Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Faculty Publications

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 7951 - 7980 of 10793

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Monte Carlo Fast Dose Calculator For Proton Radiotherapy: Application To A Voxelized Geometry Representing A Patient With Prostate Cancer, Pablo Yepes, Sharmalee Randeniya, Phillip J. Taddei, Wayne D. Newhauser Jan 2009

Monte Carlo Fast Dose Calculator For Proton Radiotherapy: Application To A Voxelized Geometry Representing A Patient With Prostate Cancer, Pablo Yepes, Sharmalee Randeniya, Phillip J. Taddei, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

The Monte Carlo method is used to provide accurate dose estimates in proton radiation therapy research. While it is more accurate than commonly used analytical dose calculations, it is computationally intense. The aim of this work was to characterize for a clinical setup the fast dose calculator (FDC), a Monte Carlo track-repeating algorithm based on GEANT4. FDC was developed to increase computation speed without diminishing dosimetric accuracy. The algorithm used a database of proton trajectories in water to calculate the dose of protons in heterogeneous media. The extrapolation from water to 41 materials was achieved by scaling the proton range …

Go to article

Stretching The Envelope Of Past Surface Environments: Neoproterozoic Glacial Lakes From Svalbard, Huiming Bao, Ian J. Fairchild, Peter M. Wynn, Christoph Spötl Jan 2009

Stretching The Envelope Of Past Surface Environments: Neoproterozoic Glacial Lakes From Svalbard, Huiming Bao, Ian J. Fairchild, Peter M. Wynn, Christoph Spötl

Faculty Publications

The oxygen isotope composition of terrestrial sulfate is affected measurably by many Earth-surface processes. During the Neoproterozoic, severe "snowball" glaciations would have had an extreme impact on the biosphere and the atmosphere. Here, we report that sulfate extracted from carbonate lenses within a Neoproterozoic glacial diamictite suite from Svalbard, with an age of ∼635 million years ago, falls well outside the currently known natural range of triple oxygen isotope compositions and indicates that the atmosphere had either an exceptionally high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration or an utterly unfamiliar oxygen cycle during deposition of the diamictites.

Go to article

Stretching The Envelope Of Past Surface Environments: Neoproterozoic Glacial Lakes From Svalbard, Huiming Bao, Ian J. Fairchild, Peter M. Wynn, Christoph Spötl Jan 2009

Stretching The Envelope Of Past Surface Environments: Neoproterozoic Glacial Lakes From Svalbard, Huiming Bao, Ian J. Fairchild, Peter M. Wynn, Christoph Spötl

Faculty Publications

The oxygen isotope composition of terrestrial sulfate is affected measurably by many Earth-surface processes. During the Neoproterozoic, severe "snowball" glaciations would have had an extreme impact on the biosphere and the atmosphere. Here, we report that sulfate extracted from carbonate lenses within a Neoproterozoic glacial diamictite suite from Svalbard, with an age of ∼635 million years ago, falls well outside the currently known natural range of triple oxygen isotope compositions and indicates that the atmosphere had either an exceptionally high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration or an utterly unfamiliar oxygen cycle during deposition of the diamictites.

Go to article

Reading The Bible After Darwin, Mark A. Throntveit, Alan G. Padgett Jan 2009

Reading The Bible After Darwin, Mark A. Throntveit, Alan G. Padgett

Faculty Publications

The historical and scientific accuracy of the biblical witness has become increasingly difficult to maintain in light of the Darwinian revolution. A positive result has been a return to a proper theological reading of Scripture, not as our primary source of technical information but of insight into God’s means of dealing with us and God’s creation.

Go to article

The Dialectic Of Idolatry And Profanation: On Discerning The Spirit In Congregational Studies, Lois E. Malcolm Jan 2009

The Dialectic Of Idolatry And Profanation: On Discerning The Spirit In Congregational Studies, Lois E. Malcolm

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Tolerance, Democracy And Fundamentalism(S) : Challenges In Time Of Systemic Bifurcations, Guillermo C. Hansen Jan 2009

Tolerance, Democracy And Fundamentalism(S) : Challenges In Time Of Systemic Bifurcations, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

How Can A Video Game Cause Panic Attacks? 1. Effects Of An Auditory Stressor On The Human Brainstem, Judith Lauter, Elizabeth Mathukutty, Brandon Scott Jan 2009

How Can A Video Game Cause Panic Attacks? 1. Effects Of An Auditory Stressor On The Human Brainstem, Judith Lauter, Elizabeth Mathukutty, Brandon Scott

Faculty Publications

The auditory brainstem response (ABR) was recorded during simultaneous binaural presentation of two types of sounds: 1) condensation clicks presented through in-the-ear earphones at 43.1/sec, 60dB nHL; and 2) recordings of breathing sounds, presented through supra-aural headphones, at levels adjusted by participants to be equivalent to the clicks. In alternate blocks, the breathing sounds were either: 1) a recording of quiet breathing (blocks 1, 3, 5); or 2) a recording of erratic (stressed) breathing (blocks 2, 4). The erratic breathing was modeled on a video game soundtrack in which the character was represented as running, wounded, and frightened. Four 2048-sweep …

Go to article

Effects Of Light And Group Size On The Activity Of Wood Frog Tadpoles (Rana Sylvatica) And Their Response To A Shadow Stimulus, K. V. Mcclure, J. W. Mora, Geoffrey R. Smith Jan 2009

Effects Of Light And Group Size On The Activity Of Wood Frog Tadpoles (Rana Sylvatica) And Their Response To A Shadow Stimulus, K. V. Mcclure, J. W. Mora, Geoffrey R. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

A Primitive Aphidiine Wasp In Albian Amber From Spain And A Northern Hemisphere Origin For The Subfamily (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae), Jaime Ortega-Blanco, Daniel J. Bennett, Xavier Delclòs, Michael S. Engel Jan 2009

A Primitive Aphidiine Wasp In Albian Amber From Spain And A Northern Hemisphere Origin For The Subfamily (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae), Jaime Ortega-Blanco, Daniel J. Bennett, Xavier Delclòs, Michael S. Engel

Faculty Publications

A description of a new genus and species of braconid, Archephedrus stolamissus, from Early Cretaceous (Albian) amber from Moraza-Peñacerrada I (Spain) is here provided. This is the first fossil Aphidiinae described in Cretaceous amber. The fossil has some typical characters of the subfamily but possesses a unique assemblage of characters among aphidiines, such as a fairly robust abdomen, with a more pronounced articulation between the first and second, instead of the second and third, metasomal segments, as well as several wing venational traits. The distribution of this and other aphidiine fossils, as well as their putative phylogenetic placement as …

Go to article

A Remarkable Tiphiiform Wasp In Mid-Cretaceous Amber From Myanmar (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae), Michael S. Engel, Jaime Ortega-Blanco, Daniel J. Bennett Jan 2009

A Remarkable Tiphiiform Wasp In Mid-Cretaceous Amber From Myanmar (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae), Michael S. Engel, Jaime Ortega-Blanco, Daniel J. Bennett

Faculty Publications

The first tiphiid wasp (Aculeata: Euaculeata: Vespoidea: Tiphiiformes) in Cretaceous amber is described and figured. Thanatotiphia nyx, new genus and species, is represented by a male entombed in mid-Cretaceous (latest Albian) amber from Myanmar. Thanatotiphia possesses remarkable apomorphies in wing venation, lacks key traits of modern subfamilies, and is thus classified in a new subfamily, Thanatotiphiinae. The fossil is further shown to be nested well within the family, indicating that major lineages of Tiphiidae diverged by the mid-Cretaceous. The new taxon is compared with modern tiphiid subfamilies and the sparse fossil history of the family briefly overviewed.

Go to article

Demographics Of A Geographically-Isolated Population Of Threatened Salamander (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) In Central Illinois, Stephen J. Mullin, Sarabeth Klueh Jan 2009

Demographics Of A Geographically-Isolated Population Of Threatened Salamander (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) In Central Illinois, Stephen J. Mullin, Sarabeth Klueh

Faculty Publications

Amphibian populations that use small isolated wetlands are often small in size, susceptible to stochastic extinction processes, and have little to no contact with other populations. One can ascertain the persistence of such populations only by obtaining data that allow the prediction of future changes in population’s size, and propensity to achieve a sustainable number of individuals. The number of metamorphosing larvae leaving a pond predicts the viability of a salamander population, and thus, the number recruited into the terrestrial adult population. The Jefferson Salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, is a listed threatened species in Illinois, occurring at fewer than 15 ponds …

Go to article

Thermoregulation Of Male Elaphe Spiloides In An Agriculturally-Fragmented Forest In Illinois, C. Drew Foster, Sarabeth Klueh, Stephen J. Mullin Jan 2009

Thermoregulation Of Male Elaphe Spiloides In An Agriculturally-Fragmented Forest In Illinois, C. Drew Foster, Sarabeth Klueh, Stephen J. Mullin

Faculty Publications

Anthropogenic forest fragmentation increases the amount of edge habitat. Although edges are harsh environments for many native species, ratsnakes often prefer this habitat. We examined thermoregulatory effectiveness of Central Ratsnakes (Elaphe spiloides) using forest edges preferentially to determine if edge preference is driven by increased thermoregulatory efficiencies. Six male subjects were located every 1-2 days using radio-telemetry and temperature sensitive transmitters. Subjects did not thermoregulate more efficiently in edges than in forest. Snakes were thermoconformers in both habitat types suggesting edge preference might be driven by other factors.

Go to article

A Survey Of Reptiles And Amphibians On Kinmen Island, Taiwan, Daniel Saenz, Heather V. Podlipny, Pei-Yu Tasi, Brent Burt, Hsiao-Wei Yuan Jan 2009

A Survey Of Reptiles And Amphibians On Kinmen Island, Taiwan, Daniel Saenz, Heather V. Podlipny, Pei-Yu Tasi, Brent Burt, Hsiao-Wei Yuan

Faculty Publications

Little is known about the reptiles and amphibians of Kinmen Island, Taiwan. Until recently, Kinmen had been off-limits to outsiders. It wasn’t until the mid 1990’s that civilian travel was allowed to and from the island. We surveyed 8 sites from 19 May through 18 July 2005, using 15 m drift fences with collapsible funnel traps on the ends. We documented encounters with animals outside the traps and observed 258 individuals of 7 species during our survey. The herpetofauna encountered consisted of two anuran, two lizard, and three snake species. The two anuran species made up over 97% of the …

Go to article

Ecological Parameters Of Coluber Constrictor Etheridgei, With Comparisons To Other Coluber Constrictor Subspecies, Robert R. Fleet, D. Craig Rudolph, J. D. Camper, J. Niederhofer Jan 2009

Ecological Parameters Of Coluber Constrictor Etheridgei, With Comparisons To Other Coluber Constrictor Subspecies, Robert R. Fleet, D. Craig Rudolph, J. D. Camper, J. Niederhofer

Faculty Publications

In 1998, we conducted a radio-telemetry study of Coluber constrictor etheridgei (Tan Racer) in the Angelina National Forest in eastern Texas. Individuals were located once daily from 12 June to 14 August. We determined home-range size, movement distances, movement frequency, and habitat use for this short-term study. We also determined food habits of this population by examination of fecal samples. We compared these parameters to other Racer taxa in Utah (C. c. mormon [Western Yellow-bellied Racer]), Kansas (C. c. fl aviventris [Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer]), and South Carolina (C.c. priapus [Southern Black Racer]). Compared to these populations, Texas Racers exhibited larger …

Go to article

Fin-Mutant Female Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Exhibit Differences In Association Preferences For Male Fin Length, Jennifer M. Gumm, Jennifer L. Snekser, M. Kathryn Lovine Jan 2009

Fin-Mutant Female Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Exhibit Differences In Association Preferences For Male Fin Length, Jennifer M. Gumm, Jennifer L. Snekser, M. Kathryn Lovine

Faculty Publications

Females often choose to associate with males that have exaggerated traits. In fishes, this may reflect an overall preference for larger size in a potential mate. Female zebrafish (Danio rerio) prefer males with larger bodies but not longer fins. The availability of mutant and transgenic strains of zebrafish make this a unique model system in which to study the role of phenotypic variation in social and sexual behavior. We used mutant strains of zebrafish with truncated (short fin) and exaggerated (long fin) fins to further examine female preferences for fin length in dichotomous association tests. Wild type females showed no …

Go to article

Institutional Pluralism From The Standpoint Of Its Victims: Calling The Question On Indiscriminate (In)Tolerance, Jose M. Gabilondo Jan 2009

Institutional Pluralism From The Standpoint Of Its Victims: Calling The Question On Indiscriminate (In)Tolerance, Jose M. Gabilondo

Faculty Publications

Borrowing from postmodernity, new Right intellectuals have become adept at plucking core terms from the liberal register, stripping away their history and social context, and making them do the conceptual work of backlash. A recent example is the theme of the 2009 annual meeting of the AALS: institutional pluralism. The phrase has a surface resemblance to traditional liberal values but, in truth, acts as a Trojan horse for discrimination projects that many may find troubling. By putting the phrase in its social context, this essay reveals the ideological interests at work in the idea.

Go to article

Policing Miscarriage: Infertility Blogging, Rhetorical Enclaves, And The Case Of House Bill 1677, Clancy Ratliff Jan 2009

Policing Miscarriage: Infertility Blogging, Rhetorical Enclaves, And The Case Of House Bill 1677, Clancy Ratliff

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

It’S Just A Shot Away: Mmr Vaccines And Autism And The End Of The Daubertista Revolution, Joelle A. Moreno Jan 2009

It’S Just A Shot Away: Mmr Vaccines And Autism And The End Of The Daubertista Revolution, Joelle A. Moreno

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Habitat Use Of American Alligators In East Texas, Warren C. Conway, Kevin Webb, Gary Calkins, Jeffrey Duguay Jan 2009

Habitat Use Of American Alligators In East Texas, Warren C. Conway, Kevin Webb, Gary Calkins, Jeffrey Duguay

Faculty Publications

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) has made a remarkable recovery throughout its range during the last halfcentury. In Texas, USA, current inland alligator population and harvest management strategies rely on generalized and often site-specific habitat and population data generated from coastal populations, because it is assumed that habitat and demographic similarities exist between inland and coastal populations. These assumptions have not been verified, however, and no studies have specifically examined inland alligator habitat use in Texas. We quantified alligator habitat use in East Texas during 2003–2004 to address this information gap and to facilitate development of regionally specific management strategies. …

Go to article

Winter Food Habits And Preferences Of Northern Bobwhites In East Texas, Donald R. Dietz, R. Montague Whiting Jr., Nancy E. Koerth Jan 2009

Winter Food Habits And Preferences Of Northern Bobwhites In East Texas, Donald R. Dietz, R. Montague Whiting Jr., Nancy E. Koerth

Faculty Publications

During late winter, 1994 and 1995, we investigated food habits and preferences of northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhites) collected on forested lands in east Texas. Crops for bobwhites were collected from areas under 3 management regimes, namely intensively managed for bobwhites (QMA) (i.e., tree basal area reduced, annually burned, numerous multi-stage food plots, etc.), extensively managed for timber and wildlife (NBS) (i.e., burned every 3-5 years, scattered 2-stage food plots with corn feeders), and unmanaged for wildlife (i.e., burned every 5-7 years). With years pooled, partridge pea (Cassia fasciculata), Hercules club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis), and pine (Pinus spp.) seeds, and …

Go to article

Invertebrate Biomass And Richness In Various Food Plot Types In East Texas, Charles W. Anderson, R. Montague Whiting Jr., Donald R. Dietz, Richard M. Capps Jan 2009

Invertebrate Biomass And Richness In Various Food Plot Types In East Texas, Charles W. Anderson, R. Montague Whiting Jr., Donald R. Dietz, Richard M. Capps

Faculty Publications

As northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) chicks are dependent on invertebrates for food, land managers often use spring/summer food plots to meet these needs. We examined invertebrate production in native vegetation and 6 different food plot types (i.e., fallow disking only; fallow disking and fertilizing; or disking, fertilizing, and planting a single species [browntop millet, iron and clay peas, or sorghum] or a multi-species mix [browntop millet, catjang peas, iron and clay peas, Japanese millet, and pearl millet]) in the Pineywoods of east Texas. Invertebrates were collected weekly during the summers of 1997 and 1999 and for 5 weekly sampling periods …

Go to article

A Microrna Imparts Robustness Against Environmental Fluctuation During Development, Xin Li, Justin J. Cassidy, Catherine A. Reinke, Stephen Fischboeck, Richard W. Carthew Jan 2009

A Microrna Imparts Robustness Against Environmental Fluctuation During Development, Xin Li, Justin J. Cassidy, Catherine A. Reinke, Stephen Fischboeck, Richard W. Carthew

Faculty Publications

The microRNA miR-7 is perfectly conserved from annelids to humans, and yet some of the genes that it regulates in Drosophila are not regulated in mammals. We have explored the role of lineage restricted targets, using Drosophila , in order to better understand the evolutionary significance of microRNA-target relationships. From studies of two well characterized developmental regulatory networks, we find that miR-7 functions in several interlocking feedback and feedforward loops, and propose that its role in these networks is to buffer them against perturbation. To directly demonstrate this function for miR-7, we subjected the networks to temperature fluctuation and found …

Go to article

A Survey Of Selected Software Technologies For Text Mining, Richard S. Segall, Qingyu Zhang Jan 2009

A Survey Of Selected Software Technologies For Text Mining, Richard S. Segall, Qingyu Zhang

Faculty Publications

This chapter presents background on text mining, and comparisons and summaries of seven selected software for text mining. The text mining software selected for discussion and comparison in this chapter are: Compare Suite by AKS-Labs, SAS Text Miner, Megaputer Text Analyst, Visual Text by Text Analysis International, Inc. (TextAI), Magaputer PolyAnalyst, WordStat by Provalis Research, and SPSS Clementine. This chapter not only discusses unique features of these text mining software packages but also compares the features offered by each in the following key steps in analyzing unstructured qualitative data: data preparation, data analysis, and result reporting. A brief discussion of …

Go to article

Salt Marshes And Eutrophication: An Unsustainable Outcome, R. Eugene Turner, B L. Howes, J M. Teal, C S. Milan, D D. Goehringer-Toner Jan 2009

Salt Marshes And Eutrophication: An Unsustainable Outcome, R. Eugene Turner, B L. Howes, J M. Teal, C S. Milan, D D. Goehringer-Toner

Faculty Publications

Most plant production by emergent coastal marshes occurs belowground. This belowground production adds to the accumulation of organic matter sustaining salt marshes as sea level rises, thus preventing excessive flooding, eventual plant death, and habitat loss. The ubiquitous nutrient enrichment of coastal salt marshes stimulating aboveground plant growth may result in higher rates of inorganic matter accumulation that compensates for marsh flooding caused by sea level rise. Results from several short-term experiments, however, demonstrate that root and rhizome biomass and carbon accumulation is reduced with nutrient enrichment, suggesting that eutrophication of coastal waters may not be a compensatory counterbalance to …

Go to article

Global Change And Eutrophication Of Coastal Waters, N N. Rabalais, R. Eugene Turner, R J. Diaz, D Justic, N N. Rabalais Jan 2009

Global Change And Eutrophication Of Coastal Waters, N N. Rabalais, R. Eugene Turner, R J. Diaz, D Justic, N N. Rabalais

Faculty Publications

The cumulative effects of global change, including climate change, increased population, and more intense industrialization and agri-business, will likely continue and intensify the course of eutrophication in estuarine and coastal waters. As a result, the symptoms of eutrophication, such as noxious and harmful algal blooms, reduced water quality, loss of habitat and natural resources, and severity of hypoxia (oxygen depletion) and its extent in estuaries and coastal waters will increase. Global climate changes will likely result in higher water temperatures, stronger stratification, and increased inflows of freshwater and nutrients to coastal waters in many areas of the globe. Both past …

Go to article

Comments On Buzan Et Al. “Positive Relationships Between Freshwater Inflow And Oyster Abundance In Galveston Bay, Texas”, R. Eugene Turner Jan 2009

Comments On Buzan Et Al. “Positive Relationships Between Freshwater Inflow And Oyster Abundance In Galveston Bay, Texas”, R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

Buzan et al. critique Turner’s (Estuaries and Coasts 29:345–352, 2006) analysis of the relationship between freshwater inflow and oyster productivity in the Gulf of Mexico, using 16 years of fisheries-independent data for Galveston Bay. They conclude that the catch-per-unit effort (CPUE; number h−1) of marketable oysters increase 1 to 2 years after years with increased freshwater inflows, and they express concerns that water supply managers may mis-apply the results of Turner (Estuaries and Coasts 29:345–352, 2006) to justify a reduced freshwater inflow to Galveston Bay. I find no relationship between the CPUE of oyster spat or marketable oyster density and …

Go to article

Disturbance Impacts On Mercury Dynamics In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Sediments, B. Liu, L.A. Schaider, R.P. Mason, M.S. Bank, N.N. Rabalais, P.W. Swarzenski, J.P. Shine, T. Holiweg, D.B. Senn Jan 2009

Disturbance Impacts On Mercury Dynamics In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Sediments, B. Liu, L.A. Schaider, R.P. Mason, M.S. Bank, N.N. Rabalais, P.W. Swarzenski, J.P. Shine, T. Holiweg, D.B. Senn

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Effects Of Natural And Human-Induced Hypoxia On Coastal Benthos, L.A. Levin, W. Ekau, A.J. Gooday, F. Jorissen, J.J. Middelburg, S.W.A. Naqvi, C. Neira, N.N. Rabalais, J. Zhang Jan 2009

Effects Of Natural And Human-Induced Hypoxia On Coastal Benthos, L.A. Levin, W. Ekau, A.J. Gooday, F. Jorissen, J.J. Middelburg, S.W.A. Naqvi, C. Neira, N.N. Rabalais, J. Zhang

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Hypoxia-Related Processes In The Baltic Sea, D.J. Conley, S. Bj̈Orck, E. Bonsdorff, J. Carstensen, G. Destouni, B.G. Gustafsson, S. Hietanen, M. Kortekaas, H. Kuosa, H.E.M. Meier, B. Müller-Karulis, K. Nordberg, A. Norkko, G. Nürnberg, H. Pitkänen, N.N. Rabalais, R. Rosenberg, O.P. Savchuk, C.P. Slomp, M. Voss, F. Wulff, L. Zillén Jan 2009

Hypoxia-Related Processes In The Baltic Sea, D.J. Conley, S. Bj̈Orck, E. Bonsdorff, J. Carstensen, G. Destouni, B.G. Gustafsson, S. Hietanen, M. Kortekaas, H. Kuosa, H.E.M. Meier, B. Müller-Karulis, K. Nordberg, A. Norkko, G. Nürnberg, H. Pitkänen, N.N. Rabalais, R. Rosenberg, O.P. Savchuk, C.P. Slomp, M. Voss, F. Wulff, L. Zillén

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Dead Zone Dilemma, R.J. Díaz, R. Rosenberg, N.N. Rabalais, L.A. Levin Jan 2009

Dead Zone Dilemma, R.J. Díaz, R. Rosenberg, N.N. Rabalais, L.A. Levin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

First Prev Next Last