Digital Commons Network^™

Support For Drought Response And Community Preparedness: Filling The Gaps Between Plans And Action, Kelly Helm Smith, Crystal J. Stiles, Michael Hayes, Christopher Carparelli

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

This chapter examines which levels of government handle various aspects of drought, as well as interactions between levels of government, providing examples from states across the western United States. It also takes a look at aspects of drought that fall outside traditional lines of authority and disciplinary boundaries. As part of a discussion on how states support local drought response, the chapter details and contrasts how California and Colorado track public water supply restrictions, and describes Colorado’s process for incorporating input from river basins across the state into its water plan. Case studies focus on drought planning in the Klamath …

To Jump Or Not To Jump: Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) And White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Crossing Decisions, Emily N. Burkholder

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

There have been recent efforts to enhance ungulate movement through modified fencing structures. Ungulates such as mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) typically negotiate fences by either jumping over fencing or going under. Here we examine crossing success and crossing decisions of mule deer and white-tailed deer and determine factors that influence crossing success and the impending decision to jump over or crawl underneath fencing. Using a BACI (Before-After-Control-Impact) design, we deployed remote cameras along fence lines in three study areas; Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield and OneFour research center in Southeastern Alberta, …

Home Vegetable Gardening In Kentucky [2016], Richard Durham, Shubin Saha, John Strang, Mark A. Williams, Shawn Wright, Ricardo Bessin, Brad Lee, Emily Pfeufer

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Every aspiring gardener should follow seven steps to have a successful gardening season:

1. Plan your garden on paper before you begin.
2. Select a good gardening site that is:
   a. in full sun for at least eight hours each day,
   b. relatively level,
   c. well‑drained,
   d. close to a water source,
   e. dries quickly from morning dew.
3. Prepare the soil properly, conduct a soil test, and add fertilizer and lime according to U.K. test result recommendations.
4. Plan only as large a garden as you can easily maintain. Beginning gardeners often overplant, and then they fail because they cannot keep up with …

The Impact Of Information Technology On Patient Engagement And Health Behavior Change: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Suhila Sawesi, Mohamed Rashrash, Kanitha Phalakornkule, Janet S. Carpenter, Josette F. Jones

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Advancements in information technology (IT) and its increasingly ubiquitous nature expand the ability to engage patients in the health care process and motivate health behavior change.

Objective: Our aim was to systematically review the (1) impact of IT platforms used to promote patients’ engagement and to effect change in health behaviors and health outcomes, (2) behavior theories or models applied as bases for developing these interventions and their impact on health outcomes, (3) different ways of measuring health outcomes, (4) usability, feasibility, and acceptability of these technologies among patients, and (5) challenges and research directions for implementing …

Late Quaternary Paleoceanographic Evolution Of The Aegean Sea: Planktonic Foraminifera And Stable Isotopes, Ekrem Bursi̇n İşler, Ali̇ Engi̇n Aksu, Richard Nicholas Hiscott

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Aspects of the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic evolution of the Aegean Sea since ~130 ka are revealed by quantitative variations in planktonic faunal assemblages, the Δ18O and Δ13C isotopic composition of benthic and planktonic foraminifera, and Mg/Ca ratios in planktonic foraminifera extracted from five 6-10-m-long piston cores. Independent sea surface temperature (SST) estimates obtained using planktonic foraminiferal transfer functions and the Mg/Ca ratios show excellent agreement, with r2 correlation coefficients of 0.92-0.95. Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages are similar, through time, across several deep basins, suggesting that major changes must have occurred in near synchroneity across the Aegean Sea. The data suggest that …

Effect Of Oil And Natural Gas Development On Survival And Health Of White-Tailed Deer In The Western Dakotas, Katherine L. Moratz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oil and gas development in North Dakota has resulted in the need for information regarding how increased activity has affected white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations. We evaluated white-tailed deer ecology in response to energy development and hypothesized that oil and gas development would negatively affect adult and neonate white-tailed deer due to increased vehicle traffic and human-related effects. We captured and radio-collared adult female and neonate white-tailed deer across three study areas: Dunn County, North Dakota, an area influenced by energy development, and Grant County, North Dakota, and Perkins County, South Dakota, areas not impacted by energy development at this …

A Comparison Of The Utility Of Craniometric And Dental Morphological Data For Assessing Biodistance And Sex-Differential Migration In The Pacific Islands, Brittney A. Eubank

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Genetic analysis of maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA and the paternally-inherited Y-chromosome yield contrasting pictures of movement of peoples into the Pacific Islands. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is a matrilocal residency pattern practiced by early Pacific settlers, in which Melanesian men were brought into settler communities to intermarry with local women, yielding a higher intrapopulation variance and lower interpopulation variance exhibited in males compared to females. This research investigates the possibility of sex-differential migration in the Oceanic populations of Easter Island, Fiji, Guam, Mokapu, and New Britain through analysis of biodistance based on dental morphological trait frequencies and craniometric measures …

Pharmaceutical And Personal Care Products Concentrations In The Belgrade Lakes: A Possible Threat To Aquatic Ecosystems And Human Health, Serena Haver

Honors Theses

Pharmaceuticals and active ingredients from personal care products (PPCPs) include prescription and over-the-counter drugs, sunscreen, fragrances, and soaps. Recently researchers have detected PPCPs in surface waters, posing a threat to aquatic biota and human health. These compounds can enter the environment through dumping, direct excretion, or sewage effluent streams. We tested 14 water samples from East Pond, Great Pond, and Long Pond in Maine for the presence of 23 different PPCPs. Of those, we only detected significant levels of caffeine, 1,7-dimethylxanthine, and amphetamine all below 1µg/L. There were no significant differences between any of the three lakes for any of …

White-Rot Fungi As Pretreatment Agents For Wood Destined For Biofuel Applications, Ryan M. Kalinoski

Masters Theses

Efficient and economical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels is often hampered by the chemical recalcitrance of the material. Inexpensive and environmentally-friendly pretreatment processes are therefore desirable in order to lower the cost of biofuel production and minimize negative environmental impacts. To that end, we have explored the use of a naturally occurring white-rot fungus, Trametes versicolor, as a direct pretreatment agent for hardwood destined for biofuel applications. Specifically, we examined the pretreatment effects on the hardwood mixture after treatment with the wild-type strain of T. versicolor (52J) compared with those from a cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH)-deficient strain (m4D) , …

Vanadium Toxicological Potential Versus Its Pharmacological Activity: New Developments And Research, Agnieszka Ścibior, Juan Llopis, Alvin A. Holder, Mario Altamirano-Lozano

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Scibior, A., Llopis, J., Holder, A. A., & Altamirano-Lozano, M. (2016). Vanadium toxicological potential versus its pharmacological activity: New developments and research. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2016, 1-2. doi: 10.1155/2016/7612347

Ice Concentration Linked With Extractive Stirrer (Icecles), Nujud Omar Maslamani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Clean water is very important for human health. Therefore, drinking water contamination is a significant research concern, especially with the increasing global population. Some contaminants, such as pesticides, can cause health effects even at low levels. Therefore, trace and ultratrace analysis of contaminants in drinking water is essential. Ultratrace analysis typically requires highly effective sample preparation methods and/or highly sensitive instruments. There are currently advanced sample preparations techniques available to analytical chemists that may allow trace analysis of certain analytes. These include liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid phase extraction (SPE), solid phase micro extraction (SPME), and stir bar sorpitive extraction (SBSE). …

Modeling Spatially Varying Effects Of Chemical Mixtures, Jenna Czarnota

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer incidence is associated with exposures to multiple environmental chemicals, and geographic variation in cancer rates suggests the importance of accommodating spatially varying effects in the analysis of environmental chemical mixtures and disease risk. Traditional regression methods are challenged by the complex correlation patterns inherent among co-occurring chemicals, and the applicability of geographically weighted regression models is limited in the setting of environmental chemical risk analysis. In comparison to traditional methods, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression performs well in the identification of important environmental exposures, but is limited by the assumption that effects are fixed over space. We present an …

Current Status Of Falcon Populations In Saudi Arabia, Albara M. Binothman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Falcons (Falco spp.) are widely used for falconry in the countries of the Middle East. During the 2015 breeding season, we surveyed historic and active nest sites of Barbary (Falco pelegrinoides pelegrinoides) and Lanner (F. biarmicus) Falcons in Saudi Arabia. Field and questionnaire surveys were conducted and personal contact with falconers was made to document the current distribution and price changes for Lanner Falcons, Barbary Falcons, Saker Falcons (F. cherrug), Peregrine Falcons (F. peregrinus), Gyrfalcons (F. rusticolus), and Hybrid Falcons in Saudi Arabia. We categorized our survey into three geographic groups; southwest (A), northwest (B), and central (C) regions of …

Environmentally Benign Extraction Processes In Analytical Separation Of Essential Oils, John Kiratu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technology has been well received as an environmentally friendly processing technique. Over the last two decades, its use in many processing industries has tremendously advanced. This is as a result of pressure from regulating bodies aimed at reducing the wide-scale use of organic solvents due to negative environmental impacts. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is considered to be environmentally benign and has been used in the development of a wide-range of alternative processes in various industries to totally or partially eliminate the use of organic solvents. Conventional processes for essential oil extraction involve steam distillation and organic …

Worldwide Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma Incidences Analyzed By Sex, Age, And Skin Type Over Time (1955–2007): Is Hpv Infection Of Androgenic Hair Follicular Melanocytes A Risk Factor For Developing Melanoma Exclusively In People Of European-Ancestry?, Stephen Merrill, Madhan Subramanian, Dianne E. Godar

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

The cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) incidence has been increasing in an exponential manner in certain populations around the world for over 7 decades. To help illuminate the etiology, we performed worldwide temporal (1955–2007) CMM incidence analysis by sex, age (0–14, 15–29, 30–49, 50–69, 70–85+), and skin type on 6 continents using data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. We observe an exponential increase in the CMM incidence over time and an increase of about 2 orders of magnitude between age groups 0–14 and 15–29 exclusively in European-ancestry populations around the world independent of skin type (I–III or III–IV). …

An Investigation Of The Uptake, Distribution, And Accumulation Of Lead And Other Trace Elements In Caprine Brain Tissues Using Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Amy Joanna Steuerwald

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Exposure to toxic elements and dysregulation of essential elements have been implicated in neurodegenerative disorders. Despite the importance of trace elements in neurological function, little is known regarding their uptake and distribution within brain tissues. Even less is known regarding the impact of toxic metal exposure (i.e., Pb) on endogenous metals within the brain.

Persuasion In Online Communication : Automation And Counteraction, Samira Shaikh Shaikh

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this thesis, we studied persuasion in online communication and how to automate

Soil Properties Affect Establishment Of Invasive Species, Celastrus Orbiculatus, In A Lower Hudson River Riparian Ecosystem, Shabana Hoosein Hoosein

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Hudson River Estuary has been colonized by numerous terrestrial invasive plant species, due in part to its history of anthropogenic and natural disturbance riparian dynamics. This study investigates the spatial patterns of a widespread invasion by Oriental (or Asiatic) bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.) in Schodack Island State Park, Rensselaer and Columbia Counties. The Park is home to rare species and communities, several of which are threatened by the encroachment of bittersweet. Bittersweet populations were mapped and surveyed on a fixed grid throughout the island, to determine distribution patterns. Stem densities were approximately 50% higher in sites with dredged material …

Picking Up The Slackline: Can The United States And Japan Successfully Regulate Commercial Fishing Of Bluefin Tuna Following Failed Intergovernmental Attempts?, Sarah E. Bauer

Indiana Law Journal

Part I of this Note will address the reasons why intergovernmental organizations have failed to adequately regulate the commercial fishing of Bluefin tuna. Part II offers an analysis of the Bluefin markets in the United States and Japan and argues that these countries are ideal candidates for successful Bluefin regulation because of their market structures. Part III explores the likelihood that the two countries would implement such regulations, taking into account the respective governments’ histories of species-specific regulation.

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Modulates Trichomonas 1 Vaginalis Activity, Travis Korosh, Kelsey D. Jordan, Ja-Shin Wu, Nigel Yarlett, Rita K. Upmacis

Faculty Papers and Publications

Trichomonas vaginalis is a sexually transmitted parasite and, while it is often asymptomatic in 50 males, the parasite is associated with disease in both sexes. Metronidazole is an effective 51 treatment for trichomoniasis, but resistant strains have evolved and, thus, it has become 52 necessary to investigate other possible therapies. In this study, we examined the effects of native 53 and oxidized forms of the sodium salts of eicosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic and arachidonic 54 acids on T. vaginalis activity. Eicosapentaenoic acid was the most toxic with 190 μM and 380 55 μM causing approximately 90% cell death in Casu2 and ATCC …

A Novel Ion-Imprinted Polymeric Sorbent For Separation And Determination Of Chromium(Iii) Species In Wastewater, Barbara Lesniewska, Iwona Jakubowska, Elzbieta Zambrzycka, Beata Godlewska - Zylkiewicz

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

A new chromium(III) ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) was prepared from a Cr(III)-nicotinate complex (template), acrylamide (functional monomer), and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (cross-linking agent) using 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile as the radical initiator. IIP was characterised and used as a selective sorbent for the solid-phase extraction of Cr(III) ions. The conditions for dynamic separation of Cr(III) on IIP were optimised. Cr(III) ions are selectively retained on the sorbent in a pH range from 9 to 10 and can be eluted with 4 mol L$^{-1}$ acetic acid. Cr(III) ions were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) with a detection limit of 0.08 $\mu $g mL$^{-1}$. …

Patuxent’S Long-Term Research On Wolves, David L. Mech

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) was one of the first species placed on the Endangered Species List in 1967. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 legally protected the wolf along with other listed species. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Patuxent) in Laurel, MD, began its Endangered Wildlife Program in 1966, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologist Ray Erickson was assigned to lead it. In 1973, I was transferred to the program from Region 3 of the USFWS, having been employed there since 1969 to study wolves in Minnesota. Endangered Species Act protection of the wolf fostered its …

Mass Spectrometry-Based Protein Profiling And Investigations Of Tgf-Ss1-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Signatures In Namru Murine Mammary Gland Epithelial Cells, Matsepo Ramaboli

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second-most common cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Despite advances in cancer early detection, prevention and treatment, breast cancer is still a major health challenge due to low survival caused by breast cancer metastasis. This warrants critical attention and intervention. From the proteomic standpoint, a protein-based multiplex system that provides large array of informative signals for cancer identification and prognosis is still limited. In this dissertation work, we developed two mass spectrometry-based strategies involving chemical biology tools for rapid protein fingerprinting of breast cancer cell lines, and for probing the O-linked N-acetylglucosamine …

Success Stories And Emerging Themes In Conservation Physiology, Christine L. Madliger, Steven J. Cooke, Erica J. Crespi, Jennifer L. Funk, Kevin R. Hultine, Kathleen E. Hunt, Jason R. Rohr, Brent J. Sinclair, Cory D. Suski, Craig K. R. Willis, Oliver P. Love

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The potential benefits of physiology for conservation are well established and include greater specificity of management techniques, determination of cause–effect relationships, increased sensitivity of health and disturbance monitoring and greater capacity for predicting future change. While descriptions of the specific avenues in which conservation and physiology can be integrated are readily available and important to the continuing expansion of the discipline of ‘conservation physiology’, to date there has been no assessment of how the field has specifically contributed to conservation success. However, the goal of conservation physiology is to foster conservation solutions and it is therefore important to assess whether …

A Flipped Classroom Redesign In General Chemistry, Scott A. Reid

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

The flipped classroom continues to attract significant attention in higher education. Building upon our recent parallel controlled study of the flipped classroom in a second-term general chemistry course (J. Chem. Educ., 2016, 93, 13–23), here we report on a redesign of the flipped course aimed at scaling up total enrollment while keeping discussion sizes small (i.e.,students), and maintaining equivalent contact hour load for faculty and workload for students. To that end, the course format featured lecture contact pushed outside of the classroom in the form of video lectures (mean duration 13 minutes) paired with online …

The Role Of Microbial Exopolymers In Determining The Fate Of Oil And Chemical Dispersants In The Ocean, Antonietta Quigg, Uta Passow, Wei-Chun Chin, Chen Xu, Shawn Doyle, Laura Bretherton, Manoj Kamalanathan, Alicia K. Williams, Jason B. Sylvan, Zoe V. Finkel, Anthony H. Knap, Kathleen A. Schwehr, Saijin Zhang, Luni Sun, Terry L. Wade, Wassim Obeid, Patrick G. Hatcher, Peter H. Santschi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by planktonic microbes can influence the fate of oil and chemical dispersants in the ocean through emulsification, degradation, dispersion, aggregation, and/or sedimentation. In turn, microbial community structure and function, including the production and character of EPS, is influenced by the concentration and chemical composition of oil and chemical dispersants. For example, the production of marine oil snow and its sedimentation and flocculent accumulation to the seafloor were observed on an expansive scale after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Northern Gulf of Mexico in 2010, but little is known about the underlying …

Statistical Methods For Environmental Exposure Data Subject To Detection Limits, Yuchen Yang

Theses and Dissertations--Statistics

In this dissertation, we develop unified and efficient nonparametric statistical methods for estimating and comparing environmental exposure distributions in presence of detection limits. In the first part, we propose a kernel-smoothed nonparametric estimator for the exposure distribution without imposing any independence assumption between the exposure level and detection limit. We show that the proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normal. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed estimator performs well in practical situations. A colon cancer study is provided for illustration. In the second part, we develop a class of test statistics to compare exposure distributions between two groups by using …

Regional Variations Of Optimal Sowing Dates Of Maize For The Southwestern U.S., Boksoon Myoung, Seung Hee Kim, Jinwon Kim, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Sowing date (SD) is sensitive to regional climate characteristics; thus, it is critical to systematically examine the effects of SD on crop yields for various temperature regimes. We performed a sensitivity study of SD for maize in the southwestern U.S. using the regionally extended version of the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) model. The model was run utilizing North American Regional Reanalysis at a 32 km resolution from 1991 to 2011, with an irrigation threshold at 95% of the soil water-holding capacity. Two types of SD optimizations maximizing yield potential (Yp), varying spatially or interannually, revealed that the optimal SD …

Evaluating The Effects Of The Phytohormone Indole-3-Acetic Acid In The Response Of Green Pea (Pisum Sativum L.) To Nanoscale Cuo Exposure In Soil, Loren Ochoa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The response of plants to copper oxide nanoparticles (nCuO) in presence of the phytohormones such as IAA, is unknown. In this study, green pea (Pisum sativum) plants were cultivated to full maturity in soil amended with nCuO, CuO bulk (bCuO), and CuCl2 at 50 and 100 mg/kg and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at 10 and 100 µM. Several analytical techniques were used to evaluate the effects of treatments in the agronomical, physiological, and biochemical effects of treatments. Results showed that only CuCl2 reduced root length and number of leaves. Root copper (Cu) increased in plants exposed to nCuO without IAA; however, …

Development And Evaluation Of A Habitat Suitability Model For White-Tailed Deer In An Agricultural Landscape, Eric Anstedt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are an ecological, economical, and socially significant species that occupy a variety of ecoregions. White-tailed deer are mobile habitat generalists that prefer habitats containing woody cover. Deer have successfully adapted to habitat-fragmented, agricultural landscapes. As a result, deer are not uniformly distributed across intensively cultivated areas, which make field surveys difficult with often highly variable spatial data. To increase sampling efficiency (deer observed / sampling effort), the landscape can be stratified based upon preferred habitat types. Habitat suitability models (HSI) have been used to represent hypothesized wildlife-habitat relationships, and therefore the likelihood of deer being observed …