Digital Commons Network^™

Pharmaceutical Compounds In Wastewater: Wetland Treatment As A Potential Solution, John R. White, Marco A. Belmont, Chris D. Metcalfe

Faculty Publications

Pharmaceutical compounds are being released into the aquatic environment through wastewater discharge around the globe. While there is limited removal of these compounds within wastewater treatment plants, wetland treatment might prove to be an effective means to reduce the discharge of the compounds into the environment. Wetlands can promote removal of these pharmaceutical compounds through a number of mechanisms including photolysis, plant uptake, microbial degradation, and sorption to the soil. We review relevant laboratory research on these various mechanisms and provide data on the few studies that have examined wetland removal. There is a need to document the degree to …

Performance Of The Nzi And Other Traps For Biting Flies In North America, S. Mihok, D. A. Carlson, E. S. Krafsur, L. D. Foil

Faculty Publications

The performance of Nzi traps for tabanids (Tabanus similis Macquart, T. quinquevittatus Wiedemann, Chrysops aberrans Philip, C. univittatus Macquart, C. cincticornis Walker, Hybomitra lasiophthalma (Macquart)), stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans Linnaeus) (Diptera: Muscidae) and mosquitoes (Aedes) (Diptera: Culicidae) was investigated at various sites in Canada (Ontario, Alberta) and USA (Iowa, Florida, Louisiana). Traps made from selected fabrics, insect nettings and hand-dyed blue cotton were compared to the African design to provide practical recommendations for temperate environments. Comparisons of substituted materials showed that trap performance was optimal only when traps were made from appropriate fabrics in the colours produced by either copper …

Amyloid-Β-Induced Pathological Behaviors Are Suppressed By Ginkgo Biloba Extract Egb 761 And Ginkgolides In Transgenic Caenorhabditis Elegans, Yanjue Wu, Zhixin Wu, Peter Butko, Yves Christen, Mary P. Lambert, William L. Klein, Christopher D. Link, Yuan Luo

Faculty Publications

Amyloid-β (Aβ) toxicity has been postulated to initiate synaptic loss and subsequent neuronal degeneration seen in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously demonstrated that the standardized Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761, commonly used to enhance memory and by AD patients for dementia, inhibits Aβ-induced apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells. In this study, we use EGb 761 and its single constituents to associate Aβ species with Aβ-induced pathological behaviors in a model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. We report that EGb 761 and one of its components, ginkgolide A, alleviates Aβ-induced pathological behaviors, including paralysis, and reduces chemotaxis behavior and 5-HT hypersensitivity in a transgenic …

Rapid Decay Of Tree-Community Composition In Amazonian Forest Fragments, William F. Laurance, Henrique E.M. Nascimento, Susan G. Laurance, Ana Andrade, José E.L.S. Ribeiro, Juan Pablo Giraldo, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Richard Condit, Jerome Chave, Kyle E. Harms, Sammya D'Angelo

Faculty Publications

Forest fragmentation is considered a greater threat to vertebrates than to tree communities because individual trees are typically long-lived and require only small areas for survival. Here we show that forest fragmentation provokes surprisingly rapid and profound alterations in Amazonian tree-community composition. Results were derived from a 22-year study of exceptionally diverse tree communities in 40 1-ha plots in fragmented and intact forests, which were sampled repeatedly before and after fragment isolation. Within these plots, trajectories of change in abundance were assessed for 267 genera and 1,162 tree species. Abrupt shifts in floristic composition were driven by sharply accelerated tree …

Development Of Computations In Bioscience And Bioinformatics And Its Application: Review Of The Symposium Of Computations In Bioinformatics And Bioscience (Scbb06), Youping Deng, Jun Ni, Chaoyang Zhang

Faculty Publications

The first symposium of computations in bioinformatics and bioscience (SCBB06) was held in Hangzhou, China on June 21-22, 2006. Twenty-six peer-reviewed papers were selected for publication in this special issue of BMC Bioinformatics. These papers cover a broad range of topics including bioinformatics theories, algorithms, applications and tool development. The main technical topics contain gene expression analysis, sequence analysis, genome analysis, phylogenetic analysis, gene function prediction, molecular interaction and system biology, genetics and population study, immune strategy, protein structure prediction and proteomics.

An Overview Of The Near-Death Experience Phenomenon, David San Filippo Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Near-death experiences appear to be universal phenomena that have been reported for centuries. A near-death encounter is defined as an event in which the individual could very easily die or be killed, or may have already been considered clinically dead, but nonetheless survives, and continue his or her physical life. Reports of near-death experiences date back to the Ice Age. There are cave paintings, in France and Spain that depict possible after life scenes that are similar to reported scenes related to near-death experiences. Plato's Republic presents the story of a near-death experience of a Greek soldier named Er. In …

Hurricane Prediction: A Century Of Advances, Nan D. Walker, Alaric Haag, Shreekanth Balasubramanian, Robert Leben, Ivor Van Heerden, Paul Kemp, Hassan Mashriqui

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sines Of A Nearly Perfect Character, David A. Ray, Jinchuan Xing, Abdel Halim Salem, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Mobile elements have been recognized as powerful tools for phylogenetic and population-level analyses. However, issues regarding potential sources of homoplasy and other misleading events have been raised. We have collected available data for all phylogenetic and population level studies of primates utilizing Alu insertion data and examined them for potentially homoplasious and other misleading events. Very low levels of each potential confounding factor in a phylogenetic or population analysis (i.e., lineage sorting, parallel insertions, and precise excision) were found. Although taxa known to be subject to high levels of these types of events may indeed be subject to problems when …

Objectively Measured Physical Activity In Sixth-Grade Girls, Russell R. Pate, June Stevens, Charlotte Pratt, James F. Sallis, Kathryn H. Schmitz, Larry S. Webber, Gregory J. Welk, Deborah Rohm Young

Faculty Publications

Objectives - To describe the objectively-measured physical activity (PA) characteristics of a diverse sample of 6^th grade girls to examine influences on PA, and to report compliance with PA guidelines.

Design - Cross-sectional study.

Setting - Six locations across the United States.

Participants - 1578 6^th grade girls. Actigraph accelerometers were worn for 7 days, and data for 6 days were included in the analyses.

Main exposure - Race/ethnicity, free-or-reduced price lunch (FRPL), and geographic region.

Main outcome measure - Six operational definitions of adequate activity (60 min or 30 min of daily MVPA at or above 4.6, …

Slovakia's Surge: The New System's Impact On Fiscal Decentralization, Phillip J. Bryson, Gary C. Cornia

Faculty Publications

Slovakia's transition history long paralleled that of the Czech Republic, but the former adopted bold new reforms early in tis decade. This paper is a comparative treatment of fiscal decentralization since 1993 and more recent reforms of public administration, the two efforts representing the foundation of the New System. Czech experience is invoked simply to provide an appropriate benchmark for the evaluation of Slovakia's New System introduced in 2004, including the 19% "flat tax" and other striking measures in local public finance. The second focus of the paper is on the macro-economic impact of the New System. It is too …

A Novel Account Of Scientific Anomaly: Help For The Dispute Over Low-Dose Biochemical Effects, Kevin C. Elliott

Faculty Publications

The biological effects of low doses of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals are currently a matter of significant scientific controversy. This paper argues that philosophers of science can contribute to alleviating this controversy by examining it with the aid of a novel account of scientific anomaly. Specifically, analysis of contemporary research on chemical hormesis (i.e.. alleged beneficial biological effects produced by low doses of substances that are harmful at higher doses) suggests that scientists may initially describe anomalous phenomena in terms of multiple distinct '"characterizations," each
of which is compatible with current empirical evidence. By focusing attention on this feature of …

The Smith-Mundt Act's Ban On Domestic Propaganda: An Analysis Of The Cold War Statute Limiting Access To Public Diplomacy, Edward L. Carter, Allen W. Palmer

Faculty Publications

For more than fifty years, the U.S. Code has authorized the federal government to disseminate messages about America to international audiences. For at least thirty years, federal law has also prohibited those international propaganda messages from being disseminated within the United States. Given the realities of the acceleration and dispersion of information flow across international borders in the twenty-first century, a ban on dissemination of information that is tied to geographic boundaries raises both practical and policy issues. The domestic dissemination ban may have outlived its usefulness and relevance. Further, futile enforcement of the statute contradicts general U.S. policy promoting …

Culturally Adapted Mental Health Interventions: A Meta-Analytic Review, Timothy B. Smith, Derek Griner

Faculty Publications

There is a pressing need to enhance the availability and quality of mental health services provided to persons from historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups. Many previous authors have advocated that traditional mental health treatments be modified to better match clients? cultural contexts. Numerous studies evaluating culturally adapted interventions have appeared, and the present study used meta-analytic methodology to summarize these data. Across 76 studies the resulting random effects weighted average effect size was d = .45, indicating a moderately strong benefit of culturally adapted interventions. Interventions targeted to a specific cultural group were four times more effective than interventions …

Information Infrastructure For Integrated Ecohydraulic And Water Resources Modeling And Assessment, R. Wallace, K. Pathak, M. Fife, Norman L. Jones, J. P. Holland, D. Stuart, J. Harris, C. Butler, D. R. Richards

Faculty Publications

Watershed management increasingly requires ecohydraulic modeling and assessment within a regional context, rather than on a project-by-project basis. Such holistic modeling and assessment require evaluation capabilities across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Thus, modeling and assessment tools must be integrated in a scientifically and computationally effective infrastructure. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, in concert with the Hydrologic Engineering Center and its academic partners, including Brigham Young University, is establishing a comprehensive set of hydroinformatics modeling and assessment tools for ecohydraulic and water resources management applications, all linked based on a common data and information infrastructure. This paper …

How Religious Couples Perceive The Influence Of God In Their Marriage, Michael A. Goodman, David C. Dollahite

Faculty Publications

This article builds on the work of Annette Mahoney and her colleagues regarding "sanctification of marriage" by focusing on religious married couples' perception of God's involvement in their marriages. The study includes qualitative analyses of indepth interviews with 32 middle-aged Christian, Jewish and Muslim couples married an average of twenty years. Couples' views of God's purposes influenced the pathways and processes of perceived divine involvement in their marriages. The extent and pathways in which couples perceived God to be involved in their marriage correlated with specific beliefs and practices. Several patterns emerge and a theoretical model is proposed to illustrate …

Emergence Of Primate Genes By Retrotransposon-Mediated Sequence Transduction, Jinchuan Xing, Hui Wang, Victoria P. Belancio, Richard Cordaux, Prescott L. Deininger, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Gene duplication is one of the most important mechanisms for creating new genes and generating genomic novelty. Retrotransposon-mediated sequence transduction (i.e., the process by which a retrotransposon carries flanking sequence during its mobilization) has been proposed as a gene duplication mechanism. L1 exon shuffling potential has been reported in cell culture assays, and two potential L1-mediated exon shuffling events have been identified in the genome. SVA is the youngest retrotransposon family in primates and is capable of 3′ flanking sequence transduction during retrotransposition. In this study, we examined all of the full-length SVA elements in the human genome to assess …

Electrophile-Induced Ether Transfer: A New Approach To Polyketide Structural Units, Kai Liu, Richard E. Taylor, Rendy Kartika

Faculty Publications

A strategically novel approach to the formation of syn-1,3-diol mono- and diethers through electrophilic activation of homoallylic alkoxymethyl ethers has been developed. The resulting polyketide-like synthetic fragments are generated in good yield and with excellent stereocontrol. A chairlike transition state is proposed to account for the high stereoselectivity. Varying the conditions of the reaction workup results in the efficient generation of mono- and diether containing structural units common to polyketide natural products. © 2006 American Chemical Society.

Red Tides In The Gulf Of Mexico: Where, When, And Why?, J. J. Walsh, J. K. Jolliff, B. P. Darrow, J. M. Lenes, S.P. Milroy, A. Remsen, D.A. Dieterle, K.L. Carder, F.R. Chen, F.R. Chen, G.A. Vargo, R.H. Weisberg, K.A. Fanning, F.E. Muller-Karger, E. Shinn, K.A. Steidinger, C.A. Heil, C.R. Tomas, J.S. Prospero, T.N. Lee, G.J. Kirkpatrick, T.E. Whitledge, D.A. Stockwell, T.A. Villareal, A.E. Jochens, P.S. Bontempi

Faculty Publications

Independent data from the Gulf of Mexico are used to develop and test the hypothesis that the same sequence of physical and ecological events each year allows the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis to become dominant. A phosphorus-rich nutrient supply initiates phytoplankton succession, once deposition events of Saharan iron-rich dust allow Trichodesmium blooms to utilize ubiquitous dissolved nitrogen gas within otherwise nitrogen-poor sea water. They and the co-occurring K. brevis are positioned within the bottom Ekman layers, as a consequence of their similar diel vertical migration patterns on the middle shelf. Upon onshore upwelling of these near-bottom seed populations to CDOM-rich …

Cultural Competence In Action: A Framework And Practical Strategies For Clinicians, Nidhi Mahendra, Dolores Battle, Joan Payne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Training Variables In Effective Dissemination Of Evidence-Based Parenting Interventions, Alexandra C. Seng, Ronald J. Prinz, Matthew R. Sanders

Faculty Publications

From a public health perspective, mental health in parents and children can be promoted through population-based dissemination of parenting and family support interventions. However, it is critical that service providers who are acquiring evidence-based parenting interventions complete the training regimen to optimize dissemination and impact. This article examines training completion and its relationship to individual service provider characteristics, barriers to program use and subsequent implementation of an evidence-based program, the Triple P - Positive Parenting Program. In this study, 83.7% of the service providers completed the two-part training. Individual-level variables did not predict training completion. Service providers from diverse backgrounds …

An Organic White Light-Emitting Fluorophore, Youjun Yang, Mark Lowry, Corin M. Schowalter, Sayo O. Fakayode, Jorge O. Escobedo, Xiangyang Xu, Huating Zhang, Timothy J. Jensen, Frank R. Fronczek, Isiah M. Warner, Robert M. Strongin

Faculty Publications

The synthesis of new benzo[a]- and [b]xanthene dye frameworks is described. A unique benzo[a]xanthene, seminaphtho[a]fluorone (SNAFR-1), is studied in a variety of media. The optimization of solution parameters and excitation wavelengths allows SNAFR-1 to display red, green, and blue emission bands of approximately equal intensities and also to produce white light. Ratiometric red (anion) and green (neutral) emissions are observed upon varying solution pH. A pH-independent violet-blue emission band is due to the addition of nucleophiles to the benzylic carbon of SNAFR-1. © 2006 American Chemical Society.

Siamese, A Plant-Specific Cell Cycle Regulator, Controls Endoreplication Onset In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Michelle L. Churchman, Matthew L. Brown, Naohiro Kato, Viktor Kirik, Martin Hülskamp, Dirk Inzé, Lieven De Veylder, Jason D. Walker, Ui Zheng, David G. Oppenheimer, Taylor Gwin, Jason Churchman, John C. Larkin

Faculty Publications

Recessive mutations in the SIAMESE (SIM) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana result in multicellular trichomes harboring individual nuclei with a low ploidy level, a phenotype strikingly different from that of wild-type trichomes, which are single cells with a nuclear DNA content of ∼16C to 32C. These observations suggested that SIM is required to suppress mitosis as part of the switch to endoreplication in trichomes. Here, we demonstrate that SIM encodes a nuclear-localized 14-kD protein containing a cyclin binding motif and a motif found in ICK/KRP (for interactors of Cdc2 kinase/Kip-related protein) cell cycle inhibitor proteins. Accordingly, SIM was found to associate …

Voluntary Participation And Informed Consent International Genetic Research, Patricia A. Marshall, Clement A. Adebamowo, Adebowale A. Adeyemo, Temidayo O. Ogundiran, Mirjana Vekich, Teri Strenski, Jie Zhou, T. Elaine Prewitt, Richard S. Cooper, Charles N. Rotimi

Faculty Publications

Objectives. We compared voluntary participation and comprehension of informed consent among individuals of African ancestry enrolled in similarly designed genetic studies of hypertension in the United States and Nigeria. Methods. Survey questionnaires were used to evaluate factors associated with voluntariness (the number of people volunteering) and understanding of the study's genetic purpose. A total of 655 individuals (United States: 348; Nigeria: 307) were interviewed after participation in the genetic studies. Results. Most US respondents (99%), compared with 72% of Nigerian respondents, reported being told the study purpose. Fewer than half of the respondents at both sites reported that the study …

Common Variants In The Enpp1 Gene Are Not Reproducibly Associated With Diabetes Or Obesity, Helen N. Lyon, Jose C. Florez, Todd Bersaglieri, Richa Saxena, Wendy Winckler, Peter Almgren, Ulf Lindblad, Tiinamaija Tuomi, Daniel Gaudet, Xiaofeng Zhu, Richard Cooper, Kristin G. Ardlie, Mark J. Daly, David Altshuler, Leif Groop, Joel N. Hirschhorn

Faculty Publications

The common missense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) K121Q in the ectoenzyme nucleotide pyrophosphate phosphodiesterase (ENPP1) gene has recently been associated with type 2 diabetes in Italian, U.S., and South-Asian populations. A three-SNP haplotype, including K121Q, has also been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes in French and Austrian populations. We set out to confirm these findings in several large samples. We genotyped the haplotype K121Q (rs1044498), rs1799774, and rs7754561 in 8,676 individuals of European ancestry with and without type 2 diabetes, in 1,900 obese and 930 lean individuals of European ancestry from the U.S. and Poland, and in 1,101 …

Legal Cases Illustrate Lending Do's And Don'ts, Neil Fulton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of The Strong Kids Curriculum On Students At-Risk For Internalizing Behavior Disorders, Marenda Brown, Michelle Marchant, Paul Caldarella, Hilda Sabbah, Michael Adams

Faculty Publications

Advantage of Deveoping Social/Emotional Skills in Schools: School is a context that is accessible to children and youth. Schools provide an environment rich in opportunities for social and emotional development (Miller et al., 1998). Classroom experiences are made up of social and emotional interactions (Elksnin & Elksnin, 2006). Children typically feel comfortable in the school setting (Roeser, 2001).

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Consumption In The Reduction Of Sudden Cardiac Death: A Critical Appraisal, Katie J. Walker, A. Elaine Bond, Renea L. Beckstrand, Mary Williams

Faculty Publications

This article examines the effects of omega-3 fatty acid consumption in reducing sudden cardiac death risk, and provides useful dosing recommendations for patients–with or without a history of coronary heart disease–in a primary care practice.

Dynamic Modeling And Statistical Analysis Of Event Times, Edsel A. Pena

Faculty Publications

This review article provides an overview of recent work in the modeling and analysis of recurrent events arising in engineering, reliability, public health, biomedicine and other areas. Recurrent event modeling possesses unique facets making it different and more difficult to handle than single event settings. For instance, the impact of an increasing number of event occurrences needs to be taken into account, the effects of covariates should be considered, potential association among the interevent times within a unit cannot be ignored, and the effects of performed interventions after each event occurrence need to be factored in. A recent general class …

A Fresh Look At The Responsible Relation Doctrine, Todd S. Aagaard

Faculty Publications

This Article suggests a rethinking of the responsible relation doctrine, which holds business officials, managers, and supervisors criminally liable for failing to prevent or correct violations that occur within their areas of responsibility and control. The conventional public welfare justification for the doctrine is that it provides added and important deterrence of legal violations that threaten human health and safety. This Article suggests instead that the doctrine is better understood and defended as properly following from traditional criminal law prohibitions on acts of omission, and specifically from the principle that individuals may be criminally liable when their failure to fulfill …

Arthur Hugh Clough And Florence Nightingale: A Relationship Reexamined, Patrick G. Scott

Faculty Publications

Discusses the relationship between the Victorian poet Arthur Hugh Clough and his cousin-by-marriage the nursing reformer Florence Nightingale, using manuscript and other evidence to counter the varicature offered by Lytton Strachey in his influential book Eminent Victorians.