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Pluma Fronteriza: Newsletter Of Latino/Chicano(A) Writers From The El Paso And Cd. Juárez Border Region, Utep Chicano Studies

Chicano Studies

Electonic newsletter of Latino/Chicano(a) writers from the El Paso-Cd. Juarez border region.

The Trial Court's Gatekeeper Role Under Frye, Daubert, And Kumho: A Special Look At Children's Cases, John Eric Smithburn

Journal Articles

The typical requisites for receiving testimony from an expert witness are that the expert be qualified in a particular subject or area of expertise, that the expert testify in opinion form or otherwise, which will help the fact finder, and that there be a proper basis for the expert's testimony. This article examines the changing meaning in the law of evidence of the expert's subject area in cases involving children. During most of the last century, where the expert witness proposed to testify concerning a new or novel scientific system, process or technique, the court applied the rule of Frye …

Unfunding Terror - Perspectives On Unfunding Terror (Panel One), Jimmy Gurulé

Journal Articles

According to the FBI, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that claimed the lives of 2,973 innocent civilians required as much as $500,000 to stage. At the time, al Qaeda, the jihadi terrorist organization responsible for the mass killings, was operating on an annual budget between $30 and $50 million. However, despite the obvious fact that terrorists need money to support their terrorist operations and organizational infrastructure, prior to 9/11, preventing the financing of terrorism was not a priority for the United States or international community. Moreover, a comprehensive legal framework to …

Fundamental Human Rights Compared In Two Progressive Constitutions: Japan And Montana, Fritz Snyder

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article focuses on certain of the fundamental or inalienable rights of the Japan Constitution and compares and contrasts them with their counterparts in the Montana Constitution.

Atrazine Induction Of A Family 4 Cytochrome P450 Gene In Chironomus Tentans (Diptera: Chironomidae), Diana K. Londono, Blair D. Siegfried, Michael J. Lydy

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Cytochrome P450-dependent microsomal monooxygenase (P450) activity was measured in control and atrazine-exposed third instar midge larvae, Chironomus tentans. Significantly elevated O-demethylase activity was observed in gut homogenates taken from midges exposed to atrazine concentrations from 1 to 10 ppm for 90 h. No significant induction was observed at atrazine concentrations below 1 ppm. A region of a cytochrome P450 family 4 gene was amplified and sequenced from C. tentans larvae. Alignments of inferred amino acid sequences with other insect CYP4 gene homologues indicate a high degree of similarity. Northern blot analysis employing the CYP4 gene fragment as a …

Within-Field Distribution Of The Sunflower Midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), E. W. Hodgson, I. V. Macrae, Gary J. Brewer

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The sunßower midge, Contarinia schulzi Gagne (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a pest of cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Larval feeding can cause damage and yield loss to the sunflower head. Adult emergence is extended and larvae are well protected in the sunflower receptacle, making chemical control methods difficult and expensive. Sunflower midge enter sunflower fields at the edges but fieldwide distributions occur, although the dynamics are not fully understood. Two commercial fields in 1999 and one field in 2000 were systematically sampled by dividing each field into fixed sample points. Mean egg and larval densities from each sample point were …

Flight Muscle–Specific Expression Of Act88f: Gfp In Transgenic Culex Quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae), Margaret L. Allen, Bruce M. Christensen

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

A strategy to engineer a strain of Culex mosquitoes refractory to filarial transmission is described. A requirement for success of the strategy is identification of a flight muscle–specific promoter that functions in the mosquito. A GFP marker gene under the control of the promoter region of the Drosophila melanogaster act88F gene was inserted into the genome of Culex quinquefasciatus. Transformation was confirmed by Mendelian genetics. Hy-bridization of a genomic Southern blot to a radiolabeled probe verified that the entire donor plasmid integrated into the mosquito genome. GFP expression in the transgenic mosquitoes was restricted to the flight muscles.

Supercooling Differences In The Eastern Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Brian J. Cabrera, Shripat T. Kamble

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Supercooling points were determined for untreated field-collected and untreated laboratory-maintained Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) workers and soldiers. Workers treated with antibiotics or had their hindgut-protozoa removed by exposing them to oxygen under pressure to determine the effects of absence of the hindgut fauna on supercooling. Supercooling points were compared be-tween live and freshly killed workers to determine whether supercooling in this species might be simply due to the biochemical properties of body fluids. Laboratory-maintained workers were also subjected to desiccation, starvation, or atmospheric pressure to determine their effects on supercool-ing. Supercooling points were lowest for laboratory workers treated with antibiotics and …

Molecular Differentiation Of Two Sibling Species Of The Black Fly Simulium Vittatum (Diptera: Simuliidae) Based On Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna, G. A. Duncan, P. H. Alder, K. P. Pruess, T. O. Powers

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Larvae of the black fly morphospecies Simulium vittatum from Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, and New Hampshire were cytologically identified as either the IS-7 or the IIIL-1 cytospecies. DNA was PCR amplified from cytotyped larvae using eight 10-mer primers, labeled with 33P, and run on pol-yacrylamide gels. The entire data set of 96 amplicons produced incomplete separation of the two cytospecies when subjected to neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony analyses. However, when analyzed within geographical regions, separate species status was supported. Bootstrap support for distinctness of the two cytospecies was best in Colorado where they were collected in true sympatry. The IS-7 cytospecies …

Impact Of Ceutorhynchus Litura Feeding On Root Carbohydrate Levels In Canada Thistle (Cirsium Arvense), Gary L. Hein, Robert G. Wilson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Canada thistle is a serious perennial weed found throughout the northern regions of the United States and Canada. The weevil, Ceutorhynchus litura (F.), was first released in Canada in 1965 as a potential biological control agent for Canada thistle; however, its impact as a control agent has been sporadic. The objective of this study was to characterize C. litura impacts on the carbohydrate profile in Canada thistle roots through the growing season and to evaluate the potential for this biological control agent in causing stress to Canada thistle. Field plots, infested with C. litura, were established and extensively sampled …

Alfalfa: Simulated Clover Leaf Weevil Injury And Alfalfa Yield And Quality, Rodney A. Madsen, Thomas E. Hunt, Leon G. Higley

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The clover leaf weevil (Hypera punctata F.) is a sporadic but potentially serious pest of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Feeding of newly emerged adult fourth instar clover leaf weevil was simulated in a field study at the University of Nebraska Haskell Agricultural Research Lab near Concord, Nebraska, in May 2001 and 2002. Twelve 1- by 1-m plots were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three treatments and four replications. Treatments consisted of two levels of simulated clover leaf weevil defoliation of alfalfa and an undefoliated check. Leaflets were removed over 10 d. Dry matter yield and …

Natural Distribution Of Hymenopteran Parasitoids Of Spodoptera Frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Larvae In Mexico, Jaime Molina-Ochoa, James E. Carpenter, Roberto Lezama-Gutiérrez, John E. Foster, Martín González-Ramírez, César Andres Angel-Sahagún, Javier Farías-Larios

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Se llevó a cabo un inventario de parasitoides de larvas del gusano cogollero, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (FAW) colectadas principalmente de maizales en estado de verticilio en seis estados mexicanos durante Agosto y Septiembre de 2000. Trece géneros de parasitoides himenópteros fueron recuperados, representando a tres familias, Braconidae: Aleoides, Chelonus, Cotesia, Glyptapanteles, Homolobus, y Meteorus); Ichneumonidae: Campoletis, Eiphosoma, Ophion, y Pristomerus; y Eulophidae: Aprostocetus, Euplectrus, y Horismenus. De un total de 5591 larvas colectadas, 772 produjeron parasitoides, para una tasa de parasitismo de 13.8%. La tasa de parasitismo más alta para una colecta simple fué …

Effect Of Environment On Resistance To The European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) In Maize, David B. Willmot, Bruce E. Hibbard, Larry L. Darrah, Linda M. Pollak, Kevin Montgomery, Richard C. Pratt, Craig A. Abel, James A. Hawk, Tecle Weldekidan, John E. Foster

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hu¨ bner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a major pest of maize, Zea mays L., in many temperate parts of the world. Genotype-by-environment interaction effects can make relative performance unpredictable and may hamper selection for resistance to European corn borer. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of environment on genotypic reaction to European corn borer resistance in maize. A set of 12 maize inbred lines was chosen to represent a range of European corn borer responses. Eleven testing environments ranged from Delaware, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, to Mississippi. For length of …

Phospholipase A2 In Salivary Glands Isolated From Tobacco Hornworms, Manduca Sexta, Hasan Tunaz, David W. Stanley

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

We describe a phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) associated with the salivary glands of tobacco hornworms, Manduca sexta. This enzyme is able to hydrolyze arachidonic acid from the sn-2 position of PLs. Addition of the calcium chelator, EGTA, or calcium, to the Tris reaction buffer impaired the PLA₂ activity, from which we infer the enzyme requires very low concentrations of calcium or perhaps other ions for optimal activity. PLA₂ activity was sensitive to protein concentration (highest activity at 25 μg protein per μl), reaction time (optimal at 30 min), buffer pH (optimal at pH 8–10), …

An Entomopathogenic Bacterium, Xenorhabdus Nematophila, Inhibits Hemocytic Phospholipase A2 (Pla2) In Tobacco Hornworms, Manduca Sexta, Youngjin Park, Yonggyun Kim, Hasan Tunaz, David W. Stanley

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The entomopathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila, induces immunodepression in target insects and finally leads to lethal septicemia of the infected hosts. A hypothesis has been raised that the bacteria inhibit eicosanoid-biosynthesis pathway to interrupt immune signaling of the infected hosts. Here, we show direct evidence that X. nematophila inhibits the activity of phospholipase A2 (PLA2), the initial step in the eicosanoid-biosynthesis pathway. Inhibition of PLA2 was dependent on both incubation time with X. nematophila and the bacterial concentration in in vitro PLA2 preparations of Manduca sexta hemocytes. While living bacteria inhibited PLA2 activity, heat-killed X. nematophila rather increased PLA2 activity. X. …

A Study In Modeling Low-Conservation Protein Superfamilies, Chang Wang, Stephen Scott, Jun Zhang, Qingping Tao, Dmitri E. Fomenko, Vadim N. Gladyshev

School of Computing: Technical Reports

We present several algorithms for identification of new proteins in superfamilies with low primary sequence conservation. The low conservation of primary sequence in protein superfamilies such as Thioredoxin-fold (Trx-fold) makes conventional methods such as hidden Markov models (HMMs) difficult to use. Therefore, we use structural properties to build our classifiers. These structural properties include secondary structure patterns as well as various properties of the residues in the protein sequences. We use this information to model proteins via hidden Markov models, support vector machines and algorithms in the multiple-instance learning model. In 20-fold jack-knife tests, some of our models performed well, …

Variable Rate Execution, Steve Goddard, Xin Liu

School of Computing: Technical Reports

We present a task model for adaptive real-time tasks in which a task’s execution rate requirements are allowed to change at any time. The model, variable rate execution (VRE), is an extension of the rate-based execution (RBE) model. We relax the constant execution rate assumption of canonical realtime task models by allowing both the worst case execution time (WCET) and the period to be variable. The VRE model also supports tasks joining and leaving the system at any time. Another advantage of the new task model is that the exact execution rate need not be known for soft real-time or …

A Load-Balancing Spare Capacity Reallocation Approach In Service-Rich Sonet Metro Mesh Networks, Lu Shen, Xi Yang, Byrav Ramamurthy

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

The next-generation SONET metro network is evolving into a service-rich infrastructure. At the edge of such a network, multi-service provisioning platforms (MSPPs) provide efficient data mapping enabled by Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) and Virtual Concatenation (VC). The core of the network tends to be a meshed architecture equipped with Multi-Service Switches (MSSs). In the context of these emerging technologies, we propose a load-balancing spare capacity reallocation approach to improve network utilization in the next-generation SONET metro networks. Using our approach, carriers can postpone network upgrades, resulting in increased revenue with reduced capital expenditures (CAPEX). For the first time, we consider …

A Dynamic Real-Time Scheduling Algorithm For Reduced Energy Consumption, Rohini Krishnapura, Steve Goddard, Ala' Adel Qadi

School of Computing: Technical Reports

In embedded real-time systems, Dynamic Power Management (DPM) techniques have traditionally focused on reducing the dynamic power dissipation that occurs when a CMOS gate switches in a processor. Less attention has been given to processor leakage power or power consumed by I/O devices and other subsystems. I/O-based DPM techniques, however, have been extensively researched in non-real-time systems. These techniques focus on switching I/O devices to low power states based on various policies and are not applicable to real-time environments because of the non-deterministic nature of the policies. The challenge in conserving energy in embedded real-time systems is thus to reduce …

Survivable Virtual Topology Routing Under Shared Risk Link Groups In Wdm Networks, Ajay Todimala, Byrav Ramamurthy

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Network survivability is one of the most important issues in the design of optical WDM networks. In this work we study the problem of survivable routing of a virtual topology on a physical topology with Shared Risk Link Groups (SRLG). The survivable virtual topology routing problem against single-link failures in the physical topology is proved to be NP-complete in [1]. We prove that survivable virtual topology routing problem against SRLG/node failures is also NP-complete. We present an improved integer linear programming (ILP) formulation (in comparison to [1]) for computing the survivable routing under SRLG/node failures. Using an ILP solver, we …

Rerouting Schemes For Dynamic Traffic Grooming In Optical Wdm Mesh Networks, Wang Yao, Byrav Ramamurthy

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Traffic grooming in optical WDM mesh networks is a two-layer routing problem to effectively pack low-rate connections onto high-rate lightpaths, which, in turn, are established on wavelength links. In this work, we employ the rerouting approach to improve the network throughput under the dynamic traffic model. We propose two rerouting schemes, rerouting at lightpath level (RRAL) and rerouting at connection level (RRAC). A qualitative comparison is made between RRAL and RRAC. We also propose the critical-wavelength-avoiding one-lightpath-limited (CWA-1L) and critical-lightpath-avoiding one-connection-limited (CLA-1C) rerouting heuristics, which are based on the two rerouting schemes respectively. Simulation results show that rerouting reduces the …

Special Section On The Algorithmics Of Software Model Checking — Introductory Paper, Matthew Dwyer, Stefan Leue

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The term “software model checking” has recently been coined to refer to a flourishing area of research in software verification – the formal, automated analysis of program source code. Software model checking is considered an important application of classical model checking, where the model of a software system is analyzed in an automated fashion for compliance with a property specification. While classical model checking assumes the existence of an abstract model of the software system to be analyzed, in software model checking the emphasis is on directly analyzing program code given in a standard programming language, such as Java or …

An Analysis Of Mcmc Sampling Methods For Estimating Weighted Sums In Winnow, Qingping Tao, Stephen Scott

School of Computing: Technical Reports

Chawla et al. introduced a way to use the Markov chain Monte Carlo method to estimate weighted sums in multiplicative weight update algorithms when the number of inputs is exponential. But their algorithm still required extensive simulation of the Markov chain in order to get accurate estimates of the weighted sums. We propose an optimized version of Chawla et al.’s algorithm, which produces exactly the same classifications while often using fewer Markov chain simulations. We also apply three other sampling techniques and empirically compare them with Chawla et al.’sMetropolis sampler to determine how effective each is in drawing good samples …

Using Source-Code Analysis To Help End-User Programmers Create Dependable Software, Gregg Rothermel

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Not long ago, most software was written by professional programmers, who could be presumed to have an interest in software engineering methodologies and in tools and techniques for improving software dependability. Today, however, a great deal of software is written not by professionals but by end-users, who create applications such as multimedia simulations, dynamic web pages, and spreadsheets. Applications such as these are often used to guide important decisions or aid in important tasks, and it is important that they be sufficiently dependable, but evidence shows that they frequently are not. For example, studies have shown that a large percentage …

Empirical Studies Of Test Case Prioritization In A Junit Testing Environment, Hyunsook Do, Gregg Rothermel, Alex Kinneer

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Test case prioritization provides a way to run test cases with the highest priority earliest. Numerous empirical studies have shown that prioritization can improve a test suite’s rate of fault detection, but the extent to which these results generalize is an open question because the studies have all focused on a single procedural language, C, and a few specific types of test suites. In particular, Java and the JUnit testing framework are being used extensively in practice, and the effectiveness of prioritization techniques on Java systems tested under JUnit has not been investigated. We have therefore designed and performed a …

Evaluating Consistency Algorithms For Temporal Metric Constraints, Yang Shi, Anagh Lal, Berthe Y. Choueiry

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

We study the performance of some known algorithms for solving the Simple Temporal Problem (STP) and the Temporal Constraint Satisfaction Problem (TCSP). In particular, we empirically compare the Bellman-Ford (BF) algorithm and its incremental version (incBF) by (Cesta & Oddi 1996) to the ΔSTP of (Xu & Choueiry 2003a). Among the tested algorithms, we show that ΔSTP is the most efficient for determining the consistency of an STP, and that incBF combined with the heuristics of (Xu & Choueiry 2003b) is the most efficient for solving the TCSP. We plan to improve ΔSTP by exploiting incrementality as in incBF and …

A Nonparametric Classifier For Unsegmented Text, George Nagy, Ashutosh Joshi, Mukkai Krishnamoorthy, Yu Lin, Daniel Lopresti, Shashank K. Mehta, Sharad C. Seth

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Symbolic Indirect Correlation (SIC) is a new classification method for unsegmented patterns. SIC requires two levels of comparisons. First, the feature sequences from an unknown query signal and a known multi-pattern reference signal are matched. Then, the order of the matched features is compared with the order of matches between every lexicon symbolstring and the reference string in the lexical domain. The query is classified according to the best matching lexicon string in the second comparison. Accuracy increases as classified feature-and-symbol strings are added to the reference string.

Diatom Biostratigraphy Of The Cenozoic Glaciomarine Pagodroma Group, Northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica, Jason M. Whitehead, David M. Harwood, Barrie Mckelvey, Andrew Mcminn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

In the northern Prince Charles Mountains glaciomarine sediments of the Pagodroma Group outcrop on Fisher Massif (Mt Johnston and Fisher Bench Formations) and at the Amery Oasis (Battye Glacier and Bardin Bluffs Formations), at locations 300 and 250 km south of the Amery Ice Shelf edge, respectively. Most of the Pagodroma Group consists of ice-proximal glaciomarine diamict, and a much subordinate (<2%) amount of more ice-distal mudstone. Microfossil biostratigraphy based upon in situ and glacially reworked diatoms constrains the ages of the four formations, and identifies at least six intervals of marine fjordal deposition. Sparse diatoms in Mt Johnston Formation diamicts indicate an Early Oligocene age. However, it is …

Arsenic In Nebraska's Groundwater And Public Water Supplies, David Gosselin, Lynne Klawer, Angela Noe

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Because arsenic (As) in drinking water is considered a primary contributor to cancer in humans, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently lowered the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for arsenic from 50 micrograms per liter (μg/L) to 10 μg/L (1 μg/L ~ I part per billion: ppb). This MCL will become effective in 2006. On a national scale, EPA has estimated that of the 74,000 public water supply systems regulated by this MCL, approximately 4,000 systems will have to make changes to comply with it. Of the affected systems, 97 percent are small systems that serve fewer than 10,000 people …

Do Meteorologists Suppress Thunderstorms? Radar-Derived Statistics And The Behavior Of Moist Convection, Matthew D. Parker, Jason C. Knievel

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Most meteorologists are acquainted with the notion of a weather hole—that is, a place that receives less exciting weather than does its surroundings. Exciting weather takes many forms, but when people use the term weather hole, they tend to mean a place that thunderstorms often barely miss, or near which approaching storms often dissipate. For this paper, that is the meaning we adopt.

In our experience, many meteorologists and lay weather enthusiasts genuinely believe that they live in weather holes, and this belief, almost without fail, seems to stem from countless hours spent gazing at displays of radar reflectivity. We …