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Characterization Of Prokaryotic Diversity In A Chlorinated Solvent-Contaminated Bedrock Aquifer Using Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis, Ribosomal Dna Sequencing, And Real Time Pcr, Walid Naser

Doctoral Dissertations

A culture-independent molecular phylogenetic approach was implemented to investigate spatial and temporal variations in microbial diversity and abundance in a chlorinated solvent-contaminated bedrock aquifer. Core and groundwater samples were collected from several boreholes and included the following samples: (1) groundwater that was associated with the core, (2) open fractures and (3) partially mineralized sealed fractures (PMSF) exposed by striking the core with a surface-sterilized geology hammer. DNA representing the attached and unattached microbial communities was extracted from these samples, and the 16S rRNA gene was amplified with primers specific for Bacteria, Archaea, sulfate reducers, Geobacteraceae family, Dehalorespirers (Dehalococcoides sp. and …

A Wavelet-Based Cmac For Enhanced Multidimensional Learning, Brian P. Kirk

Doctoral Dissertations

The CMAC (Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller) neural network has been successfully used in control systems and other applications for many years. The network structure is modular and associative, allowing for rapid learning convergence with an ease of implementation in either hardware or software. The rate of convergence of the network is determined largely by the choice of the receptive field shape and the generalization parameter. This research contains a rigorous analysis of the rate of convergence with the standard CMAC, as well as the rate of convergence of networks using other receptive field shape. The effects of decimation from state-space …

Intimacy With The Natural World: A Humanistic Perspective, Gabriel F. Bautista

Doctoral Dissertations

Thomas Berry's "intimacy with the natural world" is not an alternative to the anthropocentric-biocentric dispute, which belong to the same rationality. The frontier story and environmentalism are both part of the same rationality because they ignore people. While anthropocentrism is focused on the utilization of natural resources, biocentrism is focused on nature's conservation. The frontier and environmental narrative provides the explicit genealogy of intimacy-alienation, which are always in counterpoint with each other. Further still, if intimacy means only "intimacy with the natural world", then it is a hypostatization of "wilderness" that indicates more alienation. Nevertheless, in my interpretation, intimacy has …

Factors Affecting Plant Community Composition And Dynamics In The Ossipee Pine Barrens, New Hampshire, Lauren Fredrick Howard

Doctoral Dissertations

Forty-one 0.25 ha sites were sampled in the Ossipee Pine Barrens to identify and describe tree community types and investigate factors controlling forest composition and dynamics. Every site had three site-time assemblages (STA's) representing past, present, and future trees. Past (1952) vegetation was calculated based on reverse growth estimates of current stems and stumps. Future (2052) vegetation was predicted by current sapling (<10 cm dbh and ≥1 m tall) relative densities.

Cluster analysis produced three community types from 121 STA's: pitch pine, mixed pine-hardwoods, and red maple. Pitch pine communities comprised 63% of sites in 1952, but declined since. Mixed pine-hardwoods peaked at 58% in 2002, but were …

The Role And Regulation Of Heat Shock Protein 27 In Retinal Ischemic Preconditioning, Norris Andrew Whitlock

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Vision loss resulting from retinal ischemia is associated with several systemic and ocular diseases. In the retina, ischemia is thought to lead to neuronal cell death by initiating a series of events that include oxidative stress, glutamate excitotoxicity, and intracellular Ca2+ overload. Attempts to prevent ischemic retinal degeneration have included the use of NMDA receptor antagonists, Ca2+ channel blockers, and antioxidants. These treatments have had limited success due to incomplete retinal protection and development of adverse side-effects. This has caused researchers to look toward endogenous protective mechanisms, such as ischemic preconditioning (IPC) in order to identify new strategies to …

Delegalization Of Arms Control – A Democracy Deficit In De Facto Treaties Of Peace, Antonio F. Perez

Scholarly Articles

Delegalization of arms control is now an accomplished fact. In this period of potential dramatic revision of the international order, it is not surprising that the US is seeking increased flexibility in pursuing several strategies, including the full use of military and technological advantages. The motivations behind this include US interests, as well as long run global interests. What may be surprising, however, is the potential risk to our democratic processes from delegalization of arms control-that is to say, the danger posed by reduced use of arms control treaties with built-in processes of transparency and democratic accountability.

The potential risk …

John Noonan On Marriage And The Family: Continuity And Change In Doctrine, William J. Wagner

Scholarly Articles

In support of its critique, this article first analyzes Judge Noonan's general methodological vantage and shows how he proceeds, within that vantage, to formulate general moral norms. Next, it compares Judge Noonan's work with trends in the reasoning of the United States Supreme Court between 1965 and the present to suggest that some of Noonan's assumptions about the longer-term consequences of his own methodology for stability and continuity in moral theology may be unwarranted. Finally, it argues that Noonan is not justified in assuming that adjudicative reasoning, without more, suffices for the formulation of general moral norms, or that transcendent …

Sanitary Sewer Overflows: Past, Present, And Future Regulation, David Strifling

Marquette Law Review

No abstract provided.

Social Workers' Perceptions Of Family Preservation Programs, Elain M. Maccio, David Skiba, Howard J. Doueck, Karen A. Randolph, Elisabeth A. Weston, Lorie E. Anderson

Journal of Family Strengths

The passage of the Adoptions and Safe Families Act of 1997, with its focus on child safety and concurrent planning, has presented family preservation workers with new challenges and new opportunities. Twenty volunteers from a large comprehensive social service agency were interviewed to determine their experiences with two models of family preservation—Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and Traditional Family Preservation Service (TFPS) or practice as usual. Workers from both programs were able to articulate values consistent with family preservation as important strengths of the programs— keeping families together and empowering families for example. Information from referring agencies was described as variable and …

In The Line Of Fire: Brown V. Muhlenberg Township And The Reality Of Police Seizures Of Companion Animals, Denee A. Diluigi

Animal Law Review

Ms. DiLuigi addresses a companion animal owners’ rights under current law to bring and maintain an action for the unreasonable seizure of their companion animal by an officer as well as an action for the intentional infliction of emotional distress in light of the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Brown v. Muhlenberg Township. Applying various legal doctrines, Ms. DiLuigi also explores potential legal arguments for future litigation stemming from an officer’s execution of a companion animal.

The Evolving Legal Status Of Chimpanzees

Animal Law Review

On September 30, 2002, Harvard Law School hosted a legal symposium sponsored by the Chimpanzee Collaboratory's Legal Committee. The symposium featured speakers with expertise on chimpanzees, as well as legal scholars and lawyers who discussed the possibility of obtaining legal rights for chimpanzees and other great apes. This symposium sought to advance the argument that chimpanzees are entitled to some degree of legal status, and the speakers presented a range of views about how far such legal rights should extend. These remarks reflect the connection between the growning scientific understanding of chimpanzees and the advances in related legal doctrines. This …

Addressing Fundamentalism By Legal And Spiritual Means, Dan Wessner

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Religion and Humane Global Governance by Richard A. Falk. New York: Palgrave, 2001. 191 pp.

Gender and Human Rights in Islam and International Law: Equal before Allah, Unequal before Man? by Shaheen Sardar Ali. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2000. 358 pp.

Religious Fundamentalisms and the Human Rights of Women edited by Courtney W. Howland. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. 326 pp.

The Islamic Quest for Democracy, Pluralism, and Human Rights by Ahmad S. Moussalli. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001. 226 pp.

Humboldt Journal Of Microbiology: Volume 6, Number 1- May 2003, Press Humboldt

Humboldt Journal of Microbiology

No abstract provided.

Piney Run: The Permits Are Not What They Seem, Jessica Owley

Articles

In 2001, the Fourth Circuit addressed the permit shield provision of the Clean Water Act and found it to provide broad-scale protection for polluters. In Piney Run Preservation Association v. County Commissioners of Carroll County, the Fourth Circuit held that facilities with discharge permits are protected from lawsuits even when discharging pollutants not contained within their permits. Under this ruling, permit holders may discharge, without fear of penalty, any disclosed pollutant within the reasonable expectation of the permitting authority. This decision is worrisome because it does not protect the goals of the Clean Water Act and deprives the public …

Indirect Evidence Of Density-Dependent Population Regulation In Aponomma Hydrosauri (Acari: Ixodidae), An Ectoparasite Of Reptiles, Andrew J. Tyre, C. Michael Bull, Brigitte Tenhumberg, Neil Chilton

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The extent to which density-dependent processes regulate natural populations is the subject of an ongoing debate. We contribute evidence to this debate showing that density-dependent processes influence the population dynamics of the ectoparasite Aponomma hydrosauri (Acari: Ixodidae), a tick species that infests reptiles in Australia. The first piece of evidence comes from an unusually long-term dataset on the distribution of ticks among individual hosts. If density-dependent processes are influencing either host mortality or vital rates of the parasite population, and those distributions can be approximated with negative binomial distributions, then general host– parasite models predict that the aggregation coefficient of …

A Deception Based Framework For The Application Of Deceptive Countermeasures In 802.11b Wireless Networks, Suen Yek

Theses : Honours

The advance of 802.11 b wireless networking has been beset by inherent and in-built security problems. Network security tools that are freely available may intercept network transmissions readily and stealthily, making organisations highly vulnerable to attack. Therefore, it is incumbent upon defending organisations to take initiative and implement proactive defences against common network attacks. Deception is an essential element of effective security that has been widely used in networks to understand attack methods and intrusions. However, little thought has been given to the type and the effectiveness of the deception. Deceptions deployed in nature, the military and in cyberspace were …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Botany

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of A Green And Permanent Land: Ecology And Agriculture In The Twentieth Century By Randal S. Beeman And James A. Pritchard, Kristin Ahlberg

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Concentrating on the ideological underpinnings of American agriculture, Beeman and Prichard illuminate the 20th-century debate over defining and implementing suitable agricultural practices and policies. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and World War II, farmers, environmentalists, federal officials, and academics found agriculture influenced by a growing ecological movement. Techniques purporting a better urban-rural balance, soil conservation, and organic fertilization were favored by individuals seeking an alternative to the economic and social despair experienced by Americans during the 1930s and 1940s. The agricultural establishment troika of agribusiness, land-grant universities, and the United States Department of Agriculture eschewed such ideas until …

Book Review Of Saving Migrant Birds: Developing Strategies For The Future John Faaborg, Kenneth Able

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The purported decline of populations of some of the most conspicuous and prized species of neotropical migrant birds has spawned something of a cottage industry. Beginning in the 1980s, many articles in the popular press, some of them wildly hyperbolic, predicted the imminent demise of much of North America's songbird fauna. One of the positive outcomes of this phenomenon has been a resurgence of research on migratory birds. In Saving Migratory Birds, John Faaborg takes a careful look at what we have learned in the two decades since the alarm was sounded and, just as important, what we still …

Review Of Birds Of Nebraska: Their Distribution And Temporal Occurrence By Roger S. Sharpe, W. Ross Silcock, And Joel G. Jorgensen, David L. Swanson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Several books regarding the status and distribution of the birds of Nebraska have appeared since 1980, including annotated checklists (Paul Johnsgard, A Preliminary List of the Birds of Nebraska and Adjacent Great Plains States [1980]; Johnsgard, The Birds of Nebraska and Adjacent Plains States [1997]; T. E. Bray et al., The Birds of Nebraska: A Critically Evaluated List [1986]) and treatments of breeding birds (James E. Ducey and Johnsgard, Nebraska Birds: Breeding Status and Distribution [1988]), but none of these is a truly comprehensive account of the state's avifauna. The current volume is aimed at just such a niche and …

Actual Innocents: Considerations In Selecting Cases For A New Innocence Project, Daniel S. Medwed

Nebraska Law Review

I. Introduction . . . . . 1098

II. Practical Considerations . . . . . 1102

A. Defining Your Scope: Determining What Kinds of Cases You Want . . . . . 1103

1. Substance: Limitations on Case Content . . . . . 1104

2. Form: Procedural, Jurisdictional, and Other Limitations . . . . . 1109

B. Putting Theory into Practice: How Do You Get the Cases You Want? . . . . . 1114

1. Inflow: Gathering Prospective Innocence Claims . . . . . 1114

2. Outflow: Procedures for Evaluating Potential Cases . . . …

September 11, 2001, As A Teachable Moment, Edward Zlotkowski

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Opening Plenary at the 2001 POD Conference was given by Edward Zlotkowski. Using the reactions to the events of September 11, 2001, as an example, he urged those in higher education to search out opportunities for academically based civic engagement and to focus on Boyer’s concept of the scholarship of engagement.

The Day After: Faculty Behavior In Post–September 11, 2001, Classes, Michele Dipietro

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

What is the best thing to do in the classroom in the face of a tragedy like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? What should instructors do to help students, if anything? This article describes the results ofa faculty survey at Carnegie Mellon University. Faculty reported what actions they took in the classroom to help their students (or their rationales for not mentioning the attacks), and their degree of confidence on the effectiveness of their behaviors. Statistical techniques are used to assess the significance of some trends, and implications for faculty developers are discussed in light of cognitive, motivational, …

The Knowledge Survey: A Tool For All Reasons, Edward Nuhfer, Delores Knipp

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Knowledge surveys provide a means to assess changes in specific content learning and intellectual development. More important, they promote student learning by improving course organization and planning. For instructors, the tool establishes a high degree of instructional alignment, and, if properly used, can ensure employment of all seven best practices during the enactment of the course. Beyond increasing success of individual courses, knowledge surveys inform curriculum development to better achieve, improve, and document program success.

Improving Teaching And Learning: Students' Perspectives, X. Mara Chen, Ellen M. Lawler, Elichia A. Venso

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Despite much debate among educators over methods to improve the climate and effectiveness of teaching and learning, very limited effort has been directed toward seeking input from students. In this study. a survey of students’ opinions regarding college teaching and learning was given in six courses with 163 students completing the survey. This chapter analyzed the survey results and proposed specific strategies that professors can use to make teaching engaging as well as informative, and thus, to enhance student learning.

Bibliography, Volume 21 (2003)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Bibliography for volume 21 (2003) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Book Notes- Winter 2003

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Book Notes

Niddrie of the North-West: Memoirs of a Pioneer Canadian Missionary

A Prairie Mosaic: An Atlas of Central Nebraska's Land, Culture and Nature

The Oregon Trail: A Photographic Journey

Canyons of the Texas High Plains

Dictionary of Midwestern Literature. Volume One: The Authors

The University of Manitoba: An Illustrated History

Willa Cather: The Contemporary Reviews

A Three-Dimensional Model For The Use Of Expert Psychiatric And Psychological Evidence In False Confession Defenses Before The Trier Of Fact, Major Joshua E. Kastenberg

Seattle University Law Review

Part I of this Article delineates a defendant's right to present voluntariness and credibility evidence against his or her confession. This section analyzes the basic constitutional framework of how a defendant can present this evidence and describes the traditional safeguards against false confessions. This background information provides a context for the overarching issue of expert testimony admissibility. Part II provides a basic understanding of differences between the psychiatric (medical model) and psychological (social model) approach to false confessions. It then examines the types of false confession defenses used by defendants and the interrogation techniques challenged by defendants. Part III reviews …

(Un)Examined Assumptions And (Un)Intended Messages: Teaching Students To Recognize Bias In Legal Analysis And Language , Lorraine Bannai, Anne Enquist

Seattle University Law Review

This article discusses how law school, specifically through legal writing courses, can address cultural bias and its effect on legal analysis and language. Part I addresses why the law school curriculum should aid students in recognizing expressions of bias in legal analysis and language. Part II discusses how bias typically appears in legal language, as well as how it may infect legal analysis and argument, and suggests ways of teaching students to recognize it in a legal writing course. Part III addresses challenges that may be faced in teaching the material, including suggestions for handling discussions of potentially sensitive subjects.

A Call To Restructure Existing International Environmental Law In Light Of Africa's Renaissance: The United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification And The New Partnership For Africa's Development (Nepad), Leslie C. Clark

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment warns that recent, continent-wide economic development strategies have threatened the ability of Africa to combat desertification. Therefore, the existing desertification treaty, UNCCD, must be amended to ensure its ability to effectuate environmental protection.