Species Delimitation Of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) Based On Ultraconserved Element Phylogenomics, Brandon Ross Claridge Aug 2025

Systematics, Evolution, And Species Delimitation Of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) Based On Ultraconserved Element Phylogenomics, Brandon Ross Claridge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The diversity of life on Earth is highly skewed towards a few key groups of organisms. Parasitoid wasps are among the most species-rich yet understudied organisms on our planet. Ichneumonidae, the largest parasitoid wasp family, includes 25,000 known species out of an estimated total of 100,000, far exceeding the nearly 70,000 species of vertebrates. As parasitoids, ichneumonids lay a single egg onto or inside their hosts, and the resulting ichneumonid larva consumes its host, ultimately killing it. Most hosts are the larvae or pupae of moths, butterflies, flies, beetles, and other wasps, including many pest species injurious to agriculture and …


Investigating The E74-Mediated Regulation Of A Gata Factor In Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes, Jacklyn Marie Estrada Aug 2025

Investigating The E74-Mediated Regulation Of A Gata Factor In Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes, Jacklyn Marie Estrada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The mosquito species Aedes aegypti has a significant impact on public health as a vector for multiple pathogens. Its ability to transmit deadly diseases, including Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, and Zika, emphasizes the urgency of understanding its reproductive biology. In female mosquitoes, reproductive success hinges on obtaining a vertebrate blood meal, which triggers vitellogenesis - the synthesis of yolk protein precursors (YPPs) necessary for egg development. Without a blood meal, female Ae. aegypti remain in a state of previtellogenic arrest, where the YPP gene vitellogenin (Vg) is repressed by a type of transcriptional factor, GATAr (AaGATAr) (Attardo et al., 2003). …


A Convergent Mixed Methods Study Of The Social Studies Academy In South Carolina Middle Schools, Audie Cherry Aug 2025

A Convergent Mixed Methods Study Of The Social Studies Academy In South Carolina Middle Schools, Audie Cherry

All Dissertations

There is a global labor shortage in the agricultural industry and middle school is a critical time to get students serious about career decision making. The Studies of Occupations, Culture, and Innovations toward Agricultural Literacy (SOCIAL) Studies Academy is a high impact professional development program in South Carolina that provides experiences and for middle school social studies teachers (N = 12) to become more suited to teach their standards associated with the agricultural sciences with hopes of encouraging more students to pursue agricultural careers. This study was a mixed-methods convergent parallel design that examined 1) Academy Fellows (n = 4) …


Master Protocol Design With Hybrid Control For Efficient Early-Phase Trial Consolidation, Alexander M Kaizer, Xiaojiang Zhan, Eric Baron, Rui Sammi Tang, David S Hong, Brian P Hobbs Aug 2025

Master Protocol Design With Hybrid Control For Efficient Early-Phase Trial Consolidation, Alexander M Kaizer, Xiaojiang Zhan, Eric Baron, Rui Sammi Tang, David S Hong, Brian P Hobbs

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Master protocols represent transformations, enabling multiple therapies or diseases under a single protocol. These designs streamline therapeutic development by reducing redundancies. Suited for evolving fields such as oncology and global emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, master protocols have been exemplified by studies such as RECOVERY, Solidarity, and I-SPY 2, which accelerated effective treatment identification (with I-SPY 2 focused on molecular subtypes). Recent oncology examples, such as MORPHEUS, evaluate immunotherapy combinations with shared controls. Despite advantages, their application in early-phase oncology remains underutilized amid growing regulatory emphasis on randomization for robust evidence.

Methods: US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) …


Resilient Greenport Conceptual Model: Integrating Masterplan With Flood And Land Subsidence Disaster Management, Teuku Khamil Syamsura, Kosuke Mizuno, Supriatna Supriatna Jul 2025

Resilient Greenport Conceptual Model: Integrating Masterplan With Flood And Land Subsidence Disaster Management, Teuku Khamil Syamsura, Kosuke Mizuno, Supriatna Supriatna

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Hydrometeorological disasters, such as flooding by seawater intrusion and land subsidence from excessive water resource usage, significantly disrupt maritime traffic and port infrastructure, leading to severe economic and social consequences. This study aims to develop a conceptual model for a disaster-resilient and environmentally friendly port. The primary objective is to analyze the components of the Port Masterplan (RIP), the Greenport concept, current operational conditions, and surrounding disaster threats for develop conceptual model. A mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses, was employed. The study examined various components of the Tanjung Priok Port Masterplan, operational data, and environmental and disaster risk …


Assessing The Transformation Of Livelihoods In Illegal Gold Mining Communities, Nurmansyah Ardikoesoema, Mahawan Karuniasa Jul 2025

Assessing The Transformation Of Livelihoods In Illegal Gold Mining Communities, Nurmansyah Ardikoesoema, Mahawan Karuniasa

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Illegal Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (PETI) in Poboya, Palu City, exemplifies Indonesia’s nexus of socio-environmental vulnerability and institutional marginalization. Although environmental degradation, health impacts, and regulatory challenges associated with PETI have been extensively documented, limited research has systematically examined how the interplay of capital assets and internal motivation drives livelihood transformation pathways within PETI communities. To address this gap, this study uniquely integrates the Sustainable Livelihood Framework with spatial analysis to assess the combined influence of environmental, social, and economic capitals on PETI livelihood transitions. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interviews with …


Environmental Impacts Of Land Use Change In Industrial Areas, Dwi Nowo Martono, Aruminingsih Aruminingsih Jul 2025

Environmental Impacts Of Land Use Change In Industrial Areas, Dwi Nowo Martono, Aruminingsih Aruminingsih

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Industrial development in Indonesia has been predominantly concentrated on Java Island, particularly in Karawang Regency, West Java Province. Covering an area of 175,327 hectares, Karawang has been identified as a strategic region for national food security. The Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning designated 95,667.45 hectares of rice fields as protected agricultural land. However, the expansion of industrial and residential areas within the regency poses a significant threat to its role as the national rice granary and to broader food security. As industrial land occupancy increases, the environmental capacity to support rice production and ensure national food security declines. …


The Island Biogeography Of Mangrove-Dwelling Vertebrates: Isolation, Specialisation, And Extinction, Jian Xiong David Tan Jul 2025

The Island Biogeography Of Mangrove-Dwelling Vertebrates: Isolation, Specialisation, And Extinction, Jian Xiong David Tan

Biology ETDs

Mangroves are highly dynamic ecosystems that are widely distributed across the coastlines of the tropics and subtropics. Despite their low plant diversity, mangroves host a disproportionately high number of terrestrial vertebrate taxa. However, mangrove specialists — taxa that only occur in mangrove habitats — exhibit a global distribution that is incongruous with the broader background distribution patterns of mangrove-associated fauna, exhibiting higher diversity in Australia and Southeast Asia. This dissertation therefore aims to assess how the diversity and distribution of mangrove specialist fauna may have been shaped by the historical biogeography of mangroves, and the effects of mangrove specialisation on …


High Spatial Resolution Crop Type And Land Use Land Cover Classification Without Labels: A Framework Using Multi-Temporal Planetscope Images And Variational Bayesian Gaussian Mixture Model, Minh Tri Le Jul 2025

High Spatial Resolution Crop Type And Land Use Land Cover Classification Without Labels: A Framework Using Multi-Temporal Planetscope Images And Variational Bayesian Gaussian Mixture Model, Minh Tri Le

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Previous studies often combined high spatial resolution data (e.g., PlanetScope) with wider spectral range data (e.g., Sentinel-2) and relied on supervised classification methods to produce land use and land cover (LULC) maps. This study proposed a new unsupervised framework to generate crop type and LULC maps at high spatial resolution (< 5 m) using available PlanetScope data solely without requiring ground truths. We used PlanetScope surface reflectance images and their derived spectral indices during growing seasons to create multi-temporal input features, which were fed into an unsupervised Variational Bayesian Gaussian Mixture Model (VBGMM). The VBGMM, unlike the traditional unsupervised classification methods, (1) first estimated optimal parameters that are most suitable based on the input features and then (2) assigned pixels to the cluster with maximum posteriori probability of a mixture of several Gaussian distributions. The crop type and LULC maps were then generated by labeling the derived clusters using the best possible assignment method, referring to the existing crop type or LULC products. We evaluated the produced PlanetScope-based crop type and LULC maps using true labels, corresponding reference maps, and other unsupervised classification methods. The results demonstrated the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed framework in mapping crop types and LULC at 3–5 m pixels across various ecosystems, climate zones, and human-managed landscapes. The spatial patterns of PlanetScope-based maps were (1) highly comparable with all the reference datasets at 10–30 m spatial resolution and (2) better than the traditional GMM and K-means clustering methods. The VBGMM produced classification maps with high confidence, yielding class probabilities above 0.9 for over 90 % of all study areas. The area percentage for all crop type and LULC classes agreed well with their reference maps, with R2 of 0.95 and RMSE of 1.04 %. The confusion matrices using true labels indicated that PlanetScope-based maps achieved a higher overall accuracy of 84 % than the supervised referenced maps of 81 %. Besides, the entropy comparison showed that our framework-based maps were better at capturing fine-scale features such as developed areas within cities that commonly mix with open space and vegetation, deforestation and cropland conversion in South America, smallholder croplands in Africa and Asia, and generating homogeneous crop fields in North America. This study further highlighted the potential for future research to implement our proposed framework to generate timely and extensive annotated datasets, which can be used for operationally training machine learning models to map crop types and LULC, track deforestation, detect wildfires, and delineate flooded areas at larger scales using medium/coarse Earth observations.


Cultural Worldview And Rural Consumer Preferences For Genetically Modified Foods, Nathan P. Kemper Jul 2025

Cultural Worldview And Rural Consumer Preferences For Genetically Modified Foods, Nathan P. Kemper

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

The consumer acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods varies widely based on personal values and social context. This study investigates how cultural worldviews—measured through the Individualism–Communitarianism and Hierarchical–Egalitarianism dimensions—affect willingness to pay (WTP) for food labeling attributes related to GM content. We surveyed 932 U.S. primary grocery shoppers and conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with poultry product options. Using a Mixed Logit model and supplemental cognitive data from Query Theory, we find that rural individualists are more accepting of GM-labeled products. At the same time, urban communitarians show a stronger preference for non-GM labels. These results offer insight into …


A New Species Of Viscachataenia (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) From The Southern Mountain Viscacha, Lagidium Viscacia (Hystricomorpha: Chinchillidae), In Bolivia, Terry R. Haverkost, Scott L. Gardner Jul 2025

A New Species Of Viscachataenia (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) From The Southern Mountain Viscacha, Lagidium Viscacia (Hystricomorpha: Chinchillidae), In Bolivia, Terry R. Haverkost, Scott L. Gardner

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Anoplocephalid cestodes collected from the southern mountain viscacha, Lagidium viscacia, in Boliva in 1986 are here examined, and a new species of Viscachataenia is described. The new species has numerous body measurements that are larger than the existing species, V. quadrata, but the eggs and corresponding structures of the new species are all smaller than those of V. quadrata.


Limited Soil Water Recharge In Summer Affects Seasonal Isotopic Signatures Of Tree Xylem Water, Marius G. Floriancic, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Harsh Beria, Scott T. Allen, James W. Kirchner Jul 2025

Limited Soil Water Recharge In Summer Affects Seasonal Isotopic Signatures Of Tree Xylem Water, Marius G. Floriancic, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Harsh Beria, Scott T. Allen, James W. Kirchner

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Recent studies have reported that xylem waters in forest trees during the summer growing season are often isotopically similar to winter, rather than summer, precipitation. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this observation, which can be viewed as a form of ecohydrological separation, but empirical tests spanning space and time remain limited. We hypothesise that variations in the seasonal origin of precipitation found in tree xylem waters can be explained by seasonal differences in soil water recharge. We test this hypothesis by evaluating to what extent climatic aridity can explain seasonal signals in extensive surveys of the isotope ratios …


Impacts Of Artificial Habitat Structures On Overwinter Fish Survival And Fish Presence In South-Central Nebraska, Logan Dietrich Jul 2025

Impacts Of Artificial Habitat Structures On Overwinter Fish Survival And Fish Presence In South-Central Nebraska, Logan Dietrich

Biology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Artificial lentic systems, such as borrow pits, often lack structural complexity due to construction practices and steep bathymetry, limiting features like vegetation and woody debris essential for fish communities. To address this, artificial structures made of materials such as polyvinyl chloride are increasingly used by state and federal agencies to supplement habitat. However, little information is known about the impact these structures have on fish communities. Thus, the objectives of this study were to examine the influence of Georgia cubes in borrow pit impoundments on overwinter survival of sub-stock and ≥ stock Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and Largemouth Bass …


Integrated Advanced Education Supports Future Registered Dietitian Nutritionists’ Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy In Practice, Crystal C. Douglas, Simone Camel Jul 2025

Integrated Advanced Education Supports Future Registered Dietitian Nutritionists’ Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy In Practice, Crystal C. Douglas, Simone Camel

Journal of Dietetic Education

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of graduate-level breastfeeding and lactation management education that includes didactive and active learning components on future RDNs’ knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Design: A pre-and post-test design, utilizing a 41-item pre-intervention survey, learning modules, and a 35-item post-intervention survey. Setting: Three U.S. public universities located in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Participants: Graduate-level dietetic internship students. Intervention: Four advanced education modules (2 didactive; 2 active learning) developed by Registered Dietitian Nutritionists. Main outcome measures: Gains in breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy to assist with breastfeeding education and problem-solving using validated and newly developed survey items. Analysis: Descriptive statistics, …


Salinity And Moisture Influence Co2 And Ch4 Emissions From High-Latitude Coastal Soils, B. N. Barr, K. C. Kelsey, A. J. Leffler, M. Petit Bon, K. H. Beard Jul 2025

Salinity And Moisture Influence Co2 And Ch4 Emissions From High-Latitude Coastal Soils, B. N. Barr, K. C. Kelsey, A. J. Leffler, M. Petit Bon, K. H. Beard

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Sea level rise and more frequent and larger storms will increase saltwater flooding in coastal terrestrial ecosystems, altering soil-atmosphere CO2 and CH4 exchange. Understanding these impacts is particularly relevant in high-latitude coastal soils that hold large carbon stocks but where the interaction of salinity and moisture on greenhouse gas flux remains unexplored. Here, we quantified the effects of salinity and moisture on CO2 and CH4 fluxes from low-Arctic coastal soils from three landscape positions (two Wetlands and Upland Tundra) distinguished by elevation, flooding frequency, soil characteristics, and vegetation. We used a full factorial laboratory incubation experiment …


The Impact Of Genetic Ancestry On Survival Outcomes In Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Report From The Children’S Oncology Group, Ekene A Onwuka, Christina L Magyar, Bailey A Martin-Giacalone, Michael E Scheurer, Deborah A Marquez-Do, Mark Zobeck, Elizabeth G Atkinson, Erin R Rudzinski, Michael A Arnold, Donald A Barkauskas, David Hall, Javed Khan, Jack F Shern, Paul Scheet, Brian Crompton, Corinne M Linardic, Douglas S Hawkins, Rajkumar Venkatramani, Lisa Mirabello, Chad D Huff, Melissa A Richard, Philip J Lupo Jul 2025

The Impact Of Genetic Ancestry On Survival Outcomes In Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Report From The Children’S Oncology Group, Ekene A Onwuka, Christina L Magyar, Bailey A Martin-Giacalone, Michael E Scheurer, Deborah A Marquez-Do, Mark Zobeck, Elizabeth G Atkinson, Erin R Rudzinski, Michael A Arnold, Donald A Barkauskas, David Hall, Javed Khan, Jack F Shern, Paul Scheet, Brian Crompton, Corinne M Linardic, Douglas S Hawkins, Rajkumar Venkatramani, Lisa Mirabello, Chad D Huff, Melissa A Richard, Philip J Lupo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Emerging evidence suggests genetic ancestry may influence childhood cancer outcomes, but its impact on pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is unknown. We explored genetic ancestry's impact on survival among children with RMS. This multi-center observational cohort study is a secondary analysis of previously collected biobanking, genomic, and clinical data. The study included 920 individuals with newly diagnosed RMS under 40 years of age enrolled from 2005 to 2017 under the COG soft tissue sarcoma biobanking protocol D9902. The primary endpoints were (1) event-free survival (EFS), defined as the time from study enrollment to tumor recurrence/progression, secondary malignancy, or death from any cause; …


Race/Ethnicity, Living Arrangements, And Access To Healthcare Among Older Adults With Alzheimer’S Disease In The United States: Multiple Systematic Reviews In Relation To Health Outcomes, Chela Reiss, Grace Vethacke Jul 2025

Race/Ethnicity, Living Arrangements, And Access To Healthcare Among Older Adults With Alzheimer’S Disease In The United States: Multiple Systematic Reviews In Relation To Health Outcomes, Chela Reiss, Grace Vethacke

DePaul Discoveries

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition primarily affecting older adults. It is a growing public health crisis that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. The number of adults aged 65 and older is projected to reach 98.2 million by 2060, leading to a continued rise in the prevalence of AD. Understanding the socioeconomic factors that influence health outcomes in patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) is essential in addressing the disparities within patient care and quality of life. This systematic review examined three socioeconomic factors - race/ethnicity, living arrangements, and access to healthcare - and their related health …


Aspen Impedes Wildfire Spread In Southwestern United States Landscapes, Matthew P. Harris, Jonathan D. Coop, Jared A. Balik, Jessika R. Mcfarland, Sean A. Parks, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann Jul 2025

Aspen Impedes Wildfire Spread In Southwestern United States Landscapes, Matthew P. Harris, Jonathan D. Coop, Jared A. Balik, Jessika R. Mcfarland, Sean A. Parks, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann

Aspen Bibliography

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) forests are generally thought to impede fire spread, yet the extent of this effect is not well quantified in relation to other vegetation types. We examined the influence of aspen cover on interpolated daily fire spread rates, the relative abundance of aspen at fire perimeters versus burn interiors, and whether these relationships shifted under more fire-conducive atmospheric conditions. Our study incorporated 314 fires occurring between 2001 and 2020 in the southwestern United States and a suite of gridded vegetation, topography, and fire weather predictor variables. We found that aspen slows fire progression: as aspen cover …


Examining The Performance Of An Insect Generalist Reared On Unused Host Plants In Colorado, Maxwell J. Meyer, Kanshita Dam, Kailey G. Hicks, Emma J. Sellers, Mykaela M. Tanino-Springsteen, Jd Reigrut, Dhaval K. Vyas, Shannon M. Murphy Jul 2025

Examining The Performance Of An Insect Generalist Reared On Unused Host Plants In Colorado, Maxwell J. Meyer, Kanshita Dam, Kailey G. Hicks, Emma J. Sellers, Mykaela M. Tanino-Springsteen, Jd Reigrut, Dhaval K. Vyas, Shannon M. Murphy

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Dietary generalist insects are important to ecological communities because they are commonly found in many environments and play important roles in ecosystem services like pollination and decomposition. Although dietary generalist herbivores eat a broad range of plant species, regional populations of these species may have significantly narrower or specialized diet breadths. Fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea, hereafter FW) is a dietary generalist at the species level, but we do not know if there is dietary generalism at the population level or how generalism varies across populations. In Colorado, FW larvae feed on only a few plant species, but many plant species …


Du Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Kabe Aberle, Nadia Kako, Kateri Mcrae, Brooke Agulnek, Sky Palmon, Yasmine Ramirez, Francisca Aguirre Beltran, Ashley Juarez, Bridget Kim, Tessa Appel, Sterling Kerr, Spencer Ingley, Gabe Meyer, Robin Tinghitella, Dale Broder, Lily Baeza, Chloe Beers, Julia Coakley, Whitney Kelsey, Sydney Gainforth, Gabi Wing, Audrey Martin, Aaliyah Amore Berry, Brooke Watley, Kiruthika Venkatesan, Rachel Bienstock, Annabella Brotherston, Madison Bryant, Mia Burgener, Emma P. Lieb, Rachel A. Johnson, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Kania Campbell, Kiena Campbell, Courtney Cassidy, Sage Krzyzkowski, Maddox Jones, Skylar Abookire, Luke Hawkins, Sunnah Yoon, Andrea Chu, Yan Qin, Nyah Cubbison, Brian Gearity, Daniel Mcintosh, Mariely Cruz, Edward Garrido, Grady Dionne, Nicole Doris, Lyndsie Salvagio, Ann-Charlotte Granholm-Bentley, Anna Dymov, Hannah Eckert, Gabrielle Welsh, Erica Larson, Charlie Ernst, Anna Zhou, Sarah Watamura, Larissa Fedorovich-Klein, Georgie Fields, Kimberly A. Guevara, Aven Mccall, Ben Peltier, Feruz Yahia, Patrick Flores, Jadyn Floyd, Sophia Forcier, J. Von R. Monteza, Peter Sokol-Hessner, Gwendolyn Geiger, Scott Nichols, Camryn Gunter, Kendal Hengst, Charlie Bednarz, Issy Garside, Addison Baker, Rachel Mina, Brooke Hermanson, Amanda Klingler, William Highfill, Sydney Jaques, Kerstin Lewey, Allison Grossery, Daniel Linseman, Ethan Lim, Jagger Livengood, Owen Mantelli, Gabby Pappas, Abby Mcdonald, Madeleine Dierking, Eve Miller, Emma Loeber, Anna Marlow, Michael Kerwin, Ella Mathews, Hillary Hamann, Khadija Mohamed, Vivian Nguyen, Gabri Notov, Ifunayachi Ogbonna-Ukuku, Sunil Kumar, Charles Baysah, Sarah Olson, Don Sullivan, Anna Paradiso, Jay Parrish, Mira Pronobis, Alisha Pravasi, Kerstin Haring, Diego Ramirez, Christopher Reardon, Juliana Ramirez, Casey Doherty, Ella Kestner, Teagan Weindel, Cate Billings, Pablo Torre-Walter, Lucy Rand, Samantha Reynolds, Mark Siemens, Khadeeja Rashid, Laine Satterlee, Piper Heilbronner, Lily Pound, Ben Whitehurst, Anna Respet, Lizzie Lesoing, Sydney Hertel, Aya Saad-Masri, Brooke Ballenger, Max Proske, Hannah Rosenberg, Ellia Nakahara, Sophia Espinoza, Ivan Woolhouse, Simon Ruland, Gorkem Er, Timothy Sweeny, Melaku Saketa, Michela Schenk, Maren Lynch, Madi Hamm, Grace Schroeder, Michelle Rozenman, Rana Seif, Jackson Hall, Marisela Simental, Daniel Paredes, Aaron Mena, Preston Spaan, Evelyn Stovin, David Andrew Swartz, Anh Tran, Daniel Pittman, Luke Farchione, Emily Boyer, Ukari Verner, Lacey Conrad, Jonathan Velotta, James Weiner, Jagger Gossett, Noah Sherry, Sam Proud, Ben Block, Avi Narayana, Zoey Weiss, Alyssa Wilson, Gabrielle Walsh, David Zonana, Keely Wright, Kena Riveria, Lillybelle Deer, Jena Doom, Elysia Davis, Isabelle Yaremenko, Caitlyn Young Jul 2025

Du Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Kabe Aberle, Nadia Kako, Kateri Mcrae, Brooke Agulnek, Sky Palmon, Yasmine Ramirez, Francisca Aguirre Beltran, Ashley Juarez, Bridget Kim, Tessa Appel, Sterling Kerr, Spencer Ingley, Gabe Meyer, Robin Tinghitella, Dale Broder, Lily Baeza, Chloe Beers, Julia Coakley, Whitney Kelsey, Sydney Gainforth, Gabi Wing, Audrey Martin, Aaliyah Amore Berry, Brooke Watley, Kiruthika Venkatesan, Rachel Bienstock, Annabella Brotherston, Madison Bryant, Mia Burgener, Emma P. Lieb, Rachel A. Johnson, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Kania Campbell, Kiena Campbell, Courtney Cassidy, Sage Krzyzkowski, Maddox Jones, Skylar Abookire, Luke Hawkins, Sunnah Yoon, Andrea Chu, Yan Qin, Nyah Cubbison, Brian Gearity, Daniel Mcintosh, Mariely Cruz, Edward Garrido, Grady Dionne, Nicole Doris, Lyndsie Salvagio, Ann-Charlotte Granholm-Bentley, Anna Dymov, Hannah Eckert, Gabrielle Welsh, Erica Larson, Charlie Ernst, Anna Zhou, Sarah Watamura, Larissa Fedorovich-Klein, Georgie Fields, Kimberly A. Guevara, Aven Mccall, Ben Peltier, Feruz Yahia, Patrick Flores, Jadyn Floyd, Sophia Forcier, J. Von R. Monteza, Peter Sokol-Hessner, Gwendolyn Geiger, Scott Nichols, Camryn Gunter, Kendal Hengst, Charlie Bednarz, Issy Garside, Addison Baker, Rachel Mina, Brooke Hermanson, Amanda Klingler, William Highfill, Sydney Jaques, Kerstin Lewey, Allison Grossery, Daniel Linseman, Ethan Lim, Jagger Livengood, Owen Mantelli, Gabby Pappas, Abby Mcdonald, Madeleine Dierking, Eve Miller, Emma Loeber, Anna Marlow, Michael Kerwin, Ella Mathews, Hillary Hamann, Khadija Mohamed, Vivian Nguyen, Gabri Notov, Ifunayachi Ogbonna-Ukuku, Sunil Kumar, Charles Baysah, Sarah Olson, Don Sullivan, Anna Paradiso, Jay Parrish, Mira Pronobis, Alisha Pravasi, Kerstin Haring, Diego Ramirez, Christopher Reardon, Juliana Ramirez, Casey Doherty, Ella Kestner, Teagan Weindel, Cate Billings, Pablo Torre-Walter, Lucy Rand, Samantha Reynolds, Mark Siemens, Khadeeja Rashid, Laine Satterlee, Piper Heilbronner, Lily Pound, Ben Whitehurst, Anna Respet, Lizzie Lesoing, Sydney Hertel, Aya Saad-Masri, Brooke Ballenger, Max Proske, Hannah Rosenberg, Ellia Nakahara, Sophia Espinoza, Ivan Woolhouse, Simon Ruland, Gorkem Er, Timothy Sweeny, Melaku Saketa, Michela Schenk, Maren Lynch, Madi Hamm, Grace Schroeder, Michelle Rozenman, Rana Seif, Jackson Hall, Marisela Simental, Daniel Paredes, Aaron Mena, Preston Spaan, Evelyn Stovin, David Andrew Swartz, Anh Tran, Daniel Pittman, Luke Farchione, Emily Boyer, Ukari Verner, Lacey Conrad, Jonathan Velotta, James Weiner, Jagger Gossett, Noah Sherry, Sam Proud, Ben Block, Avi Narayana, Zoey Weiss, Alyssa Wilson, Gabrielle Walsh, David Zonana, Keely Wright, Kena Riveria, Lillybelle Deer, Jena Doom, Elysia Davis, Isabelle Yaremenko, Caitlyn Young

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Abstracts from the DU Undergraduate Research Showcase.


The Astrobiological Figure Of Humboldt As Pioneer In The Rock Varnish Research, Jose Jordan-Soria Jul 2025

The Astrobiological Figure Of Humboldt As Pioneer In The Rock Varnish Research, Jose Jordan-Soria

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt: Travels to and from Spain Throughout the Centuries / Homenaje a Alexander von Humboldt: Viajes hacia y desde España de todos los siglos

From Humboldt is particularly interesting -and little know- his description of mineral coatings on rocks 200 years ago, reported in his book Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent during the years 1799-1804, co-written with Aimé Bonpland, for which is considerate the father of rock coating research. On June 5th 1799 set sail from A Coruña -Spain- to Cumaná -Venezuela- beginning five years of expedition. While they explored the Orinoco River system, in th eriver basin waterfalls, Humboldt observed the presence of dark coating depositions. He ascertained a manganese-rich accretion, reporting similar structures in other …


Los Mapas Gráficos Multi-Dato De Los Viajes Científicos De Humboldt Como Precedente De Los Modernos Sistemas Socio-Ecológicos, Norberto Muñiz Martínez Jul 2025

Los Mapas Gráficos Multi-Dato De Los Viajes Científicos De Humboldt Como Precedente De Los Modernos Sistemas Socio-Ecológicos, Norberto Muñiz Martínez

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt: Travels to and from Spain Throughout the Centuries / Homenaje a Alexander von Humboldt: Viajes hacia y desde España de todos los siglos

Este artículo analiza el papel visionario de Alexander von Humboldt como científico geógrafo que sentó las bases de la integración de los análisis geográfico-ecológicos y los humano-sociales. Humboldt fue precursor de la interdisciplinaridad científica, integrando la observación científico-empírica basada en la recogida de datos, con un subjetivismo compatible con el sentimiento hacia la naturaleza y los seres vivos. Humboldt aunó metodológicamente ese enfoque dual en análisis gráficos que captaban las complejidades derivadas de los sistemas complejos y emergentes, donde el todo en su conjunto es más que la suma de partes fragmentadas. Su visión combinaba análisis de ámbito local y …


Commentary On Blaser's "Antibiotic Use And Its Consequences For The Normal Microbiome", Fred C. Tenover Jul 2025

Commentary On Blaser's "Antibiotic Use And Its Consequences For The Normal Microbiome", Fred C. Tenover

AMR Commentary

If you have not read this eye-opening commentary by Dr. Martin Blaser about the negative impact of the widespread use of antibiotics in children, you should. The goal of giving antibiotics to children usually is to treat an infection — an earache, a respiratory tract infection, or perhaps a potentially deadly bloodstream infection. Those antibiotics, however, will often kill more than just the bacteria that are causing the infection. Humans have large quantities of “good bacteria” in our intestinal tracts, on our skin, and elsewhere on our body that play an important role in keeping us healthy.


Skin Bacteriome Structure And Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Prevalence Differs Amongst Two Sympatric Salamanders In The San Francisco Bay Area., Aria Norwood, Jadyn Jamora, Micuel Madison, Jamiee Nguyen, Azan Yousaf, Katya Morales, Emily Vu, Obed Hernández-Gómez Jul 2025

Skin Bacteriome Structure And Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Prevalence Differs Amongst Two Sympatric Salamanders In The San Francisco Bay Area., Aria Norwood, Jadyn Jamora, Micuel Madison, Jamiee Nguyen, Azan Yousaf, Katya Morales, Emily Vu, Obed Hernández-Gómez

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Student Professional Publications

Microbial surveys are becoming an important component of wildlife health research, especially in cases where environmental change and infectious diseases are serious issues. Amongst amphibians, Batrachochytrium spp. have the potential to be fatal pathogens that can impact the population health of numerous species. We assessed the skin bacteriome, prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and body conditions of two salamander genera with different life histories: the California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus) and members of the Pacific newt species complex (Taricha torosa and Taricha granulosa; Taricha sp.). We used 16S rRNA V4 amplicon sequencing to characterise the bacterial communities. Taricha sp. had …


Assessment Of Spatial Autocorrelation And Scalability In Fine-Scale Wildfire Random Forest Prediction Models, Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell, Joshua B. Fisher, Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, Christine M. Lee, Natasha Stavros Jul 2025

Assessment Of Spatial Autocorrelation And Scalability In Fine-Scale Wildfire Random Forest Prediction Models, Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell, Joshua B. Fisher, Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, Christine M. Lee, Natasha Stavros

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Wildfire prediction models that can be applied across diverse regions at fine scales (<  100 m) are critical for wildfire management. Remote sensing offers a path forward by providing heterogeneous and dynamic measurements of fuel load, type, and flammability. Machine learning methods such as random forests provide an empirical framework that are high-accuracy, computationally efficient, interpretable and able to model complex ecological relationships. Here we use high resolution (70 m, every 3–5 days) remote sensing observations of evapotranspiration and evaporative stress index, which represent plant water stress, from Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer on Space Station (ECOSTRESS), as well as topography and weather data, to predict burn severity and occurrence for 8 large wildfires that burned 3715 km2 from 2021 and 2022 in New Mexico, USA. These fires ranged from low to high burn intensity, and covered a diverse range of ecoregions (deserts, grasslands, forests), plant species, and topographies. We used a single model to predict the burn severity of all wildfires one week before occurrence. The prediction accuracy was greatest when using all predictors (ECOSTRESS, weather, topography) (R2 = 0.77). We assessed the role of spatial autocorrelation in driving model performance by: (1) increasing the sample spacing of our dataset, (2) …