Digital Commons Network^™

Land Cover Effects On Stream Water Chemistry In The Upper Saline River Watershed, Brandy Everett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Non-point source (NPS) pollutants and the conversion of natural areas to anthropogenic uses are one of the most critical stressors on water quality. The Upper Saline River Watershed has seen an increase in anthropogenic land cover over the last two decades, leading it to be previously identified as a 319 NPS priority watershed in Arkansas. This study used publicly available data to assess the magnitude and trends of total nutrients (TN and TP) at both the watershed and site level scale. Results suggest a decrease of 2.6%/yr in TN concentrations and 1.5%/yr in TP concentrations at the watershed scale. While …

The Mongolian Remodeling And The Structure Of Anoplocephalid Cestode Diversity, Mackenzie Grover

All NMU Master's Theses

Ecological disruption plays an important role in structuring diversity of flora, fauna, and their parasites. At the end of the Eocene, climatic change across Asia resulted in a faunal turnover (the Mongolian Remodeling) as rodents diversified and larger mammals declined. Throughout the Oligocene, the landscape in Asia was characterized by episodic climatic and landscape changes resulting in pulses of rodent diversification. The role of historical ecological disruption in Central Asia in structuring the diversity of parasites of small rodents has not been thoroughly investigated. The hyper-diverse Paranoplocephala species complex (family: Anoplocephalidae) infect rodents throughout the Holarctic and present an opportunity …

Impact Of Irrigation Systems On Water Use And Water Productivity: A Case Study Using Aquacrop In Khartoum, Sudan, Abdalhakam Almagzoop

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Masters Project Reports

Water scarcity significantly challenges agricultural productivity in arid regions like Khartoum, Sudan. This study evaluates the impact of three irrigation systems—furrow, sprinkler, and surface drip—on the water use and productivity of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) under different climatic conditions using the AquaCrop model. Simulations were conducted for three representative years: a wet year (2022), a normal year (2015), and a dry year (2018). The results demonstrate that irrigation substantially improved water use efficiency and crop yield compared to non-irrigated (rainfed) conditions. Rainfed crops resulted in lower biomass, harvest index, and yield, particularly in the dry year, highlighting the importance …

Enhancing Water Sustainability In North Africa: Literature Review And Synthesis Of Current Knowledge Gaps In Sudan, Osman M. A. Adam

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Masters Project Reports

This study delves into the critical role of groundwater in addressing global water challenges, with a focus on the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) in north Africa. Groundwater constitutes a source of potable water, irrigation, and industrial use, especially in arid regions where surface water is limited. We analyzed the status of water quantity, withdrawals, recharge, and geological characteristics in the NSAS, specifically in Sudan, Egypt, and Libya. Though the NSAS is largely an untapped resource, water withdrawals from the NSAS in Egypt, Sudan, and Libya are projected to increase substantially from 2000 to 2100 due to population growth, with …

Assessing The Potential For Soil-Mediated Transmission Of Symbiotic Bacteria In The Leaffooted Bug (Leptoglossus Phyllopus), Armeen Nasir

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Recent evidence suggests insects might indirectly provide symbionts to their offspring by releasing them into the soil via feces. We investigated whether this is occurring in the Eastern leaf-footed bug, Leptoglosuss phyllopus. We hypothesized that if adults release viable symbiont cells into their environment, then nymphs will have a higher survival rate, develop faster, and be larger at adulthood when exposed to soil that has been in contact with adult insects for longer. To measure the rate and whether the bugs acquired Caballeronia from the soil, insect nymphs were exposed to soil that had been exposed to a lab colony …

Identification Of Novel Genes Regulating Caenorhabditis Elegans Morphologically Complex Cellelimination, Brenda Amata

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Based Metabolomics, Lipidomics And Epitranscriptomics., Raobo Xu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metabolomics and lipidomics are the comprehensive studies of metabolites and lipids in cells, biological fluids, tissues, or organisms. These distinct chemical fingerprints are left behind by cellular processes. Epitranscriptomics is the field that focuses on examining chemical modifications on RNA molecules at the transcriptome level. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has been widely used in those omics studies. In this dissertation, I developed and applied both untargeted and targeted approaches using LC-MS based various analytical platforms to conduct omics studies. Firstly, I investigated caffeine metabolites in human urine and discovered three potential functional biomarkers to differentiate the stages of alcohol-associated liver …

Net Evaporation-Induced Mangrove Area Loss Across Low-Lying Caribbean Islands, Isamar M. Cortés, Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba, Andre S. Rovai, Robert R. Twilley, Mark Chopping, Temilola Fatoyinbo

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Although mangroves provide many beneficial ecosystem services, such as blue carbon storage and coastal protection, they are currently under threat due to changes in climate conditions, such as prolonged drought exposure. Under drought conditions, evaporation exceeds precipitation and high soil salinities can lead to stunted growth and die-back. To quantify this interplay, we developed a database for low-lying and uninhabited mangrove islands in the Caribbean under various evaporation and precipitation regimes. We extracted physical and biological information from each island using remote sensing techniques and coupled it with a process-based model. We used this database to develop a model that …

Notes From The Director, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, December 2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- Meet Drew Miller
--- Farewell Kendall
--- IWRC Advisory Member Updates
--- Changes Coming to Online Painter Training
--- January Reporting Deadlines
--- IAEP: 30 Years of Supporting Iowa Small Businesses

Synergistic Anticancer Effect Of Pistacia Lentiscus Essential Oils And 5-Fluorouracil Co-Loaded Onto Biodegradable Nanofibers Against Melanoma And Breast Cancer, Obaydah Abd Alkader Alabrahim, Hassan Mohamed El Said Azzazy

Faculty Journal Articles

Chemoresistance and severe toxicities represent major drawbacks of chemotherapy. Natural extracts, including the essential oils of Pistacia lentiscus (PLEO), exhibit substantial anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities where different cancers are reported to dramatically recess following targeting with PLEO. PLEO has promising antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the therapeutic properties of PLEO are restricted by limited stability, bioavailability, and targeting ability. PLEO nanoformulation can maximize their physicochemical and therapeutic properties, overcoming their shortcomings. Hence, PLEO was extracted and its chemical composition was determined by GC–MS. PLEO and 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) were electrospun into poly-ε-caprolactone nanofibers (PCL-NFs), of 290.71 nm to 680.95 nm …

(Featured Artist) The Aromatic Herb Garden, Sophia Samra

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Salvinia Molesta Infestation And The Microbial Ecology Of Wetlands At Caddo Lake, Tx, Usa, Martin Hadsell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wetlands are known to host many beneficial geochemical processes such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. These processes are primarily driven by the microbial communities within a wetland. The establishment of non-native invasive species within wetlands has the potential to alter the once beneficial functionality of wetland microbial communities due to the sensitivity microbes have towards environmental changes. Because of this, several metagenomic studies have been conducted to assess microbial community response to aquatic plant invasion; however, there haven’t been any studies researching the influence of Salvinia molesta (D.S. Mitch.), commonly known as Giant Salvinia, on microbial communities. The goal …

Rare Variants Of Dna Ligase 1 Show Distinct Mechanisms Of Deficiency, Jenna H. Veenstra, Alexandria Chabez, Terrance J. Haanen Iii, Austin Keranen, Charlotte Cunningham-Rundles, Patrick J. O'Brien

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Human DNA ligase 1 (LIG1) performs the final step in DNA repair and recombination pathways by sealing DNA breaks, and it functions as the main replicative ligase. Hypomorphic LIG1 variants R771W and R641L cause immune deficiencies in LIG1 Syndrome patients. In vitro these LIG1 variants have decreased catalytic efficiency and increased abortive ligation and it is not known if either biochemical defect is sufficient on its own to cause immune deficiency. We investigated the enzymatic activity of several new candidate LIG1 Syndrome variants chosen based on their structural proximity to known clinical variants, low minor allele frequency (MAF), high level …

Synthesis Of Novel Chromenone Esters For Biochemical Assays, Andrew Dean Helmerich

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This project details the synthesis of a variety of novel chromenone esters to be used as enzymatic probes. A robust, initial library of 22 chromenone esters was successfully synthesized with differences in chain length, branching, and the incorporation of cyclic and heteroatomic moieties. These new chromenones were fully characterized by 1HNMR, 13CNMR, DEPT HRMS, 19FNMR, and HSQC. The utility of these compounds comes from the fact that they will fluoresce upon cleavage of the ester; thus, this property makes them ideal candidates to be used in the monitoring of enzymatic activity of esterases. Elucidating the enzyme-substrate structure activity relationship (SAR) …

Informing Management Of American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima) In The Carolinas: Evaluating Novel Fish Passage Approaches And Acoustic Tracking Methods, Margaret Gaither

All Theses

Acoustic telemetry is a valuable tool for fisheries scientists to study the movements and migratory behaviors of aquatic organisms. A critical assumption of this method is that tagged fish exhibit similar behaviors and survival rates as their untagged counterparts. To investigate this, we conducted a 12-week laboratory study on adult American Shad (Alosa sapidissima) using gastroesophageal insertion of acoustic transmitters. We implanted 80 fish with dummy transmitters and monitored tag retention and survival. Our analysis, employing a mixed effects Cox’s proportional hazards model, revealed no significant differences in survival between tagged and control fish, regardless of sex. Additionally, …

Thermal Anharmonicity Of Transition Metals: A Case Study Of Tantalum, Bimal K C

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Density functional theory (DFT) is commonly used for evaluating the thermal propertiesand equation of state of solids, usually within the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA). In transition metals, thermodynamic quantities such as the thermal pressure and Gruneisen parameter are poorly reproduced compared with experimental values or with direct computational methods like quantum-molecular dynamics (QMD) simulations. Surprisingly, there has not been to date, a systematic study aimed at understanding the reasons for these discrepancies. Using Tantalum as a case study, we have evaluated the temperature dependence of the phonon frequencies employing Harmonic Ensemble Lattice Dynamics (HELD) combined with classical and quantum molecular dynamics. …

Effect Of Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems On Soil Properties And Microbial Diversity In Soybean Production, Namita Sinha, Brett R. Rushing, Aniruddha Acharya, Shankar Gaapathi Shanmugam

Faculty Publications - Biological Sciences

Integrated crop and livestock systems (ICLSs) have been considered an important management-based decision to improve soil health by carbon sequestration. A two-year study (2019–2021) at CPBES in Newton, MS, was conducted to evaluate the effect of an ICLS on soil microbial diversity in the southeastern region of the USA, representing agroclimatic conditions that are warm and humid. Amplicons targeting bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS2 regions were sequenced. Taxonomic assignment and characterization of microbial diversity were performed using QIIME2®. Soil fungal diversity pattern showed significant difference (alpha diversity, p = 0.031 in 2020 and beta diversity, p = 0.037 …

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Food Sources And Food Insecurity Of Kichwa Farming Families In The Ecuadorian Amazon, Reina Watanabe

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

While the right to food is internationally recognized and the United Nations established the sustainable development goal to end hunger and achieve food security by 2030, many households remain without consistent access to food in 2024. In Latin America, approximately 4 in 10 households were reported as food insecure in 2020 with higher rates in rural and indigenous communities. Rural areas, which have great overlap with indigenous communities in Ecuador, experience disproportionately high levels of poverty and food insecurity compared to urban areas. The most populous indigenous nationality in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the participants of this study are the …

Impact Of Water Ionic Chemistry On Kombucha Fermentation, Katherine A. Thompson-Witrick, Olivia Sundman, Sadie Disselkoen, Nicholas Hanson, Cheyenne Butler, Victoria Jordan, Ian Galbraith, Jada Spake, Seiler Pollock, Drew M. Budner

Chemistry

Kombucha is made by using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) to ferment sweetened tea. This fermentation produces a beverage with a unique aroma and acidic flavor. Kombucha has recently gained popularity in the United States and has been reported to have numerous health benefits. While there is a wide variation in kombucha composition, little is known about the impact water’s chemistry has on the fermentation and the resulting kombucha. Brewing water for kombucha was altered using the following ions: bicarbonate, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and sulfate at different concentrations. Pre-(tea) and post-(kombucha) fermentation (kombucha) products were analyzed for …

Use Of Equine H3n8 Hemagglutinin As A Broadly Protective Influenza Vaccine Immunogen, David Verhoeven, Brett A. Sponseller, James E. Crowe, Sandhya Bangaru, Richard J. Webby, Brian M. Lee

Chemistry

Development of an efficacious universal influenza vaccines remains a long-sought goal. Current vaccines have shortfalls such as mid/low efficacy and needing yearly strain revisions to account for viral drift/shift. Horses undergo bi-annual vaccines for the H3N8 equine influenza virus, and surveillance of sera from vaccinees demonstrated very broad reactivity and neutralization to many influenza strains. Subsequently, vaccinating mice using the equine A/Kentucky/1/1991 strain or recombinant hemagglutinin (HA) induced similar broadly reactive and neutralizing antibodies to seasonal and high pathogenicity avian influenza strains. Challenge of vaccinated mice protected from lethal virus challenges across H1N1 and H3N2 strains. This protection correlated with …

Exploring The Cognitive Sense Of Self In Ai: Ethical Frameworks And Technological Advances For Enhanced Decision-Making, Emily Barnes, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The burgeoning field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly focuses on developing systems capable of self-awareness, merging technological innovation with deep ethical and philosophical considerations. This article explores the cognitive sense of self within AI, examining mechanisms through which AI systems may mirror human-like consciousness and self-perception. Despite significant advances, substantial gaps remain in the understanding and practical implementation of self-aware characteristics in AI, particularly in applying theoretical models and ethical frameworks to real-world scenarios. There is a pressing need for comprehensive research to explore these theoretical underpinnings and translate them into operational systems capable of ethical and adaptable behaviors. This …

Surgical Suturing Skill Assessment Using Estimated Hand Roll Angle From A Deep-Learning Computer Vision Algorithm, Jianxin Gao, Amir Mehdi Shayan, Simar P. Singh, Joe Bible, Ravikiran Singapogu, Richard E. Groff

Publications

This paper proposes a deep-learning computer vision algorithm to estimate hand roll angles for metric-based assessment of surgical suturing skills. The number of rolls metric, previously calculated directly from IMU data, counts the number of hand roll reversals during a single suture. To calculate this metric using computer vision, we apply a deep-learning algorithm that can reliably estimate hand roll angles after training on suturing videos collected on the SutureCoach simulator. Results show that the estimation accuracy of the deep-learning algorithm is robust to different video backgrounds. The number of rolls metrics were used to analyze suturing performance in the …

Creating Place-Based Introductory Geoscience Field Trip Curricula For Indigenous Students, Kitri Spencer

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This project seeks to produce and evaluate a place-based geoscience field trip curriculum along the San Juan River designed for Indigenous students. The Geoscience on the San Juan River field trip uses a “place-based” approach to weave scientific concepts with the cultural knowledge and lived experiences of the students. Learning activities were designed to accommodate a wide range of learning preferences and accessibility needs with the hope of increasing Indigenous enrollment in the geosciences. The lesson plan was tested on June 4^th, 2022 during a guided rafting excursion on the San Juan River for students participating in the …

Rate Coefficients For Rotational State-To-State Transitions In H2O + H2 Collisions As Predicted By Mixed Quantum–Classical Theory, Carolin Joy, Dulat Bostan, Bikramaditya Mandal, Dmitri Babikov

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Aims. A new dataset of collisional rate coefficients for transitions between the rotational states of H₂O collided with H₂ background gas is developed. The goal is to expand over the other existing datasets in terms of the rotational states of water (200 states are included here) and the rotational states of hydrogen (10 states). All four symmetries of ortho- and para-water combined with ortho- and para-hydrogen are considered.

Methods. The mixed quantum–classical theory of inelastic scattering implemented in the code MQCT was employed. A detailed comparison with previous datasets was conducted to ensure that this …

Exploring The Capabilities Of Classifier-Free Guidance In Recommendation Tasks, Noah Buchanan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the problem of recommending items to users based on their ratings of items through a diffusion recommender system. Regular recommender systems are already capable of efficient recommendation through conventional methods such as collaborative or content-based filtering. Diffusion is a new type of generative AI that aims to improve our previous AI's shortcomings in the generative domain, like Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). We use diffusion to create a recommender system that mirrors the sequence users take when browsing and rating items. The current methods of recommendation with diffusion do not use the new innovation …

Synthesis Of Chemical Fuels And Feedstocks From Co2 For Extraterrestrial Applications, Samuel Keith Conlin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The reduction of CO₂ into products for either the storage of renewable electricity or to act as a source of renewable feedstock for industry, is not economically feasible given the current costs of renewable energy. Significant amounts of work have gone into attempting to optimize both electrochemical and nonthermal plasma-based CO₂ reduction systems in an attempt to reduce side reactions and improve energy efficiency in order to meet cost feasibility targets. These techniques can also be adapted for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) contexts, which are far less sensitive to the cost of renewable energy yet have more strenuous …

The Impact Of Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa) On Avian Occupancy And Vegetation Structure, Kenneth Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species, particularly wild pigs (Sus scrofa), pose a significant threat to native ecosystems through both direct and indirect impacts. Wild pigs are large-bodied omnivorous species that can consume a wide variety of plants and animals and are known for destructive foraging behaviors, which likely threatens avian communities through habitat alteration and can impact the long term structure of ecosystems where they are present.

In chapter 1, we used a combination of avian point count surveys, vegetation assessments, and camera trap surveillance to quantify how the occupancy of breeding birds in bottomland hardwood forests changed in relation to …

Carbon Dioxide Dynamics In The Carbonate Critical Zone, Savoy Experimental Watershed, Arkansas, Usa, Michael Darvin Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dynamics of carbon dioxide (CO₂) within the Earth’s critical zone (CZ) are essential for driving spatial and temporal variations of carbonate dissolution and precipitation, which are fundamental to subsurface porosity and permeability development. However, there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding the patterns of CO₂ transport and production within the carbonate critical zone (CCZ). In this study, we investigated these dynamics within a mantled karst terrain at the Savoy Experimental Watershed (SEW) in Northwest Arkansas.

Previous monitoring of partial pressure of CO₂ (PCO₂) and dissolution rates at karst springs in …