Digital Commons Network^™

Turfgrass Cultural Practices And Insect Pest Management, Diane Alston, Kelly Kopp

All Current Publications

There are a number of insects that can cause aesthetic and economic loss to turfgrass in Utah – in home lawns as well as in athletic fields and on recreational lands. Good turfgrass cultural practices are the primary way to prevent insect infestation and turfgrass damage.

Clinical–Pathological Conference: Case 2, Nasser Said-Al-Naief, Molly S. Rosebush, Denis P. Lynch

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Stereotyping Starlings Are More ‘Pessimistic’, Bo Brilot, L Asher, M Bateson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Negative affect in humans and animals is known to cause individuals to interpret ambiguous stimuli pessimistically, a phenomenon termed 'cognitive bias'. Here, we used captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to test the hypothesis that a reduction in environmental conditions, from enriched to non-enriched cages, would engender negative affect, and hence 'pessimistic' biases. We also explored whether individual differences in stereotypic behaviour (repetitive somersaulting) predicted 'pessimism'. Eight birds were trained on a novel conditional discrimination task with differential rewards, in which background shade (light or dark) determined which of two covered dishes contained a food reward. The reward was small when …

The Intellectual And Moral Integrity Of Bioethics: Response To Commentaries On "A Case Study In Unethical Transgressive Bioethics: 'Letter Of Concern From Bioethicists' About The Prenatal Administration Of Dexamethasone"., Laurence B Mccullough, Frank A Chervenak, Robert L Brent, Benjamin Hippen

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

In our target article we showed that the Letter of Concern (LoC) fails to meet accepted standards for presenting empirical data for the purpose of supplementing a normative claim and for argument-based normative ethics. The LoC fails to meet the standards of evidence-based reasoning by making false claims, failing to reference data that undermine its key premises, and misrepresenting and misinterpreting the scientific publications it selectively references. The LoC fails to meet the standards of argument-based reasoning by treating as settled matters what are, instead, ongoing controversies, offering “mere opinion” as a substitute for argument, and making contradictory claims. The …

Rethinking Children As Property: The Transitive Family, Kevin Noble Maillard

Cardozo Law Review

Despite the collective view in law and social practice that it is intrinsically taboo to consider human beings as chattel, the law persists in treating children as property. Applying principles of property, this Article examines paternity disputes to explain and critique the law's view of children as property of their parents. As evidenced in these conflicts, the Article demonstrates that legal paternity exposes a rhetoric of ownership, possession, and exchange. The law presumes that a child born to a married woman is fathered by her husband, even when irrefutable proof exists that another man fathered the child. Attempts by non-marital …

Climate Change: Helping Nature Survive The Human Response, Will R. Turner, Bethany A. Bradley, Lyndon D. Estes, David G. Hole, Michael Oppenheimer, David S. Wilcove

Geography

Climate change poses profound, direct, and well-documented threats to biodiversity. A significant fraction of Earth's species is at risk of extinction due to changing precipitation and temperature regimes, rising and acidifying oceans, and other factors. There is also growing awareness of the diversity and magnitude of responses, both proactive and reactive, that people will undertake as lives and livelihoods are affected by climate change. Yet to date few studies have examined the relationship between these two powerful forces. The natural systems upon which people depend, already under direct assault from climate change, are further threatened by how we respond to …

Integration Of Action And Language Knowledge: A Roadmap For Developmental Robotics, A Cangelosi, G Metta, G Sagerer, S Nolfi, C Nehaniv, K Fischer, J Tani, T Belpaeme, G Sandini, F Nori, L Fadiga, B Wrede, K Rohlfing, E Tuci, K Dautenhahn, J Saunders, A Zeschel

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This position paper proposes that the study of embodied cognitive agents, such as humanoid robots, can advance our understanding of the cognitive development of complex sensorimotor, linguistic, and social learning skills. This in turn will benefit the design of cognitive robots capable of learning to handle and manipulate objects and tools autonomously, to cooperate and communicate with other robots and humans, and to adapt their abilities to changing internal, environmental, and social conditions. Four key areas of research challenges are discussed, specifically for the issues related to the understanding of: 1) how agents learn and represent compositional actions; 2) how …

High Tunnel Lettuce In Utah, Dan Drost, Brent Black, Britney Hunter

All Current Publications

This publication provides information on growing high tunnel lettuce in Utah including site preparation, site and irrigation management, and planting dates and spacing.

Chinch Bugs, Kelly Kopp, Ryan S. Davis, Ricardo A. Ramirez

All Current Publications

Chinch bugs are “true bugs”. In Utah, the common chinch bug [Blissus leucopterus leucopterus (Say)], and western chinch bug (Blissus occiduus) may feed on turfgrass, especially under conditions of severe heat and drought. Coupled with under-irrigation, direct sunlight, and thick thatch, chinch bug numbers can soar from mid-summer to early fall.

Japanese Beetle, Erin Hodgson, Diane Alston, Cory A. Stanley

All Current Publications

The Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, can be a highly destructive pest to ornamentals, trees, shrubs, turfgrass, and vegetables. First discovered in the eastern United States in 1916, the Japanese beetle has threatened agriculture and horticulture by slowly moving south and west. In 2006, a small population of adult Japanese beetles was detected in Orem, Utah.

Spotted Wing Drosophila, Diane Alston, Ryan Davis, Cory Vorel

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Vulnerability-Based Spatial Sampling Stratification For The National Children's Study, Worcester County, Massachusetts: Capturing Health-Relevant Environmental And Sociodemographic Variability, Timothy Downs, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Onesky Aupont, Yangyang Wang, Ann Raj, Paula Zimmerman, Robert Goble, Octavia Taylor, Linda Churchill, Celeste Lemay, Thomas Mclaughlin, Marianne Felice

Sustainability and Social Justice

Background: The National Children's Study is the most ambitious study ever attempted in the United States to assess how environmental factors impact child health and development. It aims to follow 100,000 children from gestation until 21 years of age. Success requires breaking new interdisciplinary ground, starting with how to select the sample of > 1,000 children in each of 105 study sites; no standardized protocol exists for stratification of the target population by factoring in the diverse environments it inhabits. Worcester County, Massachusetts, like other sites, stratifies according to local conditions and local knowledge, subject to probability sampling rules.Objectives: We answer …

In Response: Psychology Is A Behavioral Science, Not A Biological Science, By Gary Greenberg And Charles Lambdin—Correct Conclusion, Unsound Arguments, Robert Whelan

The Psychological Record

No abstract provided.

Natural Selection On Mrna Secondary Structure And Its Correlation With Protein Functional Groups, Suresh Solaimuthu

Dissertations

Natural selection may occur at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy, including at the molecular level. It may occur on any phenotypic trait that evidences variation and that is heritable. This research uses computational methods to investigate whether the stability of the secondary structures of mRNAs has been the subject of natural selection.

The DNA sequence that codes for a particular target protein is only partially determined by that protein, since the redundancy of the genetic code permits multiple possible synonymous codons for each peptide. An RNA transcript of a DNA protein template (gene) folds back on itself through complementary …

Design Of Novel Drug Delivery System And Optimal Dosage Regimens, Kwang Seok Kim

Dissertations

Three representative drug delivery systems were analyzed to emphasize the roles of mathematical models and computer-aided simulations in pharmaceutical research. In the first project, a protocol was developed so that the optimal regimen, consisting of the intravenous boluses and subsequent infusion of theophylline, could be obtained once information on the pharmacokinetics became available. The method was based on a two-compartment model of the human body. A module was created and posted on a website for free access. The second project dealt with the transdermal heat-assisted delivery of corticosterone. Heat conduction and drug diffusion through the patch and the skin were …

Atomic And Electronic Structure Studies Of Nano-Structured Systems : Carbon And Related Materials, Sumit Saxena

Dissertations

Modeling in the framework of density functional theory has been conducted on carbon nanotubes and graphene nano-structures. The results have been extended to non-carbon systems such as boron nanostructures. Computational studies are complemented by experimental methods to refine the structural models and obtain a better understanding of the electronic structure.

It is observed that the zigzag edged bilayered graphene nanoribbons are highly unstable as compared to their armchair counterparts. A novel approach has been proposed for the patterning of chirality/diameter controlled single walled carbon nanotubes. Nanotube formation is found to be assisted by edge ripples along with the intrinsic edge …

The Public Understanding Of Climate Change : A Case Study Of Taiwanese Youth, Shih-Yun Kuo

Dissertations

Global climate change is likely to be the most challenging environmental dilemma of the 21st century because its impacts on ecosystems and human society are transnational in scale and long term in scope. Due to its high scientific complexity and uncertainty and high political and economic sensitivity, mitigating the problem will require interdisciplinary cooperation and collective and sustained efforts on the part of all nations. Sufficient domestic support from both government and the lay public will not only be significant to the success of an international climate regime, but also crucial to the effectiveness of potential domestic climate policies.

Such …

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 035, Number 01, August 31, 2010, Grand Valley State University

2010-2011, Volume 35

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

The Cross-Dressing Case For Bathroom Equality, Jennifer Levi, Daniel Redman

Seattle University Law Review

While transgender rights advocates have won many battles in the fight for equality, bathroom discrimination remains a significant obstacle to transgender people’s full participation in society. This Article discusses the reasoning behind the cases that have rejected transgender people’s discrimination claims based on bathroom exclusion. The Article then demonstrates how these arguments mirror the rationales offered by supporters of long-dead, unconstitutional cross-dressing laws. Synthesizing the two bodies of case law, Levi and Redman offer a new way forward for transgender advocates seeking bathroom equality.

Law Clerks Gone Wild, Parker B. Potter, Jr.

Seattle University Law Review

This Article grows out of my delight in seeing fellow law clerks break through the paper curtain and onto the pages of the Federal Reporter, the Federal Supplement, or some other compendium of judicial opinions. While my fascination with law clerks as the subjects rather than the instruments of judicial writing is probably not universal, I have selected the opinions I discuss in this Article with an eye toward entertaining—and maybe even instructing, if only slightly—the clerkigentsia and the judiciary. So, with that audience in mind, I set off in search of law clerks who had gone wild …

Uab Researchers Develop New Test For Shellfish Bacteria, Jim Bakken

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

The Daily Egyptian, August 31, 2010, Daily Egyptian Staff

August 2010

No abstract provided.

Identification Of A Unique Core Domain Of Par-4 Sufficient For Selective Apoptosis Induction In Cancer Cells, Vivek M. Rangnekar

Radiation Medicine Faculty Patents

The present invention relates to Par-4 mutants which cause apoptosis in cancer cells which are sensitive to Par-4 and also induce apoptosis in cancer cells which are resistant to Par-4. The present invention also relates to methods of using the Par-4 mutant to treat certain cancers, as well as to kits, vectors, and polypeptides for same.

An Adaptive Neuron Circuit For Signal Compression, Sheng Feng Yen, John G. Harris

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present a low-bandwidth analog circuit for implementing an adaptive biphasic leaky integrate-and-fire neuron. This neuron circuit is targeted for signal compression in neural recording applications. Unlike other adaptive neuron circuits, this adaptive integrate-and-fire neuron supports signal reconstruction with known threshold voltages. Matlab simulations show promising bandwidth reduction comparing to an integrate-and-fire neuron without the adaptive feature. We quantify the circuit performance in terms of the tradeoff between signal reconstruction accuracy and bandwidth. ©2010 IEEE.

Mean Firing Rate Spike Representations For Speech Recognition, John G. Harris, Yukun Feng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The nature of spike coding of auditory signals is studied by comparing mean firing rate codes with conventional approaches in speech recognition tasks. Mean firing rate spike representations are problematic since most auditory nerve fibers are saturated at typical conversation levels. However, these problems are eased somewhat when it is considered that there are other nerve fibers (e.g. low spontaneous firing rate fibers) that could efficiently encode the information at each channel of the cochlea. We show that window-based, mean firing rate features can be used with a crude cochlea model to achieve the same level of performance as a …

The Use Of Spike-Based Representations For Hardware Audition Systems, Shih Chii Liu, Nima Mesgarani, John Harris, Hynek Hermansky

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Humans are able to process speech and other sounds effectively in adverse environments, hearing through noise, reverberation, and interference from other speakers. To date, machines have been unable to match human performance. One profound difference between biological and engineering systems comes at the input stage. In machines, an acoustic signal is typically chopped into short equally spaced segments in time. In biological systems, the cochlea outputs asynchronous spikes that respond in real-time to acoustic inputs. In this paper we describe a spiking cochlea implementation and recent experiments in both speaker and speech recognition that use spikes as input. ©2010 IEEE.

Florida Sentinel Bulletin, August 31, 2010, Gwen Hayes

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection

The August 31, 2010, issue of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

Obesity And Unhealthy Consumption: The Public-Policy Case For Placing A Federal Sin Tax On Sugary Beverages, Jonathan Cummings

Seattle University Law Review

A growing body of research has established an empirical link between consumption of sugary beverages and numerous health problems. Yet, while few people disagree that reduced consumption of sugary beverages is a desirable goal for American society, many people disagree about how to reduce it. This Comment argues that a proposed sin tax on sugary beverages is sound policy, and Congress should implement the tax in order to combat and address the obesity epidemic because (1) consumers are subject to cognitive and informational defects that affect consumers’ abilities to make the best welfare-generating decisions, and (2) sugary-beverage consumption causes healthcare-related …

The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne

• Fire Plagues University Villas
• Sea Kayaking for The Soul
• Some Universities To Ask Queer Questions On College Applications
• Isn't Katrina That Girl From Louisiana?
• War Generals Of Advertisement
• Celebrity Media Craze
• Liquor Regulations Lead To Dilemma: Governing Morality?
• Police Beat
• 30 Days of 'LivinGreen'
• COPH Joins Public Health Effort
• Campus Recreation & Intramurals
• A Night Talking With the Artists
• Crossing Cultures for Friendships
• Classifieds
• Football Team Goes To Work In Paulson Stadium
• Get To Know Coach Monken

Applications Of Molecular Dynamics Techniques And Spectroscopic Theories To Aqueous Interfaces, Anthony Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of spectroscopy is to obtain molecularly detailed information about the system under study. Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy is a nonlinear optical technique that is highly interface specific, and is therefore a powerful tool for understanding interfacial structure and dynamics. SFG is a second order, electronically nonresonant, polarization experiment and is consequently dipole forbidden in isotropic media such as a bulk liquid. Interfaces, however, serve to break the symmetry and produce a signal. Theoretical approximations to vibrational spectra of O-H stretching at aqueous interfaces are constructed using time correlation function (TCF) and instantaneous normal mode (INM) …