Digital Commons Network^™

Obituary: Jerry Ronald Choate, 1943-2009, Elmer J. Finck, Hugh H. Genoways, Justin D. Hoffman, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Jerry Ronald Choate (1943–2009) had just retired as Director of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History and Professor of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, at the time of his death. Jerry served the American Society of Mammalogists in numerous capacities, including Recording Secretary, First Vice President, and most notably as a member and chair of the Board of Trustees.

The hallmark of Jerry’s life was to turn the ordinary into something magnificent. Whether it was his photography that changed an ordinary landscape into a magnificent masterpiece, or his convincing a reluctant graduate student that they could do …

Hands-On Labs (Hol): Using Technology And Web-Based Resources To Transform A Traditional Lab-Based Biology Course Into A Distance Learning (Dl) Hybrid Course, Across Schools At Pace University., Erica Kipp

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

Lithium In The Upper Centaurus Lupus And Lower Centaurus Crux Subgroups Of Scorpius-Centaurus, Eric J. Bubar, Marc Schaeuble, Jeremy R. King, Eric E. Mamajek, John R. Stauffer

Publications

We utilize spectroscopically derived model atmosphere parameters and the Li i λ6104 subordinate line and the λ6708 doublet to derive lithium abundances for 12 members of the Upper Centaurus Lupus and Lower Centaurus Crux subgroups of the Scorpius–Centaurus OB Association. The results indicate any intrinsic Li scatter in our 0.9–1.4 M stars is limited to ∼0.15 dex, consistent with the lack of dispersion in 1.0 M stars in the 100 Myr Pleiades and 30–50 Myr IC 2391 and 2602 clusters. Both ab initio uncertainty estimates and the derived abundances themselves indicate that the λ6104 line yields abundances with equivalent or …

Ecological Revival And Sustainable Living In The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest Of Tamil Nadu: A Measurement Of Residential Perception In Sadhana Forest, Elizabeth Collette Mcguire

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Since 1970, the role and function of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been to promote environmental quality and to form strategies for carrying out environmental policy¹. The EPA has committed to sustainability as the next level of environmental protection. The agency states that sustainability calls for policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs². Presently, society’s requirements have resulted in natural resource exploitation and population distention- projected to reach 10 billion people within two human generations³. These paired occurrences are …

Avian Species Abundance In Response To Recreational Trail Use, Carrie A. Wencel

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Studies have indicated that non-consumptive outdoor recreation may affect wildlife. Thus, as the nation increases interest in outdoor recreation, data suggests the effect on wildlife will also increase. Previous studies indicate that as disturbance to wildlife increases, both avian species richness will decrease. Knowing how to anticipate effects on native species when planning and managing recreational areas is important in order to both provide for human desires and ensure the least impact to local species diversity.

The goal of this project was to observe and compare avian species richness and diversity between selected trail sites within Shevlin Park, Bend, Oregon …

The Use Of Morning Meeting To Develop Social And Emotional Skills, Amanda Margaret Williams

Education Masters

This action research project asks how the teaching of social and emotional skills supports early literacy development. The research claims that the activities embedded within Morning Meeting provide social and emotional support in a whole group setting. One student was chosen for observation of social, emotional, and academic behaviors within Morning Meeting as well as various activities throughout the day. It was found that the daily routine provided the sense of belonging and self-esteem that leads to engaged learning throughout the day. This project supports that Morning Meeting should be used in all classrooms to provide social and emotional support …

How To Have 4 Kids In 8 Months: Big Boy Brendan + 3, Nicole Hough Velazquez

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Bringing a child into your life is one of the hardest things. Things change drastically, but for the better. Your life revolves around the needs, wishes and ―wants‖ of a child. You give all you can give to your child and all they give back to you is a messy house, whining and loads dirty of laundry. Children also give something that you cannot touch, see, feel, hear or smell; they give you their unconditional love."

University Magazine Winter 2011, University News Service, Office Of Alumni Relations

University Publications

This is the official magazine for RIT Alumni. Issued thrice a year in spring, fall and winter. Printing began in 1999.

Lake Water Quality, Recreation, & Restoration: The Importance Of Stakeholder Involvement, Biran Gedlinske, Wade Kooiman, Katie Olsen

Other Faculty and Staff Publications

Historically, Iowa’s lakes have been plagued with numerous water quality problems including excessive siltation, nutrients, pesticides, and bacterial contamination. Iowa places a heavy reliance on voluntary efforts to address these problems, largely in the form of best management practices (BMPs). Studies have shown that BMPs can improve lake water quality and, in turn, increase recreational activity and visitor spending. In recognition of the potential economic, recreational, and social benefits of improved lake water quality, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) secured significant legislative funding in 2006 to initiate a state-wide lake restoration program (LRP).

LRP case studies are presented …

Bi-Stability, Hysteresis, And Memory Of Voltage-Gated Lysenin Channels, Daniel Fologea, Eric Krueger, Yuriy I. Mazur, Christine Stith, Yui Okuyama, Ralph Henry, Greg J. Salamo

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lysenin, a 297 amino acid pore-forming protein extracted from the coelomic fluid of the earthworm E. foetida, inserts constitutively open large conductance channels in natural and artificial lipid membranes containing sphingomyelin. The inserted channels show voltage regulation and slowly close at positive applied voltages. We report on the consequences of slow voltage-induced gating of lysenin channels inserted into a planar Bilayer Lipid Membrane (BLM), and demonstrate that these pore-forming proteins constitute memory elements that manifest gating bi-stability in response to variable external voltages. The hysteresis in macroscopic currents dynamically changes when the time scale of the voltage variation is …

Controlling Biofouling By Surface Engineering And Molecular Inhibition, Debjyoti Bandyopadhyay

Chemistry - Dissertations

The common theme that binds together all the chapters in this dissertation is anti-biofouling chemistry. By utilizing tools of surface engineering and molecular inhibition, a hypothesis driven, systematic approach of controlling the different forms of biofoulings such as protein adsorption, mammalian cell adhesion and biofilm formation is presented. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction about topics relevant for understanding the studies presented in subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 reports the synthesis of enantiomerically pure alkanethiols that terminate with different stereoisomer's of sugar alcohols, and the effect of chirality of these polyol-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on resisting protein adsorption.

Chapter 3 …

Growing Up Gay In Black America: An Exploration Of The Coming Out Process Of Queer African American Youth, Demarquis Clarke

Marriage and Family Therapy - Dissertations

Although it is commonly acknowledged that homophobia and racial marginalization influence queer African American male youth, there is very little research to back up this belief. Due to the paucity of information for clinicians, families, and communities on the relational dynamics of queer African American male youth and their parents, queer African American male youth were interviewed to explore the ways in which they understand their experience of the disclosure process, paying particular attention to the interface between race and sexual orientation and relational dynamics. This exploratory, qualitative study examined data gathered in interviews with individual male youth that identified …

Patterns Of Acoustical Activity Of Bats Prior To And Following White-Nose Syndrome Occurrence, W. Mark Ford, Eric R. Britzke, Christopher A. Dobony, Jane L. Rodrigue, Joshua B. Johnson

KIP Articles

White-nose Syndrome (WNS), a wildlife health concern that has decimated cave-hibernating bat populations in eastern North America since 2006, began affecting source-caves for summer bat populations at Fort Drum, a U.S. Army installation in New York in the winter of 2007–2008. As regional die-offs of bats became evident, and Fort Drum's known populations began showing declines, we examined whether WNS-induced change in abundance patterns and seasonal timing of bat activity could be quantified using acoustical surveys, 2003–2010, at structurally uncluttered riparian–water habitats (i.e., streams, ponds, and wet meadows). As predicted, we observed significant declines in overall summer activity between pre-WNS …

Mortality Of A Black-Chinned Hummingbird Following Entangelment An A Spider Web, James Martin, Steven G. Platt

Bulletin of the Texas Ornithological Society

No abstract provided.

Expanding The Temporal Dimensions Of Developmental Biology: The Role Of Environmental Agents In Establishing Adult-Onset Phenotypes, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

Developmental biology is expanding into several new areas. One new area of study concerns the production of adult-onset phenotypes by exposure of the fetus or neonate to environmental agents. These agents include maternal nutrients, developmental modulators (endocrine disruptors), and maternal care. In all three cases, a major mechanism for the generation of the altered phenotype is chromatin modification. Nutrient conditions, developmental modulators, and even maternal care appear to alter DNA methylation and other associated changes in chromatin that regulate gene expression. This brings a new, under-appreciated, dimension of gene regulation into developmental biology, and it also demonstrates the poverty of …

Special Index To Volume 82, 2011, Tennessee Ornithological Society

The Migrant - Tennessee Ornithological Society

No abstract provided.

Rebuttal In Defense Of The Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, Michael A. Swiger, Sharon L. White

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

This article rebuts certain assertions made by Mr. Thomas Schlosser in a recent article entitled Dewatering Trust Responsibility: The New Klamath River Hydroelectric and Restoration Agreements. The Klamath hydroelectric dams are not causing degrading fish disease conditions in the Klamath Basin. Dewatering Trust Responsibility overlooks the effects of water diversions for agriculture, pollution from pesticides and industrial operations and habitat degradation from timbering, ranching and other human activities on current Basin conditions. Under the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, PacifiCorp is taking extensive measures to protect aquatic resources in the Basin prior to …

Beyond The Blaze: Strategies For Improving Forest Service Fire Suppression Policies, Aurora R. Janke

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Current Forest Service fire management policies restrict NEPA’s application to fire suppression actions and contribute to a lack of detailed information about the effectiveness and environmental impact of suppression efforts. Decisions by the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana in the Forest Service for Environmental Ethics v. U.S. Forest Service litigation suggest that NEPA review applies to commonly used fire suppression tactics and that the Forest Service should conduct this review before fires occur. Other recent federal district court decisions and congressional concern with current fire suppression efforts support the need for NEPA review in the fire suppression …

Stranger Than Fiction: An "Inside" Look At Environmental Liability And Defense Strategy In The Deepwater Horizon Aftermath, William H. Rodgers Jr., Jason Derosa, Sarah Reyneveld

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 20, 2010 initiated an environmental disaster that presented attorneys on both sides of the legal action with monumental challenges. Using the satirical format of a memo written by the corporate defense counsel to BP America four days after the spill began, this article investigates BP’s potential liability and strategic defense positions available in criminal and civil proceedings. Major federal environmental laws, including the Oil Pollution Act, the Clean Water Act and major wildlife protection statutes, are implicated by the Spill. The memo provides a clear picture of the existing opportunities for a responsible …

December 2011 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Communal Infant Care In Black-And-White Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Variegata)., Andrea Lee Baden

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

Cooperative breeding describes a system where group members provide regular, unsolicited allomaternal care for offspring that are not genetically their own (Emlen 1991 Hrdy 2009). Most cooperative breeders live in groups with high reproductive skew (i.e. | singular breeders with helpers at the nest) however, skew falls along a continuum (Sherman et al. 1995 Vehrencamp, 2000), and, while rare, some cooperative breeders live in groups which experience low skew, subordinates commonly breed, and many if not all breeding individuals communally rear offspring (i.e. | plural or communal breeders) (Keller and Reeve 1994). Though phylogenetically widespread, communal breeding is rare. Among …

Characterization And Antibiotic Resistance Profile Of Staphylococci In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Diana E. Trevino

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Staphylococci from part of the natural flora of humans and some, like Staphylococcus aureus, appear to be evolving antibiotic resistance. The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) is an area of interest due to its proximity to the US/Mexico border where antibiotics could recently be purchased without prescription. Two libraries from community association (CA-S) and environmental association (E-S) have been collected and the staphylococci isolated. We hypothesize that their SCCmec type, which aids the staphylococci in antibiotic resistance, will not display classically defined association schemes and will surface in many species of staphylococci. This study generates antibiotic resistance profiles via antibiotic …

Dead Hand Investing: The Enforceability Of Trust Investment Directives, Jeffrey A. Cooper

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Banner - V. 146, No. 12 - (December 2011), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

10 - Editorial: Royalists by Bob De Moor / 11 - Catch Your Breath: World Sorrow by Sarah VanderMolen / 12 - IMHO: Evolution and the Young Adult Exodus by Steve Roels and Sarah Bodbyl Roels / 12 - Letters to the Editor / 14 - News: Evangelical Fellowship of Canada defends religious speech. / 21 - Next: Why I Believe in Santa Claus by Sam Gutierrez / 22 - Humanizing Church Order and Family Devotions by Sandy Swartzentruber / 23 - The View from Here: In the Record by Joel Boot / 26 - The Ways We Tell the …

Effects Of Canopy And Cultural Treatments On Fine Fuel Production, Fire Behavior, And Short-Term Fire Effects In Loblolly Pine (>I/I< L.) Stands Being Restored To Longleaf Pine (>I/I< Mill.), Carsyn Tennant

All Theses

Across the southeastern United States, anthropogenic factors such as land conversion and fire suppression have resulted in the prevalence of loblolly pine in areas historically occupied by longleaf pine. Compared to longleaf pine forests, loblolly stands often contain a substantial broad-leaved midstory and lack the ground layer that contributes fuels essential for the frequent, low intensity surface fire regime necessary to sustain the longleaf ecosystem. Currently, there is considerable interest in restoring longleaf pine habitats to areas occupied by loblolly pine. The retention of mature canopy trees is often necessary to maintain ecosystem function, to preserve habitat features, and to …

Characterization Of De Novo Fatty Acid Biosynthesis In Soybean Somatic Embryo Plastids, Karen Clark

All Theses

A method for the isolation of intact physiologically active plastids from rapidly developing soybean (Glycine max L.) somatic embryos has been developed for the in vitro study of lipid metabolism. Using de novo fatty acid biosynthesis from 14C-acetate as a marker for physiological functionality, the greatest rates of fatty acid biosynthesis were recovered in 3000 x g fractions that were isolated in the presence of 0.5 M sorbitol, with essentially no activity occurring in the 3000 x g supernatant. Plastids purified on 10% Percoll were approximately 70 and 97 % free from mitochondrial and ER contamination, respectively, as judged …

Data-Intensive Computing For Bioinformatics Using Virtualization Technologies And Hpc Infrastructures, Pengfei Xuan

All Theses

The bioinformatics applications often involve many computational components and massive data sets, which are very difficult to be deployed on a single computing machine. In this thesis, we designed a data-intensive computing platform for bioinformatics applications using virtualization technologies and high performance computing (HPC) infrastructures with the concept of multi-tier architecture, which can seamlessly integrate the web user interface (presentation tier), scientific workflow (logic tier) and computing infrastructure (data/computing tier). We demonstrated our platform on two bioinformatics projects. First, we redesigned and deployed the cotton marker database (CMD) (http://www.cottonmarker.org), a centralized web portal in the cotton research community, using the …

Patent-Eligible Inventions After Bilski: History And Theory, Joshua D. Sarnoff

UC Law Journal

The U.S. Supreme Court has continued to require that patentable subject-matter eligibility determinations be made by reference to three historic, categorical exclusions (scientific principles, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas), which must be treated as if already known even when newly discovered by the applicant. Various thoughtful scholars have alternatively urged that these exclusions should be viewed restrictively or that such eligibility decisions should be avoided. But these scholars underappreciate the systemic and social benefits of categorical exclusions, and particularly of treating these categories as if they were already known prior art. In any event, the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Patent …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, December 1, 2011, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Course Approvals
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

The Conduit, Volume 11, No. 2, December 2011, Annette Summers Engel

The KWI Conduit

Contents: Welcome to The Conduit -- Upcoming 2012 Karst Award Banquet -- Wilson Scholarship Funding Available -- KWI Happenings -- Upcoming Karst-Related Conferences and News -- A Karst Session at the Fall AGU meeting -- 2013 KWI Conference: Carbon and Boundaries in Karst Recent KWI Conference: “Carbonate Geochemistry” -- Photo mosaic from “Carbonate Geochemistry” conference