Digital Commons Network^™

Epigenetic Regulation In Fibrosis, Qingping Wei, Xiaoru Hu, Yan Sanders

Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

[Introduction] Fibrosis is one of the pathological conditions underlying the progression of numerous chronic diseases, and it contributes substantially to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Increasing amounts of evidence indicate that epigenetic mechanisms—including DNA methylation, histone modifications, RNA modifications, and non-coding RNAs—play pivotal roles in epithelial cell injury and maladaptive tissue repair, inflammatory cell and fibroblast activation, and extracellular matrix remodeling and accumulation. Compared to genetic alterations, epigenetic changes are relatively reversible, positioning them as promising therapeutic targets. The articles collected in this Research Topic highlight recent advances in understanding how epigenetic regulation shapes fibrotic processes across multiple organ systems and …

Excitation And Polarization Of Isolated Neurons By High-Frequency Sine Waves For Temporal Interference Stimulation, Iurii Semenov, Vitalii Kim, Giedre Silkuniene, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

The capacity of temporal interference (TI) stimulation to target deep brain regions without affecting nearby surface electrodes remains uncertain. Using artifact-free optical recording, we compare excitation patterns and thresholds in hippocampal neurons stimulated by “pure” and amplitude-modulated sine waves, representing TI waveforms near electrodes and at the target, respectively. We show that pure 2- and 20-kHz sine waves induce repetitive firing at rates that increase up to 60–90 Hz with stronger electric fields. Beyond this limit, action potentials merge into sustained depolarization, resulting in an excitation block. Modulating the sine waves at 20 Hz aligns firing with amplitude “beats” and …

Representative National Survey On Drug Use During The Covid-19 Stay-At-Home Order In The Usa, Soo-Hoon Lee, Bernadette Cullen, Alidon Athey, Calliope Holingue, Michelle R. Kaufman, Paul Nestadt, Jack Samuels, Tracy Vannorsdall, Phillip Phan

Management Faculty Publications

Objectives This study explores the drug use behaviour in the US general population in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on the relationship between sociopsychological factors, mobility restrictions from March to June 2020 and mental health conditions.

Design A retrospective anonymous online survey representing a cross-section of the US population in 2020.

Setting A qualified panel of 500 000 Qualtrics participants stratified by gender, race, age and geographical region to represent the US population.

Participants 3340 participants voluntarily consented to respond.

Measures Outcome measure for illicit and non-medical use of prescription drugs based on the National …

Women's And Men's Authorship Experiences: A Prospective Meta Analysis, George C. Banks, Lisa M. Rasmussen, Scott Tonidandel, Jeffrey M. Pollack, Mary M. Hausfeld, Courtney Williams, Betsy H. Albritton, Joseph A. Allen, Nicolas Bastardoz, John H. Batchelor, Andrew A. Bennett, Roman Briker, Christopher M. Castille, Bart A. De Jong, Elise Demeter, Justin A. Desimone, James G. Field, Maria Figueroa-Armijos, M. Fernanda Garcia, William L. Gardner, J. Jeffrey Gish, Laura M. Giurge, Claudia N. Gonzalez-Brambila, M. Gloria González-Morales, Lorenz Graf-Vlachy, Roopak Kumar Gupta, Amanda S. Hinojosa, Zion Howard, Sven Kepes, Tine Köhler, Dejun Tony Kong, Markus Langer, Teng Lat Loi, Liam P. Maher, Chao Miao, Murad A. Mithani, Lakshmi Balachandran Nair, William G. Obenauer, Ernest H. O'Boyle, Jason R. Pierce, Deborah M. Powell, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Deborah E. Rupp, Srinivasan Tatachari, Jane S. Thomas, Tiia Vissak, Jako Volschenk, Chen Wang, Christopher E. Whelpley, Hans-Georg Wolff, Haley M. Woznyj, Tao Yang

Management Faculty Publications

The opaqueness of author naming and ordering, when coupled with power dynamics, can lead to a number of disadvantages in academic careers. In this commentary, we investigate gender differences in authorship experiences in a large prospective meta-analytic study (k = 46; n = 3,565; 12 countries). We find that women’s and men’s authorship experiences differ significantly with women reporting greater prevalence of problematic behaviors. We present seven actionable recommendations for improving the receipt and reporting of intellectual credit. Such actions are needed to ensure fairness in authorship, which is one of the most powerful factors in academics’ career outcomes.

Developmental Regulation Of Corazonin, Eclosion Hormone, And Bursicon Messages And Rnai Suppression Of Corazonin In Adult Female American Dog Ticks, Dermacentor Variabilis, Anirudh Dhammi, Brooke Bissinger, Loganathan Ponnusamy, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The insect molting process is critical to growth and development and is regulated in part by the neuropeptides corazonin, eclosion hormone, and α and β bursicon. We found messages in a synganglion transcriptome from adult, female American dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis (that do not molt), with a high similarity to the larval insect neuropeptides that control molting. The phylogenetic analysis of the tick putative neuropeptides compared to other arthropods is discussed in detail. The relative gene expression of these peptides was determined by quantitative PCR during the following adult developmental stages: (i) virgin, unfed 0–24 h after entering the adult …

Schistosoma Mansoni Infection Causes Consistent Changes To The Fecal Bacterial Microbiota Of Mice Across And Within Sites, Mariam A. Mhanna, David T. Gauthier, Lisa M. Shollenberger

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Eggs of Schistosoma mansoni are produced by adult female worms in mesenteries of infected hosts. Eggs can cross the intestinal barrier and form granulomas in the tissue or breach and exit the host through fecal excretion. These interactions may affect the host microbiome assemblages. Given the potential for schistosomal alteration of host gut microbiome and subsequent effects on the fecal bacterial composition, it is important to conduct controlled microbiome studies on model animals. While pursuing these studies, it is important to take into account the different conditions in which microbiome studies are conducted and their consequent impacts on variability and …

Behavioral Health Training For Integrated Behavioral Health: A Delphi Study, Nicholas Schmoyer, Lisa Corbin, Jessica Huffman, Gülşah Kemer

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Using a classical Delphi design, the authors used an interdisciplinary panel of behavioral health experts in integrated behavioral health (IBH) to identify foundational skills and knowledge counselor educators need to teach clinical mental health counselors for IBH practice. Eighty-eight statements were identified. Implications are provided for counseling and other behavioral health educators.

Systemic Therapy Targeting Psoriatic Inflammation Is Associated With Decreased Incidence Of Dementia: An Observational Retrospective Cohort Study, Madison P. Olexson, Ana Ormaza Vera, Chunghwan Ro, Clinton W. Enos

Department Dermatology Faculty Publications

[Introduction] To the Editor: Psoriasis, an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory skin disorder, has been implicated in cognitive impairment and dementia.1, 2, 3 Emerging evidence suggests that systemic inflammation contributes to neuroinflammation and resultant cytokine-driven neurodegeneration, although findings remain inconclusive.1, 2, 3 While systemic therapies such as biologics and conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs are routinely used in psoriasis management, their role in modulating dementia in this population remains underexplored, with research yielding mixed results.1, 2, 3 We conducted a large-scale, retrospective cohort study to investigate the relationship between psoriasis and dementia and whether systemic treatments for psoriasis impact this association.

Igf-1 As A Biomarker For Symptom Severity In Adult Traumatic Brain Injury: Evidence From An Observational Study, Justin Weppner, Kimberly Rosenthal, Jennifer Bath, Tonja Locklear, Melissa Martinez

Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Faculty Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related growth hormone deficiency is often undertreated, despite documented physical, metabolic, and neuropsychiatric effects. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), with neuroreceptors located in brain regions responsible for learning, memory, and mood, regulates cerebral blood flow, neurogenesis, and neuroplasticity. The aim of this study was to determine associations between IGF-1 levels and post-TBI symptom severity, anxiety, and depression. This retrospective observational study at an Academic Brain Injury Center included participants evaluated 3-12 months post-TBI with available IGF-1 values and complete Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ-13), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) responses. Patients under 18 or …

Teaming With Technology: Adaptive Automation In Joint Cognitive Systems For Industry 5.0, Jessica Johnson

Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) Faculty Publications

Adaptive automation enables dynamic reallocation of functions between people and autonomous agents to improve performance in complex work. This paper presents a meta-analysis of experimental and quasi-experimental studies (2000-2025) on joint cognitive systems in industrially relevant contexts, quantifying effects on task performance, safety/failure management, workload, trust, and learning. Across studies, adaptive automation reliably reduces operator workload and shows moderate gains in task performance and safety, with healthier trust dynamics when adaptations are triggered by human-state or event cues, made transparent to the user, and remain rapidly overridable. Risks emerge when performance-triggered switching is opaque or poorly timed, which can erode …

Integrating Data Management Plans Into The Unified Architecture Framework Standards Views, Cansu Yalim, Holly A. H. Handley

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

System Architecting translates an operational concept into a model of the system to be realized. There is a need for a Data Management Plan (DMP) to be included in the overall system engineering process with the advent of Digital Engineering. Data longevity, accessibility, and integrity can all be improved throughout the system's lifecycle by a well-defined DMP. System engineers use an architecture framework to arrange the system data into several sets of viewpoints. Incorporating a DMP at this point specifies the procedures for gathering, storing, retrieving, and maintaining data to ensure that all interested parties have access to current, correct …

Neuroinflammatory Signaling And Immune Cell Infiltration Differ In Brains Of Rats Exposed To Space Radiation And Social Isolation, Austin M. Adkins, Zachary N. M. Luyo, Alea F. Boden, Riley S. Heerbrandt, Richard A. Britten, Laurie L. Wellman, Larry D. Sanford

Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Inflammatory Diseases (CINID) Faculty Publications

Astronauts on the proposed Mars missions will be exposed to extended periods of social isolation (SI) and space radiation (SR). SI and SR-induced immune dysregulation can result in persistent neuroinflammation and neuronal damage which could negatively impact an astronaut’s health and ability to maintain adequate levels of performance. The synergistic effects of combined SI and SR on immune system functionality and the brain remain unknown. Determining how single and combined inflight stressors modulate the immune system is crucial for fully understanding pathways impacting astronaut health and performance. We used ground-based analogs of SI and SR in rodent models to investigate …

The Short And Sweet On Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter Inhibitors And Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists In Heart Failure, Jose L. Batista, Tracy Makuvire, Jonathan D. Davis, Salvatore Carbone

EVMS School of Health Professions Faculty Publications

Heart failure (HF) affects 6 million people in the US, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a significant risk factor for HF. Since 2008, regulatory agencies have required cardiovascular safety trials for new T2D therapies, and these have consistently demonstrated the cardiovascular benefits of glucose-lowering drugs. Sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors (SGLTi) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (RAs)/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) reduce major adverse cardiovascular events and deaths, regardless of diabetes status, and improve cardiorespiratory fitness. SGLTis, such as dapagliflozin and empagliflozin, benefit patients with reduced and preserved ejection fraction, significantly reducing HF hospitalizations and cardiovascular deaths. The DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced …

A Comparative Analysis Of Stress Relief, Life Satisfaction, And Quality Of Life Based On Marriage Status And Gender Among Members Of Society Participating In Exercise, Ji-Hye Yang, Sicheol Jung, Hyejin Yang, Chulhwan Choi, Chul-Ho Bum

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Modern members of society tend to feel stressed in their workplace and at home, but exercising has been shown to effectively reduce stress and increase quality of life and satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate and compare stress relief, life satisfaction, and quality of life based on marriage status and gender among members of society who participate in exercise. We used a questionnaire survey with 311 participants, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity and reliability, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and a post hoc analysis. The study results showed that the single groups demonstrated higher mean …

Case-Based Learning And The Physical Education Of Disabled Students, Wesley J. Wilson, Paul H. Warner, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

In this chapter, the editors provide background information about the case-based learning approach as it relates to preparing preservice physical educators, adapted physical educators, and special educators to work with disabled students. We also begin to frame the importance of elevating the voices and lived experiences of disabled students as they make meaning of and decide what is important in physical education. We conclude with an overview of the remaining chapters to better orient the reader to this edited text.

Baseline Disease Characteristics By Surgery History Among Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps (Crswnp) In The Global Aroma Registry, Shigeharu Fujieda, Jayant M. Pinto, David W. Jang, Joseph K. Han, James Mims, Eugenio De Corso, Martin Wagenmann, Changming Xia, Thomas Plucinak, Mark Corbett, Scott Nash, Amr Radwan

Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) Faculty Publications

Purpose

The global Assessing long-teRm Outcomes in dupiluMAb (AROMA) registry study aims to characterize the long-term, real-world use of dupilumab in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). This paper reports interim analysis of the baseline characteristics for the first 303 patients enrolled in AROMA.

Methods and materials

AROMA is currently ongoing in adult patients with CRSwNP who initiated dupilumab for up to 36 months. This interim analysis describes baseline demographics; systemic/oral corticosteroid (SCS/OCS) and antibiotic use; disease burden; healthcare resource utilization; and medical history. All outcomes are summarized descriptively.

Results

As of February 2023, AROMA had enrolled 303 …

Size Of Pediatric Tracheostomy Tube And Predictors Of Postoperative Complications, Soukaina Eljamri, Jordyn Lucas, Amber Shaffer, Basil Hashimi, Marina Rushchak, Reema Padia

Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) Faculty Publications

Objective

(1) To investigate weight as an alternative guide for trach tube choice. (2) Evaluate complications 3-month posttracheostomy and associations with patient and trach tube factors.

Study design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Single academic medical center.

Methods

Patients < 2 years old who underwent tracheostomy placement from 2017 to 2022 were identified. Associations between trach characteristics, trach size/length, chest x-ray (CXR) and intraoperative endoscopy measurements, and complications within 3 months posttracheostomy placement were evaluated.

Results

In total, 68 patients were included in the study, with a median age of 4 months (range: 1 day to 1.74 years) and weight of 4.1 kg (range: 1.8-11.6 kg) at the time of the procedure. The length of the trachea measured on CXR was more closely associated with weight (ρ = 0.403, P = .0007) than with age (ρ = …

A Comparison Of Allergen Sensitization Profiles In Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis With And Without Nasal Polyposis, Lauren Trzcinski, Suhas Bharadwaj, Randall A. Bloch, Joseph K. Han, Kent K. Lam

Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) Faculty Publications

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and allergic rhinitis (AR) are common comorbid sinonasal conditions. CRS is classically divided into two distinct phenotypes: CRS with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) and CRS without nasal polyposis (CRSsNP). The purpose of this retrospective observational study is to determine whether aeroallergen sensitization profiles in patients with comorbid CRS and AR can distinguish between CRSwNP and CRSsNP. A total of 241 patients diagnosed with comorbid CRS and AR who underwent skin prick testing or in vitro allergy testing in a single tertiary rhinology practice were included for evaluation. The rates of allergen-specific sensitizations in CRSwNP patients were compared with …

Combination Of Hsp90 Inhibitors And Hsp70 Inducers Prevent Hydrochloric Acid-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis In Rabbits, Ruben M. L. Colunga Biancatelli, Pavel A. Solopov, Tierney Day, Dan E. Austin Jr., Len E. Murray, John D. Catravas

Bioelectrics Publications

Combined therapies with Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitors and Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) inducers are gaining significant interest in cancer and cardiovascular research. Here, we tested the hypothesis that HSP90 inhibitors and HSP70 inducers, together, can block the development of pulmonary fibrosis. We exposed New Zealand White Rabbits to hydrochloric acid (HCl, 0.1 N, 1.5 mL/kg), one of the top five chemicals most commonly involved in accidental exposures and inhalation injuries worldwide, and treated animals with either the orally available HSP90 inhibitor TAS-116 (1.7 mg/kg 5x/week) or TAS-116 combined with the HSP70 inducer, geranylgeranyl acetone (GGA, 50 mg/kg, …

Potentiation Of Gelonin Cytotoxicity By Pulsed Electric Fields, Olga N. Pakhomova, Eleni Zivla, Giedre Silkuniene, Mantas Silkunas, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Gelonin is a ribosome-inactivating protein with extreme intracellular toxicity but poor permeation into cells. Targeted disruption of cell membranes to facilitate gelonin entry is explored for cancer and tissue ablation. We demonstrate a hundreds- to thousands-fold enhancement of gelonin cytotoxicity by pulsed electric fields in the T24, U-87, and CT26 cell lines. The effective gelonin concentration to kill 50% of cells (EC₅₀) after electroporation ranged from <1 nM to about 100 nM. For intact cells, the EC₅₀ was unattainable even at the highest gelonin concentration of 1000 nM, which reduced cell survival by only 5–15%. For isoeffective electroporation treatments using 300 ns, 9 µs, and 100 µs pulses, longer pulses were more efficient at lowering gelonin EC₅₀. Increasing the electric field strength of 8, 100 µs pulses from 0.65 to 1.25 kV/cm reduced gelonin EC₅₀ from 128 nM to 0.72 nM. Conversely, the presence of 100 nM gelonin enabled a more than 20-fold reduction in the number of pulses required for equivalent cell killing. Pulsed electric field-mediated delivery of gelonin shows promise for hyperplasia ablation at concentrations sufficiently low to minimize or avoid systemic toxicity.

The Effect Of Liquid Conductivity On A Helium Plasma Jet And The Hydrogen Peroxide Production, Edwin A. Oshin, M. Ziaur Rahman, Chunqi Jiang

Bioelectrics Publications

Understanding plasma-liquid interactions and the impact of the electrical conductivity (σ) of liquid on plasma is important for plasma applications in water treatment and medicine. Ultrapure water, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution, biological media, and sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions at various concentrations were used in this study to provide a broad range of conductivity values ranging from 0.055 μS cm⁻¹ to 222 mS cm⁻¹. A helium atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) impinging on liquid was generated in ambient air using a hollow-needle electrode that was powered by 200 ns, 7 kV pulses at a pulse repetition frequency of …

Physical Ablative Methods And Cancer Cell Death: Implications For Immunity And Therapies, Alessandra Rossi, Claudia Muratori

Bioelectrics Publications

Surgery has traditionally been a cornerstone in cancer treatment, yet its feasibility can be limited by factors such as tumor location and patient health conditions. When surgery is not viable, thermal and pulsed electric field (PEF)-based ablation technologies offer valuable alternatives. Emerging evidence suggests that these approaches not only target tumors effectively but also stimulate antitumor immune responses. In this review, we begin by examining the distinctive features of hyperthermic treatments (radiofrequency and microwave ablation), cryoablation, and PEF-technologies. Subsequently, we discuss the mechanisms of cell death, stress responses, and release of danger signals triggered by these diverse ablation technologies. Finally, …

A Century Of Sediment Metal Contamination Of Mar Menor, Europe's Largest Saltwater Lagoon, Irene Alorda-Montiel, Valentí Rodellas, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Albert Palanques, Andrea G. Bravo, Júlia Rodriguez-Puig, Aaron Alorda-Kleinglass, Carlos Green-Ruiz, Marc Diego-Feliu, Pere Masqué, Javier Gilabert, Jordi Garcia-Orellana

OES Faculty Publications

Coastal enclosed ecosystems, such as lagoons, are vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts because they favor the accumulation of contaminants from the surrounding watersheds, particularly in their sediments. Europe's largest saltwater lagoon, the Mar Menor (SE, Iberian Peninsula), is a highly impacted ecosystem and the first in the continent to be granted personhood rights. Based on a high-resolution spatial and temporal dataset, we present the historical reconstruction of metal contamination in this ecosystem during the last century. Our results highlight that sediment metal contamination has been mainly driven by the development of the mining industry in the nearby Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La …

Optimizing An Image Analysis Protocol For Ocean Particles In Focused Shadowgraph Imaging Systems, Huanqing Huang, Alexander B. Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

A variety of imaging systems are in use in oceanographic surveys, and the opto-mechanical configurations have become highly sophisticated. However, much less consideration has been given to the accurate reconstruction of imaging data. To improve reconstruction of particles captured by Focused Shadowgraph Imaging (FoSI)—a system that excels at visualizing low-optical-density objects, we developed a novel object detection algorithm to process images with a resolution of ~ 12 μm per pixel. Suggested improvements to conventional edge-detection methods are relatively simple and time-efficient, and more accurately render the sizes and shapes of small particles ranging from 24 to 500 μm. In addition, …

The Effect Of Temperature And Salinity On Margalefidinium Polykrikoides Group Iii Va, Usa Strain Growth, Eduardo Pérez-Vega, Margaret R. Mulholland, Katherine E. Crider, Kimberly E. Powell, P. Dreux Chappell, Alexander Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

Margalefidinium polykrikoides is a cosmopolitan dinoflagellate that blooms in coastal waters. Despite genomic evidence that it belongs to Group III and so closely related to isolates from Puerto Rico, Malaysia, North America, and Central America, M. polykrikoides blooms in the Chesapeake Bay at warmer temperatures and lower salinities than in coastal ecosystems occupied by its closest relatives. In this study, the effect of temperature and salinity on the growth rate and total cell yield of an M. polykrikoides VA culture isolate were examined and compared with environmental observations made during M. polykrikoides blooms in the Chesapeake Bay. M. polykrikoides group …

From Wind To Whales: Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts Of Offshore Wind Energy On Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology, Eileen E. Hofmann, Jeffrey R. Carpenter, Qin J. Chen, Josh T. Kohut, Richard L. Merrick, Erin L. Meyer-Gutbrod, Douglas P. Nowacek, Kaustubha Raghukumar, Nicholas R. Record, Kelly Oskvig

OES Faculty Publications

The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a committee in June 2023 to assess the potential hydrodynamic and ecological impacts from offshore wind energy development in the Nantucket Shoals region, with particular attention to impacts on the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) that forages on zooplankton aggregations in the region. The assessment suggested that the effects of offshore wind energy development will be difficult to distinguish from the effects of natural variability and climate change in this region. The Consensus Study Report recommendations highlight observational and modeling studies that will advance understanding of …

Ensemble Machine Learning Approaches For Bathymetry Estimation In Multi-Spectral Images, Kazi A. Islam, Omar Abdul-Hassan, Hongfang Zhang, Victoria Hill, Blake Schaeffer, Richard Zimmerman, Jiang Li

OES Faculty Publications

Traditional bathymetry measures require a large number of human hours, and many bathymetry records are obsolete or missing. Automated measures of bathymetry would reduce costs and increase accessibility for research and applications. In this paper, we optimized a recent machine learning model, named CatBoostOpt, to estimate bathymetry based on high-resolution WorldView-2 (WV-2) multi-spectral optical satellite images. CatBoostOpt was demonstrated across the Florida Big Bend coastline, where the model learned correlations between in situ sound Navigation and Ranging (Sonar) bathymetry measurements and the corresponding multi-spectral reflectance values in WV-2 images to map bathymetry. We evaluated three different feature transformations as inputs …

Microbial Mats In Dinosaur Ichnocoenoses, Nora Noffke, Paul C. Murphey, Roger C. Buntin, Martin G. Lockley

OES Faculty Publications

Until now, the significance of microbial mats in preservation of dinosaur tracks and in reconstructing the palaeoenvironment in which dinosaurs roamed was rarely studied. Dinosaur tracks are commonly found close to ancient aquatic bodies where moist sediment had once allowed footstep registration. At such sites, epibenthic or endobenthic microbial mats may have developed as well and may have led to exquisite track preservation. Microbial mats in coastal, lacustrine or flood plain environments cause ‘microbially induced sedimentary structures—MISS’, which are micobialites found in sandy or evaporitic settings. The microbial structures record environmental parameters including meteorological conditions that existed at the time …

Successful Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) Recruitment On Intertidal Artificial Substrates In Virginia, Usa, Rochelle D. Seitz, Kathleen E. Knick, Emily Suchonic, Amanda Pysher

OES Faculty Publications

Declines of eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) populations and scarcity of natural oyster shell necessitate quantifying the effectiveness of artificial oyster reef substrates over varying environmental conditions. Oyster castles are often used in intertidal areas with moderate wave energy; however, new concrete, natural-looking substrates, GROW Reef Tiles, are now available. Eastern oyster recruitment and size on oyster castles (OC) and GROW Reef Tiles (GT), with 27% higher surface area on OC, were assessed three times over 25 months in locations with varying salinity. Four sites in the Chesapeake Bay region were examined: Cherrystone Inlet, Mockhorn Bay, Elizabeth River, and …

High Antarctic Coastal Productivity In Polynyas Revealed By Considering Remote Sensing Ice-Adjacency Effects, Hilde Oliver, Jessica S. Turner, Alexandre Castagna, Henry Houskeeper, Heidi Dierssen

OES Faculty Publications

Ocean color-based estimates of Antarctic net primary productivity (NPP) have indicated low nearshore productivity in ice-adjacent waters, contrasting with coupled physical–biogeochemical models. To understand this discrepancy, we assessed satellite records of polynya NPP by comparing field data with two satellite imagery datasets derived using different processing schemes. Our results indicate historical underestimation of chlorophyll a for imagery obtained using default atmospheric correction processing within approximately 100 km of ice-covered coastlines due to adjacency effects. Using radiative transfer modeling, we find that biases in ocean color polynya observations due to adjacency effects correspond to the high albedo of ice and snow. …