Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Pcr Amplification Of Dna From Recalcitrant Plant Specimens Using A Trelahose-Based Additive, Tharangamala Samarakoon, Shiao Y. Wang, Mac H. Alford

Faculty Publications

Premise of the study: PCR amplification of DNA extracted from plants is sometimes difficult due to the presence of inhibitory compounds. An effective method to overcome the inhibitory effect of compounds that contaminate DNA from difficult plant specimens is needed.

Methods and Results: The effectiveness of a PCR additive reagent containing trehalose, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and polysorbate‐20 (Tween‐20) (TBT‐PAR) was tested. PCR of DNA extracted from fresh, silica‐dried, and herbarium leaf material of species of Achariaceae, Asteraceae, Lacistemataceae, and Samydaceae that failed using standard techniques were successful with the addition of TBT‐PAR.

Conclusions: The addition of TBT‐PAR during routine …

Neutrophil In Viral Infections, Friend Or Foe?, Brandon D. Drescher, Fengwei Bai

Faculty Publications

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes or neutrophils are the first immune cells to the site of injury and microbial infection. Neutrophils are crucial players in controlling bacterial and fungal infections, and in particular secondary infections, by phagocytosis, degranulation and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). While neutrophils have been shown to play important roles in viral pathogenesis, there is a lack of detailed investigation. In this article, we will review recent progresses toward understanding the role of neutrophils in viral pathogenesis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reconciling Liberty And Equality In The Debate Over Preimplantation Genetic Diagnoses, Jessica Knouse

Utah Law Review

This Article draws on postmodern theory to develop a framework for analyzing situations in which liberty and equality appear to conflict. It uses the debate over nontherapeutic preimplantation genetic diagnosis as an example. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is almost entirely unregulated within the United States, and there seems to be relative consensus that its use for therapeutic or medical trait selection—for example, selection against certain genetic and chromosomal disorders— should be permitted. There is substantial disagreement, however, as to whether its use for nontherapeutic or nonmedical trait selection— selection based on prospective parents’ preferences for a particular sex, eye color, hair …

Conservation Easements: Design Flaws, Enforcement Challenges, And Reform, Roger Colinvaux

Utah Law Review

The charitable deduction for conservation easements gives rise to exceptional enforcement challenges. The promise is of a conservation benefit, lasting forever. The tax incentive is intended to help produce such benefits. The principal problem with the tax incentive, however, is that it does not facilitate a substantive, enforceable definition of conservation. The result is that valuation uncertainties can be used to benefit donors, often for questionable conservation benefits, and the IRS does not have the enforcement tools it needs, leaving it to fight valuation battles that ultimately provide little to no sense of the public benefit provided. The qualified donee, …

Conscience Clauses And The Placement Of Children, Mark Strasser

Utah Law Review

This Article first discusses a goal shared by the states (promoting the best interests of children), how adoption promotes that goal, and the differing approaches that states have adopted when seeking to accommodate both religious diversity and antidiscrimination norms. The Article then considers the constitutionality of some of the differing approaches that have been adopted or proposed, noting some of the complicating factors in the constitutional analysis. While the constitutionality of these exemptions is debatable, one point seems clear—these exemptions sacrifice the interests of children and society more generally and simply cannot be reconciled with good public policy.

Once Born, Twice Orphaned: Children’S Constitutional Case Against Same-Sex Adoption Bans, Tanya M. Washinton

Utah Law Review

The gay adoption debate has been focused on how placement bans deprive qualified gay and lesbian prospective parents of the opportunity to adopt children who are not likely to be permanently placed. Litigants challenging placement bans have focused primarily on the rights of prospective parents. States have defended these bans in ways that obscure the fact that they violate children’s rights by depriving them of the placement option that best serves their interests. Supply and demand realities, the best-interests-of-the-child standard, and the documented harms associated with non-placement demand state action that facilitates rather than frustrates the possibility of adoption. Confining …

The Oncoming Storm: State Indian Child Welfare Act Laws And The Clash Of Tribal, Parental, And Child Rights, Philip Jay Mccarthy Jr.

Utah Law Review

State ICWA laws may not grant Indian tribes greater rights “at the expense of the parents’ or children’s rights.”84 It is incumbent upon child advocates and counsel for parents to protect the rights of their clients and to challenge these laws.

Transracial Adoption In The United States: The Reflection And Reinforcement Of Racial Hierarchy, David Ray Papke

Utah Law Review

Individual whites who adopt children of another race admittedly have a range of motivations, and many manage to transcend racism in their adoptions and their subsequent family lives. However, transracial adoption as a socio-legal phenomenon remains racialized. Participants have preferences and standing related to their races, and transracial adoption reflects and reinforces the nation’s dominant racial hierarchy. In the area of transracial adoption and in the society as a whole, a “post-racial” era has not dawned, even with the election of a President who was in part raised abroad and understands himself as a man of color. In the contemporary …

A Remedy To Fit The Crime: A Call For The Recognition Of The Unreasonable Rejection Of A Parent By A Child As Tortious Conduct, Bruce L. Beverly

Utah Law Review

The reluctance of courts to provide a tortious remedy for PA is not supported by the recognition of the fundamental rights of parents to be involved in the upbringing of their children. The courts should keep in mind that within the definition of the family comes not only the State’s obligation to do what is in the best interests of the child, but also what is in the best interests of the family. The relationship between children and their parents is beneficial not only to the child at the center of the alienation controversy, but also to each parent, who …

A Win For Transgender Employees: Chevron Deference For The Eeoc’S Decision In Macy V. Holder, Laura Anne Taylor

Utah Law Review

This Note argues that the federal courts should either give full deference to the EEOC’s recent decision under the deference principles laid out in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. or should adopt the EEOC’s interpretation as persuasive under Skidmore v. Swift & Co.

Legal And Ethical Precepts Governing Emerging Military Technologies: Research And Use, George R. Lucas

Utah Law Review

From the emergence and increasing use of unmanned or remotely piloted vehicles to the advent of cyber war and conflict, the development of new and exotic military technologies has provoked fierce and divisive public debate regarding the ethical challenges posed by such technologies.1 I have increasingly come to believe that the language of morality and ethics has served us poorly in this context and presently serves to further confuse us, rather than to clarify or enlighten us, on how best to cope with the continuing development and deployment of seemingly exotic new military technologies.

The Supreme Court Screws Up The Science: There Is No Abusive Head Trauma/Shaken Baby Syndrome “Scientific” Controversy, Joëlle Anne Moreno, Brian Holmgren

Utah Law Review

Even if it is not true that law school is the consolation prize for those whose freshman biology grades make medical school impossible, judges, law professors, and lawyers are not (as a general rule) scientists. But they increasingly shape our understanding of scientific ideas by determining how law interprets and applies scientific information and by ensuring that bad science does not create bad law. As law becomes more science-dependent and expert witnesses play a greater role in a wide range of criminal and civil cases, there has been a concomitant increase in the need to ensure that the expert testimony …

The Public Trust In Wildlife, Michael C. Blumm

Utah Law Review

The public trust doctrine, derived from ancient property principles, is thought to mostly apply to navigable waters and related land resources. The doctrine supplies a mediating force to claims of both private ownership and unfettered government discretion over these resources, vesting the state with trust responsibility to ensure that the use of these resources promotes long-term sustainability. A related doctrine—sovereign ownership of wildlife—is also an ancient public property doctrine inherited from England. State ownership of wildlife has long defeated private ownership claims and enabled states to enact and implement wildlife conservation regulations. This Article claims that these two doctrines should …

Architecture Of Ignorance, Gregg P. Macey

Utah Law Review

This Article develops an approach to environmental law that I refer to as “data-intensive regulation.” The origins of data-intensive regulation lie in the public’s ability to gather, for the first time, data at spatial and temporal scales of its choosing. This capability, and the knowledge-building efforts it supports, will eclipse the theoretical and computational procedures that guided environmental law’s enactment. As environmental law evolves from a data-starved to data-rich enterprise, pollution control and ecosystem management will need to respond in two ways, focusing less on data supply and more on the demands of data users and the data’s underlying architecture. …

An Assessment Of Current Methodologies For Mitigating The Potential Effects Of Anthropogenic Underwater Sound On Marine Life, And Recommendations For Best Practice, Ross Craig Compton

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Underwater sound from anthropogenic sources such as seismic surveys, marine renewable device installations and naval exercises has the potential to disturb and cause injury to a variety of marine species. There is particular concern for the potential effects upon marine mammals, which utilise sound to communicate, hunt and navigate. Observed effects include behavioural changes and reduced sighting rates, with unknown consequences for individuals or populations over time. Potential effects on marine mammals include sound induced damage to auditory systems, altered diving behaviour potentially resulting in decompression sickness, stranding and death. The aim of the thesis was to develop a framework …

Inclusion Of Lupin Meal And Effect Of A Commercial Feed Supplement (Synergen™) In Diets For Carp, Cyprinus Carpio, Ayub Anwar

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Abstract Plant proteins are mainly used to formulate diets for carp. Soybean meal (SBM) is one of the most nutritious of all plant protein sources in carp feeds. However, an increase in the use of soybean meal for human consumption and animal feed in both developed and developing countries has resulted in an increase market price of soybean meal globally. Therefore, using other inexpensive plant protein sources in carp feeds would be beneficial to reduce feed cost and contribute to food security as well as to sustain aquaculture production. Anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) are believed to be the most important factors …

The Effects Of Environmental Conditions On Quorum Sensing And Community Interactions In Coral-Associated Bacteria, Emma Ransome

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The coral holobiont contains diverse communities of bacteria that play a role in the maintenance of coral ecosystems, however little is known about the structure and conservation of the host-bacterial relationship. Declines in coral ecosystems have been partly attributed to outbreaks of disease in tropical and sub-tropical regions, which have been linked to increasing temperatures. Bacteria are thought to play a role in some of these diseases, however little is understood about the mechanisms behind disease progression or the series of events involved in the shifts of coral-associated bacteria from conserved, potentially beneficial communities to those including potential pathogens. Investigations …

Interdisciplinary Study Of Hydrodynamic And Biogeochemical Processes Of A Large-Scale River Plume, Robert Mcewan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

This research has utilised the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gen- eral circulation model (MITgcm) along with observations taken as part of the River In uences on Shelf Ecosystems (RISE) study to investigate the dynamic processes associated with the Columbia River plume at different temporal and spatial scales. Firstly, a high resolution ( x= y=25 m) investigation of the near-field plume was undertaken using the fully non-hydrostatic mode of the MITgcm. This resulted in the reproduction of a detailed inner plume as well as a series of radiated internal waves. In addition to first mode internal waves, second order waves were …

An Ecotoxicological Assessment Of The Impacts Of Chronic Exposure To Metals And Radionuclides On Marine Mussels: Relating Genotoxicity To Molecular And Organism-Level Effects, Lorna Jane Dallas

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Metals and radionuclides are environmentally relevant contaminants, yet their potential impacts on marine organisms have not been adequately evaluated. This is especially true for exposures of longer duration and/or lower contaminant concentration (i.e. chronic) which are often more representative of real world scenarios. In this context, a suite of biomarkers at different levels of biological organisation were investigated in an ecologically relevant bivalve species, Mytilus galloprovin- cialis after exposure to nickel (a metal), zinc pyrithione (an organometal) and tritiated water (a radionuclide). These contaminants were chosen based on their differing properties, and hence, mechanisms of action. All three contaminants produced …

Signalling And Behaviour Of Globodera Pallida In The Rhizosphere Of The Trap Crop Solanum Sisymbriifolium, Ayano Sasaki-Crawley

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Potato cyst nematodes (PCN), Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, are economically important pests of potato (Solanum tuberosum) crops in potato growing regions worldwide. Integrated management is under threat, with effective nematicides increasingly being withdrawn on environmental and health grounds. Alternative strategies are urgently needed and trap cropping could be one of them. The non-tuber-bearing Solanum sisymbriifolium is regarded as an effective trap crop for PCN with strong hatching ability and immunity to PCN infection and has been used in the UK and The Netherlands. However, its mode of action is unknown. In order to shed light on the mode of …

Behavioural Analysis Of Marine Predator Movements In Relation To Heterogeneous Environments, Nicolas Edmund Humphries

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

An understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of marine predator populations is essential for the sustainable management of marine resources. Tagging studies are providing ever more information about the movements and migrations of marine predators and much has been learned about where these predators spend their time. However little is known about their underlying motivations, making it difficult to make predictions about how apex predators will respond to changing environments. While much progress has been made in behavioural ecology through the use of optimality models, in the marine environment the necessary costs and benefits are difficult to quantify making this approach …

Using Tpack To Promote Effective Language Teaching In An Esl/Efl Classroom, Wilson M. Rojas Bugueño

Graduate Research Papers

Technology integration in English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) using Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge (TPACK) (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) seems to be a new territory for teachers and researchers. For this reason, this literature review explores the use of TPACK in the EFL/ESL classroom. In this review, principles, methods and activities related to English teaching are reviewed and discussed. Also, the foundations of TPACK, activity types and their applications not only in other subject areas, but also in the EFL/ESL area are explored. For this purpose, articles, studies and books were consulted …

An Examination Of Opposing Theoretical Perspectives: Are The Current Assessment And Instructional Practices For Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders And Mental Health Issues Effective And Sufficient?, Karen Aldrich-Duden

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Increasing student achievement is the purpose of all educational programs, including the programs for students with disabilities. The adequacy of the educational programing for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBO) who also have mental health issues was the focus of this qualitative study. Specific attention was paid to the assessment and instructional practices used with students with EBO in order to answer the research question: Are the current assessment and instructional practices for students with EBD and mental health issues effective and sufficient? This study explored the potential benefits of using an ecological theoretical framework based on the bioecological …

The Difference Connection Makes : Roles The Middle School Teacher Plays In Changing Adolescent Girls’ Lives, Denise M. Pralle

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Within the classroom setting, 'fitting in' can be a very difficult matter for both students as well as teachers. A sense of community and respect for others, which prevails in the elementary grades, seems more subdued among middle-schoolers as competition and the struggle for independence becomes part of the hidden curriculum. Adolescent girls especially struggle to imitate what developmental psychologists suggest is necessary at this age: independence and disconnection from others. However, disconnection at this stage of development may partially account for the competition, disrespect of others, and loss of morality in and out of the classroom. Connected classroom teachers …

Mean Girls And Troublemaking Boys : A Qualitative Study About Interpretive Reproduction And Peer Culture In A Preschool Classroom, Heidi Marie Gansen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Within preschool classrooms children soon realize that they are under the enforcement and direction of their teachers, which in turn limits their control over their classroom experience. To compensate for this, children develop a peer culture that is based on their interpretations of what they have observed in the adult world (Corsaro and Fingerson 2003). This occurs through a process called interpretive reproduction in which children creatively appropriate information from adult culture in order to produce a peer culture that is unique and different from adult culture (Corsaro 1997; Corsaro and Eder 1990; Corsaro and Fingerson 2003). Through almost 70 …

Tectonosedimentary Development And Palaeoenvironmental Changes In The Acıgöl Shallow-Perennial Playa-Lake Basin, Sw Anatolia, Turkey, Cahi̇t Helvaci, Mehmet Ci̇hat Alçi̇çek, İbrahi̇m Gündoğan, Ünsal Gemi̇ci̇

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The late Cenozoic extensional deformation formed several NE-trending fluvio-lacustrine basins in SW Anatolia, filled by alluvial, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. Among them, the Acıgöl basin , is notable for its tectono-sedimentary development of a prominent shallow-perennial playa-lake setting. The basin initially subsided to receive coarse-clastic alluvial deposits, merging into fluvial systems and central shallow lakes. Subsequent basin deepening with significant sediment supply from surrounding basement horsts caused gradual shrinkage of the relatively small shallow lakes, due to renewed progradation of alluvial fans and they eventually dried out completely. The sedimentation pattern and palaeoenvironmental changes record a constant tectonic, sedimentation, climatic …

Microfacies Correlation Analysis Of The Oligocene-Miocene Asmari Formation, In The Central Part Of The Rag-E-Safid Anticlinal Oil Field, Zagros Basin, South-West Iran, Mahnaz Amirshahkarami

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Oligocene-Miocene Asmari Formation was deposited in a carbonate ramp setting at the margin of the Zagros Basin in south-western Iran. The subsurface sedimentary successions of the Asmari Formation have been studied using cores from the Rag-e-Safid oil field, in order to determinate their microfacies and sedimentary palaeoenvironments. Based on texture analysis and faunal assemblages, 10 microfacies types have been recognised and interpreted. They indicate different depositional settings: open marine, oolitic and bioclastic shoal, lagoon, tidal flat and beach. The microfacies have been interpreted as indicative of the inner and middle ramp. In accordance with the temporal and spatial correlation …

Tragulidae (Artiodactyla, Ruminantia) From The Middle Miocene Chinji Formation Of Pakistan, Muhammad Akbar Khan, Muhammad Akhtar

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The fossil record of the Siwalik tragulids remains poorly documented. The study of the tragulid material from the Chinji Formation allows the identification of 3 species: Dorcatherium minus, Dorcatherium majus and Dorcabune anthracotherioides. The tragulid assemblage is quite rich and Dorcatherium is the predominant taxon in the Chinji Formation of Pakistan. The fossils from the Chinji Formation of the Chakwal district, northern Pakistan, may document the first appearance of the 3 tragulid species in the Lower Siwaliks. The selenodonty and palaeoecology of the Siwalik tragulids are also discussed.

Late Holocene Climatic Oscillations Traced By Clay Mineral Assemblages And Other Palaeoceanographic Proxies In Ria De Vigo (Nw Spain), Virginia Martins, Fernando Rocha, Cristina Sequeira, Paula Martins, José Santos, Joao Alveirinho Dias, Olivier Weber, Jean-Marie Jouanneau, Belén Rubio, Daniel Rey, Ana Bernabeu, Eduardo Silva, Lázaro Laut, Rubens Figueira

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

This work aims to study recent climatic oscillations and their influence on sedimentation in the Ria de Vigo, a coastal embayment in Galicia, NW Spain. It is based on the study of clay mineral assemblages, in conjunction with other proxies (granulometric, geochemical, geochronological and microfaunal), in the core KSGX 24. A Benthic Foraminifera High Productivity (BFHP) proxy was used to determine changes in the flux of organic matter (OM) at the bottom of the study area. Total organic carbon (TOC) content is not a suitable proxy to estimate changes in the past supply of OM due to diagenetic processes. The …

Stress Features In Terra Rossa Soil Under Traditional Olive Cultivation: A Micromorphological And Mineralogical Characterization, Salvatore Madrau, Claudio Zucca, İhsan Akşi̇t, Valeria Fiori

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

This study analyzes the micromorphological and mineralogical properties of a Terra Rossa soil under a traditional Mediterranean olive grove. It highlights the microscopic and sub-microscopic features generated by the permanent crop cover. The study area, where the land use has remained unchanged for the last 150 years, is near Sassari (Sardinia, Italy) and is characterized by dominant Terra Rossa developed on Miocene marine limestone. Two soil profiles were opened and described in July 2009, 1 under the canopy of an olive tree and 1 between the trees. Chemical and physical analyses were carried out. Undisturbed aggregates were collected from all …