Digital Commons Network^™

Leaf Toughness And Cyanide Defense Of Passiflora Dioscoreifolia In Varied Light Habitats, August 2010, James Bellush

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Coevolution can lead to complex biological relationships between tropical plants and herbivores, as with Passiflora (Passifloraceae) vines and heliconiine butterflies (Nymphalidae: Heliconiiae). Constant herbivory from heliconiine butterflies has led to the development of cyanide-based defensive compounds by Passiflora, in addition to the more general defense of toughening leaves, found in all plants. To observe the effect of light availability on leaf toughness and cyanide content in Passiflora dioscoreifolia, leaves from twenty plants in sun and shade habitats were sampled in the forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica and tested for their leaf toughness and cyanide content. Plants in the sun habitat …

Niche Portioning In Four Frugivorous Neotropical Bats: Carollia Subrufa, Carollia Perspicillata, Sturnira Ludovici, And Artibeus Toltecus, August 2010, Gregory Pavur

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Neotropical bat diversity is high, suggesting finely partitioned niches. Mist nets were set up on edges of Premontane Moist Forest and secondary forest remnants of San Luis, Costa Rica to examine plant use by frugivorous bats there. I caught 42 frugivorous bats of four species and one nectavorous bat: Carollia subrufa, Carollia perspicillata, Sturnira ludovici, Artibeus toltecus, and Glossophaga soricina . The number of Piper, Solanum, and other seeds were counted and identified in fecal matter to see what each species of bats were eating. The main diet of all 4 species of bats studied consisted of similar species of …

The Role Of Size, Social Interaction And Predation On Metachrosis Of The Green Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus Malachiticus), August 2010, Daniel Whonsetler

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Metachrosis, or color change, in lizards may have social or antipredator functions. The purpose of this study was to determine impact of size, social interaction and predatory pressures on metachrosis in S. malachiticus. Nine lizards were collected and photographed to quantify their initial color. The snout-vent length and photographed color (as hue, saturation and brightness) were measured and compared (Spearman Rank Correlation, P > 0.60), showing no significant correlation. Lizards were then paired and allowed to interact for thirty minutes, once with every lizard and photographed after. Interactions were broken down into three groups (same size, with larger, with smaller), where …

The Use Of Macroinvertebrates As Water Quality Indicators Along Two Streams In A Disturbed Landscape In Cañitas, Costa Rica, August 2010, Emily Thorpe

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Human alteration of natural landscapes often has significant impacts on nearby aquatic ecosystems, affecting both abiotic and biotic factors. Water quality testing has primarily depended on the monitoring of abiotic factors; however, the use of biotic indicators has emerged as a valuable tool. This study looks at the water quality of two joined streams in Cañitas, Costa Rica, a region dominated by coffee and dairy production. The abiotic indicators measured included dissolved oxygen, temperature, nitrogen, phosphorous, pH, and turbidity. Macroinvertebrates were sampled as the biotic indicators. Principal Components Analysis was used to determine the similarity between sites. Based on BMWP’-CR …

Are Native Plant Gardens Better For Conserving Bird Populations Than Gardens With Exotic Plants?, August 2010, Jessica Ann Gouveia

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Loss of species habitat due to rapid deforestation of the Earth’s forests is a pertinent and serious problem. This issue especially affects birds. One way in which scientists and conservationists have suggested people could help conserve bird populations is by gardening. Many horticulturalists want to bring in ornamental exotic species of plants, however, it is believed by some that they offer little contribution to a functional ecological system; they do not harbor as many insects, nor do they have an ecological history with the birds of the native habitat. In this study, I examine the issue of whether native plants …

Ecotourism, Environmental Awareness And Green Living In Costa Rica, August 2010, Alexandra Sanserino

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Over the past 30 years, Monteverde, Costa Rica, has adopted ecotourism as its primary source of revenue. Since the inception of ecotourism in tropical regions, many studies have been done on both the positives (more conservation) and negatives (littering, pollution, etc.) associated with it. With the knowledge of both the benefits and consequences associated with ecotourism, the government of Costa Rica has adopted an environmental education program to make residents aware of environmental issues and give them the tools to protect the environment through their daily activities. But just how effective is this program? The current study compares environmental awareness …

Social Networking For Emergency Management And Public Safety, A.M. Lesperance, M.A. Godinez, J.R. Olson

CUP Faculty Research

On March 10, 2010 the workshop titled Social Networking for Emergency Management and Public Safety was held in Seattle, WA. The objective of this workshop was to showcase ways social media networking technologies can be used to support emergency management and public safety operations. The workshop highlighted the current state of social networking and where this dynamic engagement is heading, demonstrated some of the more commonly used technologies, highlighted case studies on how these tools have been used in a variety of jurisdictions and engaged the private sector on how these tools might serve as a conduit for two way …

Hyperspectral Sensing Possibilities Using Continuum Removal Index In Early Detection Of Ganoderma In Oil Palm Plantation, N. M.N. Maris, H.Z. M. Shafri, A.S. Idris, M. Steven, D. Boyd, M.H.A. Mior

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

This study focuses on the possibility of early detection of Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease caused by Ganoderma spp. a wood decaying fungi in oil palm plantation. The datasets were based on reflectance spectra measured with a GER 1500 spectroradiometer in the range of 350 – 1050nm. Relationship of oil-palm leaves reflectance spectra with the infestation of BSR was investigated. Two datasets from the same plantation were analysed; the young palm (5 years old) and the mature palm (17 years old). The palms were classified to three groups: T1 – healthy palm, T2 – palm infected with Ganoderma without any …

Stay At Home Fathers: The New Gender Benders, Jessica Fischer

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the gender roles and attitudes toward women‟s and men‟s social roles of stay at home fathers and employed fathers recruited on the Internet. The relationship between gender roles and attitudes toward women‟s and men‟s social roles on reasons for becoming a stay at home father were also investigated. It was predicted that stay at home fathers would endorse more traditionally feminine characteristics for themselves and would have more nontraditional attitudes toward men‟s and women‟s social roles than employed fathers. In addition, it was predicted that fathers who choose to stay at home for practical reasons (i.e. lost …

Neutralization Of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Antiangiogenic Isoforms Or Administration Of Proangiogenic Isoforms Stimulates Vascular Development In The Rat Testis, Michelle M. Baltes-Breitwisch, Robin A. Artac, Rebecca C. Bott, Renee M. Mcfee, Jill G. Kerl, Debra T. Clopton, Andrea S. Cupp

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) plays a role in both angiogenesis and seminiferous cord formation, and alternative splicing of the Vegfa gene produces both proangiogenic isoforms and antiangiogenic isoforms (B-isoforms). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the expression of pro- and antiangiogenic isoforms during testis development and to determine the role of VEGFA isoforms in testis morphogenesis. Quantitative RT-PCR determined that Vegfa_165b mRNA was most abundant between embryonic days 13.5 and 16 (E13.5 and 16; P < 0.05). Compared with ovarian mRNA levels, Vegfa_120 was more abundant at E13–14 (P < 0.05), Vegfa_164 was less abundant at E13 (P < 0.05), and Vegfa_165b tended to be less abundant …

Institutional Data Book 2009-2010, University Of Minnesota, Morris Office Of Institutional Research

Campus Documents and Reports

No abstract provided.

Design, Synthesis, And Polymerization Of Novel Heterocyclic Monomers As Precursors For Functional Polyester, Poly(Ester Amide)S And Polyamides, Eylem Tarkin-Tas

Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation involves the synthesis and polymerization of heterocyclic monomers which pave the way to biodegradable polyester nanocomposites, functional polyesters or poly(ester amide)s, functional polyamides and supramolecular polymers. The key monomers are ε-caprolactone, γ-acetamido-ε- caprolactone, γ-ethylene ketal-ε-caprolactam and α-amino-ε-caprolactam.

Poly(ε-caprolactone) organo-modified montmorillonite nanocomposites were prepared by in-situ polymerization using dibutyltin dimethoxide as initiator/catalyst. The montmorillonite was first modified with 1-decyl-2-methyl-3-(11-hydroxyundecyl)- imidazolium cation. The hydroxyl functionality was used for not only initiating polymer chains from the surface of the clay platelets but also for grafting polymer chains to the surface by acting as a reversible chain transfer …

Patterns Of Diversity, Zoogeography, And Ecological Gradients In Honduran Freshwater Fishes, Wilfredo Antonio Matamoros

Dissertations

Nineteen major river drainages across Honduras were sampled from 2005-2009 in order to understand Honduran geographical patterns of freshwater fish distribution, to delineate the Honduran freshwater fishes ichthyographical provinces, and to understand patterns of species assemblage at the drainage level. A total of 166 species of freshwater fishes were sampled, a 64% increase over previously published reports. Eight species belong to primary freshwater families, 47 to secondary, and 111 to peripherals. In order to understand the species-drainages relationships, a presence-absence matrix was built for the 19 major drainages and 55 primary and secondary freshwater fishes. Correspondence and cluster analysis clearly …

Study On Energy Absorption Behaviors Of Hydrophobic Mesoporous Materials, Zhongyuan Sun

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Nanoporous energy absorption system has been developed tremendously as an advanced energy storage system in recent years. This research is to optimize the mesoporous energy absorption matrixes via surface treatment to find out the optimum conditions for higher energy conversion efficiency. Five mesoporous silica matrixes with pore size in a range of 3 to 31.6 nm were investigated. Six alkylchlorosilanes were used as the modification reagents. The results showed that the energy absorption density via pressure-induced infiltration is as high as 8.0 J/g which is 100 times larger than that of conventional energy absorption materials. The controllability of the energy …

Vital Signs, Fall 2010, Boonshoft School Of Medicine

Vital Signs

A fifty-six page newsletter created by the Boonshoft School of Medicine to document the current affairs of the school. This issue includes a variety of feature articles, a research spotlight, a calendar of events, and more.

Undergraduate And Graduate Course Descriptions, 2010 Fall, Wright State University

Course Descriptions

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Fall 2010.

Discovering New Competivive Dengue Den2 Ns2b/Ns3 Inhibitors Using Similarity Searching, N. Frimayanti, Sharifuddin Md Zain, Noorsaadah Abd Rahman

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Several flaviviruses are important human pathogens, including dengue virus, a disease against which neither a vaccine nor specific antiviral therapies currently exist. QSAR study was carried out with the purpose of searching new competitive dengue inhibitors with similar properties to the existence inhibitors (i.e. data set). The approach began with the development of rigorously validated QSAR model obtained using multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA) with conventional correlation coefficient (r2) value of 0.82 and cross-validated correlation coefficient (r2CV) value of 0.65 and partial least squares (PLS) technique with r2 value of 0.82 and r2CV value of 0.74. The model showed a …

Catalog, 2010-2011, Roger Williams University

Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Effects Of An Enriched And Barren Environment On Behavioral And Physiological Responses Related To Laying Hen Welfare, Caroline Davis

All Theses

This study was conducted to determine the effects of housing environment on behavioral and physiological responses related to laying hen welfare. General observations and two behavioral fear assessments (emergence test [EM] and tonic immobility test [TI]) were used as behavioral assessments. A heterophil/lymphocyte ratio was used as a physiological stress indicator. Nine hundred day-old Leghorn chicks were randomly assigned to either a floor pen environment or a commercial cage housing environment. The cage chicks were housed in 20 commercial battery brooder cages (25 per cage) up until four weeks of age and then moved to 39 battery grower cages (10 …

Process Development For The Fractionation And Isolation Of Corn Fiber Hemicellulose, Justin Montanti

All Theses

Corn fiber is a co-product of the corn wet-milling process that holds potential to become a value-added product. A process was developed to fractionate and isolate the hemicellulose B component of corn fiber generated by corn wet milling. The process consisted of pretreatment by soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA) of starch-free corn fiber followed by enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis, during which the hemicellulose B was solubilized by cleavage into xylo-oligosaccharides. The hemicellulose A and B fractions were separated by adjustment of pH, and the hemicellulose B recovered by precipitation with ethanol.
The pretreatment step resulted in a high retention of major …

The Capsid Protein Of Turnip Crinkle Virus Overcomes Two Separate Defense Barriers To Facilitate Systemic Movement Of The Virus In Arabidopsis, Mingxia Cao, Xiaohong Yi, Kristen Willie, Junyan Lin, Xiuchun Zhang, Margaret G. Redinbaugh, Anne E. Simon, Thomas Jack Morris, Feng Qu

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The capsid protein (CP) of Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) is a multifunctional protein needed for virus assembly, suppression of RNA silencing-based antiviral defense, and long-distance movement in infected plants. In this report, we have examined genetic requirements for the different functions of TCV CP and evaluated the interdependence of these functions. A series of TCV mutants containing alterations in the CP coding region were generated. These alterations range from single-amino-acid substitutions and domain truncations to knockouts of CP translation. The latter category also contained two constructs in which the CP coding region was replaced by either the cDNA of a …

The Spatial Influence Of Aboveground Diversity On Belowground Communities, T. Bliss, Tom Powers, Chad Brassil

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Little is known about the effect of diversity surrounding a focal plant species on the belowground community under that species. At least two alternative hypotheses exist. First, studies involving a range of ecosystems and taxonomic groups have shown that changes in diversity in one group of species can promote diversity in other groups. Alternatively, many studies in soil ecology have shown that belowground communities are strongly determined by the dominant aboveground species. To better understand the role of aboveground diversity on belowground communities, we examined soil nematode communities directly under Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) in areas of high and low surrounding …

A Spectroscopic Investigation Into The Setting And Mechanical Properties Of Titanium Containing Glass Polyalkenoate Cements, A. W. Wren, A. Kidari, N. M. Cummins, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Titanium (Ti) implants are extensively used in a number of biomedical and dental applications. This work introduces Ti into the glass phase of a zinc-based glass polyalkenoate cement (GPC) and investigates changes in handling and mechanical properties considering two molecular weight polyacrylic acids (PAA), E9 and E11. Considering the handling properties, the working time (T_w) increased from 50 s_E9, 32 s_E11 (BT 101, Ti-free) to 169 s_E9, 74 s_E11 with TW-Z (highest Ti content), respectively. The setting time (T_s) increased from 76 s_E9, 47 s_E11 (BT 101) …

Editor's Notes, Jill M. Russell

Ohio Cardinal

No abstract provided.

Sexing Carolina Chickadees By Morphometric Measurement Analysis, Michele Grise, Jill M. Russell, Mary Lee Glore, David E. Russell

Ohio Cardinal

No abstract provided.

Hard X-Ray Phase Contrast Microscopy. Techniques And Applications., Christian Holzner

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In 1918, Einstein provided the first description of the nature of the refractive index for X-rays, showing that phase contrast effects are significant. A century later, most x-ray microscopy and nearly all medical imaging remains based on absorption contrast, even though phase contrast offers orders of magnitude improvements in contrast and reduced radiation exposure at multi-keV x-ray energies.The work presented is concerned with developing practical and quantitative methods of phase contrast for x-ray microscopy. A theoretical framework for imaging in phase contrast is put forward; this is used to obtain quantitative images in a scanning microscope using a segmented detector, …

Changes In Visitors' Environmental Focus During An Appreciative Recreation Experience, Adam Mckay

All Theses

Recreation that involves learning, viewing, observing, studying, identifying, or photographing nature (e.g., birds, plants, or wildlife) may be termed appreciative recreation. As appreciative wildland recreation participation continues to increase, an understanding of the development of on-site experiences for recreationists will be important for helping managers meet visitor needs, meet objectives for education during experiences, and managing social and ecological impacts related to the activity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the developmental nature of appreciative recreation experiences. Clawson and Knetsch (1966) are typically cited as the first researchers to identify that an outdoor recreation experience has multiple phases …

Fabrication Of Fluorescent Nanoparticle-Polymer Composites For Photoactive-Based Materials, Brett Ellerbrock

All Theses

Nanocomposites of nanoparticles dispersed throughout a polymer matrix have been studied to great length to improve the overall polymer properties. These enhancements are observed in the thermal, physical, and/or optical characteristics. Being able to harness nanoparticles in such a way may help improve fiber technology into the 21st century.
This work was geared toward synthesizing rare earth doped lanthanum fluoride (LaF₃) nanoparticles because good separation in the absorption and emission bands of the material and it fluoresces in the visible to near-infrared range. Terbium ions were added to a LaF₃ crystal because of their distinct visible green …

Surface Characterization And Electrochemical Behavior Of Colloidal Particles, Cinta Pepin

All Theses

There is an ongoing interest in research focused on developing polymeric organic-light-emitting-devices (OLED) to replace inorganic devices. Compared to inorganic devices, OLEDs could present better properties such as higher efficiency, lower cost and simpler device fabrication. In an attempt to get a device with high efficiency, the hole transporting group and the electron transporting group were combined into a polymer to make an individual 'particle device'. The idea was to create a polymer particle containing both charge transporting moieties via emulsion polymerization. In this presentation, different techniques will be described that were used to determine the stability and the surface …

Intra- And Interpopulation Variation In Morphology And Behaviors In The Sailfin Molly, Poecilia Latipinna (Poeciliidae: Poecilia: Mollienesia), Jennifer Seda

All Theses

Understanding factors that contribute to population differences can provide insight into the process of speciation, yet population level studies seldom take into account variation among individuals within a population. Such intrapopulation variation may influence the degree to which interpopulation variation in suites of traits can arise. My research focused on characterizing intra- and interpopulation variation in male morphological and behavioral traits in the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna. First, I characterized the overall body shape of several populations of P. latipinna collected from north Florida in two different years. I used linear morphological measurements to examine shape and found there to …