Digital Commons Network^™

Improvement Of Onsite Wastewater Treatment By Use Of Electrically Conductive Carbon Cloth, Christopher Weber

All Theses

The purpose of this research is primarily focused on carbon oxidation in domestic septic systems. Small-scale septic waste reactors utilizing electrically conductive carbon cloth were assessed for improving carbon oxidation and therefore the overall efficiency of on-site wastewater treatment systems.
A bioelectrochemical system was developed to enhance carbon oxidation in septic systems using electrically conductive carbon cloth as an anode/cathode bridge to transfer electrons from strictly anoxic septic wastewater to an oxic system outside of the septic reactor. This 'septic snorkel' (so named since the system 'breathes' via the carbon cloth extends into an aerobic zone) was designed to lower …

Creating A Pipeline To Engineering For Women Through An Interdisciplinary Data-Driven And Cyber-Infrastructure Enabled Course, Johann Van Reenen, Kevin Comerford

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Academics have become increasingly interdisciplinary while at the same time, the sciences, engineering and research in general are increasingly data driven. Most higher education curricula, especially in Engineering are, however, still rooted in more traditional, discipline bound curricula and make little use of the vast amounts of data available. We describe an experimental course that address this and aims to include women from non-engineering fields. The interdisciplinary course took a data driven approach to the intersection of womens issues, water rights, and workers' rights, taught by faculty from Civil Engineering, History, American Studies, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Geography, and Informatics. …

Recent Actions Of The Ohio Bird Records Committee May 2012 - April 2013, Ned Keller

Ohio Cardinal

No abstract provided.

Challenges, Constraints And Opportunities Associated With Development Of A Watershed-Based Stormwater Permit In The Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, Molly Blumhoefer

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

In 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency chose a large watershed surrounding Albuquerque, NM for the implementation of a watershed-based NPDES stormwater permit. This region was one of three in the country selected for development of a watershed-based permit in response to recommendations published by the National Research Council in 2006. The other two pilot projects were located in urban areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Middle Rio Grande (MRG) watershed is much larger than the other two regions and has more complicated hydrologic, jurisdictional, and stormwater management issues that make development and implementation of a watershed based permit more challenging. …

Cause And Impacts Of The Early Season Collapse Of Lilium Grayi (Gray’S Lily), On Roan Mountain, Tn/Nc, Russell J. Ingram

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A population of the rare Southern Appalachian endemic species Lilium grayi, (Gray’s lily) Roan Mountain, TN/NC was monitored for 2 years to determine the cause and impact of an early season collapse. High concentrations of the Lilium spp. host-specific fungal phytopathogen, Pseudocercosporella inconspicua (G. Winter) U. Braun were associated with 19/20 symptomatic and 0/30 asymptomatic plants. Strength of the association between pathogen and disease and the replication of disease symptoms in 4/4 healthy hosts showed that P. inconspicua was the causal agent of the disease referred to as lily leaf spot. Disease had a severe impact on the population …

Smarter Neat Nets, Ryan Swords Dehaven

Master's Theses

This paper discusses a modification to improve usability and functionality of a ge- netic neural net algorithm called NEAT (NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topolo- gies). The modification aims to accomplish its goal by automatically changing parameters used by the algorithm with little input from a user. The advan- tage of the modification is to reduce the guesswork needed to setup a successful experiment with NEAT that produces a usable Artificial Intelligence (AI). The modified algorithm is tested against the unmodified NEAT with several different setups and the results are discussed. The algorithm shows strengths in some areas but can increase the …

Aug. 2013, Ifc Good Practice Handbook, Cumulative Impact Assessment And Management - Guidance For The Private Sector In Emerging Markets, Ifc

CAO General 1999-Present

No abstract provided.

2013-14 Key Strategic Issues List, John F. Troxell Professor

Articles & Editorials

*September 24: Part I, Imperative 2 has been updated*
**November 18: Part II, Commands 1 and 3 have been updated**

The KSIL is available for online viewing here: 2013-14 KSIL

For several years, the Strategic Studies Institute has annually published the Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL). The overall purpose of this document is to make students and other researchers aware of strategic topics that are of special interest to the U.S. Army. Part I of KSIL is entitled "Army Priorities for Strategic Analysis" (APSA) and is a list of high-priority topics submitted by Headquarters, Department of the Army. Part II …

Cross-Species Malaria Immunity Induced By Chemically Attenuated Parasites, Michael F. Good, Jennifer M. Reiman, I. Bibiana Rodriguez, Koichi Ito, Stephanie K. Yanow, Ibrahim M. El-Deeb, Michael R. Batzloff, Danielle I. Stanisic, Christian Engwerda, Terry Spithill, Stephen L. Hoffman, Moses Lee, Virginia Mcphun

Faculty Publications

Vaccine development for the blood stages of malaria has focused on the induction of antibodies to parasite surface antigens, most of which are highly polymorphic. An alternate strategy has evolved from observations that low-density infections can induce antibody-independent immunity to different strains. To test this strategy, we treated parasitized red blood cells from the rodent parasite Plasmodium chabaudi with secocyclopropyl pyrrolo indole analogs. These drugs irreversibly alkylate parasite DNA, blocking their ability to replicate. After administration in mice, DNA from the vaccine could be detected in the blood for over 110 days and a single vaccination induced profound immunity to …

Catalog, 2013-2014, Roger Williams University

Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Natural Variation And The Capacity To Adapt To Ocean Acidification In The Keystone Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus, Morgan W. Kelly, Jacqueline L. Padilla-Gamiño, Gretchen E. Hofmann

Faculty Publications

A rapidly growing body of literature documents the potential negative effects of CO2-driven ocean acidification (OA) on marine organisms. However, nearly all this work has focused on the effects of future conditions on modern populations, neglecting the role of adaptation. Rapid evolution can alter demographic responses to environmental change, ultimately affecting the likelihood of population persistence, but the capacity for adaptation will differ among populations and species. Here, we measure the capacity of the ecologically important purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus to adapt to OA, using a breeding experiment to estimate additive genetic variance for larval size (an important component …

Bringing A Knife To The Gunfight: The Academically Underprepared Law Student & Legal Education Reform, Susan Stuart, Ruth Vance

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Eggsploitation Of The United States' Organ And Egg Donation Systems, Janelle E. Thompson

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Monitoring The Natural Processing Of Organic Carbon And Phenols In Selective Wetlands Within Monroe County, Ny, Muhammad Rubaiyat

Theses

Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) is one of the largest active organic carbon reservoirs formed from processes that break down terrestrial/aquatic matter and released from plant roots as exudates. In watersheds, DOC is continuously transported and processed through rivers, streams and lakes. DOC is present in wetlands around Monroe County, New York; in areas that function as groundwater recharge, stormwater retention, nutrient retention and habitats for wildlife. The conducted research was an initial step towards a more thorough understanding of DOC's processing, especially in regard to its phenolic content, in small urban/sub-urban wetlands in Monroe County, NY. DOC and phenol concentrations …

Development And Testing The Validity And Reliability Of Items And Scales To Assess Physical Activity Behavior Of Adults In The Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program, Tarana Khan

All Dissertations

Given the rising prevalence of obesity and other chronic diseases in the United States, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) includes physical activity as a core educational component along with diet quality, food safety, food resource management and food security. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, research supports that participation in regular physical activity helps people maintain a healthy weight and prevent excess weight gain. When combined with reduced calorie intake, physical activity may aid weight loss and the maintenance of weight loss.
Two evaluation instruments are used in EFNEP nationwide. Nutritional intake is measured by a …

Implantable Biosensors For Physiologic Status Monitoring During Hemorrhage, Christian Kotanen

All Dissertations

Trauma diagnostics and management are major aims of research for implantable amperometric enzyme biosensor technology. Biosensors are capable of monitoring metabolic variables in a minimally invasive manner and have great potential to augment current wireless vital sign monitoring technologies in order to make a more robust physiologic status monitoring platform. The dual responsive Electrochemical Cell-on-a-Chip Microdisc Electrode Array (ECC MDEA 5037) is a recently developed electrochemical transducer for use in a wireless, implantable biosensor system for the continuous measurement of interstitial glucose and lactate. Hyperglycemia arising from insulin resistance and hyperlactatemia arising from anaerobic metabolism both occur following trauma and …

Studies On The Cnidocyst Of The Atlantic Sea Nettle, Chrysaora Quinquecirrha, Ivonne Lozano

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Jellyfish envenomations have increased drastically in recent years and have been known to cause a wide variety of reactions to the victim. These reactions can be as mild as minor skin irritation to the extreme of death. Many research groups have studied the wide variety of toxins contained within these organisms trying to understand the underlying mechanism that causes these dramatic changes noted to both the physiology and viability of cells. With no clear method for cnidocyst (nematocyst) extraction or lysis, these toxins cannot be recovered entirely, which would hinder research on potential mechanisms of action of the proteins found …

Identification Of Actin Cytoskeletal Protein Interactions With The Fission Yeast Scaffold, Mid1, Marian Testori

Masters Theses

Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell division. Cell division in eukaryotic cells occurs by the formation of a contractile ring, predominantly composed of filamentous actin (F-actin). During mitosis, actin filaments polymerize to form rings at the medial plane of the cell that constrict causing the cell membrane to pinch and divide. Proteins that regulate this process are essential because dysregulation can lead to uninhibited cell growth and division. In fission yeast, the protein Mid1 functions as a scaffold to recruit regulatory proteins required for actin filament formation and simultaneously anchors the contractile ring at the cell division site. The …

Removal Of N-Nitrosodimethylamine And Trihalomethane Precursors With Powdered Activated Carbon, Wilson Beita Sandi

All Theses

N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) has been used commercially in several applications, including the production of liquid rocket fuel, and a variety of foods, but gained more relevance when it was discovered as a drinking water disinfection by-product (DBP) in 1989. NDMA is a probable human carcinogen with 10-6 lifetime cancer risk associated with a drinking water concentration of 0.7 ng/L, and is listed as a priority pollutant in the Code of Federal Regulations; no federal maximum contaminant level has been established for drinking water yet. However, the United States Environmental Protection Agency is planning to make a preliminary regulatory determination in 2013 …

Tris(4-Formylphenyl)Phosphane Oxide Tetrahydrofuran Hemisolvate, James Kakoullis, Frank R. Fronczek, Andrew W. Maverick

Faculty Publications

The title compound, C21H15O4P·0.5C4H8O, contains an ordered phosphane oxide in a general position and a tetrahydrofuran solvent molecule disordered about a twofold axis. All three aldehyde substituents are nearly coplanar with their attached benzene rings, with C - C - C - O torsion angles in the range 1.64 (17)-4.24 (19)°. All three have different conformations with respect to the P=O group, one syn, one anti, and one gauche. Two of the aldehyde substituents form intermolecular C - H⋯O contacts.

Adaptation And The Physiology Of Ocean Acidification, Morgan W. Kelly, Gretchen E. Hofmann

Faculty Publications

Ocean acidification, caused by the uptake of atmospheric CO2, is a threat to marine biodiversity, potentially rivalling the threat imposed by rising temperatures in some marine ecosystems. Although a growing body of literature documents negative effects of acidification on marine organisms, the majority of this work has focused on the effects of future conditions on modern populations, ignoring the potential effects of adaptation and physiological acclimatization. We review current literature on the potential for adaptation to elevated pCO2 in marine organisms. Although this body of work is currently quite small, we argue that data on the physiological effects of acidification, …

Population Dynamics Of Three Aphid Species (Hemiptera: Aphididae) On Four Ipomoea Spp. Infected Or Noninfected With Sweetpotato Potyviruses, E. N. Wosula, J. A. Davis, C. A. Clark

Faculty Publications

Three aphid species, Aphis gossypii Glover and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (efficient sweetpotato potyvirus vectors) and Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (an inefficient vector), are commonly found in sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas (L.), in Louisiana. Field-grown sweet potatoes are naturally infected with several potyviruses: Sweet potato feathery mottle virus, Sweet potato virus G, and Sweet potato virus 2. Thus, these aphids commonly encounter virus-infected hosts. What is not known is how each of these aphids responds to sweet potato, either infected or virus-free. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine if these aphid species can colonize mixed virus-infected sweet potato 'Beau-regard', …

Species Composition And Seasonal Abundance Of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) In Louisiana Soybean, J. H. Temple, J. A. Davis, S. Micinski, J. T. Hardke, P. Price, B. R. Leonard

Faculty Publications

In Louisiana during the last decade, the redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), has become a significant and yield-limiting pest of soybean. The redbanded stink bug was previously reported in the United States in 1892, but was never considered an economically important pest until recently. Soybeans representing four maturity groups (MG) III, IV, V, and VI were sampled weekly from beginning bloom (R1) to physiological maturity (R8) during 2008-2010 at five locations across Louisiana to determine the Pentatomidae composition. In total, 13,146 stink bugs were captured and subsequently identified to species. The predominant species included the redbanded stink bug (54.2%); …

Systematic Review Of Three Decades Of Spanish Cardiovascular Epidemiology: Improving Translation For A Future Of Prevention, Manuel Franco, Usama Bilal, Eliseo Guallar, Ginés Sanz, Alicia F. Gómez, Valentín Fuster, Richard Cooper

Faculty Publications

Background: In order to improve national cardiovascular disease (CVD) epidemiology and prevention, we systematically reviewed and analyzed the relevant literature produced in the last three decades for Spain. Design: Systematic Review. Methods: We searched for all the articles aiming to monitor CVD clinical endpoints and risk factors in the Spanish general population that were indexed in MEDLINE and EMBASE. Based on international recommendations, we analyzed each article with a three-level scoring system (low to high) for the following criteria: data quality, representativeness and translation of results into preventive interventions. Results: We reviewed 2565 articles, selecting 314 for in-depth analysis. Articles …

Host-Microbe Interactions In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Rui Zhang, Aixin Hou

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Isolation And Cryptic Introgression In A Sky Island Enclave Of Appalachian Birds, Gene D. Sattler, Michael J. Braun

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reproductive isolation is central to the speciation process, and cases where the strength of reproductive isolation varies geographically can inform our understanding of speciation mechanisms. Although generally treated as separate species, Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina chickadees (P. carolinensis) hybridize and undergo genetic introgression in many areas where they come into contact across the eastern United States and in the northern Appalachian Mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains harbor the last large breeding population of atricapillus in the southern Appalachians, isolated from the species’ main range by nearly 200 km. This population is believed to be reproductively isolated from local …

Towards Decrypting Attractiveness Via Multi-Modality Cue, Tam Nguyen, Si Liu, Bingbing Ni, Jun Tan, Yong Rui, Shuicheng Yan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Decrypting the secret of beauty or attractiveness has been the pursuit of artists and philosophers for centuries. To date, the computational model for attractiveness estimation has been actively explored in the computer vision and multimedia community, yet with the focus mainly on facial features. In this article, we conduct a comprehensive study on female attractiveness conveyed by single/multiple modalities of cues, that is, face, dressing and/or voice; the aim is to discover how different modalities individually and collectively affect the human sense of beauty.

To extensively investigate the problem, we collect the Multi-Modality Beauty (M²B) dataset, which is …

2013-2014 Graduate Catalog, The University Of Alabama In Huntsville

Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalog, The University Of Alabama In Huntsville

Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Atheism, Agnosticism, And Nonbelief: A Qualitative And Quantitative Study Of Type And Narrative, Christopher Frank Silver

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Extensive research has been conducted in exploration of the American religious landscape, however recently has social science research started to explore Nonbelief in any detail. Research on Nonbelief has been limited as most research focuses on the popularity of the religious “nones” or the complexities of alternative faith expressions such as spirituality. Research has been limited in exploring the complexity of Nonbelief or how non-believers would identify themselves. Most research assumes nonbelievers are a monolithic group with no variation such as Atheism or Agnosticism. Through two studies, one qualitative and one quantitative, this study explored identity of Nonbelief. Study one …