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Imsa360: Summer 2010, Imsa Fund

IMSA Fund Reports

IMSA’s 22nd class graduated in June 2010. Members of this class will always be special to me because we began our IMSA journey together in 2007 with a mixture of exhilaration and trepidation, pride and panic, hope and humility. We knew that we were privileged to join this innovative community, a distinguished international leader and exemplar in mathematics and science education. From day one, we understood that the words of the mission statement about “advancing the human condition” were meant for us, and we all had the formidable responsibility to make a tangible difference to our colleagues, friends and to …

Role Of Dpy-30 Proteins In Flagella, Radhika Gopal

Dissertations (1934 -)

Cilia and flagella are similar organelles found in eukaryotic cells. A microtubule-based axonemal cytoskeleton supports these organelles that project into the extracellular environment to detect various stimuli and propel fluid. These functions enable cells to sense and respond to the changing environment. Because of their importance, the fundamental mechanisms have been conserved throughout evolution. However, it remains largely unknown how axonemes are assembled and how the motility is regulated. This thesis investigated two molecules, RSP2 and RSP23, positioned in the axonemes within a T-shaped complex, the Radial Spoke (RS). Among several axonemal complexes, flagella lacking the evolutionarily conserved RS are …

Rethinking Liability For Vaccine Injury, Joanna B. Apolinsky, Jeffrey A. Van Detta

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Making Sense Of Drug Regulation: A Theory Of Law For Drug Control Policy, Kimani Paul-Emile

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Modeling And Its Numerical Method For Micro-Scaled Diffusion -Reaction Systems In The Neuromuscular Junction, Abdul Khaliq

Doctoral Dissertations

The main subject of this research is the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). The NMJ is a biological structure composed of the interface between a neuron and a muscle cell. Currently, there is not a fully three dimensional model of diffusion-reaction processes occurring in the NMJ. Developing a useful predictive model of this structure will assist in the therapeutic efforts to restore and rehabilitate NMJ function to humans and in developing strategies to prevent damage to the NMJ. This research work developed 1D mass transport and full 3D reaction diffusion models. A new finite difference scheme is presented for solving 1D mass …

Uni Schedule Of Classes, Summer 2010, University Of Northern Iowa

UNI Schedule of Classes

A listing and schedule of the courses being taught as well as policies and procedures concerning attending classes at the University of Northern Iowa.

(2010) Bindiya Ganatra, Bindiya Ganatra, Colin R. Jackson

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

No abstract provided.

(2010) Binidya Patel, Binidya Patel, David Murray

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

No abstract provided.

(2010) Joshua Hamer, Joshua Hamer, Elaine B. Day

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

No abstract provided.

A Randomized Comparison Of Online And Paper Mood Charts For People With Bipolar Disorder., Daniel Z Lieberman, Tammas F Kelly, Lanny Douglas, Frederick K Goodwin

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal mood instability is the essential feature of bipolar disorder, however most rating scales are cross sectional in nature, and focus on acute symptoms. By contrast, the NIMH Life Chart Methodology (LCM) characterizes in detail the severity, duration, and frequency of mood episodes. Adherence to daily rating, however, tends to be low. In this study an online version of the LCM, designed to enhance adherence, was compared to the standard paper version.

METHODS: Patients from a mood disorders specialty clinic were randomized to the standard LCM or an online, open-source adaptation. The online version used hypertext links embedded in …

Wpa News 85 (2010), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2010), number 85

Published by the World Pheasant Association

In Vivo Non-Invasive Monitoring Of Optically Resonant Metal Nanoparticles Using Multi-Wavelength Photoplethysmography, Gregory J. Michalak

Doctoral Dissertations

Nanotechnology has recently emerged as a powerful modality in many biomedical applications. In particular, several classes of nanoparticles have been employed as cancer therapy and imaging contrast agents. These particles can have architecture of varying complexity, depending on their specific application. These complex architectures are achieved by various chemical techniques usually performed in specific sequences to add complexity and functionality. One such class of nanoparticle, used in tumor treatment and as contrast agents in several optical imaging techniques, is the plasmon resonant metal nanoparticle. The most common metal used for these particles is gold because of its biocompatibility, lack of …

Marginality, Mayhem And Middle Class Anxieties: Imaginaries Of Masculinity And Urban Violence In Contemporary Mexican And Brazilian Film, Jeremy Lehnen

Latin American Studies ETDs

Marginality, Mayhem and Middle Class Anxieties: Imaginaries of Masculinity and Urban Violence in Contemporary Mexican and Brazilian Film is a comparative study that explores the confluence of cinematic discourse, violence, masculinity and constructions (or denial) of citizenship in present-day Latin America. My argument is that the thematization of violence and masculinity in contemporary Latin American film intercedes at a symbolic level into social relations that are increasingly mediated through images that depict what is socially permitted. This dissertation considers how film (re)structures perceptions of masculinity and its inter-linkages with cityscapes marked by social and material violence. Violence is at the …

What's Happening: July, 2010, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

(2010) Kerry Roby, Kerry Roby, Ziaeddin Sharriat-Madar

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

No abstract provided.

(2010) Darjai Payne, Darjai Payne, Jason Hoeksema

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

No abstract provided.

Deceiving Feedbacks: The Challenge Of Policy- Design For Inshore Fishery Activities In Complex Ecosystems. The Case Of The Ciénaga Grande De Santa Marta, V. Otero, C. Olaya, C. Castro Sanguino

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta is an estuarine lagoon located on theColombian coast. Given the lagoons variability, its connections to adjacent ecosystems, andits biodiversity and anthropogenic activity, it has long been a challenge to managers andpolicy makers to maintain the lagoon for sustainable use. A one-year joint project with theInstituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (INVEMAR) research institute and theUniversidad de los Andes resulted in the development of a system dynamics model to aid inthe design of sustainable policies for fishing control. The study presented here underlinesthe deceiving characteristics of feedback processes like fishing and biological dynamics,which generate unexpected …

The Cumulative Effects Of Dam Project On River Ecosystem Based On Multi-Scale Ecological Network Analysis, Chen Shaoqing, Yang Jin, Chen Bin

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The importance of addressing cumulative environmental impact of large developmentprojects on rivers has been increasingly concerned. Consideration to potential impact pathways may bedifficult, however, without appropriate analytical methods. By introducing ecological network model,this paper is focused on the quantification of the cause-effect relationships inherent the cumulativeeffects of dam construction in holistic perspective. With Lancang river of Longitudinal Range-GorgeRegion (LRGR) as example, the risk-based interaction instead of the conventional energy or materialflow of ecological network model was created to conceptualize the cumulative effects network model.Grounding on which the network structural and functional analysis were adjusted for the assessment ofpotential eco-environmental impact …

Aquisys – A Computer System To Support Good Practices Of Management For Brazilian Tilapiculture, Maria Conceição Peres Young Pessoa, Ana Flávia Rodrigues Seixas, Marcos Eliseu Losekann, Julio Ferraz De Queiroz, Mariana Silveira Guerra Moura|E Silva, Carlos Pazzianotto

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Brazilian psiculture has been increasing about 30% per year, having as main factors its profitability and source of quality protein. Its strong interaction with water resources and its interference on the biodiversity turns it both potentially exposed to, as well as, source of negative environmental impacts, requiring the adoption of less impactant management practices. The producer needs information on these practices and computer tools that allow access to them in a single repository could motivate the fast incorporation of these activities to the property. Despite of African origin, the tilapiculture is nowadays present at a large part of Brazilian territory, …

Modelling The Ecological Impact Of Discharged Urban Waters Upon Receiving Aquatic Ecosystems. A Tropical Lowland River Case Study: City Cali And The Cauca River In Colombia, Gonzalez J. Holguin, Peter L. M. Goethals

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Cauca river is one of most severe cases of pollution for domestic and industrial wastewater discharges in Colombia, principally when it crosses the industrial cities of Cali and Yumbo. The rapid urbanization and major economic development in the Cauca river´s geographical valley has led to dramatic degradation of the environment and increased health risks due to inefficient processing of the increased pollutant load effluents and solid wastes. The city of Cali which is the main urbanization center, with more than two million inhabitants and limitations of the treatment of its wastewaters, discharged in the year 2005, 75 tons of …

Using Statistical Bias Description For Multiobjective Calibration Of A Lake Water Quality Model, Anne Dietzel, Peter Reichert

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Models of environmental systems are simplified representations of reality. For this reason, their results are affected by systematic errors. This bias makes it difficult to get reliable uncertainty estimates of model parameters and predictions. We were faced with that difficulty when applying the lake model BELAMO to data from three Swiss lakes. This model combines the description of biogeochemical and ecological processes in lakes. Considering bias in the model output, lead to a description of system observations as the sum of the output of the deterministic model, bias and observation error. The identifiability problem between model output and bias was …

Environmental Flow Requirements (Efrs) Related To Preference Of Phytoplankton In The Yellow River Estuary (Yre) Based On An Ecohydrodynamic Model, R. Zhao, Z. F. Yang, T. Sun

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The response of ecological processes to hydrological processes is a critical issue in the assessment of environmental flow requirements in estuaries. Considering its representative function of the primary productivity in estuaries, the phytoplankton community was selected as the bioindicator to indicate the variation of ecosystems influenced by hydrological processes in estuaries. Based on the regression analysis, a response relation model was established for describing the relationship between characteristics of phytoplankton communities (chlorophyll a, Fucoxanthin, chlorophyll b, and pyridinin) and indicating factors including salinity, COD, ammonia nitrogen, and dissolved oxygen. The biomass objective of high nutritional level organisms, the biomass of …

Development Of A Land-Use Component For An Integrated Model Of The German Biogas System, A. Schaldach, D. Lapola, U. Jessen, M. Thees, Ruediger Schaldach

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Germany is one of the biggest producers of biogas in Europe. Biogas can either be combusted in highly efficient combined heat and power units to produce electricity and heat, or upgraded to biomethane for injection into the natural gas grid. As political conditions encourage the installation of new biogas plants, their number and capacity is expected to grow significantly in the next few years. In Germany, energy crops play an important role for biogas production. Due to their relatively low energy content transport distances from the field to the plants are a crucial issue for the efficiency of the biogas …

A Model-Based Quantitative Assessment Of Ecosystem Services In The Scenarios Of Environmental Management, Peter A. Khaiter, Marina G. Erechtchoukova

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

It is well recognized that ecological systems generate a spectrum of diverse benefits that are vital to humankind. Sustainable environmental management requires an adequate consideration of ecosystem goods and services. The problem, however, is that many of the ecological and social amenities are not currently incorporated into the decision-making process. A fundamental issue is getting at the quantitative characteristics of the ecosystem services. Publications on this matter note that simulation models of the phenomena in question have to be used for this purpose. In fact, a whole family of simulation models is required. Such models should represent the main components …

Modeling Thermal Structure Variations In A Stratified Reservoir, C. Lindim, E. J. Hayter, J. L. S. Pinho, J. M. P. Vieira

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this work the effects of hydrologic and atmospheric conditions changes in the thermalstructure of the Alqueva reservoir are investigated. Reservoir water temperatures andthermal stratification have a strong influence on ecological processes; therefore a goodunderstanding of their dynamics is of major importance when studying eutrophicatedreservoirs. A finite element model (RMA10) was used to simulate flow and temperature inthe Alqueva reservoir, the largest western European lake. Survey and monitoring data fordifferent years were used to calibrate and validate the model. Simulated temperaturescompared well with observations at different monitoring stations. Model results showedthat the reservoir has a stable thermal stratification during summer. …

Evolving Gesconda To An Intelligent Decision Support Tool, Miquel Sànchez-Marrè, Karina Gibert, Beatriz Sevilla

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this work, the GESCONDA system is presented. Initially it was conceived as a system for knowledge discovery and Data Mining, but currently, the system supports two new functionalities. A case-based reasoning engine and a rule-based reasoning shell are provided. These new skills of GESCONDA makes it a suitable prototype tool for the deployment of Intelligent Decision Support Systems, including all main steps like data preparation and filtering, data mining, model validation, reasoning abilities to generate solutions, and predictive models to support final users. The purpose of the paper is to present its architecture as well as its functionalities.

Set-Membership Approach For Identification Of The Uncertainty In Power-Law Relationships: The Case Of Sediment Yield, Karel J. Keesman, Lachlan T. H. Newham, Tony Jakeman

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Power laws are used to describe a large variety of natural and man-made phenomena. Consequently, they are used in a wide range of scientific research and management applications. In this paper, we focus on the identification of uncertainty bounds on a power law relationship from experimental data, using a bounded-error characterization. These bounds can subsequently be used as constraints in e.g. optimization and scenario studies. The basic so-called set-membership approach involves outlier identification and removal, feasible parameter set estimation, evaluation of the feasible model output set and tuning of the error bounds. As an example we examine scattered sediment yield …

Modeling Dynamical Temperature Influence On Tick Ixodes Scapularis Population, Xiaotian Wu, Venkata R S K Duvvuri, Jianhong Wu

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Lyme disease has been recognised as one of the emerging vector borne diseases in Canada. Ticks, Ixodes scapularis SAY, play a major role as vectors of Lyme disease causative agent Borrelia burgdorferi. Ticks become infected with Borrelia while feeding on the primary hosts (mice, squirrels, shrews, and other small vertebrates). Deers are primary source of nourishment for each gravid female I. scapularis and are fundamental to the tick establishment without infection. The life cycle of tick, I. scapularis, is very complex and takes nearly two years to reach adult stage from egg. Studies have shown that tick life cycle is …

Efficiency Criteria For Water Quality Monitoring, Marina G. Erechtchoukova, Peter A. Khaiter

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The issues of possible improvements, increased efficiency and/or optimizationof a monitoring system in general, and a monitoring design in particular, are urgent. Sincemonitoring activities are always limited by financial and logistics constraints, algorithms ofconstrained optimization are deemed more suitable for this purpose. Monitoring designs aredeveloped as solutions of an operation research model. In order to formulate such modelthe effectiveness function has been introduced. The effectiveness reflects the extent towhich a monitoring design meets the objectives of the monitoring program and can be usedfor comparison of different monitoring designs. The effectiveness function depends on theinvestigated water quality parameters, selected indicators of …

Efficiency Criteria For Water Quality Monitoring, Marina G. Erechtchoukova, Peter A. Khaiter

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The issues of possible improvements, increased efficiency and/or optimizationof a monitoring system in general, and a monitoring design in particular, are urgent. Sincemonitoring activities are always limited by financial and logistics constraints, algorithms ofconstrained optimization are deemed more suitable for this purpose. Monitoring designs aredeveloped as solutions of an operation research model. In order to formulate such modelthe effectiveness function has been introduced. The effectiveness reflects the extent towhich a monitoring design meets the objectives of the monitoring program and can be usedfor comparison of different monitoring designs. The effectiveness function depends on theinvestigated water quality parameters, selected indicators of …