Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Optimal Techniques For Solving Global Optimization Problems: Symmetry-Based Approach, Chirstodoulos A. Floudas, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Most techniques for solving global optimization problems have parameters that need to be adjusted to the problem or to the class of problems: for example, in gradient methods, we can select different step sizes. When we have a single parameter (or few parameters) to choose, it is possible to empirically try many values and come up with an (almost) optimal value. Thus, in such situations, we can come up with optimal version of the corresponding technique.

In other approaches, e.g., in methods like convex underestimators, instead of selecting the value of single number-valued parameter, we have select the auxiliary function. …

Asian Carp -Aquatic Invasive Species Issues, Program Accomplishments, And Program Needs

National Invasive Species Council

Pathways and Introductions into the United States

Biology and Ecology

Distribution and Abundance

Ecological Risks and Impacts

Threats to the Great Lakes Basin

Threat to Other Basins and Locations

What is the Fish and Wildlife Service Doing?

When Landscaping Goes Bad: The Incipient Invasion Of Mahonia Bealei In The Southeastern United States, Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Jill A. Labram, Amanda E. Peck, Luanna B. Prevost

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Woodlots are forest islands embedded within an urban matrix, and often represent the only natural areas remaining in suburban areas. Woodlots represent critical conservation areas for native plants, and are important habitat for wildlife in urban areas. Invasion by non-indigenous (NIS) plants can alter ecological structure and function, and may be especially severe in remnant forests where NIS propagule pressure is high. Woody shrubs in the Family Berberidaceae have been well documented as invaders of the forest–urban matrix in North America. Mahonia bealei (Berberidaceae) is a clonal shrub native to China, and is a popular ornamental in the Southeastern United …

Predictors Of Introduction Success In The South Florida Avifauna, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Biological invasions are an increasing global challenge, for which single-species studies and analyses focused on testing single hypotheses of causation in isolation are unlikely to provide much additional insight. Species interact with other species to create communities, which derive from species interactions and from the interactions of species with the scale specific elements of the landscape that provide suitable habitat and exploitable resources. I used logistic regression analysis to sort among potential intrinsic, community and landscape variables that theoretically influence introduction success. I utilized the avian fauna of the Everglades of South Florida, and the variables body mass, distance to …

Life-History And Ecological Correlates Of Geographic Variation In Egg And Clutch Mass Among Passerine Species, Thomas E. Martin, R. D. Bassar, S. K. Bassar, J. J. Fontaine, P. Lloyd, H. A. Mathewson, A. M. Niklison, A. Chalfoun

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Broad geographic patterns in egg and clutch mass are poorly described, and potential causes of variation remain largely unexamined. We describe interspecific variation in avian egg and clutch mass within and among diverse geographic regions and explore hypotheses related to allometry, clutch size, nest predation, adult mortality, and parental care as correlates and possible explanations of variation. We studied 74 species of Passeriformes at four latitudes on three continents: the north temperate United States, tropical Venezuela, subtropical Argentina, and south temperate South Africa. Egg and clutch mass increased with adult body mass in all locations, but differed among locations for …

Genetic Implications Of Reduced Survival Of Male Red Deer Cervus Elaphus Under Harvest, Jeffrey J. Hard, L. Scott Mills, James M. Peek

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We use simple, multivariate evolutionary models to evaluate the short-term potential for size-selective harvest to reduce genetic variability and alter life history in cervids. These genetic effects limit sustainable levels of harvest of the animals because they determine how changes in sex ratio, generation length and traits contributing to fitness influence population growth rate and local adaptation. Our analysis of harvest-mediated adaptive evolution employs a genetic approach that parameterizes models with empirical data obtained from European red deer Cervus elaphus. The analysis indicates that harvest, if sufficiently high to reduce the breeding ratio of males to females to below …

Science And Implementation, Mary Ruckelshaus, Donna Darm

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) relies heavily on science, and not surprisingly science has become a major battleground in the controversy surrounding its implementation (Doremus, this volume). Apparently, Congress hoped that ESA decisions could be made based on science alone and thereby insulated from politics (U.S. Congress 1982, 19). This hope was unrealistic for at least two reasons. First, science cannot answer with certainty many of the questions that must be answered in ESA decision making, especially in the time frames demanded by the statute. Second, while science has a central role in informing natural resource decisions, scientific information …

Field-Scale Demonstration Of Induced Biogeochemical Reductive Dechlorination At Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Delaware, Lonnie G. Kennedy, Jess W. Everett, Erica Becvar, Donald Defeo

United States Air Force: Publications

Biogeochemical reductive dechlorination (BiRD) is a new remediation approach for chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs). The approach stimulates common sulfate-reducing soil bacteria, facilitating the geochemical conversion of native iron minerals into iron sulfides. Iron sulfides have the ability to chemically reduce many common CAH compounds including PCE, TCE, DCE, similar to zero valent iron (Fe⁰). Results of a field test at Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Delaware, are given in this paper. BiRD was stimulated by direct injection of Epson salt (MgSO₄·7H₂O) and sodium (L) lactate (NaC₃H₅O₃) in five …

Removal Of Arsenite And Arsenate Using Hydrous Ferric Oxide Incorporated Into Naturally Occurring Porous Diatomite, M. Jang, S.H. Min, T.H. Kim, J.K. Park

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

In this study, a simplified and effective method was tried to immobilize iron oxide onto a naturally occurring porous diatomite. Experimental results for several physicochemical properties and arsenic edges revealed that iron oxide incorporated into diatomite was amorphous hydrous ferric oxide (HFO). Sorption trends of Fe (25%)-diatomite for both arsenite and arsenate were similar to those of HFO, reported by Dixit and Hering (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 4182-4189). The pH at which arsenite and arsenate are equally sorbed was 7.5, which corresponds to the value reported for HFO. Judging from the number of moles of iron incorporated into diatomite, …

Morehead State Eagles 2006 Football, Morehead State University. Office Of Athletics.

Morehead State Sports Team Programs

The 2006 official media guide of the Morehead State University football team.

Toward A Unified Science Of The Earth's Surface: Opportunities For Synthesis Among Hydrology, Geomorphology, Geochemistry, And Ecology, C. E. Foufoula-Georgiou, W. E. Dietrich, M. Hondzo, D. Mohrig, G. Parker, M. E. Power, I. Rodriguez-Iturbe, V. Voller, P. Wilcock

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

The Earth's surface is shaped by the interaction of tectonics, water, sediment, solutes, and biota over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and across diverse environments. Development of a predictive science of Earth surface dynamics integrates many disciplines and approaches, including hydrology, geomorphology, ocean and atmospheric science, sedimentary and structural geology, geochemistry, and ecology. This paper discusses challenges, opportunities, and a few example problems that can serve as pathways toward this integration.

Part 4: It's Not Easy Being Green: Open Space And Parks In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Open space and parks are unevenly distributed across our region. Virginia Beach has done a particularly good job in promoting parks and green space. Still, open space is disappearing at a very rapid rate. Either we preserve such space now, or it may disappear forever.

Acuta Journal Of Telecommunications In Higher Education

ACUTA Journal

In This Issue

New Bandwidth Boosts Opportunities at the University of ldaho

Colleges Meld Data Functionality to Afford Larger, Better Facilities

Focusing on Video Demands

Wireless Optical Mesh Networking

Wireless LANs for Voice

Delivering Broadband over Power Lines

The Real lmpact of Napster

ACUTA Awards Presentations

Interview

President's Message

From the Executive Director

Here's My Advice

Animal Science Alumni Newsletter, Winter 2006

Department of Animal Science: Departmental News

Contents:

Nielsen Named Kermit Wagner Distinguished Professor of Animal Science
Animal Science Alumnus is UNL Masters Week Recipient
From the Department Head’s Desk
Animal Breeding Symposium Honors Dr. Dale Van Vleck
New Faces for Old Places
New Faculty
Larry Larson to Retire
2006 SSR New Investigator Award
UNL Animal Science Students Benefit from the NC/NCW Annual Convention in More Ways than One
Block & Bridle Activities
2007 Upcoming Activities
Ambassador Activities
Beermann and Calkins Attend Congress in Ireland
Mexico 2006 – A Trip to Remember
Former Student Fernando Lagos Experiences
Former Graduates Receive CASNR Awards
Recent Department Awards and Recognitions …

Endangered Species Bulletin: 2006 Highlights

Endangered Species Bulletin

In this issue:
4 Overcoming Challenges to Species Recovery
10 Multispecies Recovery Planning: Benefits and Challenges
12 Reversing a Textbook Tragedy
14 The Public Role in Conserving Species
16 Whooping Crane Population Reaches Record High
19 Defense and Conservation: Compatible Missions
22 Wildlife Conservation and the U.S. Army
24 Desert Tortoises Get Help From the Marines
26 Eggert’s Sunflower Prospers at Arnold AFB
28 In Defense of Coral Reefs
30 Army National Guard Discovers a Tough Little Shrimp
32 Compatible Land Use Partnerships
34 States Working Together for Wildlife
38 Saving Saipan’s White-eye
42 Planning for Wildlife in the Lone …

The Effect Of Handling Time On Temporal Discounting In Two New World Primates, Alexandra G. Rosati, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Marc D. Hauser

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Foraging decisions in nonhuman animals often require choosing between small, immediate food rewards and larger, more delayed rewards. Faced with such choices, animals typically discount or devalue the future quite strongly. Although discounting studies often focus on delays to reward access, other temporal intervals contribute to foraging rate, and thus may potentially influence discounting levels. Here, we examine the effect of handling time, the time required to process and consume food, on discounting in cottontop tamarins, Saguinus oedipus, and common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, two species that differ in levels of temporal discounting. We presented subjects with a discounting task under …

Status Of The Northern River Otter In Nebraska, Richard Bischof

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Staff Research Publications

Historically, the northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) was well established throughout Nebraska (Swenk 1908) and was especially abundant along the Missouri and the Platte rivers (Jones 1964). Unregulated trapping and habitat degradation caused declines throughout most of the northern river otter's historic range (Nilsson 1980, Melquist and Dronkert 1987), including Nebraska. The species was considered extirpated in Nebraska by the early 1900s.

Refuge Update – January/February 2006, Volume 3, Number 1

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:

Three New Species in Alaska
Conserving Wildlife State by State
Focus on…Incident Command
Mushing to Your New Job

Office Of Research -- Annual Report 2005-2006

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Table of Contents

Physical Sciences & Engineering
Exploring the final frontier – extreme light . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Nano discovery is golden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
New center fuels energy research . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 6
Imparting the human touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …

The Breeding Ecology And Natural History Of Ambystomatid Salamanders In An Ephemeral Wetland In Mason County, West Virginia, S. Douglas Kaylor

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A forested ephemeral wetland in Mason County, WV, documented to contain 4 of 5 Ambystoma species found in the state, was studied to learn about population sizes, breeding cycles, and habitat use. Minnow traps were placed along three drift fences with additional traps placed throughout the study area. From February 5 to March 27, 2005, 85 captured adults were identified to species, marked by elastomer injection for mark-recapture analysis, and measured for morphometrics. Larval salamanders were identified, staged, measured, and returned. Egg clutches were mapped and counted. Mark-recapture analysis suggests the A. texanum population size is between 635 and 735 …

Survey Of The Great Kanawha River, West Virginia, For Virulence Related Gene Markers Stx1, Stx2, And Eaea, Christina Carole Johnson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Microbial surveying using antibiotic resistant bacteria, fecal coliforms, and virulence genes is an approach not previously tested on the Great Kanawha River. Research objectives were to test antibiotic resistant and fecal coliform bacteria as bioindicators of water quality, and develop a multiplex- polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) system for identification of stx1, stx2, and eaeA DNA sequences in isolated fecal coliforms (FC). Fecal indicator populations and antibiotic resistant populations were demonstrated to be independent. Bacterial populations were assigned impact score(s) (IS) values for each sample site based on data set percent ranks. Population scores were summed per sample site to generate …

Diverse Roles Of Pkcα In Vascular Smooth Muscle Contraction, Ava Caudill Dykes

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying smooth muscle contractility has proven elusive due to the many interacting factors thought to influence contractile behavior in this muscle type. One such factor, protein kinase Cα (PKCα), is proposed to play a central role in both the activation and modulation of smooth muscle contraction. PKCα is activated through a G-protein coupled receptor and is subsequently translocated to its site of action. Although the mechanisms regulating PKCα site specific translocation are not completely understood, it is thought that this process is essential for PKCα specificity of action within the cell. In chapter II …

Satellite Image Based Classification Mapping For Spatially Analyzing West Virginia Corridor H Urban Development, Chandra L. Inglis-Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The study area for this project is Corridor H, a designated Appalachian Development Highway located in Lewis, Upshur, Barbour Counties which are part of the Appalachian Plateau Province, and Randolph, Tucker, Grant and Hardy Counties which are Part of the Ridge and Valley Province in West Virginia. The region has a long history of occupation and a traditional economic structure consisting of mainly agriculture, timbering and coal mining. The final objective of the study was to perform change detection, using two Landsat datasets obtained from the USGS of the study area from 1987 and 2005 to determine if economic development, …

Characterization Of Pancreatic Lesions From Mt-Tgfα, Ela-Myc And Mt-Tgfα/Ela-Myc Single And Double Transgenic Mice, Dezhong Liao, Yong Wang, Jiusheng Wu, Nazmi Adsay, David Grignon, Fayyaz Khanani, Fazlul H. Sarkar

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

In order to identify good animal models for investigating therapeutic and preventive strategies for pancreatic cancer, we analyzed pancreatic lesions from several transgenic models and made a series of novel findings. Female MT-tgfα mice of the MT100 line developed pancreatic proliferation, acinar-ductal metaplasia, multilocular cystic neoplasms, ductal adenocarcinomas and prominent fibrosis, while the lesions in males were less severe. MT-tgfα-ES transgenic lines of both sexes developed slowly progressing lesions that were similar to what was seen in MT100 males. In both MT100 and MT-tgfα-ES lines, TGFα transgene was expressed mainly in proliferating ductal cells. Ela-myc transgenic mice with a …

Increased Therapeutic Potential Of An Experimental Anti-Mitotic Inhibitor Sb715992 By Genistein In Pc-3 Human Prostate Cancer Cell Line, David A. Davis, Sarah H. Sarkar, Maha Hussain, Yiwei Li, Fazlul H. Sarkar

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Kinesin spindle proteins (KSP) are motor proteins that play an essential role in mitotic spindle formation. HsEg5, a KSP, is responsible for the formation of the bipolar spindle, which is critical for proper cell division during mitosis. The function of HsEg5 provides a novel target for the manipulation of the cell cycle and the induction of apoptosis. SB715992, an experimental KSP inhibitor, has been shown to perturb bipolar spindle formation, thus making it an excellent candidate for anti-cancer agent. Our major objective was a) to investigate the cell growth inhibitory effects of SB715992 on PC-3 human prostate cancer …

A Database And Tool, Im Browser, For Exploring And Integrating Emerging Gene And Protein Interaction Data For Drosophila, Svetlana Pacifico, Guozhen Liu, Stephen Guest, Jodi R. Parrish, Farshad Fotouhi, Russell L. Finley Jr

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Biological processes are mediated by networks of interacting genes and proteins. Efforts to map and understand these networks are resulting in the proliferation of interaction data derived from both experimental and computational techniques for a number of organisms. The volume of this data combined with the variety of specific forms it can take has created a need for comprehensive databases that include all of the available data sets, and for exploration tools to facilitate data integration and analysis. One powerful paradigm for the navigation and analysis of interaction data is an interaction graph or map that represents proteins …

Production Of Il-16 Correlates With Cd4+ Th1 Inflammation And Phosphorylation Of Axonal Cytoskeleton In Multiple Sclerosis Lesions, Dusanka S. Skundric, Juan Cai, William W. Cruikshank, Djordje Gveric

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system-specific autoimmune, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease. Infiltration of lesions by autoaggressive, myelin-specific CD4+Th1 cells correlates with clinical manifestations of disease. The cytokine IL-16 is a CD4+ T cell-specific chemoattractant that is biased towards CD4+ Th1 cells. IL-16 precursor is constitutively expressed in lymphocytes and during CD4+ T cell activation; active caspase-3 cleaves and releases C-terminal bioactive IL-16. Previously, we used an animal model of MS to demonstrate an important role for IL-16 in regulation of autoimmune inflammation and subsequent axonal damage. This role of IL-16 in MS is largely unexplored. Here …

Biotechnology: A Necessity For Science Literacy., Judith A. Scheppler, Susan Styer, Donald Dosch

Faculty Publications & Research

A hands-on semester-long course in biotechnology for middle school students, high school students, or college students provides a way to learn about new technologies and can be coupled with assignments that provoke their thinking about the ethical and social ramifications of the field’s advances.

The Effects Of A Listening Previewing Intervention On A Written Recall Assessment Of Silent Reading Comprehension, Jennifer A. Renn

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the use of a written recall procedure as a curriculum-based measurement of silent reading comprehension. Participants were five students in fourth and fifth grades in an after school reading program or an after school care program. An alternating treatments design was used to examine the utility of the written recall procedure in detecting small changes in silent reading comprehension as a result of a listening previewing intervention. Results indicated that the written recall procedure may be effective in detecting small changes in silent reading comprehension: however, further research is needed to determine the procedure's use as …

The Pursuit Of Higher Levels Ofeducational Attainment By Licensed Practical Nurses, Charlene C. Gyurko

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, there are 2.7 million persons employed in the field of nursing, a figure that ranks this country as the largest single group of health care professionals in the nation (Kennedy, 2003). However, for a variety of demographic, technical training requirement, and capacity reasons, the demand for nurses has outpaced supply for a number of years. By 2010, it is estimated that there will be a need for over one million new and/or replacement registered nurses (RNs). Furthermore, by 2008, it is projected that the need for RNs will increase by 21% nationwide to its highest level …