Digital Commons Network^™

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 11, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Parameters Of Two Coastal Pelagic Fishes Off Southeast Florida: Blackfin Tuna, Thunnus Atlanticus, And Little Tunny, Euthynnus Alletteratus, Sonia Ahrabi-Nejad, David Kerstetter, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson, Patricia Blackwelder, Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

No abstract provided.

Global Issue Of Clean Water As It Impacts Occupation, Hillary E. W. Anderson

OCCUPATION: A Medium of Inquiry about Health through Occupation

The purpose of this position paper is to explore the global impact of the lack or limited access to clean water on occupational engagement. The majority of the developed world has access to clean water, however, an alarming number of individuals do not have access to s governs, and impedes occupational engagement of millions globally. In order to enforce occupational justice, afforded from clean water, on a global scale, a fueling passion for change must be experienced by a collaborative force in a focused effort. Ultimately, access to clean water should be a basic human right propagated to all.

Flexible Gating Of Contextual Influences In Natural Vision, Odelia Schwartz

Mathematics Colloquium Series

An appealing hypothesis suggests that neurons represent inputs in a coordinate system that is matched to the statistical structure of images in the natural environment. I discuss theoretical work on unsupervised learning of statistical regularities in natural images. In the model, Bayesian inference amounts to a generalized form of divisive normalization, a canonical computation that has been implicated in many neural areas. In our framework, divisive normalization is flexible: it is recruited only when the image is inferred to contain dependencies, and muted otherwise. I particularly focus on recent work in which we have applied this approach to understanding spatial …

Fine-Grained Bacterial Compositional Analsysis Of The Port Everglades Inlet (Broward County, Fl) Microbiome Using High Throughput Dna Sequencing, Lauren M. O'Connell

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Port Everglades Inlet is one of the busiest ports in the country and is a point source of pollution to surrounding beaches and offshore corals from heavy boat traffic and urban runoff. Understanding fluctuations of bacterioplankton communities in major port inlets is important due to their impacts on surrounding marine environments. To understand annual microbial fluctuations, the 16s rRNA V4 hypervariable region was sequenced using Illumina high-throughput DNA sequencing technology. Surface samples were taken weekly for one year to generate baseline fluctuations in the microbial community. Total reads of 1.4 million were generated with a final count of 16,384 Operational …

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 10, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Biodiversity And Ecological Dynamics Of Sciophilous Benthic Communities On Artificial Plates: Emphasis On Reef Sponges, Caidra Elizabeth Hassanzada

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Low light intensity habitats harbor unique sciophilous benthic communities and are a source of novel and unique sponge fauna. However, the community structure of these habitats is poorly studied to date. Thus, this study attempts to understand the composition and structure of sciophilous sponge populations in southeast Florida. Fifty limestone plates were placed on a shallow reef in Fort Lauderdale for two years (2010-2012). To identify the sponge community and their patterns over time, all plates were photographed at the end of each year. Then, samples were taken from each of the live sponge specimens observed on the plates and …

The First Whole Genome And Transcriptome Of The Cinereous Vulture Reveals Adaptation In The Gastric And Immune Defense Systems And Possible Convergent Evolution Between The Old And New World Vultures, Oksung Chung, Seondeok Jin, Yun Sung Cho, Jeongheui Lim, Hyunho Kim, Sungwoong Jho, Hak-Min Kim, Jehoon Jun, Hyejin Lee, Alvin Chon, Junsu Ko, Jeremy Edwards, Jessica A. Weber, Kyudong Han, Stephen J. O'Brien, Andrea Manica, Jong Bhak, Woon Kee Paek

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: The cinereous vulture, Aegypius monachus, is the largest bird of prey and plays a key role in the ecosystem by removing carcasses, thus preventing the spread of diseases. Its feeding habits force it to cope with constant exposure to pathogens, making this species an interesting target for discovering functionally selected genetic variants. Furthermore, the presence of two independently evolved vulture groups, Old World and New World vultures, provides a natural experiment in which to investigate convergent evolution due to obligate scavenging.

Results: We sequenced the genome of a cinereous vulture, and mapped it to the bald …

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 9, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 8, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Learning From Lionfish: Modeling Marine Invaded Systems, Matthew Johnston

Mathematics Colloquium Series

Simulating marine invaded systems requires broad consideration of physical oceanographic processes, such as ocean circulation patterns and temperature, and biological traits of the invader, such as their reproductive strategy and tolerances to their environment. Through this understanding of baseline biological and oceanographic function, models can be developed in order to forecast the incursion patterns of marine invasive species - helpful both to predict their spread as well as forewarn of impacts. To facilitate this understanding, computer simulation is useful in order to quickly and efficiently assimilate large biological and oceanographic datasets into digestible products. Data derived from such simulations are …

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 7, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Gene Loss, Adaptive Evolution And The Co-Evolution Of Plumage Coloration Genes With Opsins In Birds, Rui Borges, Imran Khan, Warren E. Johnson, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Guojie Zhang, Erich D. Jarvis, Stephen J. O'Brien, Agostinho Antunes

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: The wide range of complex photic systems observed in birds exemplifies one of their key evolutionary adaptions, a well-developed visual system. However, genomic approaches have yet to be used to disentangle the evolutionary mechanisms that govern evolution of avian visual systems.

Results: We performed comparative genomic analyses across 48 avian genomes that span extant bird phylogenetic diversity to assess evolutionary changes in the 17 representatives of the opsin gene family and five plumage coloration genes. Our analyses suggest modern birds have maintained a repertoire of up to 15 opsins. Synteny analyses indicate that PARA and PARIE pineal …

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 6, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Translating The News: A Grounded Theory Of Care Initiation Byindividuals Living With Hiv, Joseph Perazzo, Donna Martsolf, Tracy Pritchard, Rebecca Tehan

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this research study was to develop a theoretical framework to explain the psychosocial process of care initiation in individuals living with HIV, and to identify the critical junctures that influence individuals living with HIV in their decision to initiate HIV care. Grounded theory method was used to identify the psychosocial process of care initiation by individuals living with HIV. Thirty individuals living with HIV (28 men, 2 women) shared their stories about initiating HIV care. Participants described a process in which they progressed through five distinct stages following diagnosis: a) receiving the news, b) interpreting the news, …

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 5, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

A Scientific Basis For Regulating Deep-Sea Fishing By Depth, Jo Clarke, Rosanna Milligan, David M. Bailey, Francis Neat

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The deep sea is the world’s largest ecosystem, with high levels of biodiversity and many species that exhibit life-history characteristics thatmake them vulnerable to high levels of exploitation. Many fisheries in the deep sea have a track record of being unsustainable. In the northeast Atlantic, there has been a decline in the abundance of commercial fish species since deep-sea fishing commenced in the 1970s. Current management is by effort restrictions and total allowable catch (TAC), but there remain problems with compliance and high levels of bycatch of vulnerable species such as sharks. The European Union is currently considering new legislation …

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 4, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

“Being In Balance”: Self-Management Experiences Among Young Women With Type 1 Diabetes, Sanja Visekruna, Dana S. Edge, Lisa Keeping-Burke

The Qualitative Report

Women possess characteristics and experiences unique and different from men. Biological processes such as puberty, menstruation, motherhood and menopause may present challenges to self-management for individuals living with type 1 (T1) diabetes mellitus. In this study, descriptive phenomenology was used to uncover the self-management experiences of nine women aged 22- 30 years living with T1 diabetes. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously and followed the methodical structure of van Manen (1997). Study findings revealed five themes: 1) elusiveness of control; 2) dualism of technology; 3) forecasting and maintaining routines; 4) dealing with the “ups and downs”; and, 5) interfacing with …

Medical Education Digest, Vol. 17 No. 5 (September-October 2015), Nova Southeastern University

Medical Education Digest

No abstract provided.

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 3, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Fishery-Independent Baseline Assessment, Kirk Kilfoyle, Brian K. Walker, Dana P. Fisco, Steven G. Smith, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Reef fishes are important biologic, ecologic, and economic resources of the marine ecosystem which must be managed for sustainability. Until recently, there was no long-term monitoring program in place to assess the condition of reef fish resources of the northern Florida Reef Tract (FRT) (northern Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties). An assessment/monitoring plan for the northern portion of the Florida reef tract was designed through a joint cooperative effort by scientists at the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and Nova Southeastern University …

A Phylogenetic Revision Of Superfamily Himerometroidea (Echinodermata: Crinoidea), Kristian Taylor

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Superfamily Himerometroidea AH Clark, 1908 (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) (formerly Mariametroidea) is the second most speciose superfamily in order Comatulida. Although it includes some of the most common species on tropical western Pacific reefs, its phylogeny is poorly understood. Genus- to species-level taxa are currently distinguished by plastic morphological characters. We revised the superfamily from species- to family-levels using a combined morphological and molecular approach. A phylogeny using two nuclear and three mitochondrial markers recovered Colobometridae and Himerometridae as paraphyletic and Mariametridae and Zygometridae as polyphyletic. Within genus Himerometra (Himerometridae), sequence data and detailed morphological examinations of multiple specimens of H. magnipinna, …

Leucothoe Eltoni Sp. N., A New Species Of Commensal Leucothoid Amphipod From Coral Reefs In Raja Ampat, Indonesia (Crustacea, Amphipoda), James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A new species of leucothoid amphipod, Leucothoe eltoni sp. n., is described from coral reefs in Raja Ampat, Indonesia where it inhabits the branchial chambers of solitary tunicates. With an inflated first gnathopod superficially resembling the genus Paraleucothoe, this new species has a two-articulate maxilla 1 palp characteristic of the genus Leucothoe. While described from coral reef environments in tropical Indonesia and the Philippines, it is an established invasive species in the Hawaiian Islands. The most likely mode of introduction was a US Navy dry dock transported to Pearl Harbor in 1992 from Subic Bay, Philippines.

The Current Volume 26 : Issue 2, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Genome-Wide Association And Trans-Ethnic Meta-Analysis For Advanced Diabetic Kidney Disease: Family Investigation Of Nephropathy And Diabetes (Find), Sudha K. Iyengar, John R. Sedor, Barry I. Freedman, W. H. Linda Kao, Matthias Kretzler, Benjamin J. Keller, Hanna E. Abboud, Sharon G. Adler, Lyle G. Best, Donald W. Bowden, Allison Burlock, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Shelley A. Cole, Mary E. Comeau, Jeffrey M. Curtis, Jasmin Divers, Christiane Drechsler, Ravi Duggirala, Robert C. Elston, Xiuqing Guo, Huateng Huang, Michael M. Hoffmann, Barbara V. Howard, Eli Ipp, Paul L. Kimmel, Michael J. Klag, William C. Knowler, Orly F. Kohn, Tennille S. Leak, David J. Leehey, Man Li, Alka Malhotra, Winfried Marz, Viji Nair, Robert G. Nelson, Susanne B. Nicholas, Stephen J. O'Brien, Madeleine V. Pahl, Rulan S. Parekh, Marcus G. Pezzolesi, Rebekah S. Rasooly, Charles N. Rotimi, Jerome I. Rotter, Jeffrey R. Schelling, Michael F. Seldin, Vallabh O. Shah, Adam M. Smiles, Michael W. Smith, Kent D. Taylor, Farook Thameem, Denyse P. Thornley-Brown, Barbara J. Truitt, Christoph Wanner, E. Jennifer Weil, Cheryl Winkler, Philip G. Zager, Robert P. Igo Jr., Robert L. Hanson, Carl D. Langefeld, Family Investigation Of Nephropathy And Diabetes (Find) Research Group

Biology Faculty Articles

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common etiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the industrialized world and accounts for much of the excess mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. Approximately 45% of U.S. patients with incident end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) have DKD. Independent of glycemic control, DKD aggregates in families and has higher incidence rates in African, Mexican, and American Indian ancestral groups relative to European populations. The Family Investigation of Nephropathy and Diabetes (FIND) performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) contrasting 6,197 unrelated individuals with advanced DKD with healthy and diabetic individuals lacking nephropathy of European American, …

Advancements In Treatment For Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Implications For Rehabilitation Professionals, Shawn P. Saladin, Yasar Tasnif, Bianca Cruz, Robert B. Perez

JADARA

Rehabilitation professionals often work with individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. Sometimes the hearing loss is due to ototoxic medications that are prescribed as treatments for other conditions. An understanding of the types of ototoxic medications at the root of the sensorineural hearing loss combined with an understanding of the advancements in treatments will help the rehabilitation professional better serve consumers who fit this description.

Perceived Father Roles Of Married African American Men: A Phenomenological Study, Felicia Murray, Shann Hwa Hwang

The Qualitative Report

Data is limited regarding the cultural and racial variations of fatherhood. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of eight married African American fathers focusing on their perceptions of father roles and responsible fathering behaviors. Specifically, the study highlighted two critical issues: (1) men’s perceptions about their roles as fathers; and (2) how historical characterizations of father roles can serve as a mechanism for understanding males’ current perceptions. The researchers identified seven role themes: provider, role model/sex role model, disciplinarian, leader, supporter, teacher/spiritual teacher, and guide. Implications for family science practitioners and researchers as well …

Time-Series Evaluation Of Suspect Rickettsiales-Like Bacteria Presence In Acropora Cervicornis Off Of Broward County From Years 2001–2012, Steven Di Lauro

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Rickettsiales-like organisms (RLOs) are thought to be related to bacteria in the order Rickettsiales. They have been reported to occur in the staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), and this study investigated trends of infection over time, and in relation to the health of infected corals. This study focuses on tissue samples taken mostly from visibly healthy A. cervicornis thickets in Broward County, Florida, and processed for histological examination. Samples were originally collected and analyzed to document reproduction during years 2001 through 2012, and tissue loss diseases (white-band disease [WBD] types I and II, and rapid tissue loss). …

A Comparative Evaluation Of Mitigation Wetlands In Broward County, Florida, Using Chironomid (Ditera) Pupal Exuviae: A Potential Technique For Assessing Mitigation Success, Ryan St. George

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Wetland resources in South Florida are regulated at three redundant jurisdictional levels: local or municipal regulations set forth by many independent jurisdictions, State regulations derived directly from Florida Statutes, and Federal regulations promulgated primarily under the Clean Water Act. All three levels of government can have jurisdiction over projects that affect regulated wetland resources, yet inconsistent policies and standards remain and continue to confound regulators despite decades of intensive coordination efforts and a rapidly growing scientific research base. The size of a wetland mitigation area is of primary consideration when evaluating its perceived ecological value, although wetland mitigation areas constructed …