Digital Commons Network^™

Linking Hydraulic Traits To Tropical Forest Function In A Size-Structured And Trait-Driven Model (Tfs V.1-Hydro), Bradley O. Christoffersen, Manuel Gloor, Sophie Fauset, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, David R. Galbraith, Timothy R. Baker, Bart Kruij, Lucy Rowland, Rosie A. Fisher, Oliver J. Binks

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Forest ecosystem models based on heuristic water stress functions poorly predict tropical forest response to drought partly because they do not capture the diversity of hydraulic traits (including variation in tree size) observed in tropical forests. We developed a continuous porous media approach to modeling plant hydraulics in which all parameters of the constitutive equations are biologically interpretable and measurable plant hydraulic traits (e.g., turgor loss point πtlp, bulk elastic modulus ε, hydraulic capacitance Cft, xylem hydraulic conductivity ks,max, water potential at 50 % loss of conductivity for both xylem (P50,x) and stomata ( …

Reflective Inverse Diffusion, Kenneth W. Burgi, Jessica Ullom, Michael A. Marciniak, Mark E. Oxley

Faculty Publications

Phase front modulation was previously used to refocus light after transmission through scattering media. This process has been adapted here to work in reflection. A liquid crystal spatial light modulator is used to conjugate the phase scattering properties of diffuse reflectors to produce a converging phase front just after reflection. The resultant focused spot had intensity enhancement values between 13 and 122 depending on the type of reflector. The intensity enhancement of more specular materials was greater in the specular region, while diffuse reflector materials achieved a greater enhancement in non-specular regions, facilitating non-mechanical steering of the focused spot. Scalar …

Linking Hydraulic Traits To Tropical Forest Function In A Size-Structured And Trait-Driven Model (Tfs V.1-Hydro), Bradley O. Christoffersen, Manuel Gloor, Sophie Fauset, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, David R. Galbraith, Timothy R. Baker, Bart Kruijt, Lucy Rowland, Rosie A. Fisher, Oliver J. Binks, Sanna Sevanto, Chonggang Xu, Steven Jansen, Brendan Choat, Maurizio Mencuccini, Nate G. Mcdowell, Patrick Meir

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Abstract. Forest ecosystem models based on heuristic water stress functions poorly predict tropical forest response to drought partly because they do not capture the diversity of hydraulic traits (including variation in tree size) observed in tropical forests. We developed a continuous porous media approach to modeling plant hydraulics in which all parameters of the constitutive equations are biologically interpretable and measurable plant hydraulic traits (e.g., turgor loss point πtlp, bulk elastic modulus ε, hydraulic capacitance Cft, xylem hydraulic conductivity ks,max, water potential at 50 % loss of conductivity for both xylem (P50,x) and stomata (P50,gs), and the leaf : sapwood …

Consciousness And Evolutionary Biology, Yew-Kwang Ng

Animal Sentience

Reber’s axiom: “Any organism with flexible cell walls, a sensitivity to its surrounds and the capacity for locomotion will possess the biological foundations of mind and consciousness” does not seem to be supported by things we know and the logic of evolutionary biology. The latter leads to the conclusion that conscious species are flexible in their behavior (rather than in their cell walls), as argued in Ng (1995, 2016). Locomotion may be completely hard-wired and need not involve consciousness. It is hard enough to explain how consciousness could emerge in a sophisticated brain: Isn’t it a harder problem to show …

Body Mass Estimates From Bone And Tooth Measurements In White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Brandi Morris, Alfred J. Mead

Georgia Journal of Science

The distal forelimbs and mandibles of 110 female and 240 male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia, were used to examine the relationship between metacarpal dimensions, first lower molar occlusal surface area, and mandibular width versus body mass. The strongest correlation was found between female metacarpal proximal area vs. body mass (R2 = 0.74). The combined-sexes metacarpal proximal area vs. body mass displayed a lower correlation (R2 = 0.54). The female first lower molar surface area vs. body mass produced the highest dental correlation (R2 = 0.56). The study suggests that body mass estimates using …

Estimating Movement Rates Of Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tunas, Katsuwonus Pelamis, Thunnus Albacares, And T. Obesus, From Tagging Data, Michelle L. Sculley

Open Access Dissertations

Information gained from tagging programs can be incorporated into stock assessments to reduce uncertainty in the current stock status. A spatially explicit Bayesian was used to analyze historical Atlantic conventional tag data and showed that the tagging data available provide information on regional movements within the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, but due to fewer tag releases and returns in the Western Atlantic, basin-wide parameters are not estimable. Catch and effort data suggest that these movements are seasonal. A large scale tagging program is currently being implemented in the Atlantic by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). A …

Influence Of Tick And Mammalian Physiological Temperatures On Borrelia Burgdorferi Biofilms, Shafiq Shaikh, Venkata Arun Timmaraju, Jason Torres, Kayla Socarras, Priyanka A. Theophilus, Eva Sapi

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

The spirochaete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the aetiologic agent of Lyme disease. Borrelia is transmitted to mammals through tick bite and is adapted to survive at tick and mammalian physiological temperatures. We have previously shown that B. burgdorferi can exist in different morphological forms, including the antibiotic-resistant biofilm form, in vitro and in vivo. B. burgdorferi forms aggregates in ticks as well as in humans, indicating potential of biofilm formation at both 23 and 37 °C. However, the role of various environmental factors that influence Borrelia biofilm formation remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect …

Be Students Visit Nasa | Biological Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Early in November students from Utah State University's Biological Engineering program presented their research project, Eden, to the Scientists and Engineers employed by NASA.

The Family Story Of James Sumler, James Aaron Sumler

Your Family in History: HIST 550/700

The Family History of James Aaron Sumler

23 November 2016

James Aaron Sumler authored this family history as part of the course requirements for HIST 813 Seminar in American History: Family History offered in the Fall Semester of 2016. It was submitted to the Pittsburg State University Digital Commons. Please contact the author directly with any questions or comments: [email protected]

Pengaruh Pemberian Ekstrak Daun Kelor Terhadap Kuantitas Dan Kualitas Air Susu Ibu (Asi) Padaibu Menyusui Bayi 0-6 Bulan, Zakaria Zakaria, Veni Hadju, Suryani As'ad, Burhanuddin Bahar

Media Kesehatan Masyarakat Indonesia

Daun kelor mengandung berbagai macam zat gizi serta sumber fitokemikal. Rendahnya gizi mikro yang dikonsumsi ibu menyusui akan memengaruhi kemampuan untuk menyediakan ASI dengan kandungan gizi mikro yang cukup untuk pertumbuhan bayi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menilai efek dari ekstrak daun kelor terhadap kuantitas dan kualitas ASI pada ibu menyusui. Penelitian ini adalah double blind randomized kontroled design dan dilaksanakan di Kabupaten Maros. Subjek adalah ibu menyusui setelah seminggu melahirkan dan dibagi kedalam dua kelompok. Kelompok pertama menerima ekstrak daun kelor (EK) dua kali dua kapsul, 800mg/kapsul, (kelompok EK, n=35) dan kelompok lainnya menerima tepung daun kelor (TE) dengan dosis …

Logic Models To Predict Continuous Outputs Based On Binary Inputs With An Application To Personalized Cancer Therapy., Theo A Knijnenburg, Gunnar W Klau, Francesco Iorio, Mathew J Garnett, Ultan Mcdermott, Ilya Shmulevich, Lodewyk F A Wessels

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Mining large datasets using machine learning approaches often leads to models that are hard to interpret and not amenable to the generation of hypotheses that can be experimentally tested. We present 'Logic Optimization for Binary Input to Continuous Output' (LOBICO), a computational approach that infers small and easily interpretable logic models of binary input features that explain a continuous output variable. Applying LOBICO to a large cancer cell line panel, we find that logic combinations of multiple mutations are more predictive of drug response than single gene predictors. Importantly, we show that the use of the continuous information leads to …

Photography-Based Taxonomy Is Inadequate, Unnecessary, And Potentially Harmful For Biological Sciences, Luis M P Ceríaco, Eliécer E. Gutiérrez, Alain Dubois, Hendrik Freitag, 537 Co-Authors

Biology Faculty Publications

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per …

Effects Of Road And Land Use On Frog Distributions Across Spatial Scales And Regions In The Eastern And Central United States, David M. Marsh, Bradley J. Cosentino, Kara S. Jones, Joseph J. Apodaca, Karen H. Beard, Jane Margaret Bell, Christine Bozarth, Derrick Carper, Julie F. Charbonnier, Andreia Dantas, Elizabeth A. Forys, Miran Foster, Jaquelyn General, Kristen S. Genet, Macie Hanneken, Kyle R. Hess, Shane A. Hill, Faisal Iqbal, Nancy E. Karraker, Eran S. Kilpatrick, Tom A. Langen, James Langford, Kathryn Lauer, Alison J. Mccarthy, Joseph Neale, Saumya Patel, Austin Patton, Cherie Southwick, Nathaniel Stearrett, Nicholas Steijn, Mohammed Tasleem, Jospeh M. Taylor, James R. Vonesh

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Understanding the scales over which land use affects animal populations is critical for conservation planning, and it can provide information about the mechanisms that underlie correlations between species distributions and land use. We used a citizen science database of anuran surveys to examine the relationship between road density, land use and the distribution of frogs and toads across spatial scales and regions of the United States.

Photography-Based Taxonomy Is Inadequate, Unnecessary, And Potentially Harmful For Biological Sciences, Luis M.P. Ceríaco, Eliécer E. Gutiérrez, Alain Dubois, Cristian Simón Abdala, Abdulaziz S. Alqarni, Kraig Adler, Edson A. Adriano, Erna Aescht, Ishan Agarwal, Sabine Agatha, Donat Agosti, Antonio J.C. Aguiar, Jonas José Mendes Aguiar, Dirk Ahrens, Alexandre Aleixo, Maria Judite Alves, Fabio Raposo Do Amaral, Natalia Ananjeva, Marcelo C. Andrade, Marco Brandalise De Andrade, Franco Andreone, Pedro P.U. Aquino, Paula Beatriz Araujo, Henrard Arnaud, Jairo Arroyave, Wolfgang Arthofer, Tom J. Artois, Diego Astúa, Celso Azevedo, Justin C. Bagley, Diego Baldo, Helen Margaret Barber-James, Eva V. Bärmann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Deposition Methods For Microstructured And Nanostructured Coatings On Metallic Bone Implants: A Review, Bailey Jordan Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

A review of current deposition processes is presented as they relate to osseointegration of metallic bone implants. The objective is to present a comprehensive review of different deposition processes used to apply microstructured and nanostructured osteoconductive coatings on metallic bone implants. Implant surface topography required for optimal osseointegration is presented. Five of the most widely used osteoconductive coating deposition processes are reviewed in terms of their microstructure and nanostructure, usable thickness and cost, all of which are summarized in tables and charts. Plasma spray techniques offer cost-effective coatings, but exhibits deficiencies with regard to osseointegration such as, high density, amorphous …

The Influence Of Plant- And Animal-Based Diets On Testosterone And Lean Body Mass Is Male Rats, Damien Christopher Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Background: It is commonly believed but unproven that plant-based diets result in low circulating testosterone, with minimal gains in lean body mass (LBM). Methods: Long-Evans rats (N=28) were assigned to experimental diets with either plant (PD) or animal (AD) protein sources. Animals were further divided into two additional conditions without and with exercise. Animals were fed ad libitum for 3 months and at the end of month three blood was collected for measurement of testosterone and estradiol concentrations. Dual x-ray absorptiometry assessed body composition. Results: Neither blood testosterone concentrations nor LBM differed between rats fed the PD or AD. Conclusion: …

Separation Trauma Nuggets, Warren L. Gleckel Ph.D., Reva M. Fish Ph.D.

NYS Child Welfare/Child Protective Services Training Institute

Contains 15 "Nuggets" which include narratives, power point presentations, and quizzes on separation trauma.

Dopamine Effects Of Stimulant And Non-Stimulant Drugs Used In The Treatment Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Preeti Chalwadi

Theses and Dissertations

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is thought to be associated with dysfunction of ascending catecholamine neuronal systems, particularly dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE). Dysfunction of these catecholamine neurons innervating the prefrontal cortex is hypothesized to underlie impaired executive functions. Dysfunction of the DA neurons innervating the striatum is additionally hypothesized to underlie deficits in motivation and reinforcement learning. However, mechanisms of action of therapeutic drugs used for treating ADHD have mainly focused on catecholamines in the prefrontal cortex and have not adequately addressed the role played by DA signaling in the striatum. Stimulants such as Adderall® and Ritalin® are chemically …

Whalesong 2016-11-23, N/A N/A

Whalesong

No abstract provided.

A Principal Component Meta-Analysis On Multiple Anthropometric Traits Identifies Novel Loci For Body Shape, Janina S. Ried, Janina Jeff M., Audrey Y. Chu, Jennifer L. Bragg-Gresham, Jennifer E. Huffman, Tarunveer S. Ahluwalia, Gemma Cadby, Niina Eklund, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Large consortia have revealed hundreds of genetic loci associated with anthropometric traits, one trait at a time. We examined whether genetic variants affect body shape as a composite phenotype that is represented by a combination of anthropometric traits. We developed an approach that calculates averaged PCs (AvPCs) representing body shape derived from six anthropometric traits (body mass index, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio). The first four AvPCs explain >99% of the variability, are heritable, and associate with cardiometabolic outcomes. We performed genome-wide association analyses for each body shape composite phenotype across 65 studies and meta-analysed summary statistics. …

Circular Economy And System Thinking Framework In Design; Food System Design, Mehrafza Mirzazad Barijugh

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to bring the circular economy framework and system thinking into the process of design thinking. The traditional design process is made up of five steps: 1) Discover a challenge. 2) Interpret the challenge. 3) Create opportunities and ideas. 4) Develop a solution and experiment with it. 5) Evolve the idea. This project is structured upon a methodology generated to apply a circular system framework in design that begins with taking a holistic view of topic. This methodology structured into five phases. The first phase is referring to this approach as moving from Macrocosm to …

The Intestinal Copper Exporter Cua-1 Is Required For Systemic Copper Homeostasis In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Haarin Chun, Anuj Kumar Sharma, Jaekwon Lee, Jefferson Chan, Shang Jia, Byung-Eun Kim

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Copper plays key catalytic and regulatory roles in biochemical processes essential for normal growth, development, and health. Defects in copper metabolism cause Menkes and Wilson’s disease, myeloneuropathy, and cardiovascular disease and are associated with other pathophysiological states. Consequently, it is critical to understand the mechanisms by which organisms control the acquisition, distribution, and utilization of copper. The intestinal enterocyte is a key regulatory point for copper absorption into the body; however, the mechanisms by which intestinal cells transport copper to maintain organismal copper homeostasis are poorly understood. Here, we identify a mechanism by which organismal copper homeostasis is maintained by …

Groundwater Declines Are Linked To Changes In Great Plains Stream Fish Assemblages, Joshuah S. Perkin, Keith B. Gido, Jeffrey A. Falke, Kurt D. Fausch, Harry Crockett, Eric R. Johnson, John Sanderson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Groundwater pumping for agriculture is a major driver causing declines of global freshwater ecosystems, yet the ecological consequences for stream fish assemblages are rarely quantified. We combined retrospective (1950–2010) and prospective (2011–2060) modeling approaches within a multiscale framework to predict change in Great Plains stream fish assemblages associated with groundwater pumping from the United States High Plains Aquifer. We modeled the relationship between the length of stream receiving water from the High Plains Aquifer and the occurrence of fishes characteristic of small and large streams in the western Great Plains at a regional scale and for six subwatersheds nested within …

Photography-Based Taxonomy Is Inadequate, Unnecessary, And Potentially Harmful For Biological Sciences, Luis M. P. Ceríaco, Eliécer E. Gutiérrez, Alain Dubois, Rafael O. De Sá, Et Al.

Biology Faculty Publications

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per …

Importance Of Heat And Pressure For Solubilization Of Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins In Aqueous Solution, Justin A. Jones, Thomas I. Harris, Paula F. Oliveira, Brianne E. Bell, Abdulrahman Alhabib, Randolph V. Lewis

Biology Faculty Publications

The production of recombinant spider silk proteins continues to be a key area of interest for a number of research groups. Several key obstacles exist in their production as well as in their formulation into useable products. The original reported method to solubilize recombinant spider silk proteins (rSSp) in an aqueous solution involved using microwaves to quickly generate heat and pressure inside of a sealed vial containing rSSp and water. Fibers produced from this system are remarkable in their mechanical ability and demonstrate the ability to be stretched and recover 100 times. The microwave method dissolves the rSSPs with dissolution …

Seven Bacteriophages Isolated From The Female Urinary Microbiota, Kema Malki, Emily Sible, Alexandria Cooper, Andrea Garretto, Katherine Bruder, Siobhan C. Watkins, Catherine Putonti

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

Recent research has debunked the myth that urine is sterile, having uncovered bacteria within the bladders of healthy individuals. However, the identity, diversity, and putative roles of bacteriophages in the bladder are unknown. We report the draft genome sequences of seven bacteriophages isolated from microbial communities from adult female bladders.

Mitochondrial Heteroplasmy Contributes To The Dynamic Atovaquone Resistance Response In Plasmodium Falciparum, Sasha Victoria Siegel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Of the considerable challenges researchers face in the control and elimination of malaria, the development of antimalarial drug resistance in parasite populations remains a significant hurdle to progress worldwide. Atovaquone is used in combination with proguanil (Malarone) as an antimalarial treatment in uncomplicated malaria, but is rendered ineffective by the rapid development of atovaquone resistance during treatment. Previous studies have established that de novo mutant parasites confer resistance to atovaquone with a substitution in amino acid 268 in the cytochrome b gene encoded by the parasite mitochondrial genome, yet much is still unknown about how this resistance develops, and whether …

The Effects Of Phytohormones And Isoprenoids In Dihydroartemisinin-Induced Dormancy In The Erythrocytic Stages Of Plasmodium Falciparum, Marvin Duvalsaint Duvalsaint

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Our ability to control malaria has been challenged by increasing antimalarial resistance. Plasmodium falciparum undergoes dormancy in the blood stages which is hypothesized to be a means by which they are able to survive under drug pressure. This helps select for resistant parasites which grow following removal of drug. The mechanisms behind dormancy and the subsequent recrudescence are not fully understood but translating knowledge from related organisms which undergo a similar phenomenon might shed some light. Higher plants utilize dormancy during the early development stages to survive under unfavorable conditions, increasing fitness of the seedling and ensuring viability when this …

Exploring Shame And Guilt In Hiv-Positive Women In Southern India, Mitra L. Lebastchi

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Limited research exists examining shame and guilt among HIV positive populations and across cultural contexts. This study addresses this gap in the literature by considering shame and guilt, and potential associations with mental health symptoms, among a sample of 20 HIV positive women in Southern India. Results indicate that most women experienced high levels of shame and guilt, based on responses to items from an adapted version of the State Shame and Guilt Scale (Marschall, Saftner, & Tangney, 1994). Although correlations were not significant between shame and PTSD or depression, guilt was significantly correlated with both. Future research should focus …

Negotiated Voluntary Licensing Of Pharmaceuticals: The Strategy Against Compulsory Licensing, Daniel D. Kim

American University Intellectual Property Brief

Every fight, every encounter in which the pharmaceutical industry has tried to push back against compulsory licensing has the industry losing ground. Fighting this issue, whether in the World Trade Organization or through local courts, is not working. Here, a number of other strategies to mitigate the threat of compulsory licensing are explored. Some are more successful than others. Perhaps the most successful strategy to date though is the “negotiated voluntary licensing” model, most famously employed by Gilead Pharmaceuticals in India. Negotiated voluntary licensing allows the licensor to control the terms of the licensing agreement, the scope of the market …