Digital Commons Network^™

Leucistic Wood Frog Tadpole (Lithobates Sylvaticus) From Central Ohio, Geoffrey R. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Benefits Of Research Fellowships For Undergraduates With Disabilities, Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh, Jean Whitney Phd, Lynn Lovewell, Babette Moeller

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Intrinsic And Extrinsic Factors Influence Expression Of Defensive Behavior In Plains Hog‐Nosed Snakes [Abstract], Andrew M. Durso, Stephen J. Mullin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing Multiple Endpoints Of Atrazine Ingestion On Gravid Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia Sipedon) And Their Offspring [Abstract], L. A. Neuman-Lee, K. F. Gaines, K. A. Baumgartner, J. R. Voorhees, J. M. Novak, Stephen J. Mullin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cloning, Expression, Sequence Analysis And Homology Modeling Of The Prolyl Endoprotease From Eurygaster Integriceps Puton, Ravi Chandra Yandamuri, Ranjeeta Gautam, Charles Darkoh, Vanitha Dareddy, Mustapha El-Bouhssini, Beatrice A. Clack

Faculty Publications

Eurygaster integriceps Puton, commonly known as sunn pest, is a major pest of wheat in Northern Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. This insect injects a prolyl endoprotease into the wheat, destroying the gluten. The purpose of this study was to clone the full length cDNA of the sunn pest prolyl endoprotease (spPEP) for expression in E. coli and to compare the amino acid sequence of the enzyme to other known PEPs in both phylogeny and potential tertiary structure. Sequence analysis shows that the 5ꞌ UTR contains several putative transcription factor binding sites for transcription factors known to be …

Effect Of Origanum Chemotypes On Broiler Intestinal Bacteria, Liliana Betancourt, Fernando Rodriguez, Vienvilay Phandanouvong, Claudia Ariza-Nieto, Michael Hume, David Nisbet, German Afanador-Tellez, Alexandra Martynova-Van Kley, Armen Nalian

Faculty Publications

Essential oils have been proposed as alternatives to antibiotic use in food animal production. This study evaluated 3 chemotypes of the Origanum genus, containing varying amounts of secondary metabolites carvacrol, thymol, and sabinene, in the broiler chicken diet. Aerial parts of Origanum vulgare L. (OL), O. vulgare L. ssp. hirtum (OH), and O. majorana (OM) were collected from a greenhouse located in the high altitude Sabana de Bogotá (Savanna of Bogotá) and O. vulgare L. ssp. hirtum (OG) produced and ground in Greece. Oregano essential oils (OEO) from these plants were obtained by steam distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography …

Relationships Between The Weedy (Amaranthaceae) And The Grain Amaranths [Abstract], Kiel D. Kielinski, Felix Jimenez, Eric N. Jellen, Peter J. Maughan, Scott M. Smith, Donald B. Pratt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Td-Dft Study Of The Absorption Spectra Of Mono-Nitrated Fluoranthenes [Abstract], Kefa Karimu Onchoke

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Responsible, Renewable, And Redesigned: How The Renewable Energy Movement Can Make Peace With The Endangered Species Act, Kalyani Robbins

Faculty Publications

One of the most promising routes to a sustainable energy future, as well as climate change mitigation, is the development of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar energy, and hydropower. Indeed, scientists have proposed plans to move completely (100 percent!) to these energy sources within a couple of decades. Mark Z. Jacobson and M.A. Delucchi, scientists from Stanford and U.C. Davis, have outlined a plan to achieve this goal, thereby “eliminating all fossil fuels”. Hydroelectric power already provides almost one-fifth of the world's electricity, and wind and solar development is rapidly picking up as well. However, before we leave …

Governing The Ungovernable: Integrating The Multimodal Approach To Keeping Agricultural Land Use From Swallowing Ecosystems, Kalyani Robbins

Faculty Publications

As the population grows, so does the conflict between demand for agricultural productivity and the need to maintain healthy ecosystems. Unfortunately, this concern alone does not motivate the agricultural industry to operate in a more environmentally friendly manner, nor is it an industry that has proven amenable to strict regulation. Indeed, any such effort must face one of the mightiest lobbies of all time. As it functions today, agriculture is unsustainable and at risk of wiping out more than its fair share of our already dwindling biodiversity. As demand increases, there is the potential for it to get worse than …

Comparison Of Tree Condition And Value For City Parks And Stephen F. Austin State University In Nacogdoches, Texas, U.S., David Kulhavy, Daniel Unger, I-Kuai Hung, Di Wu, Jianghua Sun

Faculty Publications

Trees in landscapes are valued for physical as well as aesthetic benefits and biodiversity. Trees on a university campus and in city parks also help to provide an environment in which students and visitors can study and relax. A critical decision facing urban foresters, arborists, and planners involves deciding when an existing tree should be removed and replaced; it is a decision often based on an evaluation of the tree’s health, condition, and safety concerns. This project surveyed a total of 3,335 trees with 79 species on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Texas, U.S.) and 1,572 …

The Value Of Public Philosophy To Philosophers, Massimo Pigliucci, Leonard Finkelman

Faculty Publications

Philosophy has been a public endeavor since its origins in ancient Greece, India, and China. However, recent years have seen the development of a new type of public philosophy conducted by both academics and nonprofessionals. The new public philosophy manifests itself in a range of modalities, from the publication of magazines and books for the general public to a variety of initiatives that exploit the power and flexibility of social networks and new media. In this paper we examine the phenomenon of public philosophy in its several facets, and investigate whether and in what sense it is itself a mix …

The Economics Of Dead Zones: Causes, Impacts, Policy Challenges, And A Model Of The Gulf Of Mexico Hypoxic Zone, S S. Rabotyagov, C. L. Kling, P. W. Gassman, Nancy N. Rabalais, R. Euigene Turner

Faculty Publications

This article reviews and analyzes the issues related to worldwide hypoxic zones and the range of economic questions sorely in need of answers. We begin by describing the extent and causes of hypoxic zones worldwide, followed by a review of the evidence concerning ecological effects of hypoxic zones and their impacts on ecosystem services. We describe what is known about abatement options and cost-effective policy design, and then focus on the large seasonally recurring hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. We offer a simple econometric model to estimate the relationship between pollutants (nutrients) and the size of the hypoxic …

Discussion Of: Olea, Ra And Coleman, Jl, Jr., 2014. A Synoptic Examination Of Causes Of Land Loss In Southern Louisiana As Related To The Exploitation Of Subsurface Geological Resources. Journal Of Coastal Research, 30(5), 1025-1044., R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

I comment on Olea and Coleman's (2014) conclusion that subsidence was the primary cause of the dramatic rise in Louisiana's coastal land losses in the last 100 years. The focus on subsidence combined with the omission of context for factors not related to subsidence (e.g., dredged canals), leaves the reader with the incorrect conclusion that anthropogenic factors observed to date are insignificant, and that coastal wetland losses are only driven by subsidence. I address this omission by discussing two points about anthropogenic influences: (1) dredged canals and (2) changes in sediment load from the watershed and its distribution. They omit …

Eutrophication-Driven Deoxygenation In The Coastal Ocean, N N. Rabalais, W J. Cai, J Carstensen, D J. Conley, N N. Rabalais, X P. Hu, Z Quinones-Rivera, R Rosenberg, C P. Slomp, R. Eugene Turner, M Voss, B Wissel, J Zhang

Faculty Publications

Human activities, especially increased nutrient loads that set in motion a cascading chain of events related to eutrophication, accelerate development of hypoxia (lower oxygen concentration) in many areas of the world's coastal ocean. Climate changes and extreme weather events may modify hypoxia. Organismal and fisheries effects are at the heart of the coastal hypoxia issue, but more subtle regime shifts and trophic interactions are also cause for concern. The chemical milieu associated with declining dissolved oxygen concentrations affects the biogeochemical cycling of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silica, trace metals, and sulfide as observed in water column processes, shifts in sediment …

Absorption And Fluorescence Properties Of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter Of The Eastern Bering Sea In The Summer With Special Reference To The Influence Of A Cold Pool, E.J. D'Sa, J.I. Goes, H. Gomes, C. Mouw

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Chlorophyll Variability Along The Louisiana Coast Using Multi-Satellite Data, E.J. D'Sa

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Reversal Of Fortunes: Climate Change 'Winners' And 'Losers' In Antarctic Peninsula Penguins, G.V. Clucas, M.J. Dunn, G. Dyke, S.D. Emslie, R. Naveen, M.J. Polito, O.G. Pybus, A.D. Rogers, T. Hart

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mangrove Swamps: Sentinel Ecosystem In Front Of The Climatic Change, Gulf Of Mexico, Alejandro Yáñez-Arancibia, John W. Day, Robert R. Twilley, Richard H. Day

Faculty Publications

Considering the challenge that the economic, social and ecological systems face-in order to know and mitigate the global climate change-, evidences of the functional structure of mangroves ecological system are presented revisiting the hypothesis presented by Yáñez-Arancibia et al. (1998), and revised latter by Yáñez-Arancibia et al. (2010): “the mangroves as a critical forest habitat of the coastal zone present accommodation responses to the environmental variability that induces global change playing an structural and functional role in the stability of the coastline, the persistence of habitats and biodiversity, the metabolism of the ecosystem, reducing risks and uncertainty for the sustainable …

Comparative Study Of Three Two-Stage Hybrid Ecological Wastewater Treatment Systems For Producing High Nutrient, Reclaimed Water For Irrigation Reuse In Developing Countries, Florentina Zurita, John R. White

Faculty Publications

In this study, three different two-stage hybrid ecological wastewater treatment systems (HEWTS) with combinations of horizontal flow (HF) constructed wetlands (CWs), vertical flow (VF) CWs and stabilization ponds (SP) were evaluated for the removal of Organic-N, NH4⁺, NO3^-, Total N, Total P, Total Coliforms (TCol) and Escherichia Coli, BOD, COD and TSS. The overall goal of the study was novel in comparison to most other studies in that we sought to evaluate and compare the efficiency of the three HEWTSs for water quality improvements, while minimizing nutrient removal from the wastewater in order to generate high …

Assessing Early Looks At Biological Responses To The Macondo Event, N. Rabalais

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Concentrations And Sources Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Surface Coastal Sediments Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Zucheng Wang, Zhanfei Liu, Kehui Xu, Lawrence M. Mayer, Zulin Zhang, Alexander S. Kolker, Wei Wu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Distinct Responses Of Gulf Of Mexico Phytoplankton Communities To Crude Oil And The Dispersant Corexit® Ec9500a Under Different Nutrient Regimes, Koray Ozhan, Sibel Bargu

Faculty Publications

This study examines the potential effects of exposure to South Louisiana sweet crude oil (LSC), Corexit® EC9500A, and dispersed oil on enclosed phytoplankton communities under different nutrient regimes. Three distinct microcosm experiments were conducted for 10 days to assess changes to the structure of natural communities from the Gulf of Mexico as quantified by temporal changes in the biomasses of different phytoplankton groups. Concentration of NO3, Si and PO4 were 0.83, 0.99 and 0.09 μM for the unenriched treatments and 14.07, 13.01 and 0.94 μM for the enriched treatments, respectively. Overall, the contaminants LSC and Corexit® EC9500A led to a …

Escaping From Lawyers' Prison Of Fear, John Lande

Faculty Publications

Lawyers regularly experience numerous fears endemic to their work. This is not surprising considering that lawyers generally operate in environments that frequently stimulate many fears. Lawyers’ fears can lead them to enhance their performance due to increased preparation and effective “thinking on their feet.” Fear is problematic when it is out of proportion to actual threats, is expressed inappropriately, or is chronically unaddressed effectively. It can lead to sub-optimal and counterproductive performance through paralysis, ritualized behavior, or inappropriate aggression. Some lawyers’ fears unnecessarily prevent them from performing well, producing good results for clients, earning more income, and experiencing greater satisfaction …

The Neural Substrates Of Natural Reading: A Comparison Of Normal And Nonword Text Using Eyetracking And Fmri, W. Choi, Rutvik Desai, J. M. Henderson

Faculty Publications

Most previous studies investigating the neural correlates of reading have presented text using serial visual presentation (SVP), which may not fully reflect the underlying processes of natural reading. In the present study, eye movements and BOLD data were collected while subjects either read normal paragraphs naturally or moved their eyes through “paragraphs” of pseudo-text (pronounceable pseudowords or consonant letter strings) in two pseudo-reading conditions. Eye movement data established that subjects were reading and scanning the stimuli normally. A conjunction fMRI analysis across natural- and pseudo-reading showed that a common eye-movement network including frontal eye fields (FEF), supplementary eye fields (SEF), …

The Functional Organization Of The Left Sts: A Large Scale Meta-Analysis Of Pet And Fmri Studies Of Healthy Adults, E. Liebenthal, Rutvik Desai, C. Humphries, M. Sabri, A. Desai

Faculty Publications

The superior temporal sulcus (STS) in the left hemisphere is functionally diverse, with sub-areas implicated in both linguistic and non-linguistic functions. However, the number and boundaries of distinct functional regions remain to be determined. Here, we present new evidence, from meta-analysis of a large number of positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, of different functional specificity in the left STS supporting a division of its middle to terminal extent into at least three functional areas. The middle portion of the left STS stem (fmSTS) is highly specialized for speech perception and the processing …

The Democratic Life Of The Union: Toward Equal Voting Participation For Europeans With Disabilities, János Fiala-Butora, Michael Ashley Stein, Janet E. Lord

Faculty Publications

This Article puts forward preliminary legal scholarship on equal political participation by persons with disabilities and what international human rights law requires for its attainment. The goal is to provoke an informed dialogue on the neglected but fundamental human right to enfranchisement by persons with disabilities while also acknowledging that a complete and just resolution requires further information and reflection.

The Article argues that the fundamental right to vote cannot be curtailed on the basis of an alleged lack of capacity. Disenfranchisement based on individual assessment unjustly excludes a certain number of voting-capable individuals. Since all those affected are persons …

Citizen Science: The Law And Ethics Of Public Access To Medical Big Data, Sharona Hoffman

Faculty Publications

Patient-related medical information is becoming increasingly available on the Internet, spurred by government open data policies and private sector data sharing initiatives. Websites such as HealthData.gov, GenBank, and PatientsLikeMe allow members of the public to access a wealth of health information. As the medical information terrain quickly changes, the legal system must not lag behind. This Article provides a base on which to build a coherent data policy. It canvasses emergent data troves and wrestles with their legal and ethical ramifications.

Publicly accessible medical data have the potential to yield numerous benefits, including scientific discoveries, cost savings, the development of …

The Anthropology Of Plague: Insights From Bioarcheological Analyses Of Epidemic Cemeteries, Sharon Dewitte

Faculty Publications

Most research on historic plague has relied on documentary evidence, but recently researchers have examined the remains of plague victims to produce a deeper understanding of the disease. Bioarcheological analysis allows the skeletal remains of epidemic victims to bear witness to the contexts of their deaths. This is important for our understanding of the experiences of the vast majority of people who lived in the past, who are not typically included in the historical record. This paper summarizes bioarcheological research on plague, primarily investigations of the Black Death in London (1349–50), emphasizing what anthropology uniquely contributes to plague studies.

Chronic Exposure To A Low Dose Of Ingested Petroleum Disrupts Corticosterone Receptor Signalling In A Tissue-Specific Manner In The House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus), Christine R. Lattin, L. Michael Romero

Faculty Publications

© The Author 2014. Stress-induced concentrations of glucocorticoid hormones (including corticosterone, CORT) can be suppressed by chronic exposure to a low dose of ingested petroleum. However, endocrine-disrupting chemicals could interfere with CORT signalling beyond the disruption of hormone titres, including effects on receptors in different target tissues. In this study, we examined the effects of 6 weeks of exposure to a petroleum-laced diet (1% oil weight:food weight) on tissue mass and intracellular CORT receptors in liver, fat, muscle and kidney (metabolic tissues), spleen (an immune tissue) and testes (a reproductive tissue). In the laboratory, male house sparrows were fed either …