Digital Commons Network^™

A Cargo Of Lead Ingots From An Eleventh–Thirteenth-Centuries Ceshipwreck Off The Ashqelon Coast (Hebrew, Pp. 131–137; English Summary, P. 76*), Ehud Galili, Baruch Rosen

'Atiqot

Fifty-seven lead ingots were discovered on the seabed west of Tel Ashqelon, their total average weight reaching c. 4 tons. These finds shed light on the nature of shipping and commerce along the Ashqelon coast during the eleventh–thirteenth centuries CE. A survey of the written evidence, concerning the importation of lead into Israel, is encountered, as well as an attempt to reconstruct the vessel type that transported the lead and the reason for its wreckage.

Baqa El-Gharbiya Area: The Glass Vessels From Ḥorbat Kosit (East) (Pp. 133–142), Natalya Katsnelson

'Atiqot

Excavations at Ḥorbat Kosit, west of Baqa el-Gharbiya, yielded glass vessels dating from the Roman and Late Roman–early Byzantine periods. The simple repertoire comprises mainly plain vessels of fairly local types. The style of workmanship, the predominance of certain types and the uniformity of the fabric suggest that these vessels could have been manufactured locally. The assemblage from Ḥorbat Kosit add to our knowledge regarding the distribution of glass vessels in the Naḥal Hadera area during these periods.

A Byzantine Church At Qiryat Ata(With A Contribution By Ariel Berman) (Pp. 165–176), Fanny Vitto

'Atiqot

Part of a Byzantine-period church was revealed during an excavation conducted at Qiryat Ata. The church was basilical in plan, oriented roughly eastward. The nave was paved with a polychrome mosaic, exhibiting a geometric pattern that was dated on stylistic grounds to the second half of the sixth century CE. Small limestone fragments decorated with geometric motifs were found on the mosaic floor, probably belonging to a chancel screen. The finds included pottery and glass vessels of Late Byzantine date. The church probably belongs to a rather prosperous settlement that existed within the present limits of Qiryat Ata.

A Greek Inscription From Tel Ashdod (Hebrew, Pp. 3*–6*; English Summary, Pp. 233–234), Vassilios Tzaferis

'Atiqot

The seven-line Greek inscription from Tel Ashdod is a typical dedicatory inscription, mentioning the construction of a winepress and monastery. It was dated to the Byzantine period.

The Hebrew Ostraca From Site 94/21, Cave A-2, At Ramat Bet Shemesh, Ianir Milevski

'Atiqot

An Iron Age C cave, probably a cellar, was excavated some 400 m southwest of Ḥorbat Zanoaḥ. The cave, which yielded pottery dating between the end of the seventh and the beginning of the sixth centuries BCE, included three ostraca. The letters on the inscribed sherds were poorly preserved. Most of the legible personal names are typical of Judah at the end of the First Temple period, which is corroborated by the script as well. The ostraca shed light on how issues relating to the measurement or produce of fields belonging to several persons were dealt with.

Scaling Arctic Landscape And Permafrost Features Improves Active Layer Depth Modeling, Wouter Hantson, Daryl Yang, Shawn P. Serbin, Joshua B. Fisher, Daniel J. Hayes

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Tundra ecosystems in the Arctic store up to 40% of global below-ground organic carbon but are exposed to the fastest climate warming on Earth. However, accurately monitoring landscape changes in the Arctic is challenging due to the complex interactions among permafrost, micro-topography, climate, vegetation, and disturbance. This complexity results in high spatiotemporal variability in permafrost distribution and active layer depth (ALD). Moreover, these key tundra processes interact at different scales, and an observational mismatch can limit our understanding of intrinsic connections and dynamics between above and below-ground processes. Consequently, this could limit our ability to model and anticipate how ALD …

Grass Weed Control And Rice Response With Tetflupyrolimet-Containing Programs, Mason C. Castner, Jason K. Norsworthy, Thomas R. Butts, Trenton L. Roberts, Nick R. Bateman, Travis R. Faske

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Tetflupyrolimet is the first herbicide with a novel site of action (SOA) labeled PRE and early POST for use in agronomic crops to be labeled in the last three decades. Direct-seeded paddy rice field experiments were conducted near Stuttgart, AR, on a silt loam soil and near Keiser, AR, on a clay soil to evaluate tetflupyrolimet-containing herbicide programs in comparison to commercial standards in conventional, imidazolinone-resistant, and quizalofop-resistant rice systems. Additionally, a furrow-irrigated rice experiment was conducted near Colt, AR, and Keiser to ensure weed control with clomazone and tetflupyrolimet mixtures compared to commercial standards. Twelve commonly planted rice cultivars …

Three Greek Inscriptions From The Monastery At Nahal Pehar (Giv‘Ot Bar), In The Northern Negev, Leah Di Segni

'Atiqot

Three Greek inscriptions were discovered within a small coenobium at Giv‘ot Bar in the northern Negev. One was set in a mosaic pavement in the chapel, and the other two were painted in red ink on building blocks found in the debris near the entrance to the chapel. The mosaic inscription mentions a string of names, probably of the monks who cared for the laying of the mosaic pavement in the chapel, or perhaps for the foundation of the coenobium. The two other inscriptions are epitaphs, indicating that the chapel was also used for burial. One epitaph mentions a date …

Extensive Admixture Among Karst-Obligate Salamanders Reveals Evidence Of Recent Divergence And Gene Exchange Through Aquifers, Chris C. Nice, Katherine L. Bell, Zachariah Gompert, Lauren K. Lucas, James R. Ott, Ruben U. Tovar, Paul Crump, Peter H. Diaz

Biology Faculty Publications

Karst ecosystems often contain extraordinary biodiversity, but the complex underground aquifers of karst regions present challenges for assessing and conserving stygobiont diversity and investigating their evolutionary history. We examined the karst-obligate salamanders of the Eurycea neotenes species complex in the Edwards Plateau region of central Texas using population genomics data to address questions about population connectivity and the potential for gene exchange within the underlying aquifer system. The E. neotenes species complex has historically been divided into three nominal species, but their status, and spatial extent of species ranges, have remained uncertain. We discovered evidence of extensive admixture among species …

Society For Immunotherapy Of Cancer: Updates And Best Practices For Multiplex Immunohistochemistry (Ihc) And Immunofluorescence (If) Image Analysis And Data Sharing, Janis M Taube, Joel C Sunshine, Michael Angelo, Guray Akturk, Margaret Eminizer, Logan L Engle, Cláudia S Ferreira, Sacha Gnjatic, Benjamin Green, Shirley Greenbaum, Noah F Greenwald, Cyrus V Hedvat, Travis J Hollmann, Daniel Jiménez-Sánchez, Konstanty Korski, Ana Lako, Edwin R Parra, Marlon C Rebelatto, David L Rimm, Scott J Rodig, Jamie Rodriguez-Canales, Jeffrey S Roskes, Kurt A Schalper, Emanuel Schenck, Keith E Steele, Michael J Surace, Alexander S Szalay, Michael T Tetzlaff, Ignacio I Wistuba, Jennifer H Yearley, Carlo B Bifulco

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Multiplex immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence (mIHC/IF) are emerging technologies that can be used to help define complex immunophenotypes in tissue, quantify immune cell subsets, and assess the spatial arrangement of marker expression. mIHC/IF assays require concerted efforts to optimize and validate the multiplex staining protocols prior to their application on slides. The best practice guidelines for staining and validation of mIHC/IF assays across platforms were previously published by this task force. The current effort represents a complementary manuscript for mIHC/IF analysis focused on the associated image analysis and data management.

Methods: The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer convened a task …

Evaluating The Contributions Of Nutrition Knowledge And Food Skills As Predictors Of Dietary Behavior, Diet Competence, And Diet Autonomy In Pre-Hypertensive Rural And Micropolitan Dwelling African American Adults In Alabama, Mary Catherine Robertson Lawson

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: African American (AA) adults living in rural, Southeastern communities experience disproportionately high rates of obesity-related chronic diseases. Many factors contributing to this health disparity are related to negative Social Determinants of Health that have individual and community level impacts. Nutrition knowledge (NK) and food skills (FS) are forms of health literacy that have been understudied in rural-dwelling AA adults. Understanding their relationships with self-perceived diet competence, autonomy, motivations, as well as diet behaviors and health outcomes could inform the development of future health research and policy. Methods: A scoping review was conducted to identify key trends and information gaps …

Influence Of Socio-Demographic Factors And Environmental Justice Issues On Vulnerable Populations Exposed To Pollution, Aishwarya Kaushal

All ETDs from UAB

As climate change intensifies environmental hazards and pollution impacts across the U.S., Alabama’s socio-demographically diverse regions face unique and disproportionate vulnerabilities. This dissertation investigates the intersection of socio-demographic factors, environmental justice, and the disproportionate impact of pollution and flood risks on vulnerable populations in Alabama. The first study assesses the role of elevation and socio-economic factors in influencing susceptibility to flooding in Jefferson County, revealing that low-income and minority groups are more likely to reside in high-risk flood zones. A detailed spatial analysis using 2D flood modeling identifies neighborhoods with high flood exposure, emphasizing the racial and economic disparities that …

Spatiotemporal Synchrony Of Climate And Fire Occurrence Across North American Forests (1750–1880), Ellis Margolis, Andreas Wion, John Abatzoglou, Lori Daniels, Donald Falk, Chris Guiterman, James Johnston, Kurt Kipfmueller, Charles Lafon, Rachel Loehman, Maggie Lonergan, Cameron Naficy, Marc-André Parisien, Sean Parks, Jeanne Portier, Michael Stambaugh, Ellen Whitman, A. Park Williams, Larissa Yocom

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Aim: Increasing aridity has driven widespread synchronous fire occurrence in recent decades across North America. The lack of historical (pre-1880) fire records limits our ability to understand long-term continental fire-climate dynamics. The goal of this study is to use tree-ring reconstructions to determine the relationships between spatiotemporal patterns in historical climate and widespread fire occurrence in North American forests, and whether they are stable through time. This information will address a major knowledge gap required to inform projections of future fire.

Location: North American Forests.

Time Period: 1750–1880 CE.

Major Taxa Studied: Trees.

Methods: We applied regionalisation methods to tree-ring …

Forest Above-Ground Biomass Estimation Using Nasa Gedi Lidar Waveforms And Global Tree Allometry, Ian Grant

Theses and Dissertations

Above-ground forest biomass plays a crucial role in global carbon cycles, yet accurately estimating biomass at global scales remains challenging. This thesis addresses two key challenges in processing NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) space-borne lidar data to estimate above-ground biomass density (AGBD): accounting for global variation in forest structure and developing robust physical interpretations of lidar returns. The first component of the thesis analyzes global patterns of tree allometry using the Tallo tree allometry dataset, examining relationships between tree dimensions across biomes, continents, and plant functional types. This analysis reveals consistent allometry across continents for some biomes (e.g., tropical …

Ms Environmental Biology Capstone: Evaluating Environmental Risks And Conflicts In Golf Course Landscapes, Meredith Boos

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

1) This review investigates the relationship between pesticide use on golf courses and in agriculture to determine whether the adverse health effects documented in agricultural settings also apply to golf course environments. While the negative health effects from agricultural pesticide use are well established, golf courses use pesticides with greater frequency and intensity, suggesting a potentially higher exposure risk for both workers and players.

2) This study proposes methods to quantify pesticide bioaccumulation on golf courses and adjacent lands. We hypothesize that areas surrounding golf courses will exhibit a spatial gradient of pesticide accumulation, increasing with proximity to treated sites …

Coffee Farmgate Price And Post-Harvest Processing In Honduras., Isaac Desouza

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Volatile commodity markets and changing climate expose coffee farmers to price and production risk. Proponents recommend specialty coffee as a strategy to combat price risk, because its unique attributes differentiate it from commodity coffee. Extrinsic and intrinsic attributes define specialty coffee and affect prices at many levels of the supply chain. Despite much work on extrinsic attributes, little is known about how intrinsic attributes relate to farmgate price. Post-harvest processing is itself an intrinsic trait and driver of coffee quality. In 2024 we surveyed 261 coffee farmers from La Paz, Honduras, to uncover relationships between capital, post-harvest processing, and farmgate …

“Science Belongs Everywhere”: Outlooks On Post-Secondary Stem Education For Correctional Centers In Virginia, Shelita R. Augustus

Division of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success Publications

Virginia has an incarceration rate of 679 per 100,000 residents, the highest among independent democratic nations. This scoping review examines perspectives on post-secondary STEM education to promote STEM education within Virginia's correctional facilities, assesses programs to improve rehabilitation, reduce recidivism, and address systemic inequalities by developing the scientific potential of incarcerated individuals. The review finds that while STEM education in correctional facilities faces limitations, its potential benefits are being realized nationwide. Virginia has made strides through initiatives like House Bill 2158, which aims to expand higher education access for incarcerated individuals. Examples such as the programs at J. Sargeant Reynolds …

Restored Wetlands Show Rapid Vegetation Recovery And Substantial Surface-Water Expansion, Thilina D. Surasinghe, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Kunwar K. Singh

Center for Geospatial Science, Education & Analytics Faculty Publications

Ecological restoration is essential for improving the ecological integrity of degraded ecosystems to enhance ecosystem services and biodiversity. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of wetland restoration on retired cranberry farms by analyzing vegetation recovery and surface-water dynamics using the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) derived from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. To quantify temporal dynamics of both vegetation recovery and surface-water cover, we identified the spectral distinctions among restored wetland plant communities. Our results indicated the emergence of distinct plant communities upon restoration. Restored wetlands in general showed significant and progressive vegetation recovery and expanding …

Including Black Farmers, Excluding Pests: Perspectives On Participation In The Cooperative Extension Service, Briana Bazile

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

In recent years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has faced renewed scrutiny for documented discrimination against Black farmers, yet far less attention has focused on its century-old partner in public service delivery, the Cooperative Extension Service (CES). This gap is especially notable considering 1) federal parity mandates extant since 1972 in response to significant disparities between Black and White constituents and staff,2) public commitments to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2020 and, 3) the contributions of Black leaders at the origins of CES, at Tuskegee University in the late nineteenth century. Using the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service (KYCES) as a …

Unveiling The Bacterial Communities Of Aphaenogaster: Taxonomic Composition, Developmental And Species Influences, And The Impact Of Climate Change, Lily Kelleher

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Ants are vital keystone species in many ecosystems because they provide ecosystem services such as: seed dispersal, soil bioturbation, and pest control. However, ant bacterial symbioses remain largely unstudied, but these interactions are crucial because microbes play a vital role in the ants’ overall health. Today, global climate change is impacting our biodiversity, and we can use information about how changing temperatures impact the symbiotic bacterial communities associated with ants to predict future impact. Aphaenogaster rudis and A. fulva remain understudied in terms of their bacterial community and are important North American species. For this study, ants from several colonies …

A Vascular Flora Of Ladd Canyon, Santa Ana Mountains, Orange And Riverside Counties, California, Daniel P. Donovan, Amanda E. Fisher

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The Santa Ana Mountains are a coastal range on the border of Orange and Riverside counties in southern California. Ladd Canyon, covering 18.2 km² in the Cleveland National Forest, is a botanical black hole relative to the rest of the Santa Ana Mountains because of limited access. It is dominated by chaparral and coastal sage scrub and includes significant knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata) stands and riparian woodland. Features that make it an intriguing area to study include the only serpentine soil in the Santa Ana Mountains, large tracts of habitat that have no recorded fire history, steep …

Examining Short Term Drainage Impacts To Soil Health In Hydric And Non-Hydric Soils Of Waseca County, Minnesota, Ely Hartl

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Subsurface drainage is implemented throughout the Midwest United States to remove excess moisture from soil to enhance crop growth. Hydric soils are ubiquitous throughout Minnesota and are commonly drained due to their historically saturated conditions. Changing a soil's hydrology can impact its formation and properties. The alteration of physical, biological, and chemical soil properties can occur to both hydric and non-hydric soils, impacting overall soil health. The purpose of this study is to examine the short-term effects of tile drainage on the soil health of hydric and non-hydric soils in southern Minnesota. Research methods include: 1) collect soil-sediment cores to …

Diversification Of Avifauna In The Darién Highland Region: Ecological Niche Modeling, Phylogeography And Morphology To Explore Speciation In The Montane Species Myadestes Coloratus, Chlorospingus Tacarcunae And Margarornis Bellulus., Jorge L. Garzon Vasquez Mrs

Theses and Dissertations

Montane regions in the Neotropics are hotspots of endemism and biodiversity, yet their species are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and geographic isolation. This thesis investigates the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of three bird species endemic to the Darién Highlands of eastern Panama: Myadestes coloratus, Chlorospingus tacarcunae, and Margarornis bellulus. Through an integrative approach combining ecological niche modeling, morphometric analysis, and genomic data from ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and mitochondrial DNA, the study explores the historical biogeography, current distribution patterns, population structure, and phenotypic differentiation of these montane taxa. Ecological niche models revealed that suitable habitat …

Functional Analysis Of Ligand Binding Domain 2 Of Outer Surface Protein C Of Borreliella Burgdorferi, Gavin Z. Chambers

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete Borreliella burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne infection in North America. A critical determinant of early mammalian infection is outer surface protein C (OspC), a highly variable lipoprotein that is indispensable for spirochete survival but whose precise function remains unresolved. OspC has been proposed to mediate diverse roles, including complement evasion, adhesion, tissue dissemination, and antiphagocytic activity, supporting the view that it is a multifunctional virulence factor. Structural studies have identified two putative ligand-binding domains (LBD1 and LBD2), with LBD2 forming a solvent-exposed crown at the membrane-distal end of the OspC dimer.

To …

Critical Environmental Communication Framework, Shumaila J. Bhatti, Srivi Ramasubramanian, Andrea Feldpausch-Parker, Bruno Takahashi, Silje Kristiansen

Media Studies - All Scholarship

This study develops a Critical Environmental Communication (CEC) framework to assess the landscape of Environmental Communication research and to what extent and in which ways critical and justice-oriented perspectives are included. The CEC framework consists of four interconnected themes: (a) Marginalized Ecocultural Identities, (b) Context and Scale, (c) Power and Agency, and (d) Justice, Equity, Diversity, Access, and Inclusion (JEDAI). Using this framework in a bibliometric analysis examining 1,297 Environmental Communication publications, we assess the occurrence of these themes in the scholarship. Our analysis found that Marginalized Ecocultural Identities, and Context and Scale were most frequently occurring, while Power and …

Verification Of Real-Time Smoke Simulations: A Case Study On Early Summer North American Wildfire Events, Daniel Bonilla

Pitzer Senior Theses

As wildfire intensity and frequency escalate in times of unprecedented climate change and severe droughts, it is important to enhance forecasting models that accurately and efficiently predict wildfire smoke movement. NOAA’s experimental Rapid-Refresh Forecasting System with Smoke and Dust (RRFS-SD) aims to improve upon the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh- Smoke (HRRR-Smoke), by extending the domain to include all of North America and incorporating new developments in physics and wildfire parameterizations. Our work explores the process of adding satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data, through AERONET, as an additional method of verification of the RRFS-SD experimental model. Using a case study on …

A Flora Of Coyote Ridge And Flat, Inyo County, California, Martin D. Purdy

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

California’s Sierra Nevada contains a disproportionate share of the state’s plant diversity and is one of the most floristically diverse regions of its size in the United States. The high Sierra Nevada, in particular, has been identified as an important center of species richness and endemism within the State. Anthropogenic climate warming is expected to disproportionately affect mountain ecosystems, and models have predicted habitat contraction and extirpation for many alpine plant taxa. A specimen-based inventory of the vascular plants and bryophytes of Coyote Ridge and Flat was conducted to establish baseline data for one such sensitive alpine and subalpine area. …

History, Annotated Gazetteer, And Bibliography Of Ornithology In Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, Frederick H. Sheldon, Mohammad Irham, Daisy G. S. Kho, Erik Meijaard, Subir B. Shakya, Dewi M. Prawiradilaga, Sebastianus (Bas) Van Balen

Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University

Kalimantan comprises nearly three quarters of the island of Borneo and is the place where scientific study of Bornean birds began. We describe the history of bird research in Kalimantan from its beginning, highlighting the ornithologists who explored the region and how their interests and methods changed over time, from a concentration on specimen collection, to examinations of community ecology, to conservation in the face of habitat change and species depletion, to the latest investigations using satellite, genetic, and digital technology. We also highlight some future directions for research, especially the need for more work on basic ecology and biogeography. …

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …