Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Microbial Sampling From Eutrophic Caves In Slovenia And Slovakia Using Rida ®Count Test Kits, Janez Mulec, Václav Krištůfek, Alica Chroňáková

International Journal of Speleology

RIDA®COUNT test plates were used as an easy-to-handle and rapid indicator of microbial counts in karst ecosystems of several caves in Slovakia and Slovenia. All of the caves had a high organic input from water streams, tourists, roosting bat colonies or terrestrial surroundings. We sampled swabs, water and air samples to test robustness and universality of the RIDA®COUNT test kit (R-Biopharm AG, Germany, http://www.r-biopharm.com/) for quantification of total bacteria, coliforms, yeast and mold. Using data from swabs (colony-forming units per cm²) we proposed a scale for description of biocontamination level or superficial microbial load of cave niches. Based …

Statistical Estimation Of Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Models: Identifiability, Variation, And Uncertainty With An Illustration Of Chronic Exposure To Dioxin And Dioxin-Like-Compounds., Zachary John Thompson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Assessment of human exposure to environmental chemicals is inherently subject to uncertainty and variability. There are data gaps concerning the inventory, source, duration, and intensity of exposure

as well as knowledge gaps regarding pharmacokinetics in general. These gaps result in uncertainties in exposure assessment.

The uncertainties compound further with variabilities due to population variations regarding stage of life, life style, and susceptibility,

etc. Use of physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models promises to reduce the uncertainties and enhance extrapolation between species, between routes, from high to low dose, and from acute to chronic exposure. However, fitting PBPK models is challenging because of …

Elk Hunting On Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge: Impacts On Elk Movement And Aspen Regeneration, Christopher E. Dwight

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"In the arid West, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) cover less than 10% of the forest landscape, yet support a disproportionate diversity of native plants and animals. When elk (Cervus elaphus) become overabundant, browsing prevents aspen regeneration, reduces survival, and consequently impacts local biodiversity. Given this, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) initiated a limited annual elk hunt beginning in fall 2010. This study examines whether the hunt affected elk usage of the refuge and, indirectly, aspen growth and regeneration. To determine elk movement and usage of the refuge prior to and following the elk hunt, 34 radio-collared cow elk were monitored …

Spatial Analysis Of Fatal Automobile Crashes In Kentucky, William Nathan Oris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fatal automobile crashes have claimed the lives of over 33,000 people each year in the United States since 1995. As in any point event, fatal crash events do not occur randomly in time or space. The objectives of this study were to identify spatial patterns and hot spots in FARS (Fatal Analysis Reporting System) fatal crash events based on temporal and demographic characteristics. The methods employed included 1) rate calculation using FARS points and average daily traffic flow; 2) planar kernel density estimation of FARS crash events based on temporal and demographic attributes within the data; and 3) two case …

An Inquiry Regarding The Development Of An Effectual Architecture Framework Supporting Next Generation 9-1-1, Patrick Purdy

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The emergency 9-1-1 service is a vital part of our nation"â„¢s emergency response and disaster preparedness systems. At last count there were 6100 Public Safety Answering Points across the United States, 97 of those reside in the State of Colorado, and the citizens of the United States cannot email, text, or instant message these types of non-traditional communication to those Public Safety Answering Points due to technological limitations. The trends in personal communication technologies are accelerating the obsolescence of the current 9-1-1 systems. The Public Safety Answering Point of today is designed to accept and process voice media only; and …

Modeling And Simulation Of Hpc System Through Job Scheduling Analysis, William Bradley Hurst

Theses and Dissertations

The sophistication of the devices through which a man shapes his world are the tool-marks of his development upon history. One device currently shaping the lives of man is the High Performance Computer (HPC) system. HPC systems have been described as ``a game changing technology (King and BusinessWeek, 2010).'' The reason for HPC systems to be declared ``a game changing technology (King and BusinessWeek, 2010)'' comes from the fact that it is cheaper for a manufacturer to conduct thousands of tests in virtual space, than it is to try multiple experimental designs in the physical world. Through capabilities of HPC …

Assessing Ageing At Beaver Reservoir, Northwest Arkansas: Limnological, Geochemical & Paleolimnological Approach, Byron Anthony Winston

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Access to potable water has been arguably one of the most important requisites for the advancement of human civilization on earth. As a result, man in his infinite wisdom devised the dam and formed reservoirs, (man- made lakes), to exploit water resources at will. In all natural lakes and reservoirs changes occur in the water quality parameters as it relates to chemical nutrients, temperature and turbidity over time. These changes are collectively referred to as "Reservoir Ageing", of which sedimentation and eutrophication are primary. Reservoir Ageing has consequences which adversely affect and defeat many of the intended uses of the …

Mapping The River Kilometers Of Potential Daylighting Projects In Northeast New Jersey, Omoniyi Ayodeji Asaolu

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

A river offers many benefits to people who live near it, including transportation, a source of food, waste disposal, and water resources for consumption. Because of these advantages many great cities were built around rivers impacting rivers in many ways. While the effects of urban development on water quality have long been studied, this study measures how development has caused streams to disappear from the landscape. It was observed that some streams were buried due to negative impacts of urbanization. Public safety and flood control were some of the reasons these streams were buried, but with the advent of green …

A Mathematician Weighs In On The Evolution Debate, Kris H. Green

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

There are a variety of reasons underlying the lack of public acceptance for the theory of evolution in the United States. An overlooked cause is related to problems with the mathematics curriculum in the K-12 setting. In this essay, we examine this relationship and propose changes to the mathematics curriculum that could improve mathematical thinking while also providing a basis for understanding theories, like evolution, that are poorly understood.

An Information Technology (It) Based Approach For Enhancing Prompt And Effective Post-Disaster Reconstruction, Faisal Manzoor Arain

Business Review

Information technology (IT) has become strongly established as a supporting tool for many professional tasks in recent years. One application of IT, namely the knowledge management system, has attracted significant attention requiring further exploration as it has the potential to enhance processes, based on the expertise of the decision-makers. A knowledge management system can undertake intelligent tasks in a specific domain that is normally performed by highly skilled people. Typically, the success of such a system relies on the ability to represent the knowledge for a particular subject. Post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation is a complex issue with several dimensions. Government, …

Geoenabling A Rural Community Through Web Gis: A Case Study Of The City Of Hays, Ellis County Kansas, Eamonn W. Coveney

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The objective of this study was to describe the internet GIS implementation in the City of Hays and Ellis County, Kansas, then compare it to examples of implementation from other similar communities. Geospatial resources were consolidated from both agencies and used to develop two web mapping applications for employee and public access. Both mapping applications were developed on the ArcGIS Server platform using the .NET Web Application Developer Framework. In addition, a HTML website was developed to accommodate common data requests and an online map repository. The implementation approach of the City of Hays and Ellis County is similar to …

Complex Vs Profiles To 100 M Depth From Rayleigh Waves And 3-D Vs Model For Las Vegas Valley, Helena Murvosh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A three-dimensional (3-D) shear wave velocity (VS) model was developed for the heterogeneous shallow sediments (to nearly 400 m) of the Las Vegas Valley (LVV), Nevada. The model was based on more than 200 VS profiles and 1400 geologic well logs. Five sediment units including a cemented unit were defined from geologic log descriptions. A characteristic VS profile for four of the units was obtained by correlating between closely spaced pairs of VS and sediment data; a constant VS was assigned to the cemented unit. VS profiles were then assigned to each well location based on type of sediment according …

Mathematical Modeling Of Metamaterials, Valjean Elizabeth Elander

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Metamaterials are artificially structured nano materials with negative refraction index. The successful construction of such metamaterials in 2000 triggered a great interest in study of metamaterials by researchers from different areas. The discovery of metamaterials opened a wide potential for applications in diverse areas such as cloaking, sub-wavelength imaging, solar cell design and antennas.

In this thesis, we investigate the most popular Drude metamaterial model. More specifically, we first present a brief overview of metamaterials and their potential applications, then we discuss the well-posedness of this model, and develop several numerical schemes to solve it. We implement our schemes using …

Service Delivery Utilizing Wireless Technology Within The Air Traffic Control Communication And Navigation Domain To Improve Positioning Awareness, Samuel Durbin

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Current air traffic levels around the world have pushed the enterprise architecture deployed to support air traffic management to the breaking point. Technology limitations prevent expansion of the current solutions to handle rising utilization levels without adopting radically different information delivery approaches. Meanwhile, an architectural transition would present the opportunity to support business and safety requirements that are not currently addressable. The purpose of this research paper is to create a framework for more effectively sharing positioning information utilizing improved air traffic control navigation and communication systems.

A Modeling And Simulation Framework For Electrokinetic Nanoparticle Treatment, James Phillips

Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this research is to model and provide a simulation framework for the packing of differently sized spheres within a hard boundary. The novel contributions of this dissertation are the cylinders of influence (COI) method and sectoring method implementations. The impetus for this research stems from modeling electrokinetic nanoparticle (EN) treatment, which packs concrete pores with differently sized nanoparticles. We show an improved speed of the simulation compared to previously published results of EN treatment simulation while obtaining similar porosity reduction results. We mainly focused on readily, commercially available particle sizes of 2 nm and 20 nm particles, …

The Update, April/May 2011, University Of Northern Iowa. College Of Humanities, Arts And Sciences.

Update

Inside this issue:

-- UNI's Concert Chorale Makes it to Manhattan
-- Department News
-- Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education
-- The Philosophy Students Club
-- Urinetown: The Musical
-- ADAI Awards
-- School of Music Events
-- Student Spotlight: Earth Science: Kerri Dickey
-- Student Spotlight: Health Promotion: Yaw Kyeremateng
-- 2011 Yager Exemplary Science and Mathematics Teaching Award
-- Textbook Buyback Battle
-- Goldwater Scholarship Honorable Mention
-- Regional Physics Olympics Competition Held at UNI
-- Fulbright Recipient Explores Culture
-- Botanical Center Plant Sale
-- 2011 University Book and Supply Outstanding Teaching Award
-- In Memory …

Maine It Workforce Skills Management : A Study For The Maine State Department Of Labor, David F. Bantz Phd, C. Daniel Paradis, Glenn Wilson

Faculty Publications

Executive Summary:

From August 2010 to February 2011 personnel from Information and Innovation at the University of Southern Maine have conducted a study of IT skills needed, possessed and taught in Maine. The goals of this study were to provide fine-grained information to the Maine state Department of Labor to facilitate their workforce development activities.

This study concerns the skills sought after by employers, possessed by unemployed and employed workers and taught in education and training establishments with a "bricks and mortar" presence in Maine. It relied on data created by third parties and by study personnel. Anecdotal evidence was …

Combating Biological Terrorism From Imported Food, Jeffrey S. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a threat that a terrorist or terrorist organization will use access to the US food supply to kill or sicken Americans by contaminating imported food products from Mexico. The food that Americans eat is coming more and more often from foreign countries such as Mexico. Foodborne diseases infect nearly fifty million people in the US each year, resulting in over three thousand deaths. There are many terrorist organizations that would like to deliberately contaminate American food. Drug cartels and terrorist organizations currently operate in Mexico, one of the leading food importers into the US. The purpose of this …

The Update, March 2011, University Of Northern Iowa. College Of Humanities, Arts And Sciences.

Update

Inside this issue:

-- The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education: Spring Events
-- 2011 UNI Clarinet Symposium
-- Department News
-- UNI Gallery of Arts Presents Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition
-- In Memory of Jürgen Koppensteiner, German Professor
-- Student Spotlight: Theatre: Rachel Russell
-- Student Spotlight: Computer Science: Katelyn Haw
-- 2010 Seed Grant Proposals
-- Why Felly
-- Memorial Program Planned for Susan Allbee
-- Womens History Month: Save the Date
-- Science Education Resource Center
-- School of Music Events
-- UNI Department of Art Presents First Annual Art History Symposium: Arts and Sciences
-- …

Youth Initiative Hector’S Helpers: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering November 11, 2010 – February 10, 2011, Hector's Helpers

Anti-littering Programs

The Hector’s Helpers program provides an opportunity to bring environmental education and foster a sense of stewardship to students. We supply a once a week hands-on curriculum which includes a litter clean-up fieldtrip. Students learn general environmental concepts such as community, conservation, recycling, and litter prevention. They will also have access to Geographic Information Systems and Podcast technology. Through the use of GIS and Podcasts we hope to get community members to collect data and prevent litter and desert dumping. The students also participated in a marketing campaign for the Adopt-A-Block initiative. By participating in the Hector’s Helpers program, the …

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending January 10, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV participated in three project workshops and one additional meeting to assist in planning and design of the future WBR museum and field/research station.
• Weather station progress included design of programming software that will provide past weather information to website user, two abstracts have been submitted to an energy sustainability meeting, and a paper reviewing energy efficient building envelope components has been prepared and submitted for publication.
• Work has begun on a new education project titled “Multimedia Field Guides for Public Engagement at Walking Box Ranch, Mojave Desert.” The project will develop and disseminate a modern geological and environmental field …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 53 Number 1, Summer 2011, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

18 - WHAT DO INVESTORS REALLY WANT? By Meir Statman. A renowned behavioral finance expert reveals how our desires shape our actions when it comes to investing. (Hint: It's not just money that we're after.)

20 - LAW AT 100. A century of legal education at SCU. See snapshots from across the years-and look at the big picture of how the legal landscape has changed

22 - THE BIG IDEA!: Michael S. Malone '75, MBA '77 on Silicon Valley high tech gold and a brief history of intellectual property law.

24 - WOMEN'S WORK: Stephanie M. Wildman on jobs, the …

Ua3/9/2 I.T. Division Annual Report + Tactical Plan, Wku Information Technology

WKU Administration Documents

Annual report of WKU Information Technology Division submitted to WKU President Gary Ransdell. Report is housed in UA3/9/2 Subject Files.

Space Weather And Technological Impacts, Jennifer L. Meehan, G. Fisher, W. Murtagh

All Physics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Eastern Ichigan University Graduate Catalog, 2011-2012, Office Of The Registrar

Graduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

A Climatological Analysis Of Heatbursts In Oklahoma (1994–2009), Renee A. Mcpherson, Justin D. Lane, Kenneth C. Crawford, William G. Mcpherson Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Heatbursts are characterized by a sudden and highly localized increase in air temperature, a simultaneous decrease in relative humidity and dewpoint temperature, and strong gusty winds, typically associated with decaying thunderstorms. The small spatial extent and short duration of most heatbursts makes detailed study of these events difficult using the standard federal observation network (e.g. hourly observations) established in most countries. Thus, many discussions of heatbursts note that they are ‘rare’ phenomena. However, observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet indicate that although heatbursts are meso-alpha scale phenomena, they are not rare. Using multi-criteria analysis, 207 heatburst events of various magnitudes, areal …

Water Current, Volume 43, No. 1, Winter 2011

Water Current Newsletter

UNL Water Center Becomes Groundwater Guardian

Water Tour Will Visit North Central Nebraska July 12-14

From the Interim Director: Back from the Czech Republic for a Second

Meet the Faculty: Diego Riveros-Iregui, Ph.D., Stephen L. Young, Ph.D.

Free Water and Natural Resources Lectures Continue

North American Invasive Plant Ecology and Management Short Course

Geothermal: Nebraska's Abundant, Renewable, and Clean Energy

WRAP Gets January Updates

Jess Gets 2010 Kremer Groundwater Award

POWER......One Word, Many Definitions

Past Environmental Programs, Water Center Director Passes

EPA Monitoring Hexavalent Chromium

Central Platte NRD, Farmers Work Six Mile Canal Deal

EPA Approves Nebraska's 2010 List of …

Consolidated Public Safety Dispatch Centers: Us Case Studies, Daila Shimek, Scott Winograd, Kimberly Renee Vining

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report includes case studies of consolidated dispatch centers in the United States. Each case study includes descriptions of the governing and operating structure, consolidation process, funding and fee structure, and the successes, challenges and lessons learned by each entity. The results suggest that, although the experiences among consolidated dispatch centers varied, the elements that should contribute to a successful transition are strong leadership, communication with affected employees, ability to compromise, consistency in treatment of employees, development of standard operating procedures, stakeholder inclusion, and beginning consolidation with a clear plan that treats all participants as equal partners.

Consolidated Dispatch Center Feasibility Study: Ohio Case Studies, Daila Shimek, Scott Winograd, Kimberly Renee Vining

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report describes the outcome of case study research of consolidated dispatch centers in the state of Ohio. Each case study includes descriptions of the governing and operating structure, consolidation process, funding and fee structure, and the successes, challenges, and lessons learned by each entity. The results suggest that while the experiences among consolidated dispatch centers varied, the elements that should contribute to a successful transition are building strong relationships, involving a center director and other stakeholders (including affected employees) in the planning process, having a willingness to compromise, providing training for dispatchers developing of standard operating procedures, and establishing …

Feasibility Study Of Consolidating Public Safety Dispatch For The City Of Wooster, City Of Ashland, And Wayne County, Ohio, Daila Shimek, Eugene Kramer, Patrick Johnson, Scott Winograd, Kimberly Renee Vining, Thomas Cozzens, Kevin E. O'Brien

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.