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Ripple Effects Of The Belo Monte Dam: A Syndemic Approach To Addressing Health Impacts For The Downstream Community Of Gurupá, Cynthia A. Pace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the public health impacts of a large dam project on a downstream community using the framework of Syndemic Theory. The particular focus is the Belo Monte Dam, located in the Brazilian Amazon, and its impact on the community of Gurupá, Pará. At the present time the Belo Monte Dam, which is nearing completion, stands out in scale as being the world’s third largest dam complex. Gurupá is a community well known (and well-studied) in the social science literature as Amazon Town. The aims of this study are to assess the pre-existing public health of Gurupá, as well …

Crop Residue Burning In Northern India: Increasing Threat To Greater India, S. Sarkar, Ramesh P. Singh, A. Chauhan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Crop residue burning (CRB) is a recurring problem, during October–November, in the northwestern regions (Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh) of India. The emissions from the CRB source regions spread in all directions through long-range transport mechanisms, depending upon the meteorological conditions. In recent years, numerous studies have been carried out dealing with the impact of CRB on the air quality of Delhi and surrounding areas, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Basin (also referred to as Indo-Gangetic Plain). In this paper, we present detailed analysis using both satellite- and ground-based sources, which show an increasing impact of CRB over the eastern …

Spatial Distribution Of Bactrocera Dorsalis And Thaumatotibia Leucotreta In Smallholder Avocado Orchards Along Altitudinal Gradient Of Taita Hills And Mount Kilimanjaro, James J. Odanga, Samira Mohamed, Sizah Mwalusepo, Florence Olubayo, Richard Nyankanga, Fathiya Khamis, Ivan Rwomushana, Tino Johansson, Sunday Ekesi

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Avocado (Persea americana) fruits are an important source of income and a nutritious food for small-scale growers and other stakeholders involved in farming along the Afrotropical highlands of Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively. Avocado fruits are infested by several insect pests, namely the Asian invasive fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), and the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). However, there is inadequate information on the distribution patterns of these pests in small-scale avocado cropping systems in the East African highlands. This study was initiated to generate a spatial distribution map of …

Circadiomics: Circadian Omic Web Portal, Nicholas Ceglia, Yu Liu, Siwei Chen, Forest Agostinelli, Kristin Eckel-Mahan, Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Pierre Baldi

Faculty Publications

Circadian rhythms play a fundamental role at all levels of biological organization. Understanding the mechanisms and implications of circadian oscillations continues to be the focus of intense research. However, there has been no comprehensive and integrated way for accessing and mining all circadian omic datasets. The latest release of CircadiOmics (http://circadiomics.ics.uci.edu) fills this gap for providing the most comprehensive web server for studying circadian data. The newly updated version contains high-throughput 227 omic datasets corresponding to over 74 million measurements sampled over 24 h cycles. Users can visualize and compare oscillatory trajectories across species, tissues and conditions. Periodicity statistics (e.g. …

Soil Conservation Efforts Affecting And Implementations To Help Tree Growth In Iceland, Justin Lawlor

Student Works

The purpose of this research was to understand and project the opinions of the public in Iceland on soil conservation and current efforts. The issue of soil erosion dates back to settlement around 1,100 years ago. The loss of vegetation from deforestation and grazing exposes the land to the effects of wind, water, and other devastating elements, leading it to erode away. The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCSI) was developed to combat this issue over 100 years ago with efforts including planting trees, promoting safe farming practices, and replenishing the land. Interviews were conducted with various individuals, including a …

Influence Of Polymetalocomplexes Of Pectin On The Growth And Development Of Cotton Plant, M. Nurmatova,, S. Rashidova,

Scientific journal of the Fergana State University

Complexes based on lemon pectin with cobalt ions, which allow supplementing the lack of microelements in the cotton nutrition of "C-6524" variety, do not violate the basic vital functions of plants.

Influence Of Polymetalocomplexes Of Pectin On The Growth And Development Of Cotton Plant, M. Nurmatova,, S. Rashidova,

Scientific journal of the Fergana State University

Complexes based on lemon pectin with cobalt ions, which allow supplementing the lack of microelements in the cotton nutrition of "C-6524" variety, do not violate the basic vital functions of plants.

Influence Of Polymetalocomplexes Of Pectin On The Growth And Development Of Cotton Plant, M. Nurmatova,, S. Rashidova,

Scientific journal of the Fergana State University

Complexes based on lemon pectin with cobalt ions, which allow supplementing the lack of microelements in the cotton nutrition of "C-6524" variety, do not violate the basic vital functions of plants.

Heavy Metal Accumulation In Seagrasses In Southeastern Florida, Erin Smith

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Seagrass beds are among the most ecologically important systems in the marine environment. They provide the primary production to nearby coral reef and mangrove communities, and seagrasses comprise a large component of the diets of many marine organisms including fishes, small invertebrate species, and many protected species such as manatees and sea turtles. This consumption provides a pathway for many contaminants to enter the marine food web via the seagrasses. The coastal location of seagrass beds causes them to be especially susceptible to anthropogenic pollution, including accumulation of heavy metals, which has been shown to have many adverse health effects …

Mathematical Modeling Of Nutrient Signaling And Growth In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Amogh P. Jalihal, Pavel Kraikivski, T.M. Murali, John J. Tyson

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Influencing Exploration In Actor-Critic Reinforcement Learning Algorithms, Andrew R. Gough

Master's Theses

Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a subset of machine learning primarily concerned with goal-directed learning and optimal decision making. RL agents learn based on a reward signal discovered from trial and error in complex, uncertain environments with the goal of maximizing positive reward signals. RL approaches need to scale up as they are applied to more complex environments with extremely large state spaces. Inefficient exploration methods cannot sufficiently explore complex environments in a reasonable amount of time, and optimal policies will be unrealized resulting in RL agents failing to solve an environment.

This thesis proposes a novel variant of the Actor-Advantage …

Prediction Of Insect Pest Distribution As Influenced By Elevation: Combining Field Observations And Temperature-Dependent Development Models For The Coffee Stink Bug, Antestiopsis Thunbergii (Gmelin), Abdelmutalab G.A. Azrag, Christian W.W. Pirk, Abdullahi A. Yusuf, Fabrice Pinard, Saliou Niassy, Gladys Mosomtai, Régis Babin

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The antestia bug, Antestiopsis thunbergii (Gmelin 1790) is a major pest of Arabica coffee in Africa. The bug prefers coffee at the highest elevations, contrary to other major pests. The objectives of this study were to describe the relationship between A. thunbergii populations and elevation, to elucidate this relationship using our knowledge of the pest thermal biology and to predict the pest distribution under climate warming. Antestiopsis thunbergii population density was assessed in 24 coffee farms located along a transect delimited across an elevation gradient in the range 1000–1700 m asl, on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Density was assessed for three …

Examining Multimorbidities Using Association Rule Learning, Kaylee Dudley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

All insurance companies, regardless of the kind of insurance they offer, do their best to predict the future by comparing current to historical information. Any statistically significant correlation, regardless of expectations and hidden factors, can help to actuarially model future behavior. Using deidentified data from over 6 million health insurance policies over one year, we looked for any significant groupings of medical issues. The medical issues are defined based on the commercial “Episode Treatment Groups” (ETGs) classification, and our claims contain 347 different ETGs. We performed different kinds of analysis, including Bayesian posterior cluster analysis, k-means cluster analysis, and association …

Dental Measurements Do Not Diagnose Modern Artiodactyl Species: Implications For The Systematics Of Merycoidodontoidea, Meaghan M. Emery-Wetherell, Edward Byrd Davis

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Though dental measurements are frequently used to diagnose the fossil species of Merycoidodontoidea and other extinct artiodactyls, the effective diagnosis of modern artiodactyl taxa via dental measurements has not been extensively tested. Our study finds that variation in artiodactyl dentition is generally higher than in primates, carnivores, rodents and even elephants, with molar coefficients of variation ranging up to 18% (Camelus bactrianus), and that dental measurements poorly diagnose modern artiodactyls via discriminant function analysis, adjusted t -tests on coefficients of variation, or finite mixture analysis. The higher-than-expected coefficients of variation for artiodactyls imply that some fossil taxa may …

Multicomponent Analysis Using A Confocal Raman Microscope, Zhengyuan Tang, Sinead J. Barton, Thomas E. Ward, John P. Lowry, Michelle M. Doran, Hugh Byrne, Bryan M. Hennelly

Articles

Measuring the concentration of multiple chemical components in a low volume aqueous mixture by Raman spectroscopy has received significant interest in the literature. All of the contributions to date focus on the design of optical systems that facilitate the recording of spectra with high signal-to-noise ratio, by collecting as many Raman scattered photons as possible. In this study, the confocal Raman microscope set-up is investigated for multicomponent analysis. Partial Least Squares Regression is used to quantify physiologically relevant aqueous mixtures of glucose, lactic acid, and urea. The predicted error is 17.81 mg/dL for glucose, 10.6 mg/dL for lactic acid and …

“Musical Exercise” For People With Visual Impairments: A Preliminary Study With The Blindfolded, Ridwan Ahmed Khan, Myounghoon Jeon, Tejin Yoon

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Performing independent physical exercise is critical to maintain one's good health, but it is specifically hard for people with visual impairments. To address this problem, we have developed a Musical Exercise platform for people with visual impairments so that they can perform exercise in a good form consistently. We designed six different conditions, including blindfolded or visual without audio conditions, and blindfolded or visual with two different types of audio feedback (continuous vs. discrete) conditions. Eighteen sighted participants participated in the experiment, by doing two exercises - squat and wall sit with all six conditions. The results show that Musical …

Guide To Usda Agroforestry Research Funding Opportunities

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

This guide is intended for researchers and academics pursuing funding opportunities for research in agroforestry - the intentonal integration of trees and agriculture. The guide provides an overview of external agroforestry research funding opportunities offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies.

This publication was created for serveral reasons. Agroforestry is not always clearly identified in announcements about research funding opportunities. In addition, research on agroforestry can require a longer time horizon than research on annual systems, so awareness of multiple funding sources or multi-year funding opportunities can be useful. Last, though USDA offers grants that can support …

Missing The Boat? Measuring And Evaluating Local Groundfish Purchases By New England Institutions, Jeffrey K. O'Hara, Loren Mcclenachan

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

The development of local food markets has provided a critical economic opportunity for small farms in New England. The collapse of Gulf of Maine groundfish stocks has motivated an interest in developing similar marketing opportunities for wild-caught, locally abundant seafood. Institutions, particularly schools and colleges, have been identified as a strategic entry point in the supply chain for such products. However, there has been a dearth of research on this topic. We undertake a case study that evaluates purchases of local groundfish by schools and colleges in New England. First, we analyze recently developed secondary data to assess the propensity …

Determinants Of Tourism And Hiv/Aids Incidence In West Java, Cecep Heriana, Rossi Suparman, Sohel Rana, Dera Sukmanawati

Kesmas

Indonesia defined as tourist destination where the international and domestic tourists enjoy the tourist attractions. Prostitution existing in tourism place may increase the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The incidence and spread of AIDS in many areas in West Java is a problem for tourism industry. These issues become acute in locations where sexual attraction is used as a determinant of tourist portability. The aim of this study was to determine relation between tourism and the incidence of HIV/AIDS in West Java. Non-reactive research design was used to collect secondary data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2016 from 26 districts/cities …

Implementation Of Prevention Of Mother To Child Transmission Of Hiv Program In South Jakarta, Fase Badriah, Minsarnawati Tahangnacca, Raihana Alkaff, Takeru Abe, Laily Hanifah

Kesmas

Even though Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program has been running in Indonesia since 2006, the proportion of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected pregnant women remains high in some districts in Indonesia. The PMTCT program aims to reduce transmission of HIV from mother to child. Thus it requires an examination of the PMTCT program implementation. The study was a qualitative study on PMTCT program implementation in South Jakarta, Indonesia, whereas the proportion of children with HIV positive in the area was quite high. The analysis used domain analysis by looking the implementation of PMTCT as a system consisting of …

Effect Of Personal Protective Equipment During Pesticide Application To Neurological Symptoms In Farmers In Purworejo District, Indonesia, Fajaria Nurcandra, Renti Mahkota, Siddharudha Shivalli

Kesmas

Agriculture is one of major sectors of Indonesia economic source with the high volume of pesticide used. Unfortunately, adverse health effect of neurotoxic pesticide has never been reported in Indonesia. This study aimed to determine effectiveness of personal protective equipment (PPE) during applied pesticides to neurological symptoms in farmers. This study was cross-sectionally conducted from April to May 2016 in Purworejo District. About 125 farmers were selected using purposive sampling, and restriction was applied in male farmers due to the high proportion of male sprayer. Data was collected by observation and interview. Logistic regression showed protective result of PPE used …

The Influence Of Exclusive Breastfeeding To Emotional Development Of Children Aged 48-60 Months, Yuni Kusmiyati, Sumarah Sumarah, Nurul Dwiawati, Hesty Widyasih, Yani Widyastuti, Khadizah Haji Abdul Mumin

Kesmas

Impaired emotional development is a problem faced by children and this can negatively impact on function, development and readiness of their school. Exclusive breastfeeding is able to meet brain development needs that affect child development. This study aimed to determine correlation between exclusive breastfeeding and emotional development of children aged 48-60 months. This study used historical cohort.The subjects of this study were 7-12-month old infants living in area of Borobudur Primary Health Care Primary Health Care, Central Java Province, Indonesia in 2011-2012. Independent variable of exclusive breastfeeding was when infants received only breast milk without any supplementary food or drink …

Larvicidal Effect Of Mixture Of Beauveria Bassiana Crude Metabolite And Chitinase Enzyme Against Aedes Aegypti Larvae, Dyah Widiastuti, Bina Ikawati, Upik Kesumawati Hadi

Kesmas

Aedes aegypti is a major vector of dengue, a deadly disease causing deaths of millions of people in developing countries, both in urban and rural populations. Aedes aegypti control with chemical insecticide is widely used, and affects on a widespread insecticide resistance. Mosquito biological control was needed to replace the use of chemical insecticide. This study aimed to evaluate larvicidal effect of mixture of Beauveria bassiana crude metabolite and chitinase enzyme against Aedes aegypti larvae. An experimental study using completely Randomized Design was conducted in March-April 2016 at Banjarnegara Research and Development Unit for Zoonosis Control. Biolarvacide formula was made …

Perceived Stigma In People Affected By Leprosy In Leprosy Village Of Sinatala, Tangerang District, Banten Province, Indonesia, Erni Astutik, Dwi Gayatri

Kesmas

Leprosy is a disease of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) which becomes a global problem and causes the perceived stigma in people affected by leprosy. This study aimed to determine most dominant factors affecting perceived stigma in people affected by leprosy in leprosy village of Sitanala, Tangerang District, Banten Province, Indonesia. The data used was secondary data taken from cross-sectional survey of a thesis which determined factors related to perceived stigma of leprosy in leprosy village of Sitanala, Tangerang, Indonesia. Samples were selected by purposive sampling. The results of the study showed that factors related to perceived stigma were level of …

Food Hygiene And Sanitation In Six Food Providers At University X, South Sumatra, Yul Isnadi, Tan Malaka, Hatta Dahlan, Novrikasari Novrikasari

Kesmas

Food provider at university is one of places that needs to implement standards of food hygiene and sanitation (FHS). This study aimed to evaluate and analyze practices of FHS based on Regulation of Health Minister No. 1098 of 2003 and best practices in six food providers at University X. This study used mixed method evaluation with sequential explanatory design through two stages. Stage I was in forms of assessment on six food providers, food handlers and laboratory examination on food and beverage samples as well as on eating utensils. Stage II was in form of focus group discussion (FGD) to …

Factors Causing Contraceptive Acceptors Drop Out, Mufdlilah Mufdlilah, Kanthi Aryekti

Kesmas

Family planning program has a very strategic, comprehensive and fundamental meaning in creating a healthy and prosperous Indonesian human being. However, recently the incidence of drop out is quite high for several reasons. This study was conducted to determine the influential factors that cause acceptors to drop out. It is descriptive research. The populations in the study were contraceptive acceptors who dropped out for 3 consecutive months, and not being pregnant. The numbers of sample were 100 people. The data collection employed closed and open questionnaires; data presented in descriptive form. Influential factors of drop out contraceptive acceptors due to …

Using Art And Story To Explore How Primary School Students In Rural Tanzania Understand Planetary Health: A Qualitative Analysis, Elizabeth Vanwormer, Jesca Mlawa, Elizabeth Komba, Christopher Gustafson, Hilda Mrema, Jenny M. Dauer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background The global planetary health community increasingly recognises the need to prepare students to investigate and address connections between environmental change and human health. As we strive to support education on planetary health themes for students of all ages, understanding students’ concepts of linkages between the health of people and animals, and their shared environments might advance educational approaches. Children living in villages bordering Ruaha National Park in Iringa Region, Tanzania, have direct experience of these connections as they share a water-stressed but biodiverse environment with domestic animals and wildlife. Livelihoods in these villages depend predominantly on crop and livestock …

A Survey Of Aquatic Invertebrate Communities In Nebraska Sandhill Lakes Reveals Potential Alternative Ecosystem States, Mark A. Kaemingk

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Organochlorine Chemical Residues In Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis Cardinalis) Eggs From Greater Washington, Dc Usa, Christopher J. Schmitt, Kathy E. Echols, Paul H. Peterman, Carl E. Orazio, K. Christiana Grim, Shirlee Tan, Nora E. Diggs, Peter P. Marra

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Northern Cardinal eggs from six neighborhoods near Washington DC were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and PCBs. All compounds were detected more frequently and at higher concentrations in more heavily urbanized neighborhoods. DDT (mostly as p,pʹ-DDE) was detected in all neighborhoods. p,pʹ-DDT was typically 0.5‒16 ng/g (ww) in most suburban neighborhoods but was not detected (< 0.1 ng/g) in more rural areas; however, p,pʹ-DDT was 127‒1130 ng/g in eggs from two suburban Maryland nests and comprised 65.7% of total p,pʹ-DDT isomers in the most contaminated sample, indicating recent exposure to un-weathered DDT. Total chlordane (sum of 5 compounds) was 2‒70 ng/g; concentrations were greatest in older suburban neighborhoods. Total PCB (sum of detected congeners) was < 5‒21 ng/g. Congener patterns were similar in all neighborhoods and resembled those typical of weathered mixtures. Results indicate that wildlife remains exposed to low concentrations of legacy contaminants in suburban neighborhoods and that cardinal eggs can be used to monitor local- ized contamination.

A Behavioral Analysis Of Households Using Reclaimed Water In Irrigation: Case Of Pinellas County, Florida, Natalie Kuraya-Ziyadeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to tend to the world’s dwindling freshwater supplies, sustainable alternative methods need to be integrated in order to keep up with the world’s increasing demand. Reclaimed water (RW) is one of the sustainable methods adopted by some Floridian cities such as Tampa, Tallahassee, and St. Pete that provide an alternative water source for non-potable uses. However, despite this alleviating effect RW has on freshwater supplies, it is crucial to recognize the potential harm it poses on neighboring waterbodies due to the residual contaminants it still contains, including Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorous (P). As such, studying residents’ knowledge and …