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Conditioned Response Evoked By Nicotine Conditioned Stimulus Preferentially Induces C-Fos Expression In Medial Regions Of Caudate-Putamen, Sergios Charntikov, Matthew E. Tracy, Changjiu Zhao, Ming Li, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Nicotine has both unconditioned and conditioned stimulus properties. Conditioned stimulus properties of nicotine may contribute to the tenacity of nicotine addiction. The purpose of this experiment was to use neurohistochemical analysis of rapidly developing c-Fos protein to elucidate neurobiological loci involved in the processing of nicotine as an interoceptive conditioned stimulus (CS). Rats were injected (SC) in an intermixed fashion with saline or nicotine (16 sessions of each) and placed in conditioning chambers where they were given one of the three conditions depending on group assignment: (a) nicotine paired 100% of the time with intermittent access to sucrose (nicotine-CS condition), …

Long-Term Storage And Impedance-Based Water Toxicity Testing Capabilities Of Fluidic Biochips Seeded With Rtgill-W1 Cells, Linda M. Brennan, Mark W. Widder, Lucy E.J. Lee, William H. Van Der Schalie

United States Army: Publications

Rainbow trout gill epithelial cells (RTgill-W1) are used in a cell-based biosensor that can respond within one hour to toxic chemicals that have the potential to contaminate drinking water supplies. RTgill-W1 cells seeded on enclosed fluidic biochips and monitored using electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) technology responded to 18 out of the 18 toxic chemicals tested within one hour of exposure. Nine of these chemical responses were within established concentration ranges specified by the U.S. Army for comparison of toxicity sensors for field application. The RTgill-W1 cells remain viable on the biochips at ambient carbon dioxide levels at 6°C for …

Multi-Platform Comparison Of Ten Commercial Master Mixes For Probe-Based Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection Of Bioterrorism Threat Agents For Surge Preparedness, Gregory S. Buzard, Daniel Baker, Mark J. Wolcott, David A. Norwood, Leslie A. Dauphin

United States Army: Publications

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and United States Army Research Institute for Infectious Diseases have developed real-time PCR assays for the detection of bioterrorism threat agents. These assays all rely on a limited number of approved real-time PCR master mixes. Because the availability of these reagents is a critical element of bioterrorism preparedness, we undertook a joint national preparedness exercise to address the potential surge needs resulting from a large-scale bio-emergency. We identified 9 commercially-available potential alternatives to an existing approved master mix (LightCycler FastStart DNA Master HybProbes): the TaqMan Fast Universal PCR master mix, OmniMix HS, FAST …

Risk Propensity And Health Risk Behaviors In U.S. Army Soldiers With And Without Psychological Disturbances Across The Deployment Cycle, Amanda M. Kelley, Jeremy R. Athy, Timothy H. Cho, Bradley Erickson, Melody King, Pedro Cruz

United States Army: Publications

Anecdotal and preliminary evidence suggests that Soldiers returning from a combat deployment engage in an increased number of health risk behaviors. Three potential factors driving this change were examined in this study; posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI), and perceived invincibility. We studied members of a combat arms brigade one month prior to a deployment to Iraq and approximately one month after their return (N = 319). Participants anonymously completed surveys characterizing attitudes about risk, risk propensity, invincibility, engagement in health risk behaviors, and personality. Using standardized screening instruments, participants were categorized with respect to …

Fishery Resource Utilization Of A Restored Estuarine Borrow Pit: A Beneficial Use Of Dredged Material Case Study, Kevin Reine, Douglas Clarke, Gary Ray, Charles Dickerson

United States Army: Publications

Numerous pits in coastal waters are subject to degraded water quality and benthic habitat conditions, resulting in degraded fish habitat. A pit in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey (USA) was partially filled with dredged sediment to increase flushing, alleviate hypoxia, and enhance benthic assemblages. Restoration objectives were assessed in terms of benthic community parameters and fishery resource occupation. Restoration resulted in increased benthic diversity (bottom samples) and the absence of water column stratification. Fisheries resources occupied the entire water column, unlike pre-restoration conditions where finfish tended to avoid the lower water column. The partial restoration option effectively reproduced an existing borrow …

The Interface Of Animal And Human Vaccines, Connie Schmaljohn, Christian W. Mandl

United States Army: Publications

The historical legacy of zoonotic viral diseases includes more than 50 million human deaths (3% of the world’s population) due to the appearance of a novel influenza virus in the early 1900s as well as the emergence of previously unknown diseases such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in 1993 [1] and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 [2]. Preventing epidemics resulting from other emerging viral diseases, whether due to ordinary interactions of humans and animals, to man-made environmental changes, or even to increased exposure following natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, depends on the harmonization of all aspects of …

Comparison Of Nucleic Acid Extraction Platforms For Detection Of Select Biothreat Agents For Use In Clinical Resource Limited Settings, Michelle A. Shipley, Jeffrey W. Koehler, David A. Kulesh, Timothy D. Minogue

United States Army: Publications

High-quality nucleic acids are critical for optimal PCR-based diagnostics and pathogen detection. Rapid sample processing time is important for the earliest administration of therapeutic and containment measures, especially in the case of biothreat agents. In this context, we compared the Fujifilm QuickGene-Mini80 to Qiagen's QIAamp Mini Purification kits for extraction of DNA and RNA for potential use in austere settings. Qiagen (QIAamp) column-based extraction is the currently recommended purification platform by United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases for both DNA and RNA extraction. However, this sample processing system requires dedicated laboratory equipment including a centrifuge. In this …

Disability Among Us Army Veterans Vaccinated Against Anthrax, Sandra I. Sulsky, Rose Luippold, Patrick Garman, Hayley Hughes, Edward J. Boyko, Charles Maynard, Paul J. Amoroso

United States Army: Publications

Context: To protect troops against the use of anthrax as a biological weapon, the US Department of Defense began an anthrax vaccination program in 1998. 14 years after the inception of the vaccination program, there is no evidence suggesting vaccination against anthrax carries long-term health risks for Active Duty Soldiers.

Objective: To investigate the association between Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) received while on Active Duty and subsequent disability determined by the Veterans Benefits Administration.

Design, setting and participants: Case–control study nested in the cohort of all Active Duty personnel known to have separated from the US Army …

Pilot Study For A Sperm Quality-Based Reproductive Assessment Scheme For Deer, Lawrence V. Tannenbaum, Barrett E. Borry

United States Army: Publications

Ecological risk assessments (ERAs) for mammals at chemically contaminated terrestrial sites conventionally apply a food-chain model to draw inferences about a population’s reproductive condition. Very recently though, the ERA field was advanced beyond the desktop level with the introduction of Rodent Sperm Analysis (RSA), a direct health status assessment method for the actual chemically exposed site receptor. Here, the sperm parameters of rodents (count, motility, morphology) of contaminated sites and their habitat-matched non-contaminated reference locations are comparatively reviewed for a technically supported indication of reproductive capability, ERA’s toxicological endpoint of greatest concern. With the extent to which sperm parameters need …

Assessing Tungsten Transport In The Vadose Zone: From Dissolution Studies To Soil Columns, Gulsah Sen Tuna, Washington Braida, Adebayo Ogundipe, David Strickland

United States Army: Publications

This study investigates the dissolution, sorption, leachability, and plant uptake of tungsten and alloying metals from canister round munitions in the presence of model, well characterized soils. The source of tungsten was canister round munitions, composed mainly of tungsten (95%) with iron and nickel making up the remaining fraction. Three soils were chosen for the lysimeter studies while four model soils were selected for the adsorption studies. Lysimeter soils were representatives of the typical range of soils across the continental USA; muck-peat, clay-loamy and sandy-quartzose soil. Adsorption equilibrium data on the four model soils were modeled with Langmuir and linear …

Differentiating Transformational And Non-Transformational Leaders On The Basis Of Neurological Imaging, Pierre A. Balthazard, David A. Waldman, Robert W. Thatcher, Sean T. Hannah

United States Army: Publications

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viability of using neurological imaging to classify transformational leaders, versus non-transformational leaders, as identified through existing psychometric methods. Specifically, power spectral analysis measures based on electroencephalograms (EEG) were used to develop and validate a discriminant function that can classify individuals according to their transformational leadership behavior. Resting, eyes closed EEG was recorded from 19 scalp locations for 200 civilian and military leaders. We also assessed follower or peer perceptions of transformational leadership through the use of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). Our discriminant analysis, which involved a two-step, neural variable reduction …

Revisiting History Through Crime Fiction: Shiono Nanami’S Scarlet Venice In The Renaissance Trilogy Of Murder, Ikuho Amano

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures: Faculty Publications

In her Renaissance Trilogy of Murder (1988), Shiono Nanami (塩野七生, 1937- ) rejuvenates the classical genre of historical crime fiction, dismantling a canonical outlook of late Renaissance Italy. As historiographer of Ancient Rome, the Italian Renaissance, and the Mediterranean naval epic, Shiono achieved literary stardom in Japan in the 1980s, and has been internationally known for her pragmatist approaches to history and contemporary politics. Her writing has reassessed established history from the non-Western and non-Christian viewpoints. Most notably, her magnum opus, Rōmajin no monogatari (Res GestaePopuli Romani—Tales of the Romans) (published 1992-2006) tirelessly describes the empire’s politics, beginning …

Timber Talk, Vol. 50, No. 3, September 1, 2012

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; Timber Stumpage Prices; Wood is Good; Solar-Heated Lumber Dryers: Design Basics; Nebraska Forestry Spotlight; Study Reveals Component Market Trends; The Trading Post

Theological And Ethical Implications Of Creation Care, Young Seok Cha

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

Semantics And Ontologies For Earthcube, Gary Berg-Cross, Isabel F. Cruz, Michael Dean, Timothy Finin, Mark Gahegan, Pascal Hitzler, Hook Hau, Krzysztof Janowicz, Naicong Li, Philip Murphy, Bryce Nordgren, Leo Obrst, Mark Schildhauer, Amit P. Sheth, Krishna Sinha, Anne Thessen, Nancy Wiegand, Ilya Zaslavasky

Kno.e.sis Publications

Semantic technologies and ontologies play an increasing role in scientific workflow systems and knowledge infrastructures. While ontologies are mostly used for the semantic annotation of metadata, semantic technologies enable searching metadata catalogs beyond simple keywords, with some early evidence of semantics used for data translation. However, the next generation of distributed and interdisciplinary knowledge infrastructures will require capabilities beyond simple subsumption reasoning over subclass relations. In this work, we report from the EarthCube Semantics Community by highlighting which role semantics and ontologies should play in the EarthCube knowledge infrastructure. We target the interested domain scientist and, thus, introduce the value …

Review Of Menc Handbook Of Research On Music Learning (Vols. 1 & 2), Oxford University Press, 2011, Edited By Richard Colwell And Peter Webster., Nathan Buonviri

Research & Issues in Music Education

Music educators and researchers regularly seek new ideas and current information about effective teaching and learning at all levels of instruction. The vast quantity of completed studies, and the time required to review, edit, and publish them, often puts readers at a disadvantage when trying to collect and organize current, relevant literature on a given topic. The MENC Handbook of Research on Music Learning provides excellent syntheses of the most recent research on multiple topics with “a laserlike focus on what is at present known about learning [italics added for emphasis] in music” (p. v).

This handbook provides a thorough, …

An Exploration Of Diabetes Self-Care Among Older Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: A Focus Group Study, Kelly K. Zinn

Dissertations (6 month embargo)

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is a chronic illness that requires intensive treatment to improve glycemic control and limit the risk of diabetes-related complications. The management of T1DM is challenging for adolescents as the diabetes self-care activities invade all aspects of their life. Older adolescents frequently have poor glycemic control which places them at increased risk for diabetes-related complications.

Study Aim:The goal of this study was to explore diabetes self-care practices among older adolescents, 15 through 18 years old, with T1DM. Specifically, this study sought to determine if there was a difference in diabetes self-care practices between adolescents who exhibited …

Medical E-Reference: A Benchmark For E-Reference Publishing In Other Disciplines, Terese Desimio, Ximena Chrisagis

University Libraries' Staff Publications

Electronic medical information retrieval systems and reference sources were some of the first discipline specific e-resources to be developed, due to physicians’ need to access the most current and relevant clinical information as quickly as possible. Many medical publishers and information aggregators have been incorporating the features their users demand for years. Thus, medical e-reference publishing could serve as a benchmark for e-reference publishing in other fields. Yet medical e-reference is not without its challenges. Today’s physicians and medical students expect immediate and user-friendly electronic access to media rich and value added clinical references, particularly via their mobile devices. Publishers, …

Integrating Assumptions About Crime, People, And Society The Author’S Response To The Commentary Of Toward A Unified Criminology, Robert Agnew

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology

No abstract provided.

What States Should Do To Provide A Meaningful Opportunity For Review And Release: Recognize Human Worth And Potential, Gerard Glynn, Ilona Vila

St. Thomas Law Review

This article begins with a detailed analysis of the Court's mandate in Graham, followed by a review of the science that influenced the Court's decision and an analysis of what states have done so far to comply with the mandate. Then, the article explores existing parole rules, followed by a discussion on the challenges minors face in proving their ability to rehabilitate despite the prison system's complicity in preventing such development. Based on the foregoing discussion and analysis, the authors propose a model statute that states should consider adopting for purposes of implementing the mandates in the Graham opinion.

Fire And The Invasive Annual Grass Microstegium Vimineum In Eastern Deciduous Forests, S. Luke Flory, Keith Clay, Sarah Emery, Joseph Robb

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Non-native plant invasions have the potential to change natural and prescribed fire regimes by increasing fuel loads, continuity of fuels, and fuel composition, which may alter fire intensity, damage native species, and promote further invasions. In this project we sought to evaluate the interaction between fire and the invasive annual grass Microstegium vimineum in eastern deciduous forests. Our goal was to determine if invasions enhance fire intensity, including fire temperatures, flame heights, and fire duration, and negatively affect tree regeneration, and stimulate further invasions. We also sought to determine how prescribed fires and the timing of fires affect the density …

Wildfire Regime Shifts In Temperate Forest Ecosystems: International Symposium In New Zealand, Tomas Veblen, Alan Tepley, Andres Holz

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project consisted of organizing and executing a one-day symposium on “Wildfire Regime Shifts in Temperate Forest Ecosystems” in conjunction with the triennial meeting of the Southern Connection Congress. The VIIth Southern Connection Congress drew together more than 350 environmental scientists and resource managers for its triennial meeting in Dunedin, New Zealand from January 25 to 30, 2013. The Southern Connection Congress (SCC) is a meeting of interdisciplinary researchers and natural resource managers who are interested in the biota and ecosystems of the temperate latitudes of the southern hemisphere. Attendees are from a wide range of research and professional disciplines …

Wildland Fire Suppression And Land Development In The Wildland/Urban Interface, Sheila Olmstead, Carolyn Kousky, Roger Sedjo

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project has explored the hypothesis that public fire suppression in fire‐prone areas acts as a subsidy to landowners, incentivizing conversion of land to residential and commercial development. Landowners do not bear the full cost of their choice to build on land in fire‐prone areas, since they do not pay for suppression, though they reap all of the benefits, potentially resulting in economically inefficient levels of development. To test this hypothesis, we performed an econometric analysis of U.S. land use change between 1970 and 2000. Statistically, we identified the impacts of changes in fire suppression policy by exploiting a natural …

To Burn Or Not To Burn Oriental Bittersweet: A Fire Manager’S Conundrum, Noel B. Pavlovic, Stacey A. Leicht-Young, Ralph Grundel, Scott A. Weyenberg, Neal Mulconrey

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is an introduced liana (woody vine) that has invaded much of the Eastern United States and is expanding west into the Great Plains. In forests, it can girdle and damage canopy trees. At Indiana Dunes, we have discovered that it is invading non-forested dune habitats as well. Anecdotal evidence suggests that fire might facilitate its spread, but the relationship between fire and this aggressive invader is poorly understood. We investigated four areas important to fire management of oriental bittersweet, each of which we will briefly summarize here. 1) What fire temperatures cause seed mortality? For seeds, …

Using Escaped Prescribed Fire Reviews To Improve Organizational Learning, Anne E. Black Dr., James Saveland Dr., Dave Thomas, Jennifer Ziegler Dr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The US wildland fire community has been interested in cultivating organizational learning to improve safety and overall performance for a number of years. A key focus has been on understanding the difference between culpability (to be guilty) and accountability (to explain) and on re-orienting review processes towards building a collective account of (as opposed to finding individual blame for) unwanted outcomes. A variety of innovative methodologies have been developed, yet until this project, there has been no systematic reflection to determine whether or how any of the existing review processes might be assisting organizational learning. Through a series of five …

A Decision-Support System For Assessing The Impact Of Fire Management On Threatened And Endangered Species, Gordon Reeves, Rebecca Flitcroft, Lee E. Benda, Pete Bisson, Steve Wondzell, Jeff Falke, Kris Mcnyset, Ken Vance-Borland, Dan Miller

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Historically, wildfire was an important agent of change in landscapes across the western United States. Fires of varying magnitudes and extents contributed to a mosaic of dynamic landscape conditions. For the past century, fire management that focuses on fire suppression has effectively altered the composition of many vegetation communities across the landscape. Fire management and other landuse practices associated with natural resource use, agriculture, and residential development have changed the complexity of terrestrial landscapes. Aquatic systems have not been exempt from these changes: alterations in disturbance processes on the landscape have changed inputs into the stream environment, and practices such …

A Fire Prevention Effectiveness Assessment For Multiple Ownerships, Jeffrey P. Prestemon Dr., Karen L. Abt, David T. Butry, Douglas S. Thomas, Sam Scranton, Scott L. Goodrick, Parker T. Mothershead, Terry K. Haimes, Susan Marzec, John Owens, Suzanne Romero, Reid Shelley, Loren Walker, Angela Yearwood

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This study first summarized findings of fire prevention education statistical modeling from the State of Florida from a study originally led by the Principal Investigator and two major collaborators (Karen Abt, USDA Forest Service, and David T. Butry, National Institute of Standards and Technology). The study next measured the statistical effects of wildfire prevention programs occurring on tribal lands administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with primary involvement of major collaborator Sam Scranton (Bureau of Indian Affairs). Using first a binary variable indicating the presence or absence of a wildfire prevention program on lands managed by the tribe or …

Affecting Risk: Improving Hazard Communication In The Wildland-Urban Interface, Melissa Wright Dr., Destiny Aman

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Wildfire hazard is a growing problem in many areas of the United States, especially in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where homes and other structures border or intermingle with forests, shrubs and grasslands. Despite years of educational outreach by fire management officials promoting effective and affordable mitigation strategies, research shows that residents, especially seasonal residents and those new to an area, still tend to under-invest in mitigation, even when they perceive their risk to be high. Meanwhile, the social and economic costs of wildfire have increased with fire size and intensity and far exceed the costs of mitigation. This problem has …

Age-Class Mosaics And Wind-Driven Fire: Further Fuel For The Debate, Jan L. Beyers, Philip J. Riggan, David Weise, Timothy Paysen, Marcia Narog

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

In 2006 the Santa Ana wind-driven Esperanza fire burned through the North Mountain Experimental Area (NMEA) and vicinity, including the scars of 10 previous fires. Multiple images of the fire’s progression were taken using PSW Research Station’s airborne FireMapper thermal-imaging system. Existing fuels data and historic NMEA maps plus new fire images were used to investigate relationships between vegetation history, fire behavior and severity, and fuel consumption. Soil samples were collected at a subset of fire severity sample points to assess seed bank survival. Coordinated documentation of vegetation recovery addressed the effects of age class and fire severity on chaparral …

Assessing Fuels Treatments In Southern California National Forests In The Context Of Climate Change, Timothy J. Brown, Crystal A. Kolden, John T. Abatzoglou

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

One of the key uncertainties in fuels treatments is their longevity under a changing climate. Several recent studies have assessed fuel treatment effectiveness during historic fires, and in many cases found the treatment less effective than desired, particularly during extreme or record conditions. In 2007, southern California experienced one of the most severe fire seasons to-date due to record low fuel moistures early in the fire season (a key driver of the two-month long Zaca fire) and historic Santa Ana winds late in the season (resulting in several large late October fires). Climate change projections for the region suggest that …