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The Phylogeny Of Heliconia (Heliconiaceae) And The Evolution Of Floral Presentation, William J.D. Iles, Chodon Sass, Laura Lagomarsino, Gracie Benson-Martin, Heather Driscoll, Chelsea D. Specht

Faculty Publications

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. Heliconia (Heliconiaceae, order Zingiberales) is among the showiest plants of the Neotropical rainforest and represent a spectacular co-evolutionary radiation with hummingbirds. Despite the attractiveness and ecological importance of many Heliconia, the genus has been the subject of limited molecular phylogenetic studies. We sample seven markers from the plastid and nuclear genomes for 202 samples of Heliconia. This represents ca. 75% of accepted species and includes coverage of all taxonomic subgenera and sections. We date this phylogeny using fossils associated with other families in the Zingiberales; in particular we review and evaluate the Eocene fossil Ensete oregonense. …

Incorporating Flaxseed (Linum Usitatissimum) Oil Into Queso Blanco At Different Stages Of The Cheese Manufacturing Process, Cristhiam Gurdian, Vondel Reyes, Emmanuel Kyereh, Franklin Bonilla, Cesar Galindo, Alexander Chouljenko, Kevin Mis Solval, Charles Boeneke, Joan M. King, Subramaniam Sathivel

Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical and microbial properties of queso blanco (QB) with flaxseed oil (FO) incorporated at different stages of the cheese manufacturing process. Whole milk was homogenized, coagulated with citric acid, salted with NaCl, and the resulting curds were pressed. Then QBFO was produced by incorporating FO during homogenization (QBFO-H), coagulation (QBFO-C), or salting (QBFO-S). The cheeses were stored at 8 °C for 30 days. Significantly lower lipid oxidation in QB was observed when FO was added during coagulation or salting compared to homogenization. However, lipid oxidation values of QBFO-H did not exceed …

Comparison Of Five Methods For Parameter Estimation Under Taylor's Power Law, Peijian Shi, David A. Ratkowsky, Ningtao Wang, Yang Li, Lei Zhao, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Bai Lian Li

Faculty Publications

Taylor's power law (TPL) can be applied to the mean-variance relationship for various quantities, e.g., population densities over space and time, biomass of plants in the growth processes, developmental rates and growth rates of arthropods at different temperatures, etc. When TPL holds in the grouped data (e.g., the biomass of plants at different investigation times with limited replicates at each investigation), we must consider the heterocedasticity when carrying out the parameter estimation for a given mathematical model. We propose two new target functions based on TPL and attempt to more accurately estimate the model parameter(s). By capturing the mean-variance relationship, …

Twenty Years Later: An Update To The Birds Of The Biological Dynamics Of Forest Fragments Project, Amazonas, Brazil, Cameron L. Rutt, Vitek Jirinec, Erik I. Johnson, Mario Cohn-Haft, Claudeir F. Vargas, Philip C. Stouffer

Faculty Publications

Although species lists from throughout Amazonia have become available, relatively complete inventories based on longterm work remain rare. Longitudinal comparisons at well-studied sites provide the best opportunities for describing communities and identifying changes in regional avifaunas. Within central Amazonia, no region has received as much consistent ornithological coverage as the terra firme forests north of Manaus, Brazil, at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). Here we provide an updated list of the area, including notes on all species added between 1997 and 2017. We recorded 21 species new for the site, most of which (>75%) are birds …

Effect Of Lactation On Conceptus-Maternal Interactions At The Initiation Of Implantation In Cattle: I. Effects On The Conceptus Transcriptome And Amino Acid Composition Of The Uterine Luminal Fluid, Niamh Forde, Constantine A. Simintiras, Roger G. Sturmey, Alexander Graf, Eckhard Wolf, Helmut Blum, Pat Lonergan

Faculty Publications

Approximately 65-75 days postpartum (dpp), the estrous cycles of nonlactating (dried off immediately postpartum: n = 12) and lactating (n = 13) Holstein Friesian cows were synchronized and on day 7 a single blastocyst derived from superovulated nulliparous Holstein Friesian heifers was transferred to each cow. A control group of nulliparous heifers (n = 8) were synchronized, inseminated to a standing heat, and slaughtered on the same day as nonlactating and lactating recipients (day 19; estrus = day 0). The uterine horn ipsilateral to the corpus luteum was flushed with 10 ml phosphate-buffered saline and the conceptus, and uterine luminal …

Genome-Wide Microarray Analysis Leads To Identification Of Genes In Response To Herbicide, Metribuzin In Wheat Leaves, Whitney Pilcher, Hana Zandkamiri, Kelly Arceneaux, Stephen Harrison, Niranjan Baisakh

Faculty Publications

Herbicides are an important component of weed management in wheat, particularly in the southeastern US where weeds actively compete with wheat throughout the winter for nutrients and reduce tillering and ultimately the yield of the crop. Some wheat varieties are sensitive to metribuzin, a low-cost non-selective herbicide, leading to leaf chlorosis, stand loss, and decreased yield. Knowledge of the genetics of herbicide tolerance in wheat is very limited and most new varieties have not been screened for metribuzin tolerance. The identification of genes associated with metribuzin tolerance will lead to the development of molecular markers for use in screening breeding …

Effects Of Isolation On Ant Assemblages Depend On Microhabitat, Xuan Chen, Benjamin Adams, Michael Layne, Christopher Swarzenski, David Norris, Linda Hooper-Bui

Faculty Publications

How isolation affects biological communities is a fundamental question in ecology and conservation biology. Local diversity (α) agnd regional diversity (γ) are consistently lower in insular areas. The pattern of species turnover (β diversity) and the influence of isolation on competitive interactions are less predictable. Differences in communities across microhabitats within an isolated patch could contribute to the variability in patterns related to isolation. Trees form characteristically dense and sparse patches (low vs. high isolation) in floating marshes in coastal Louisiana, and canopy and root areas around these trees could support distinct ant communities. Consequently, trees in floating marshes provide …

Labrad : Vol 43, Issue 3 - December 2017, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

LABRAD - Departments of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Radiology Archives

• Levey Jennings Chart and Guide to use Westgard Rules
• Quality Assurance in Frozen Section Studies
• Performance Improvement Monitors in Histology
• Quality Assurance in Immunohistochemistry: The Way We Do It
• Quality Assurance in Laboratory Biosafety
• Quality Control of Culture Media Used in Clinical Microbiology
• Quality Assurance (QA) in Qualitative Tests in the Clinical Laboratory
• Radiology Pathology Correlation
• Quality Requirements for Reporting Sickle Haemoglobin
• Meeting Report of International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) Conferences- 2017

Und Today: December 2017, University Of North Dakota

UND Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Apan Production Through Photooxidation Of Isoprene In The Presence Of NoX, Timothy Glidewell

Masters Theses

Peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs, RC(O)OONO₂) are of great importance in atmospheric chemistry. They act as transporters of reactive nitrogen, and radical delivery agents. There are no known natural emission sources of PANs; they are produced through reaction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) in the atmosphere.

VOCs can enter the atmosphere through biogenic and anthropogenic pathways. It has been estimated that isoprene makes up 70% of the biogenic VOCs (BVOCs) emitted annually. Isoprene has been shown to impact ozone levels in both rural and urban areas by sequestering and transporting NO_x in the form …

The Influence Of Road Salt On Seasonal Mixing And Redox Stratification In Three Southwest Michigan Kettle Lakes, Danielle Dupuis

Masters Theses

Influxes of saline water from roads treated with deicers can alter the density structure of urban lakes. This can delay or halt turnover events, which may lead to persistent hypolimnetic anoxia in nutrient-rich lakes. In this study, the lake columns of two urban lakes (Woods Lake and Asylum Lake) and one rural lake (North Lake), were sampled once a month from March 2016 to June 2017. Lake column water was analyzed for conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, ferrous iron, manganese, sulfide, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride and methane concentrations as a function of depth. All three lakes are eutrophic with anoxic hypolimnia …

Factors That Affect Gay, Lesbian, And Bisexual Students’ Efforts Toward Self-Actualization At A Private, Religious College: A Phenomenological Study, John B. Gormley

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) college students to understand the relationship, if any, between sexual orientation and self-actualization at a private, religious college. Four recent graduates and 14 current students volunteered for semi-structured interviews about their academic and extracurricular experiences at a Roman Catholic college in the greater New York City area. They shared their perceptions of campus climate for GLB students, including homophobia and bias among faculty, staff, and students at the college. Interview data, viewed through the framework of Maslow’s theory of self-actualization and Astin’s …

Thriving To Survive: Examining Spirituality As A Strategy For Coping And Perseverance Among Christian College Students At An Urban Public College, Theresa A. Curry

Education Doctoral

Low college graduation rates continue to be a great concern for institutions of higher education. There is a need to examine and employ strategies that will help students cope, persevere, and graduate. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of Christian college students to determine if they identify spirituality as a mechanism to help them cope and persevere at a 4-year urban public college. Social cognition (Bandura, 1986), self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), and student involvement (Astin, 1984) provided the theoretical framework. Five research questions guided the study. Eight students participated in a one on one in-depth …

It’S Time To Listen To The Survivors: Understanding Undergraduate College Women’S Choice To Report A Sexual Assault To College Officials, Tamara H. Kenney

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to add to the existing literature about the lived experience of undergraduate college women between the ages of 18-24 years who experienced a sexual assault while enrolled in college. This study used a semi-structured interview protocol with six undergraduate women, between the ages of 18-22 years, who were enrolled in a Western New York college. The qualitative phenomenological design, along with feminist interviewing practices, provided a deeper understanding of the lived experience of the survivors and the barriers that keep women from reporting their assaults to college officials. Six undergraduate college women shared their …

The Impact Of Parent Engagement On The Academic Achievement Of African American Students: A Phenomenological Study From The Perspective Of Parents Of Middle School Students In The Northeastern Region Of The United States, Tonya Couch-Jenkins

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of parent engagement on the academic achievement of African American students in an urban middle school in the northeastern region of the United States. Middle years are a transitional time for middle school students as they face more challenges academically and become more independent and socially aware of their surroundings. This phenomenological, qualitative study explored the perspectives of the African American parents/guardians and their engagement, relative to their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade children and their academic achievement in an urban school. Bronfenbrenner’s (1977, 2005) ecological systems theory (EST) and …

Oystershell Scale Impacts And Mitigation Options On The Kaibab And Coconino Nf’S, Amanda M. Grady

Aspen Bibliography

This report documents a site visit to evaluate aspen stands experiencing oystershell scale damage on the Kaibab and Coconino National Forest’s. The site visit was requested by Kaibab NF, foresters including; Josh Giles, Jessi Outzs, Michael Sedgeman, Woody Rokala and Coconino Silviculturist, Mark Nabel. On November 19, 2016, Amanda Grady accompanied the individuals listed above, to evaluate stand conditions within three aspen exclosures. Two were located on the Williams Ranger District, Kaibab NF in the vicinity of Spring Valley. The third exclosure was located on the Flagstaff RD, Coconino NF and accessed from HWY 89-A via the Pump House Wash …

Today - December 2017/January 2018, Loma Linda University Health

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- LLU Children’s Hospital receives national award for top quality
-- Robert Handysides, DDS, appointed sixth LLU School of Dentistry dean
-- Cranes positioned; steel delivered; construction on new hospital underway
-- Loma Linda University Health to host 7th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition in February 2018
-- Broadcast spotlights LLU Children’s Hospital’s outreach to children in need
-- Students from Westlake High School Visit, donate gifts to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital
-- Santas take over Children’s Hospital during dedicated holiday week
-- ‘Give to a Giver’ project brings holiday cheer to 55 missionary families serving …

Leadership In Building Communities: University Row Neighborhood, Fitz Center For Leadership In Community, University Of Dayton

Dayton Neighborhood Studies

No abstract provided.

Macro-Level Diffusion Of A Methodological Knowledge Innovation: Research Synthesis Methods, 1972-2011, Laura Sheble

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

Use of research synthesis methods has contributed to changes in research practices. In disciplinary literatures, authors indicate motivations to use the methods include needs to (a) translate research-based knowledge to inform practice and policy decisions, and (b) integrate relatively large and diverse knowledge bases to increase the generality of results and yield novel insights or explanations. This review presents two histories of the diffusion of research synthesis methods: a narrative history based primarily in the health and social sciences; and a bibliometric overview across science broadly. Engagement with research synthesis was strongly correlated with evidence-based practice (EBP), and moderately with …

Perpetua, Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2017

Perpetua: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at UAH

No abstract provided.

Copper Tolerance Of Amphibalanus Amphitrite As Observed In Central Florida, Hannah Grace Brinson

Theses and Dissertations

Copper tolerance in the invasive barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite has been observed in Florida by the Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control since 2012 and by Weiss (1947). To test the theory that this barnacle preferentially settles on copper coated surfaces to avoid settlement competition by other sessile species, a series of two experiments and a literature review of historical copper toxicity tests on larval barnacles was conducted. The barnacle A amphitrite was preferentially used in many previous toxicity studies because it is readily available, has high fecundity, and is more sensitive to some toxicants than other species, including the native …

Plekhg5-Regulated Autophagy Of Synaptic Vesicles Reveals A Pathogenic Mechanism In Motoneuron Disease., Patrick Lüningschrör, Beyenech Binotti, Benjamin Dombert, Peter Heimann, Angel Perez-Lara, Carsten Slotta, Nadine Thau-Habermann, Cora R. Von Collenberg, Franziska Karl, Markus Damme, Arie Horowitz, Isabelle Maystadt, Annette Füchtbauer, Ernst-Martin Füchtbauer, Sibylle Jablonka, Robert Blum, Nurcan Üçeyler, Susanne Petri, Barbara Kaltschmidt, Reinhard Jahn, Christian Kaltschmidt, Michael Sendtner

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Autophagy-mediated degradation of synaptic components maintains synaptic homeostasis but also constitutes a mechanism of neurodegeneration. It is unclear how autophagy of synaptic vesicles and components of presynaptic active zones is regulated. Here, we show that Pleckstrin homology containing family member 5 (Plekhg5) modulates autophagy of synaptic vesicles in axon terminals of motoneurons via its function as a guanine exchange factor for Rab26, a small GTPase that specifically directs synaptic vesicles to preautophagosomal structures. Plekhg5 gene inactivation in mice results in a late-onset motoneuron disease, characterized by degeneration of axon terminals. Plekhg5-depleted cultured motoneurons show defective axon growth and impaired autophagy …

Design And Implementation Of A Stand-Alone Tool For Metabolic Simulations, Milad Ghiasi Rad

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this thesis, we present the design and implementation of a stand-alone tool for metabolic simulations. This system is able to integrate custom-built SBML models along with external user’s input information and produces the estimation of any reactants participating in the chain of the reactions in the provided model, e.g., ATP, Glucose, Insulin, for the given duration using numerical analysis and simulations. This tool offers the food intake arguments in the calculations to consider the personalized metabolic characteristics in the simulations. The tool has also been generalized to take into consideration of temporal genomic information and be flexible for simulation …

Colorful Seashells: Identification Of Haem Pathway Genes Associated With The Synthesis Of Porphyrin Shell Color In Marine Snails, Suzanne T. Williams, Anne E. Lockyer, Patricia Dyal, Tomoyuki Nakano, Celia K. C. Churchill, Daniel Isaac Speiser

Faculty Publications

Very little is known about the evolution of molluskan shell pigments, although Mollusca is a highly diverse, species rich, and ecologically important group of animals comprised of many brightly colored taxa. The marine snail genus Clanculus was chosen as an exceptional model for studying the evolution of shell color, first, because in Clanculus margaritarius and Clanculus pharaonius both shell and foot share similar colors and patterns; and second, because recent studies have identified the pigments, trochopuniceus (pink-red), and trochoxouthos (yellow-brown), both comprised of uroporphyrin I and uroporphyrin III, in both shell and colored foot tissue of these species. These unusual …

Effects Of Dry-Aging On Eating Quality, Physicochemical, And Microbiological Attributes Of Grass-Fed Beef Loins, Jordy Berger

Open Access Theses

The United States has the greatest number of cattle on feed and is the largest producer of beef in the world (Jones, 2017). As a major contributor to the American economy, it is vital for the beef industry to provide consumers with high quality products that meet their expectations in order to ensure continued meat purchase (Schroeder and Mark, 2000). To accomplish these objectives, an understanding of beef eating quality attributes and ongoing research to identify how and what factors contribute to these attributes is essential. Beef palatability is assessed by the evaluation of tenderness, juiciness, and flavor (Reicks et …

Output Function Optimization For Faster Convergence Rate In Underactuated Title Bipedal Walking Control, Wai Kei Chan

Open Access Theses

Bipedal walking control has been studied for decades. Because of the variant degrees of freedom of the robot during walking, underactuation does occur in some phases of the walking process. Underactuation is defined as the situation in which the number of the actuators is less than the degrees of freedom of the robot. In general, underactuated cases are harder to be handled than fully-actuated cases due to the lack of control effort at the unactuated joints. As a result, underactuation in bipedal walking control has always been one of the main issues in achieving walking stabilization. Previously, underactuated bipedal walking …

What Are The Lived Challenges Experienced By Black Females In A Stem Doctoral Program At A Majority White Institution?, Sharlane S. Cleare

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges experienced by Black female STEM doctoral students at a Majority White Institution. This study examined how, and to what extent did the Majority White Institution’s STEM environment infuenced such challenges. The qualitative phenomenological approach to this investigation utilized the lenses of Black Feminist Thought and Critical Race Feminism Theoretical Frameworks as interconnected lenses by which to conceptualize this phenomenon. This study answered the following question: What are the lived challenges experienced by Black female in a STEM doctoral program at a Majority White Institution? Purposeful and snowball sampling were employed …

Optimizing Strength And Versatility Of Underwater Adhesion Polymer System, Shannon R. Daily

Open Access Theses

Among the hundreds of commercial adhesives available today, few, if any, have the ability to form strong adhesive bonds in an underwater system. Man-made adhesives have been shown to not work underwater because the glues interact with water rather than forming adhesive and cohesive bonds with the surface of the substrate. However, mussels and oysters naturally produce an adhesive that is unaffected by their watery environment. Examination of this adhesive has shown that shellfish use a mixture of proteins containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) that crosslink to form glue. Thus, an effort has been made to create a biomimetic polymer that includes …

Nanosecond Electric Pulse Induced Changes Of Mammalian Cell Suspension Conductivity In Real Time, Andrew J. Fairbanks

Open Access Theses

Electric pulses (EPs) have been used for many biological applications from electrochemotherapy to wound healing. While conventional techniques use microsecond to millisecond pulses, more recent techniques use nanosecond EPs (NSEPs) with a much higher amplitude. Generally, the longer duration pulses fully charge the plasma membrane to permeabilize it in a process called electroporation. NSEPs fully charge the smaller intracellular organelles to enable the manipulation of intracellular function; however, they still partially charge the membrane to permeabilize it to facilitate the transport of smaller ions. Experiments have demonstrated this motion using dyes and long-term (on the order of minutes) electrical measurements. …

Examining The Individual- And Community-Level Effects Of Natural And Anthropogenic Stressors On Larval Amphibians, Samantha J. Gallagher

Open Access Theses

Both natural and anthropogenic stressors are encountered regularly in nature. Predators and pathogens are fundamental components of ecological communities, while chemical contamination commonly enters aquatic environments via drift or runoff. The presence of each of these stressors may have individual-or community-level impacts. Individuals may be forced to make physiological tradeoffs upon exposure to stress that can be addressed through metabolic rate. Examining metabolic rate provides insight into energy allocation, a process that may be altered by the addition of a stressor. I examined how two stressors, the pathogen ranavirus and the pesticide carbaryl, affected the metabolic rates of larval amphibians. …