Digital Commons Network^™

Correlation Between Sol Scores And Personal Computer Ownership With Internet Access, Christy Yaple

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

This study was used to gain information about the success of underrepresented high school students with regard to SOL scores and having a personal computer with internet access. The following hypothesis was developed to guide this study: Magna Vista High School Educational Talent Search students having a personal computer with internet access will have a higher pass rate on Virginia Standards of Learning mathematics tests.

Effects Of Ph On Biomass Allocation In Acer Rubrum Seedlings, Marc C. Wingett

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Through the analysis of the data collected from the uniform growing parameters across all control and treatment pottings, the following hypothesis was considered: 1. From a neutral pH of 7, there is a positive correlation between the lowered pH of precipitation and the above and below ground biomass allocation in Acer rubrum seedlings.

Effect Of Humic Substance Photodegradation On Bacterial Growth And Respiration In Lake Water, Alexandre M. Anesio, William Granéli, George R. Aiken, David J. Kieber, Kenneth Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

This study addresses how humic substance (HS) chemical composition and photoreactivity affect bacterial growth, respiration, and growth efficiency (BGE) in lake water. Aqueous solutions of HSs from diverse aquatic environments representing different dissolved organic matter sources (autochthonous and allochthonous) were exposed to artificial solar UV radiation. These solutions were added to lake water passed through a 0.7-μm pore-size filter (containing grazer-free lake bacteria) followed by dark incubation for 5, 43, and 65 h. For the 5-h incubation, several irradiated HSs inhibited bacterial carbon production (BCP) and this inhibition was highly correlated with H₂O₂ photoproduction. The H_{2 …}

Body-Induced Vortical Flows: A Common Mechanism For Self-Corrective Trimming Control In Boxfishes, Ian K. Bartol, Morteza Gharib, Paul W. Webb, Daniel Weihs, Malcolm S. Gordon

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Boxfishes (Teleostei: Ostraciidae) are marine fishes having rigid carapaces that vary significantly among taxa in their shapes and structural ornamentation. We showed previously that the keels of the carapace of one species of tropical boxfish, the smooth trunkfish, produce leading edge vortices (LEVs) capable of generating self-correcting trimming forces during swimming. In this paper we show that other tropical boxfishes with different carapace shapes have similar capabilities. We conducted a quantitative study of flows around the carapaces of three morphologically distinct boxfishes (spotted boxfish, scrawled cowfish and buffalo trunkfish) using stereolithographic models and three separate but interrelated analytical …

Flowers Of Ice- Beauty, Symmetry, And Complexity: A Review Of The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty, John A. Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Growing up as a child in southern England, my early memories of snow include trudging home from school with my father, gazing at the seemingly enormous snowdrifts that smoothed the hedgerows, fields and bushes, while listening to the soft “scrunch” of the snow under my Wellington boots. In the country, snow stretching as far as I could see was not a particularly uncommon sight. The quietness of the land under a foot of snow seemed eerie. I cannot remember the first time I looked at snowflakes per se; my interests as a small child were primarily in their …

Effects Of Ultrasonic Scaling And Hand-Activated Scaling On Tactile Sensitivity In Dental Hygiene Students, Danielle L. Ryan, Michele Darby, Susan L. Tolle, Deborah Bauman, Dayanand Naik

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose. This study was conducted to determine if tactile sensitivity varies in dental hygiene students who use the ultrasonic scaler, as compared to those who scale with hand-activated instruments.

Methods. A two-group, randomized subjects, pretest-posttest design was carried out mid-semester for five weeks on 40 first-year dental hygiene students who met the inclusion criteria of this study and who agreed to participate. A convenience sample of 40 consenting, first-year dental hygiene students were randomly assigned to one of two groups (experimental or control). After establishing a baseline tactile sensitivity score with the Vibratory Sensory Analyzer (VSA), experimental group subjects used …

A Review Of Phytoplankton Composition Within Chesapeake Bay And Its Tidal Estuaries, Harold G. Marshall, Lubomira Burchardt, Richard Lacouture

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Based on a continuous 20-year data base ofmonthly sampling in Chesapeake Bay and tidal regions of its major tributaries, 1454 phytoplankton taxa have been identified in these waters. They represent a diverse assemblage of species with a dominant diatom flora throughout the year, in addition to large seasonal representation by chlorophytes, cyanobacteria, cryptophytes and dinoflagellates. Included among this flora were 34 potential harmful or toxin producing species. The phytoplankton compositions associated with the seasonal successional patterns are discussed, in addition to characterizing the dominant floral relationships, with comparison to early composition records within the Bay. Several of the present day …

A Defensin-Like Gene Expressed In The Black-Legged Tick, Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), Wayne L. Hynes, S. M. Ceraul, S. M. Todd, K. C. Seguin, Daniel E. Sonenshine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The black-legged tick Ixodes scapularis linnaeus (Acari: Ixodidae) is an important vector of microbial pathogens. Knowledge of the tick's innate immune response, particularly defensin and other antimicrobial peptides, is important for understanding how microbes survive in this tick. A defensin gene (slnA) from I. scapularis was obtained by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using mRNA extracted from tissues of female ticks. RT-PCR indicated the gene was expressed in the midgut, haemocytes, and fat-body, although no evidence of a peptide was found. Sequencing a cloned cDNA fragment revealed a 225 bp open reading frame encoding a 74 amino acid pre-prodefensin, including …

Benthic Fisheries Ecology In A Changing Environment: Unraveling Process To Achieve Prediction, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine fisheries and the ecosystems that sustain them are increasingly beset by environmental deterioration, and the problem is particularly acute in coastal zones where human Populations are increasing. In the best of circumstances, fishery managers are faced with the multiple, often conflicting, demands of resource users, politicians, and scientists when considering strategies for resource management. A further challenge is that management decisions must be made against a backdrop of a deteriorating environment and the shifting status of coastal ecosystem integrity. Traditional tools for single-species management may be inadequate in these settings. Furthermore. the necessary empirical data to appropriately parameterize models …

In Vivo Role Of 20-Hydroxyecdysone In The Regulation Of The Vitellogenin Mrna And Egg Development In The American Dog Tick, Dermacentor Variabilis (Say), Deborah M. Thompson, Sayed M.S. Khalil, Laura A. Jeffers, Usha Ananthapadadmanaban, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Robert D. Mitchell, Christopher J. Osgood, Charles S. Apperson, R. Michael Roe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Injection of the hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E) into partially fed (virgin) female adults of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, while they are attached and feeding on the rabbit host, initiated the expression of the vitellogenin (Vg) gene, and Vg protein secretion and uptake by the ovary. The induction of egg production by 20-E in this bioassay was dose dependent in the range of 1-50 times the concentration normally found in a replete, vitellogenic female. Ticks examined 4d after the 50x treatment were still attached to the host, had numerous enlarged vitellin-filled (brown) oocytes in their ovaries, but had not …

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Activates Nuclear Factor- Κb, Increases Intracellular Calcium, And Modulates Gene Transcription In Rat Heart Cells, David A. Tiangco, Frank A. Lattanzio Jr., Christopher J. Osgood, Stephen J. Beebe, Julie A. Kerry, Barbara Y. Hargrave

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is an illicit psychoactive drug that has gained immense popularity among teenagers and young adults. The cardiovascular toxicological consequences of abusing this compound have not been fully characterized. The present study utilized a transient transfection/dual luciferase genetic reporter assay, fluorescence confocal microscopy, and gene expression macroarray technology to determine nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity, intracellular calcium balance, mitochondrial depolarization, and gene transcription profiles, respectively, in cultured rat striated cardiac myocytes (H9c2) exposed to MDMA. At concentrations of 1×10⁻³ M and 1×10⁻² M, MDMA significantly enhanced NF-κB reporter activity compared with 0 M (medium only) control. This …

Landscape Ecology Of Birds On Mount Leconte, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Andreas P. Damalas

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Landbirds form a significant component of wildlife resources in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The present study explored how forest structure and composition of deciduous-coniferous ecotones influenced diversity, richness, and relative abundance of bird species and how bird species responded to the spruce-fir community.

Using a form of the variable-circular plot method, I conducted audio-visual censuses of diurnal birds on Mount LeConte. I established 212 geo-referenced census points on six trails, which were used as gradient-oriented transects (gradsects). I measured habitat characteristics at the same census points. I used forest community types for each point on gradsects to delineate …

Bioprospecting, Philip A. Reed

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article discusses that the product applications of bioprospecting are almost limitless. This area of biotechnology has been labeled bioprospecting, and it is a practice that is creating worldwide controversy. Defined simply, bioprospecting is "scientific research that looks for a useful application, process, or product in nature." However, as with most biotechnologies, the definition does not address the complexities of bioprospecting. Archeologists are finding that some biotechnologies, such as the use of herbs for medicine and the use of fermentation and yeast in food products, date back 5,000 to 10,000 years (De Miranda, 2004). The four main categories of biotechnologies …

The Body Eclectic: Viewing Bodily Modification In David Nebreda, David Houston Jones

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

David Nebreda's work presents current thinking on body/performance art with a dilemma. In stretching social prescriptions of the (re)presentable body, it exemplifies a pervasive anxiety concerning bodily modification and the politics of looking, and demands a new theorisation of the body in photographic representation. Autoportraits (2000) depicts a series of visibly emaciated bodies on which wounds are inflicted by knives, cords and flames [1]. The photographs document the strict schedules of discipline to which the bodies are subjected, and sometimes represent the very moment at which practices of bodily modification are executed. It is this subject-matter which threatens …

Room-Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Plasma For Biomedical Applications, Mounir Laroussi, Xinpei Lu

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

As low-temperature non-equilibrium plasmas come to play an increasing role in biomedical applications, reliable and user-friendly sources need to be developed. These plasma sources have to meet stringent requirements such as low temperature (at or near room temperature), no risk of arcing, operation at atmospheric pressure, preferably hand-held operation, low concentration of ozone generation, etc. In this letter, we present a device that meets exactly such requirements. This device is capable of generating a cold plasma plume several centimeters in length. It exhibits low power requirements as shown by its current-voltage characteristics. Using helium as a carrier gas, very little …

Men, Muscles, And Body Image: Comparisons Of Competitive Bodybuilders, Weight Trainers, And Athletically Active Controls, T. C. Pickett, R. J. Lewis, T. F. Cash, H. G. Pope

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objectives: To investigate body image and psychosocial adjustment among competitive bodybuilders, non-competitive weight trainers, and athletically active men.

Methods: Participants were 40 men in each of the three groups who were assessed on body composition and multiple facets of body image evaluation, investment and anxiety, eating attitudes, and social self esteem.

Results: Relative to the other two groups, competitive bodybuilders had greater body mass due to fat-free body mass. Although groups did not differ in their situational body image discomfort, competitive bodybuilders and weight trainers had a more positive global appearance evaluation and were more psychologically invested in their physical …

Optimization Of Ultraviolet Emission And Chemical Species Generation From A Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge At Atmospheric Pressure, Xinpei Lu, Mounir Laroussi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the attractive features of nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasmas is the ability to achieve enhanced gas phase chemistry without the need for elevated gas temperatures. This attractive characteristic recently led to their extensive use in applications that require low temperatures, such as material processing and biomedical applications. The agents responsible for the efficient plasma reactivity are the ultraviolet (UV) photons and the chemically reactive species. In this paper, in order to optimize the UV radiation and reactive species generation efficiency, the plasma was generated by a dielectric barrier discharge driven by unipolar submicrosecond square pulses. To keep the discharge …

Host Blood Proteins And Peptides In The Midgut Of The Tick Dermacentor Variabilis Contribute To Bacterial Control, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Wayne L. Hynes, Shane M. Ceraul, Robert Mitchell, Tiffany Benzine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Antimicrobial midgut proteins and peptides that result from blood digestion in feeding American dog ticks Dermacentor variabilis (Say) were identified. Midgut extracts from these ticks showed antimicrobial activity against Micrococcus luteus, regardless of whether they were challenged with peptidoglycan, blood meal components, rabbit blood, Bacillus subtilis, Escherischia coli or Borrelia burgdorferi. However, no peptide band co-migrating with defensin was found in midgut extracts from the challenged ticks. Partial purification of the midgut extracts using C₁₈ Sep Paks and gel electrophoresis showed the presence of 4 distinct bands with rMW 4.1, 5.3, 5.7 and 8.0 kDa identified …

Phytoplankton Development Within Tidal Freshwater Regions Of Two Virginia Rivers, Usa, Harold G. Marshall, Lubomira Burchardt

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Phytoplankton composition and the range of seasonal patterns of abundance are presented for the tidal freshwater regions in two Virginia rivers based on data accumulated monthly from 1986 through 1999. Diatoms dominated the flora during spring, summer, and fall, whereas, other taxonomic categories were more representative when the river flow rates decreased, allowing for a more stable water system and increased residency time within this tidal region during summer and early fall. This summer/fall period was associated with increased water temperatures, higher productivity rates and chlorophyll levels, increased total phytoplankton abundance and species diversity. The major components of the summer …

Demonstration Of Toxicity To Fish And To Mammalian Cells By Pfiesteria Species: Comparison Of Assay Methods And Strains, Joann M. Burkholder, Andrew S. Gordon, Peter D. Moeller, J. Mac Law, Kathryn J. Coyne, Alan J. Lewitus, John S. Ramsdell, Harold G. Marshall, Nora J. Deamer, S. Craig Cary, Jason W. Kempton, Steven L. Morton, Parke A. Rublee

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Toxicity and its detection in the dinoflagellate fish predators Pfiesteria piscicida and Pfiesteria shumwayae depend on the strain and the use of reliable assays. Two assays, standardized fish bioassays (SFBs) with juvenile fish and fish microassays (FMAs) with larval fish, were compared for their utility to detect toxic Pfiesteria. The comparison included strains with confirmed toxicity, negative controls (noninducible Pfiesteria strains and a related nontoxic cryptoperidiniopsoid dinoflagellate), and P. shumwayae strain CCMP2089, which previously had been reported as nontoxic. SFBs, standardized by using toxic Pfiesteria (coupled with tests confirming Pfiesteria toxin) and conditions conducive to toxicity expression, reliably detected …

Defensin In Ticks: Molecular Characterization, Expression, And Role In Innate Immunity, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Wayne L. Hynes, Shane M. Ceraul, Michelle Todd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Human Disturbances On The Behavior Of Wintering Ducks, Melissa L. Pease, Robert K. Rose, Mark J. Butler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Human activity causes wintering waterfowl to expend energy to avoid humans at a time in their annual cycle when energy conservation is important to survival, migration, and breeding reserves. Understanding the effects of recreational activities on waterfowl is important to managing natural resource areas where migratory birds depend on wetland habitat for resting and feeding. We investigated responses of 7 species of dabbling ducks to 5 different experimental human activities, (a pedestrian, a bicyclist, a truck traveling at 2 different speeds, and an electric passenger tram). Responses of ducks depended on type of disturbance, species, and distance from disturbances. Most …

New Species Of Amphipod Crustaceans In The Genera Tegano And Melita (Hadzioidea : Melitidae) From Subterranean Groundwaters In Guam, Palau, And The Philippines, Thomas R. Sawicki, John R. Holsinger, Thomas M. Iliffe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Three new species of Tegano are described, two from caves on Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines, and one from a cave on Peleliu Island, Palau. Sriha vagabunda from Sri Lanka is reassigned to the genus Tegano based primarily on the high degree of similarity between Sriha vagabunda and species of Tegano and the fact that these species exhibit a great deal of variation in the reduction of the mandibular palp. A new species of Melita with characters intermediate between those defining the genera Abludomelita, Melita, and Paraniphargus is described from a spring on Guam. The characters of the new …

Mechanical Properties Of The Integument Of The Common Gartersnake, Thamnophis Sirtalis (Serpentes: Colubridae), Gabriel Rivera, Alan H. Savitzky, Jeffrey A. Hinkley

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The evolution of the ophidian feeding mechanism has involved substantial morphological restructuring associated with the ability to ingest relatively large prey. Previous studies examining the morphological consequences of macrophagy have concentrated on modifications of the skull and cephalic musculature. Although it is evident that macrophagy requires highly compliant skin, the mechanical properties of the ophidian integument have received limited attention, particularly in the context of feeding. We examined mechanical properties of skin along the body axis in Thamnophis sirtalis (Colubridae). Data were collected from tensile tests and were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and post-hoc multiple comparison …

The Architecture Of A Proteomic Network In The Yeast, Emad Ramadan, Christopher Osgood, Alex Pothern

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We describe an approach to clustering the yeast protein-protein inter-action network in order to identify functional modules, groups of proteins forming multi-protein complexes accomplishing various functions in the cell. We have developed a clustering method that accounts for the small-world nature of the network. The algorithm makes use of the concept of k-cores in a graph, and employs recursive spectral clustering to compute the functional modules. The computed clusters are annotated using their protein memberships into known multi-protein complexes in the yeast. We also dissect the protein interaction network into a global subnetwork of hub proteins (connected to several clusters), …

Comparison Of Phytoplankton And Autotrophic Picoplankton Populations Over A 24-Hour Period From A Pond's Surface And Subsurface Waters, Harold G. Marshall, Lubomira Burchardt, Elżbieta Wilk-Woźniak

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Phytoplankton abundance and composition relationships within the surface layer changed over short time periods (4-6 hours) in comparison with more constant associations at 2 cm below the surface. Both strata had a diverse algal flora (>50 taxa), but no distinct neuston assemblage characterized the surface layer algal composition over the 24-hour study. The similarity between the two strata indicated the floral composition of the surface layer came from the water column algae below the surface. Chlorophytes, diatoms, cyanobacteria, and cryptophytes represented the most abundant algal categories for both strata with a total mean phytoplankton abundance of 3,566 cells ml …

Energy-Efficient Self-Organization Protocols For Sensor Networks, Qingwen Xu

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN, for short) consists of a large number of very small sensor devices deployed in an area of interest for gathering and delivery information. The fundamental goal of a WSN is to produce, over an extended period of time, global information from local data obtained by individual sensors. The WSN technology will have a significant impact on a wide array of applications on the efficiency of many civilian and military applications including combat field surveillance, intrusion detection, disaster management among many others. The basic management problem in the WSN is to balance the utility of the …

Melting And Solidification Study Of Indium And Bismuth Nanocrystals Using Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction, Mohamed K. Zayed

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

As technology begins to utilize nanocrystals for many chemical, biological, medical, electrical, and optoelectrical applications, there is a growing need for an understanding of their fundamental properties. The study of melting and solidification of nanocrystals is of interest to fundamental understanding of the effect of reduced size and crystal shape on the solid-liquid phase transition. Melting and solidification of as-deposited and recrystallized indium and bismuth nanocrystals were studied using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). The nanocrystals were thermally deposited on highly oriented 002-graphite substrate at different deposition temperatures. The growth dynamics of the nanocrystals was studied using in situ RHEED …

The Application Of A System Of Systems Analysis To Assessments Of National Power, George T. Hodermarsky

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation proposes an approach and methodology for the utilization of the fundamentals of systems theory as an aid to national security decision-making. At its core is an examination of the elements of nations' or non-state actor's power resources. The product of the analysis is the compilation of a set of nodes, and the relationships between these, upon which actions may be taken to achieve desired effects. Since the boundaries between the subsystems of power resources are flexible and permeable, and there will be interactions between elements in different subsystems, a system of systems approach is essential so that the …

Introduction: Data Communication And Topology Algorithms For Sensor Networks, Stephan Olariu, David Simplot-Ryl, Ivan Stojmenovic

Computer Science Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) We are very proud and honored to have been entrusted to be Guest Editors for this special issue. Papers were sought to comprehensively cover the algorithmic issues in the “hot” area of sensor networking. The concentration was on network layer problems, which can be divided into two groups: data communication problems and topology control problems. We wish to briefly introduce the five papers appearing in this special issue. They cover specific problems such as time division for reduced collision, fault tolerant clustering, self-stabilizing graph optimization algorithms, key pre-distribution for secure communication, and distributed storage based on spanning trees …