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2013

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Evaluation Of Catalytic And Non-Catalytic Production Of Biodiesel From Wet Microbial Media And Reaction Schemes, Adebola Titilope Coker Dec 2013

Evaluation Of Catalytic And Non-Catalytic Production Of Biodiesel From Wet Microbial Media And Reaction Schemes, Adebola Titilope Coker

Theses and Dissertations

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can supplement petroleum fuel supply. A major deterrent to commercial biodiesel production from traditional feedstock like soybean, canola or rapeseed oils is the high cost of feedstock: 70 - 95% of total biodiesel production cost. Therefore, a relatively cheaper feedstock is needed to make the price of biodiesel cost-competitive with petroleum diesel. Activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants is a relatively cheaper feedstock and relatively easy to obtain. However, drying of this sludge prior to oil extraction is a major operating cost of this process, as high as 50% of biodiesel production cost. The …

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Evaluation Of Quantitative Polymerase Reaction And Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds To Determine Resistance To Aspergillus Flavus In Maize, Alicia Kay Wood-Jones Dec 2013

Evaluation Of Quantitative Polymerase Reaction And Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds To Determine Resistance To Aspergillus Flavus In Maize, Alicia Kay Wood-Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Screening for resistance to Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin contamination in maize is an ongoing effort by universities, state and federal agencies. We evaluated two techniques to screen for resistance; quantitative polymerase reaction (QPCR) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Methods were adapted to accurately detect and quantify the fungus in culture and in the vegetative stage of plant tissues. These assays can eliminate microbiological techniques. The primary objectives of the study were to utilize 1) QPCR to detect and quantify fungal biomass in maize stem tissues to evaluate resistance in maize genotypes to A. flavus colonization in situ and in vivo and …

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Characterization Of A Novel Ring-Type Ubiquitin E3 Ligase Ghring2 Involved In Cotton Fiber Development, Shiva Theja Reddy Soma Dec 2013

Characterization Of A Novel Ring-Type Ubiquitin E3 Ligase Ghring2 Involved In Cotton Fiber Development, Shiva Theja Reddy Soma

Theses and Dissertations

The ubiquitin-proteasome proteolysis pathway is responsible for the degradation of abnormal and short-lived proteins to regulate many important biochemical activities in eukaryotes. By employing affymetrix microarray analysis, we have identified a novel ubiquitin ligase E3 gene GhRING2 that is expressed differentially between two G. hirsutum lines - Texas Marker-1 and Chromosome Substitution Line CS-B25. The complete GhRING2 gene sequence was obtained by genomic and cDNA walking. The expression of GhRING2 in cotton fiber is developmentally regulated, suggesting that the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway may regulate cotton fiber growth and development. Using a yeast two-hybrid assay GhRING2 was found to interact with a …

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Population-Level Genetic Structure Of Acmispon Argophyllus On The Channel Islands Of California, Gregory Lawrence Wheeler Dec 2013

Population-Level Genetic Structure Of Acmispon Argophyllus On The Channel Islands Of California, Gregory Lawrence Wheeler

Theses and Dissertations

The California Channel Islands present an ideal system in which to study unique biogeographical patterns seen in island systems near a mainland source, where spatial barriers are likely to limit gene flow without disrupting it completely. The islands also harbor a number of endemic taxa, suggesting that isolation from the mainland may be strong for some taxa. For this study, Acmispon argophyllus, a legume species found across five of the eight islands as well as on the mainland was used to test hypotheses at three spatial scales. Northern island populations have diverged into what potentially represents a new species; populations …

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Survival, Habitat Use, And Spatiotemporal Use Of Wildlife Management Areas By Female Mallards In Mississippi's Alluvial Valley, Joseph David Lancaster Dec 2013

Survival, Habitat Use, And Spatiotemporal Use Of Wildlife Management Areas By Female Mallards In Mississippi's Alluvial Valley, Joseph David Lancaster

Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) is an important region for wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in North America, yet little is known about their spatiotemporal habitat use and related survival in Mississippi. I tracked 126 radio-marked female mallards to quantify survival, habitat use, and use of wildlife management areas (WMAs) with experimental hunt regimes in the south MAV of Mississippi during winters 2010-2012. Daily survival was greatest in agricultural (0.997) and moist-soil (0.999) habitats in winters 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, respectively. Overall interval survival across both winters was 0.60 (SE = 0.02). Forested (40-54%) and moist-soil wetlands (41-59%) received greatest use diurnally …

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Quality Of Corn Silage Inoculated With L. Buchneri And P. Pentosaceus, Kellie Nichole Kaletsch Dec 2013

Quality Of Corn Silage Inoculated With L. Buchneri And P. Pentosaceus, Kellie Nichole Kaletsch

Theses and Dissertations

Microbial inoculants are forage additive products that contain viable bacteria and sometimes a combination of enzymes. Bacterial inoculants are used primarily for two reasons; first to gain rapid fermentation and second to decrease or inhibit spoilage. Inoculants work by shifting the fermentation of forage crops. The shift of fermentation causes preservation of nutrients, dry matter (DM) and occasionally increases animal performance. Most inoculants contain lactic acid producing bacteria to aid in shifting fermentation to lactic acid and away from acetic acid and ethanol production; however some inoculants aid in aerobic stability enhancement by production of acetic acid.. Although most inoculants …

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Algal Biodiesel Production Via Extractive-Transesterification Using Microwave And Ultrasound Irradiation, Edith L. Martinez-Guerra Dec 2013

Algal Biodiesel Production Via Extractive-Transesterification Using Microwave And Ultrasound Irradiation, Edith L. Martinez-Guerra

Theses and Dissertations

This study presents the use of non-conventional methods such as microwaves and ultrasound for algal biodiesel production. Dry algae biomass (Chlorella sp.) was used as feedstock to evaluate three novel single-step extractive-transesterification methods: 1) microwave irradiation with ethanol as solvent/reactant; 2) microwave irradiation with ethanol as reactant and hexane as solvent and 3) ultrasound irradiation with ethanol as solvent/reactant, all catalyzed by sodium hydroxide catalyst. The three novel methods were compared with the conventional Bligh and Dyer method which followed a two-step extraction and transesterification process. The maximum lipid yields for microwave, microwave with hexane, ultrasound, and Bligh and Dyer …

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An Assessment Of Human Vulnerability To Prolonged Cold In The Zeravshan Valley Of Tajikistan, R Bryson Touchstone Dec 2013

An Assessment Of Human Vulnerability To Prolonged Cold In The Zeravshan Valley Of Tajikistan, R Bryson Touchstone

Theses and Dissertations

The Central Asian country of Tajikistan is the poorest of the former Soviet republics; it is also prone to a plethora of natural hazards including mass wasting, flood, and extreme temperature. This thesis seeks to characterize how vulnerable rural Tajik mountain communities are to prolonged cold. The primary focus was in Navobod, in the Zeravshan Valley of Tajikistan, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 households, the village leader and doctor, and school staff. The results from the interviews were compared with GIS analysis of the region. Interviews indicated that the area is highly vulnerable to the impacts of prolonged …

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System Dynamics Simulation Model Of Salmonella Contamination Of Broiler Carcasses In The Chill Tank Of A Poultry Processing Plant, Karen Dazo Galarneau Dec 2013

System Dynamics Simulation Model Of Salmonella Contamination Of Broiler Carcasses In The Chill Tank Of A Poultry Processing Plant, Karen Dazo Galarneau

Theses and Dissertations

Salmonella has been studied and researched for more than a hundred years and yet it remains a problem for human and animal health. The goal of this dissertation was to apply the systems thinking approach to Salmonella contamination and develop a System Dynamics (SD) simulation model for Salmonella contamination in the chill tank of a poultry processing plant. But first the appropriate carcass rinse sampling method that would not impact on the resulting Salmonella contamination status of the broiler carcass was studied. Kappa agreement analysis was used to evaluate three sampling methods. The adjacent rinse method was found to be …

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The Effects Of Low Atmospheric Pressure And Electrical Stunning On The Instrumental And Sensory Quality Of Broiler Breast Meat Deboned At 45 Minutes And 4 Hours Postmortem, Vijayakumar Radhakrishnan Dec 2013

The Effects Of Low Atmospheric Pressure And Electrical Stunning On The Instrumental And Sensory Quality Of Broiler Breast Meat Deboned At 45 Minutes And 4 Hours Postmortem, Vijayakumar Radhakrishnan

Theses and Dissertations

Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning (LAPS) has recently become available to the broiler industry. Therefore, research was conducted to determine the effect of stunning method (LAPS and Electrical Stunning(ES)) and postmortem deboning time (0.75 hr and 4 hr) on the instrumental and sensory acceptability (3 replications) of breast meat (n=576, 144 birds per treatment) prepared using different cooking methods (fried, baked, sous vide). Breast meat was evaluated for pH, CIE L*a*b*, yields, shear force, and consumer acceptability. Postmortem pH decline was more rapid (P<0.05) in the breast meat of LAPS stunned birds when compared to ES stunned birds, but no differences existed (P>0.05) among treatments with respect to final pH. On average, no differences (P > 0.05) existed in the …

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Monitoring Gulf Coast Fish Quality, Karl Edward Bell Dec 2013

Monitoring Gulf Coast Fish Quality, Karl Edward Bell

Theses and Dissertations

Globalization and the rise of fish importation has led to an increase in mislabeling. To combat this problem, analytical and molecular methods have been employed. First, nitrofuran metabolites were extracted, hydrolyzed, and derivatized in channel catfish, swai, and tilapia. Utilizing high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, derivatized metabolites were detected at levels of 1 ng/mL with coefficients of determination greater than 0.998. Recoveries greater than 90% and relative standard deviation less than 17% indicate that the method is successful. Secondly, chip based electrophoresis coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism was used for the species differentiation. By …

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Molecular Basis Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Kentucky Attachment To Broiler Skin, Sanaz Salehi Dec 2013

Molecular Basis Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Kentucky Attachment To Broiler Skin, Sanaz Salehi

Theses and Dissertations

The presence of Salmonella enterica throughout the production and processing continuum is a concern in broiler industry. While federal regulations have lowered the acceptable level of Salmonella contamination on broiler carcasses, the mechanisms that contribute to pathogen attachment are not fully understood. Salmonella Kentucky has become the predominant Salmonella serovar isolated from broilers carcasses at the end of the immersion chill tank. In Europe and Africa this serovar has been shown to acquire antibiotic resistance genes that may lead this non-typhoidal serotype to become a potential public health concern. To investigate the genes that are involved in colonization of the …

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The Unwanted Horse Population: A Survey, Shannon Alina Lindsey Dec 2013

The Unwanted Horse Population: A Survey, Shannon Alina Lindsey

Theses and Dissertations

Unwanted horses are a growing problem in the United States, and through the use of surveys, researchers can understand public opinion and experiences related to this problem. This study administered surveys specific to horse and non-horse owners through face-toace delivery and to rescue/retirement and auction facilities through the mail. Data was analyzed using a CRD, GLM and Fisher’s Protected LSD with á of 0.05. Comparisons were completed between horse and non-horse owners, horse owners and non-horse owners with equine experience, non-horse owners with and without equine experience, Quarter horse and other breeds owners, and auction and rescue/retirement facilities. Similarities were …

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Urban Flow-Through Facilities' Media Compositions For Stormwater Quality And Quantity Improvements, Emily Gwynne Overbey Dec 2013

Urban Flow-Through Facilities' Media Compositions For Stormwater Quality And Quantity Improvements, Emily Gwynne Overbey

Theses and Dissertations

Urban stormwater management is evolving toward sustainable approaches which rely on dispersed small-scale bioretention BMPs. One such BMP is the flow-through planter, commonly applied in areas where infiltration into in situ soil is restricted or not possible. A project was developed to evaluate 18, vertically scaled flow-through mesocosms. Three replicates of six treatments, including four soil mixtures containing varied percentages of sand, compost and topsoil, were tested for orthophosphate and nitrate removal, volume reduction capabilities, and peak flow attenuation through the application of a synthetic solution over a simulated 2-inch, Type II storm event. Runoff volume was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced compared to controls. Nutrient levels observed along the hydrograph at different time-steps and flow rates revealed patterns not apparent in cumulative results. The observation of preferential flow patterns along with variability in nutrient removal across treatments highlights the need for design modifications of flow-through facilities.

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Waterbird And Seed Abundances In Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative And Non-Managed Wetlands In Mississippi And Louisiana, Matthew Moraco Weegman Dec 2013

Waterbird And Seed Abundances In Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative And Non-Managed Wetlands In Mississippi And Louisiana, Matthew Moraco Weegman

Theses and Dissertations

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) implemented the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI) in summer 2010 to provide wetlands for waterbirds inland from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. To evaluate MBHI and associated wetland management practices, I estimated seed and waterbird densities in MBHI and non-managed wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) of Mississippi and Louisiana. Although not statistically different, wetlands enrolled in MBHI contained 1.26 and 1.53 times more seed biomass and seeds consumed by waterfowl than non-managed wetlands, respectively. I also detected 3 times more dabbling ducks and all ducks combined on MBHI wetlands. When I …

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Developing A Multistage Model For Treponemal Disease Susceptibility, Sarah A (Sarah Ann) Mathena Dec 2013

Developing A Multistage Model For Treponemal Disease Susceptibility, Sarah A (Sarah Ann) Mathena

Theses and Dissertations

Despite numerous studies, little is known about the influential factors impacting treponemal disease susceptibility. Yet, forms of treponemal disease, specifically yaws, are a major source of morbidity in the developing world. Bioarchaeological materials may assist with deficit by testing full ranges of disease expression. This study explores the relationship between treponemal disease ecology, specifically yaws, and susceptibility through six southeastern United States archaeological samples. Results show early life health experiences have a relationship to later life disease expression. However, influences of climate may only be seen at a cross-regional level. Finally, although nutrition, as evidenced by subsistence strategy, may play …

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Ec627 Revised No Date New Method Of Feeding Milk Cows, C. W. Nibler Dec 2013

Ec627 Revised No Date New Method Of Feeding Milk Cows, C. W. Nibler

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Extension circular 627nd is a revised version of extension circular 627. the original date is unknown. It provides information on what and how to feed dairy cows during the various stages of their milking cycle.

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Lightweight Moral Realism: Objectivity And Reasoning Without Heavyweight Facts, Mark Douglas Warren Dec 2013

Lightweight Moral Realism: Objectivity And Reasoning Without Heavyweight Facts, Mark Douglas Warren

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation, I develop a non-representational approach to metaethics that avoids the ontological and epistemic problems that traditional realist views face: accounting for the nature of moral facts and our knowledge of these facts in a way that comports with naturalism. According to expressivism—the most popular non-representational account in contemporary metaethics—moral claims don’t aim to represent moral facts or properties, but instead function to express our non-cognitive attitudes like approval or disapproval. This is a promising approach, but the view has substantial difficulties accounting for important features of moral discourse, like objectivity and complicated moral reasoning. I develop an …

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The Mechanisms Of Synaptic Maintenance, Shaoyun Zang Dec 2013

The Mechanisms Of Synaptic Maintenance, Shaoyun Zang

Open Access Dissertations

Synapses are specialized cell-cell contacts where signals are reliably transduced from a neuron to its target cell in a regulated manner. Structurally, synapses are comprised of the pre- and post-synaptic terminals, and the synaptic cleft. Within each of these compartments is a complex network of molecular machinery, the components of which require constant turnover and “maintenance” to ensure a consistent relay of information. In neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s (PD), and prion-related diseases, synaptic degeneration is often an early event associated with disease severity, which is evinced by the degree of cognitive decline. A dysfunction of synaptic maintenance …

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Mangrove Mitigation: A Case Study Of The Cocoplum Development, A History Of Land Use Changes And Trends In Mitigation Efforts, Stephanie J. Chaston Dec 2013

Mangrove Mitigation: A Case Study Of The Cocoplum Development, A History Of Land Use Changes And Trends In Mitigation Efforts, Stephanie J. Chaston

Open Access Theses

The residential community of the Islands of Cocoplum is located in Coral Gables, Florida along Biscayne Bay. It has served as a case study for mangrove mitigation techniques employed by Miami-Dade County's Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) Coastal Resources division as a way of combating mangrove destruction. A database was created using Microsoft Excel and ArcGIS to identify and map all Class I coastal construction permits and mangrove violations since the onset of the Cocoplum Development in the 1980's through 2011. By identifying the mitigation strategies used by the County, it can be determined if mangrove mitigation effort has lessened, …

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Privacy And Cloud Computing In Public Schools, Joel Reidenberg, N. Cameron Russell, Jordan Kovnot, Thomas B. Norton, Ryan Cloutier, Daniela Alvarado Dec 2013

Privacy And Cloud Computing In Public Schools, Joel Reidenberg, N. Cameron Russell, Jordan Kovnot, Thomas B. Norton, Ryan Cloutier, Daniela Alvarado

Center on Law and Information Policy

Today, data driven decision-making is at the center of educational policy debates in the United States. School districts are increasingly turning to rapidly evolving technologies and cloud computing to satisfy their educational objectives and take advantage of new opportunities for cost savings, flexibility, and always-available service among others. As public schools in the United States rapidly adopt cloud-computing services, and consequently transfer increasing quantities of student information to third-party providers, privacy issues become more salient and contentious. The protection of student privacy in the context of cloud computing is generally unknown both to the public and to policy-makers. This study …

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Volume 49 - Issue 10 - Friday, December 13, 2013, Rose Thorn Staff Dec 2013

Volume 49 - Issue 10 - Friday, December 13, 2013, Rose Thorn Staff

The Rose Thorn Archive

The Rose Thorn, Rose-Hulman's independent student newspaper.

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Genetic Analysis Of The Replication Protein A Large Subunit Family In Arabidopsis Reveals Unique And Overlapping Roles In Dna Repair, Meiosis And Dna Replication, Behailu B. Aklilu, Ryan S. Soderquist, Kevin M. Culligan Dec 2013

Genetic Analysis Of The Replication Protein A Large Subunit Family In Arabidopsis Reveals Unique And Overlapping Roles In Dna Repair, Meiosis And Dna Replication, Behailu B. Aklilu, Ryan S. Soderquist, Kevin M. Culligan

New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Publications

Replication Protein A (RPA) is a heterotrimeric protein complex that binds single-stranded DNA. In plants, multiple genes encode the three RPA subunits (RPA1, RPA2 and RPA3), including five RPA1-like genes in Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis suggests two distinct groups composed of RPA1A, RPA1C, RPA1E (ACE group) and RPA1B, RPA1D (BD group). ACE-group members are transcriptionally induced by ionizing radiation, while BD-group members show higher basal transcription and are not induced by ionizing radiation. Analysis of rpa1 T-DNA insertion mutants demonstrates that although each mutant line is likely null, all mutant lines are viable and display normal vegetative growth. The rpa1c and …

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Cellular Roles Of Dna Polymerase Beta, Sreerupa Ray, Miriam-Rose Menezes, Ali Senejani, Joann Balazs Sweasy Dec 2013

Cellular Roles Of Dna Polymerase Beta, Sreerupa Ray, Miriam-Rose Menezes, Ali Senejani, Joann Balazs Sweasy

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Since its discovery and purification in 1971, DNA polymerase ß (Pol ߆) is one of the most well-studied DNA polymerases. Pol ß is a key enzyme in the base excision repair (BER) pathway that functions in gap filling DNA synthesis subsequent to the excision of damaged DNA bases. A major focus of our studies is on the cellular roles of Pol ß. We have shown that germline and tumor-associated variants of Pol ß catalyze aberrant BER that leads to genomic instability and cellular transformation. Our studies suggest that Pol ß is critical for the maintenance of genomic stability and that …

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The Murray Ledger And Times, December 13, 2013, The Murray Ledger And Times Dec 2013

The Murray Ledger And Times, December 13, 2013, The Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

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Certain Agave Species Exhibit The Capability To Be Moderately Productive Under Conditions Of High Salt And Drought Stress, Steven J. Bergsten Dec 2013

Certain Agave Species Exhibit The Capability To Be Moderately Productive Under Conditions Of High Salt And Drought Stress, Steven J. Bergsten

Theses and Dissertations

Water availability and arable lands are increasingly limiting resources in many parts of the U.S., particularly in semi-arid and arid regions. As a means of addressing food and fuel demands associated with burgeoning population growth, highly productive and water-use efficient crops need to be identified. One potential crop, Agave, merits consideration and evaluation due to its putative capability to provide sustenance and energy despite growing in water-limited regions and on marginal soils. However, little is known regarding the productivity these succulent plants will have under growing conditions of the Southwest, where high concentrated saline soils are abundant, and water is …

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Toward Target 2 Of The Global Strategy For Plant Conservation: An Expert Analysis Of The Puerto Rican Flora To Validate New Streamlined Methods For Assessing Conservation Status, James S. Miller, Gary A. Krupnick, Hannah Stevens, Holly Porter-Morgan, Brian Boom, Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, James Ackerman, Duane Kolterman, Eugenio Santiago, Christian Torres, Jeanine Velez Dec 2013

Toward Target 2 Of The Global Strategy For Plant Conservation: An Expert Analysis Of The Puerto Rican Flora To Validate New Streamlined Methods For Assessing Conservation Status, James S. Miller, Gary A. Krupnick, Hannah Stevens, Holly Porter-Morgan, Brian Boom, Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, James Ackerman, Duane Kolterman, Eugenio Santiago, Christian Torres, Jeanine Velez

Publications and Research

Target 2 of the 2020 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) calls for a comprehensive list of the world's threatened plant species. The lack of such a list is one of the greatest impediments to protecting the full complement of the world's plant species, and work to achieve this has been slow. An efficient system for identifying those species that are at risk of extinction could help to achieve this goal in a time frame sensitive to today's conservation needs. Two systems that efficiently use available data to assess conservation status were tested against a provisional International Union for Conservation …

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Fsec Meeting Minutes December 13, 2013, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate Dec 2013

Fsec Meeting Minutes December 13, 2013, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

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Ideological Entrenchment And The Academy: An Undergraduate’S Defense Of Religious Belief In Public Universities, Joseph Hogan Dec 2013

Ideological Entrenchment And The Academy: An Undergraduate’S Defense Of Religious Belief In Public Universities, Joseph Hogan

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

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Art & The Aga Khan Museum, Nazim Karim Dec 2013

Art & The Aga Khan Museum, Nazim Karim

Selected secondary sources and publications with substantial content about AKU

Special issue of The Ismaili USA devoted to the founding Aga Khan Museum in Toronto: its mission and architecture; key works from its collection (a Spanish astrolabe, Persian miniatures, etc.); reflections by Mawlana Hazar Imam on art in Muslim tradition; coverage of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture; and related institutional and community news.

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