Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Land Snail Survey Techniques In Hawaii: Implications For Conservation Throughout The Pacific, Torsten Durkan, Norine Yeung, Wallace Meyer, Kenneth Hayes, Robert Cowie

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Terrestrial micromolluscs (snails with an adult maximum shell dimension <5 mm) constitute a considerable proportion of the land snail fauna of the Pacific. However, micromolluscs are often underestimated in biological surveys because of size bias. It has been argued that visual searches are preferable on Pacific islands because: (1) size biases are limited based on the understanding that most native Pacific island land snails are very small, and (2) amount of labor is less than other methods such as soil surveys and adequate for inventory purposes (though not for abundance assessments). To test whether visual surveys and soil surveys were accurately recording all taxa, land snail inventories were completed in three forest reserves (5 sampling sites in each) on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Visual surveys involved 30-min visual search in a 10 m2 site; soil surveys involved sieving leaf litter and topsoil from four 0.3 m2 quadrats and extracting snails with the aid of a microscope. The data indicate a size and microhabitat bias associated with both techniques. Visual surveys consistently collected large arboreal and litter-dwelling species but missed a significant portion of micromolluscs, while soil surveys collected micromolluscs but missed larger snails. Because of such biases, employing both methods is critical for collecting all taxa at a survey location. As such, we recommend that future land snail surveys on Pacific Islands incorporate both survey techniques. Obtaining a complete inventory is critical if we are to understand species distributions and patterns of diversity and make well-informed conservation recommendations.

The Tiger Vol. 107 Issue 20 2013-11-01, Clemson University

Tiger Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Educating Highly‐Qualified Science Teachers, Elizabeth Lewis, Aaron A. Musson, Jia Lu

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Understanding what makes a highly‐qualified science teacher requires careful research on teacher education programs. Existing research pertaining to secondary science preservice teachers (PSTs) is limited in the areas of: (a) mastery of subject matter knowledge; (b) evolving teaching selfefficacy, and (c) inquiry‐based enacted curricular practices. We studied each issue over the course of an intensive, 14‐month, graduate teacher certification program for practicing scientists and recent science graduates. First, we asked if there was a relationship between amount of content area undergraduate coursework and performance (GPA in core content courses) and found an expected, yet preliminary, connection between higher undergraduate GPA …

Microinjection Wound Assay And In Vivo Localization Of Epidermal Wound Response Reporters In Drosophila Embryos., Michelle T. Juarez, Rachel A. Patterson, Wilson Li, William Mcginnis

Publications and Research

The Drosophila embryo develops a robust epidermal layer that serves both to protect the internal cells from a harsh external environment as well as to maintain cellular homeostasis. Puncture injury with glass needles provides a direct method to trigger a rapid epidermal wound response that activates wound transcriptional reporters, which can be visualized by a localized reporter signal in living embryos or larvae. Puncture or laser injury also provides signals that promote the recruitment of hemocytes to the wound site. Surprisingly, severe (through and through) puncture injury in late stage embryos only rarely disrupts normal embryonic development, as greater than …

Dinosaurs And Pterosaurs In Greek And Roman Art And Literature? An Investigation Of Young-Earth Creationist Claims, Phil Senter

Biological Science Faculty Working Papers

Many young-Earth creationist (YEC) authors claim that ancient Greek and Roman writings describe dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and that Greco-Roman art illustrates Mesozoic reptiles. Such claims are used as "evidence" against evolutionary theory in an attempt to cast doubt on the separation of humans and such animals by millions of years. However, examination of the Greco-Roman materials in question reveals that none of them actually depict Mesozoic reptiles. In descriptions of "dragons" (Greek drakōn; Latin draco) in Greco-Roman literature—which YEC authors claim are dinosaurs—coils and the epithets ophis, serpens, and anguis reveal that the ancient authors are describing …

The Cost Of Green Infrastructure: Worth The Investment?, Martha Sheils

Green Infrastructure

Is GI worth the investment?

• LID techniques often lead to cost savings when we look at WHOLE PROJECT COSTS

• Natural Infrastructure investments for flood control, drinking water protection and wildlife habitat can yield SIGNIFICANT AVOIDED COSTS and additional co-benefits to communitites

November 2013 Cvm Library Newsletter, Mississippi State University

CVM Library Newsletters

Newsletter of the College of Veterinary Medicine Library at Mississippi State University.

The Misbegotten Judicial Resistance To The Daubert Revolution, David E. Bernstein

Notre Dame Law Review

This Article reviews the history of the evolution of the rules for the admissibility of expert testimony since the 1980s, the revolutionary nature of what ultimately emerged, and the consistent efforts by recalcitrant judges to stop or roll back the changes, even after Rule 702 was amended to explicitly incorporate a strict interpretation of those changes.

Part I reviews the law of expert testimony through the Supreme Court’s Daubert decision. Critics had charged for decades that the adversarial system was a failure with regard to expert testimony. Parties to litigation, they argued, often presented expert testimony of dubious validity because …

Two-Category Place Representations Persist Over Body Rotations, Hyoun Kyoung Pyoun, Jesse Sargent, Stephen Dopkins, John W. Philbeck

Neurological Surgery Faculty Publications

We explored a system that constructs environment-centered frames of reference and coordinates memory for the azimuth of an object in an enclosed space. For one group, we provided two environmental cues (doors): one in the front, and one in the rear. For a second group, we provided two object cues: a front and a rear cue.For a third group, we provided no external cues; we assumed that for this group, their reference frames would be determined by the orthogonal geometry of the floor-and-wall junction that divides a space in half or into multiple territories along the horizontal …

Research Seminar: Analysis Of Museum Specimens Reveals Ecosystem-Wide Effects Of River Regulation, Nov 4, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Ecolunch | Vertebral Column Of Snakes From An Ecological And Paleontological Perspective, Nov 20, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

A Regime Shift From Macrophyte To Phytoplankton Dominance Enhances Carbon Burial In A Shallow, Eutrophic Lake, Soren Brothers, Sabine Hilt, Katrin Attermeyer, Hans Peter Grossart, Sarian Kosten, Betty Lischke, Thomas Mehner, Nils Meyer, Kristin Scharnweber, Jan Kohler

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Ecological regime shifts and carbon cycling in aquatic systems have both been subject to increasing attention in recent years, yet the direct connection between these topics has remained poorly understood. A four-fold increase in sedimentation rates was observed within the past 50 years in a shallow eutrophic lake with no surface in- or outflows. This change coincided with an ecological regime shift involving the complete loss of submerged macrophytes, leading to a more turbid, phytoplankton- dominated state. To determine whether the increase in carbon (C) burial resulted from a comprehensive transformation of C cycling pathways in parallel to this regime …

Solution Scattering And Fret Studies Of Nucleosomes Reveal Dna: Unwrapping Effects Of H3 And H4 Tail Removal, Kurt Andresen, Isabel Jimenez-Useche, Steven C. Howell, Chongli Yuan, Xiangyun Qiu

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Using a combination of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements we have determined the role of the H3 and H4 histone tails, independently, in stabilizing the nucleosome DNA terminal ends from unwrapping from the nucleosome core. We have performed solution scattering experiments on recombinant wild-type, H3 and H4 tail-removed mutants and fit all scattering data with predictions from PDB models and compared these experiments to complementary DNA-end FRET experiments. Based on these combined SAXS and FRET studies, we find that while all nucleosomes exhibited DNA unwrapping, the extent of this unwrapping is increased for nucleosomes …

Medical And Dental Standardization For Solid Organ Transplant Recipients, Mea A. Weinberg Dmd, Stuart L. Segelnick Dds, Lawrence B. Kay Dds, Vinay Nair Do

Individual Scholarship

Communication between the organ transplant team and dentist is important in formulating individualized care plans to reduce the incidence of pre- and post-transplant complications. Periodontal diseases and other oral infections may present serious risks that could compromise the success of a solid organ transplant. This article reviews why dentistry is an important component of total transplant care while the patient is on the waiting list for a transplant and after the transplantation. Recommendations regarding the care of the organ transplant patient are given.

Probing Vibrationally Mediated Ultrafast Excited-State Reaction Dynamics With Multireference (Caspt2) Trajectories, Patrick Z. El-Khoury, Saju Joseph, Igor Schapiro, Samer Gozem, Massimo Olivucci, Alexander N. Tarnovsky

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Excited-state trajectories computed at the complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) reveal how vibrational excitation controls the molecular approach to the intersection space that drives the photodissociation of a prototypical halogenated methyl radical, namely CF2I. Translating the Franck-Condon structure along the ground-state CASPT2 vibrational modes in this system followed by propagating the displaced structures in the first excited doublet state simulates specific vibrational excitations and vibrationally mediated dynamics, respectively. Three distinct situations are encountered: the trajectories (i) converge to an energetically flat segment of the intersection space, (ii) locate a segment of the intersection space, and (iii) access a …

Reflections On The Cost Of "Low-Cost" Whole Genome Sequencing: Framing The Health Policy Debate, Timothy Caulfield, Jim Evans, Amy Mcguire, Christopher Mccabe, Tania M. Bubela, Robert Cook-Deegan, Jennifer Fishman, Stuart Hogarth, Fiona A. Miller, Vardit Ravitsky

Office of the Provost

The cost of whole genome sequencing is dropping rapidly. There has been a great deal of enthusiasm about the potential for this technological advance to transform clinical care. Given the interest and significant investment in genomics, this seems an ideal time to consider what the evidence tells us about potential benefits and harms, particularly in the context of health care policy. The scale and pace of adoption of this powerful new technology should be driven by clinical need, clinical evidence, and a commitment to put patients at the centre of health care policy.

Contents, Anon

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Making Science Useful In Complex Political And Legal Arenas: A Case For Frontloading Science In Anticipation Of Environmental Changes To Support Natural Resource Laws And Policies, Usha Varanasi

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

In the spirit of fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, the Washington Journal of Environmental Law and Policy is proud to present this Article. Professor Varanasi takes examples from her career as a fisheries scientist for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to argue for a new model for ecological disaster planning and response, in which baseline ecosystem data is collected in advance of possible incidents so that decision-makers are empowered to make informed choices from the first stages of disaster response. She concludes by urging sustained and targeted funding for long-term ecosystem data collection to better understand various disasters’ effects on a …

"We Can Lead": Washington State's Efforts To Address Ocean Acidification, Amanda M. Carr

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The world’s oceans have become approximately thirty percent more acidic since the Industrial Revolution and are currently acidifying at a rate ten times faster than anything the earth has experienced over the last fifty million years. Washington State is undertaking a groundbreaking effort to address ocean acidification, a global issue that has serious implications for the world’s oceans, marine ecosystems, and the individuals and communities that depend upon the services that they provide. These localized actions, in isolation, will be insufficient to effectively combat and adapt to the acidification of marine waters. While acknowledging this generally accepted premise, Washington has …

Washington Environmental Law Year In Review, Abigail Pearl, Hunter Elenbaas

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

We are proud to present the first installment of the Washington Environmental Law Year in Review. This feature, which will be published annually in the Fall issue, will track significant developments in the environmental laws and regulations of Washington, and present a summary of these changes organized by topic.

A Sinking Ship: Epa Regulation Of The Navy Training Program Sinkex Under The Ocean Dumping Act And The Toxic Substances Control Act, Laura Zippel

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The EPA currently regulates the Navy program Sink Exercise (SINKEX) under a permit issued under the Ocean Dumping Act. The Navy regards SINKEX as both a “live fire exercise,” important for the training of sailors in tactics and operations, and as a ship disposal program. Due to the toxic materials used to construct the derelict ships–including PCBs, asbestos, and lead–a case was filed in San Francisco District Court alleging that the EPA is required to regulate and permit SINKEX under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This comment addresses the complexities arising from EPA permitting of SINKEX, including a comparison …

The Columbia River Treaty's Canadian Entitlement: The Role Of Liberalized And Integrated North American Electricity Markets In A New Calculation, Kevin Kirkpatrick

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada may be terminated unilaterally by either nation beginning next year; this has brough attention within the Pacific Northwest and beyond to the 1964 agreement on river flows. Much of the discussion about updating the accord highlights important goals such as bettering the protection of fish and increasing public participation in ecosystem governance, but often neglects analysis of how electricity markets have changed over the past fifty years. This Comment, through an examination of key developments in utilities law and application of economic theory, attempts to parse principles that may prove …

Correlation Properties Of Collective Motion In Bacterial Suspensions, Shawn D. Ryan, Andrey Sokolov, Leonid Berlyand, Igor S. Aranson

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

The study of collective motion in bacterial suspensions has been of significant recent interest. To better understand the non-trivial spatio-temporal correlations emerging in the course of collective swimming in suspensions of motile bacteria, a simple model is employed: a bacterium is represented as a force dipole with size, through the use of a short-range repelling potential, and shape. The model emphasizes two fundamental mechanisms: dipolar hydrodynamic interactions and short-range bacterial collisions. Using direct particle simulations validated by a dedicated experiment, we show that changing the swimming speed or concentration alters the time scale of sustained collective motion, consistent with experiment. …

Probation As A Non-Custodial Measure In Nigeria: Making A Case For Adult Probation Service, Abubakri O. Yekini, Mashkur Salisu

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

Imprisonment as a disposition method has created a lot of problems not only in Nigeria criminal justice system but also, in most countries. It is now believed that imprisonment no longer serves the purpose for which it was meant to serve- deterrence. The offenders wrong the state and yet the state is responsible for their welfare while in prison. In 2012, over N50 billion (about $312,500,000) (Appropriation Act 2012) was budgeted for prison and yet the prison sub-culture makes inmate come out more hardened. This paper seeks to appraise the law and practice of probation as a non-custodial disposition method …

Commission On Volcanic Caves Newsletter, International Union Of Speleology

Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS) Commission on Volcanic Caves

Contents: The Chairman's Corner -- 16th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology -- Independent Pre-Symposium Activities -- Pre-Symposium Science & Exploration Expedition -- 16th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology -- Post-symposium Galapagos Cruise -- Important Lava Tube Caves Found in Dong Nai Province, Southern Vietnam -- A Visit to a Few Lava Caves around Auckland, New Zealand

Cooperative Cave Management In The Era Of Wns, National Cave And Karst Research Institute

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Climate Change On Human And Ecological Use Of Karst Groundwater Resources: A Case Study From The Southwestern Usa, National Cave And Karst Research Institute

KIP Articles

Climate change models for the arid southwestern USA predict increasing temperatures and declines in precipitation. These changes will have multiple adverse impacts on water and ecological resources and pose diverse challenges on their management. The San Solomon Spring system of west Texas discharges from the western edge of the karstic Edward-Trinity Plateau Aquifer. It consists of six springs in Jeff Davis and Reeves counties, is one of the largest spring groups in the state, and provides water for agricultural use and habitat to two federally listed endangered species and three species proposed for listing. It serves in this paper as …

Managing A Globally Unique Nexus Of Acid Mine Drainage, Karst, And World Heritage Site, National Cave And Karst Research Institute

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Moving The National Park Service Cave And Karst Program Forward - Identifying And Understanding Park Resources, National Cave And Karst Research Institute

KIP Articles

On a national level within the National Park Service (NPS), basic knowledge of cave resources has increased significantly over the last 30 years. With karst resources, while there have been some advances, knowledge of these very complex and hidden resources remain fairly limited. In recent years, NPS park managers have increasingly been working with volunteers and scientists to complete studies including the physical exploration and documentation of cave and karst areas to obtain a better understanding of the resources that they manage. Efforts at the national level within the National Cave and Karst Program are being made to know more …

Protargol Synthesis: An In-House Protocol, Xuming Pan, William A. Bourland, Weibo Song

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The protargol staining method has proved to be indispensable for revealing the cellular structures of a variety of protozoa, especially the flagellates and ciliates. Protargol provides permanent stains of a variety of cellular structures: nuclei, extrusomes, basal bodies, and microfilamentous constituents of cells. Together with the older silver nitrate methods, protargol impregnations have provided the basis for the detailed descriptions of nearly all ciliates to date. The performance of commercially available preparations has varied widely. Recently, suppliers have stopped stocking the effective forms of protargol resulting in a worldwide shortage. Thus, it has become necessary for protistologists to explore on-site …