Digital Commons Network^™

Head And Face Injuries In Brazilian Victims Of Homophobic Crimes, Alessandro L. Cavalcanti, Thaisy S.B. De Oliveira, Thaliny B.S. De Oliveira, Christiane L. Cavalcanti, Thaiany B.S. De Oliveira, Alidianne F.C. Cavalcanti

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Crimes against homosexuals are mostly hate crimes, and should be referred to as homophobic crimes. Objective: To investigate the occurrence of head and face injuries in victims of homophobic crimes. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at the Specialized Police for Homophobic Crimes. Data were collected from the 56 police and medical reports corresponding to reported cases of homicide against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and transgender (LGBT, or sexual minority) in the period from May 2009 to July 2013. Variables studied related demographic profile of victims and patterns of trauma (type of arms, number of injuries and anatomical regions) were …

Ecosystem Observation And Research Under Background Of Big Data, Yu Guirui, He Honglin, Zhou Yuke

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As a series of global problems, such as global change and sustainable development, have become the hotspots in the literature, ecological research has evolved from local scale to regional, continental or even global scale. Meanwhile, with the development of sensor and network technology, the focus of ecosystem observations has changed from short-time observations to long-term observations on the macrostructure of ecosystem and the spatio-temporal pattern of ecosystem services, also from the small-scale observation to regional and even global scale network observation and space-ground integrated observation. In summary, ecological studies have entered the big data era. It is a challenge and …

Patterns And Environmental Drivers Of Juvenile Sablefish Movement In Southeast Alaska, Rhea K. Ehresmann

Fisheries

Sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria are a long-lived, deep-dwelling groundfish that inhabit the North Pacific Ocean, ranging from northern Mexico to the Gulf of Alaska to Japan, supporting one of Alaska's most valuable commercial fisheries. After decades of heavy fishing, declines in the Sablefish population led to significant fishing restrictions but few strong year classes developed in recent years. Most Sablefish research has focused on the larval, near-surface juvenile, or adult life history stages, but few studies have examined post-settlement juvenile Sablefish in nearshore areas. This study used acoustic telemetry to understand the presence and movement of juvenile Sablefish in a nursery …

Assessing The Impacts Of Ghana’S Oil And Gas Industry On Ecosystem Services And Smallholder Livelihoods, Michael Acheampong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ghana discovered oil and gas within its shores in commercial quantities in the year, 2007. This discovery was hailed as a potential turn around for the country’s economic destiny. While this optimism may have been well-founded, there has been a relative lack of appreciation of the potential adverse implications of the industry on traditional smallholder livelihoods, and the critical ecosystems that form their basis. In many countries, discovery of natural resources results in negative environmental and social outcomes, due to the loss of local livelihoods and environmental degradation. Deterioration of local livelihoods occurs through several biophysical pathways, both simple and …

Effects Of Psychological And Structural-Level Factors On Sexual Risk And Sti Incidence In High-Risk Men Who Have Sex With Men, Calvin J. Fitch

Open Access Dissertations

Men who have sex with men (MSM) with histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at disproportionate risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV. Psychological variables explain part of this; however, standing alone, they fail to account for all of the increased risk. This secondary data analysis investigates the relationship between psychological factors (PTSD and substance use), structural factors (government benefits, unstable housing and neighborhood crime), unprotected sex and STI incidence and also investigates possible moderation effects of race/ethnicity. MSM from Boston and Miami (N= 296) were recruited for a larger RCT testing the effect of Cognitive Processing Therapy …

Characterizing Spatial And Temporal Changes And Driving Factors Of Groundwater And Surface-Water Interactions Within The Mississippi Portion Of The Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Courtney Killian

Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain, a robust agricultural region in the South-Central United States, provides commodities across the United States and around the world. Water for irrigation, which is necessary due to irregular rainfall patterns during the growing season, is withdrawn largely from the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial aquifer, one of the most intensely used aquifers in the United States. The groundwater-dependent region has observed recent declines in groundwater and streamflow levels, raising concerns about the availability and use of fresh-water resources. Declining water levels have prompted investigation into the current understanding of groundwater and surface-water interaction. Previous research does not …

Influence Of Commercial Dna Extraction Kit Choice On Prokaryotic Community Metrics In Marine Sediment, Gustavo Ramirez, Dennis Graham, Steven D’Hondt

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Commercial DNA extraction kits are widely used for cultivation‐free surveys of marine sediment. However, the consequences of popular extraction‐kit choices for sequence‐based biological inferences about marine sedimentary communities have not previously been exhaustively assessed. To address this issue, we extracted DNA from multiple paired subsamples of marine sediment using two popular commercial extraction kits (MO BIO Laboratories PowerSoil® DNA isolation kit and MP Biomedicals FastDNATM Spin Kit for Soil). We report comparisons of (1) total DNA yield, (2) extract purity, (3) gene‐targeted quantification, and (4) post‐sequencing ecological inferences in near‐seafloor (< 1 meter below seafloor [mbsf]) and subsurface (> 1 mbsf) marine sediment. In near‐seafloor sediment, the MP …

Effectiveness Of Community Health Workers In Healthcare Delivery: Evidence From The Field, Mohammad Shahbazi Professor, Mukesh Kumar, Anthony Mawson, Donna Antoine Lavigine, Cassandra Dove

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Evidence suggests that health care in the United States could benefit from including the services of Community Health Workers (CHW), provided through Community Health Houses, in the delivery of care. This research project evaluated the impact of three newly-established Health Houses and the services provided to patients by Community Health Workers at three locations in the Mississippi Delta. The patients were current enrollees in the Medicare administered by United Healthcare. The program began in February 2014 and continued through September 2015. After analyzing data for payments made for each enrollee, emergency room visits and hospital admissions for the years of …

Adapting Low-Cost Drone Technology To Cubesats For Environmental Monitoring And Management: Harmful Algal Bloom Satellite-1 (Habsat-1), Richard Beck, Hongxing Liu, Richard Johansen, Min Xu, Catharine Mcghan, George Thomas Black, Ou Ma, Uc Cubecats, Molly K. Reif, Erich B. Emery, Richard Stumpf, Greg Emerick, Ryan Nelson

Small Satellite Conference

HABsat-1 is designed to improve our understanding of algal bloom dynamics and their causes on land by addressing several current limiting factors for this application using existing satellites. For example, there is suboptimal imager design for water, insufficient spatial resolution for precise co-registration of surface observations, and too few satellites with such capabilities to defeat cloud cover in maritime, tropical and temperate climates. We will overcome these problems by merging a new low-cost multispectral imaging technology with a low-cost CubeSat bus. CubeSats cost roughly 1/100th to 1/1000th of most current long-life imaging satellites. Such cost decreases are necessary to improve …

An Ecological And Distributional Analysis Of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva), Gregory Watson Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the impacts of climate change is critical for improving the conservation and management of ecosystems worldwide. Ecosystems vary along a precipitation and temperature gradient, ranging from tropical jungles to arid deserts. The Great Basin is a semi-arid eco-region that is found within the western United States. Plant communities within the Great Basin range from sagebrush valleys to sub-alpine conifer forests found at high elevation areas. It is predicted that the Great Basin will experience prolonged periods of drought, more intense fires, and greater variability in average annual and monthly precipitation, all in response to changes in climate patterns. At …

Predicting Perceived Wellness For Cisgender Women Utilizing The Social Determinants Of Health Model: Testing Group Differences Between Sexual Minorities And Heterosexual Respondents, Kristen Leigh Hohn

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this investigation was to bridge a gap in the literature about health disparities experienced across the intersection of multiple identities of women in the United States. Through the theoretical frameworks of the Structural Determinants of Health (SDH; Solar & Irwin, 2010) and Minority Stress Theory (Meyer, 2003), the researcher conducted a cross-sectional anonymous online survey to test the multifaceted SDH statistical model with the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) as an outcome indicator for perceived health for sexual minority and non-sexual minority women. A great collection of research reveals increased rates of mental health problems, rates of victimization, …

Environmental Education In Urban Green Space: Understanding Educator Practice, Jennifer Klein

Educational Studies Dissertations

Over the past 10 years, urban ecosystems have gained attention and interest among environmental education scholars and practitioners alike. This is thought to be due to increased awareness of the growing human population, the percentage of land across the world now classified as urban, and an overall understanding that urban systems are unique ecological systems worthy of their own approach to environmental education programming. To date, much urban environmental education in urban systems has focused on program participant outcomes—social, emotional, and academic.

This mixed-methods study introduces a middle-range framework through which to understand the instructional practice of environmental educators who …

An Inventory And Mapping Of Cliffs Within The South Cumberland Plateau Region Of Tennessee, Kyle Jones

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The high concentration of cliffs that permeate Tennessee’s South Cumberland Plateau (SCP) significantly influence the development, economy, and ecology of the region, yet little effort has been made to quantify these geophysical features. This study examined the use of LiDAR-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) to (1) create an exhaustive dataset of cliffs throughout a two-county study area within the SCP region and (2) better understand the implications of this quantification on conservation and rock climbing within the region. An impressive 428 km of total cliff line was modeled. Cliffs were GPS verified to an average error of ±13.9 m and …

Molecular Ecology And Management Of Nuisance And Invasive Marine Species : Chrysaora Chesapeakei, Moerisia Sp., And Gonionemus Vertens, Dena J. Restaino

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Ecological communities are under constant pressure from anthropogenic disturbances. Marine and estuarine systems are affected by human use and development of both coastal land and the surrounding water. One consequence of this use is the deterioration of water quality, which can lead to changes in community structure and a loss of species richness. Another effect of increased usage of marine water ways in the introduction of invasive species. These non-natives also have the ability to change community structure and reduce ecosystem services. In particular cnidarians are able to thrive in degraded systems in part owing to their ability to tolerate …

Estimating Components Of Stream Metabolism Using The Free Water Dissolved Oxygen Method, Jay R. Zuidema Jr.

Masters Theses

Stream ecosystem metabolism is commonly measured in stream ecology studies in order to understand the functioning of the stream ecosystem and as an indicator of stream health. One common method for gathering the time series data required to estimate stream metabolism is the free water dissolved oxygen method, which involves measuring dissolved oxygen in freely moving water. This is accomplished by taking measurements at a single location (one-station monitoring method) or at two locations (two-station monitoring method). In conjunction with these data, a process-based model of dissolved oxygen dynamics is used to estimate gross primary production, respiration, and net production. …

The Population Ecology And Behavior Of The Cave Salamander, Eurycea Lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822)., Joseph Gavin Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Cave Salamander, Eurycea lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822), is a little-known species, yet a common inhabitant of caves in the eastern United States. Salamanders are often important components of ecological communities and ecosystems, influencing critical processes such as nutrient cycling and community composition through their predation on invertebrates. Cave-dwelling salamanders such as E. lucifuga may thus appreciably influence the relatively simple ecosystems and communities of caves. Any such influence may be particularly important because these habitats and the organisms that reside in them are often of conservation concern. I used non-invasive methods to study the demographics, movements, and habitat selection of …

Doctors On The Take: Aligning Tort Law To Address Drug Company Payments To Prescribers, Lars Noah

Buffalo Law Review

The pharmaceutical and medical device industries aggressively market their wares to health care professionals, and the giving of gifts has become a central feature of this process. Most observers regard financial incentives tied to the use of specific therapeutic products as ethically impermissible, and various institutions have tried combating inappropriate gifts and payments to physicians: medical and industry groups adopted voluntary codes, federal agencies published advisory guidelines, and, most recently, state and federal legislatures enacted reporting laws. Self-regulation, threats of prosecution, and transparency initiatives have tempered the practice, but manufacturers continue to find clever ways of purchasing the loyalty of …

An Assessment Of Prescribed Burning On Soil Erosion Potential In The Mixed Hardwood Forests Of The Ozark Hills In Southern Illinois, Kyle Monroe

Theses

Prescribed fire has become a management tool utilized to restore or maintain the ecology of the mixed hardwoods ecosystem in the Ozark hills of southwestern Illinois. One effect of prescribed burning is consumption of fuel beds, including the litter layer that protects soil from erosion. Amount of sediment loss after prescribed burning in the steep topography of the Ozark hills is unknown. Erosion after prescribed burning could lead to increased soil loss and possibly stream sedimentation (Bladon etal., 2014). The objective of this research was to quantify the amount of sediment transport occurring on a watershed scale. Sediment yields were …

Why Do They Do That? Understanding Factors Influencing Visitor Spatial Behavior In Parks And Protected Areas, Abigail M. Sisneros-Kidd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Visitors to parks and protected areas within the United States and worldwide often visit these areas with a particular destination in mind, such as seeing Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone National Park or standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. These visitor use destinations, and the pathways leading to them, such as trails and roadways, see high levels of use, and as a result, impacts to soil, vegetation, air, water, soundscapes, and night skies that result from this use. The field of recreation ecology studies these impacts to park and protected area resources resulting …

Inferences About The Conservation Utility Of Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles To Conduct Rapid Assessments For Basking Freshwater Turtles, Kelly Daniels

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), an emerging technology, show promise in ecological research. In this comparative study, I compare UAVs to a traditional sampling method, observations using spotting scopes. UAVs have yet to be used successfully for sampling freshwater turtles; however, they have been used with mixed success for monitoring mammals and birds. Herein, I propose that the conservation utility of UAVs be formally assessed in the field prior to them being used to make adaptive conservation and management decisions. I quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the use of UAVs using a mixed methods approach in contrast to a proven field method …

Questing Activity Of Cattle Fever Tick Larvae, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) Microplus (Acari: Ixodidae): Environmental Influences And Implications For Control In South Texas, Brenda Leal

Theses and Dissertations

Questing ticks ascend stems, leaves, or rocks, extend their front legs, and wait poised for attachment to a passing host. Ixodid ticks have four developmental stages. Because ticks detach and molt between stages most ticks require three separate hosts to complete their lifecycle. Three-host ticks quest for a new host between each stage, whereas a few specialist tick species remain on and thus require only a single host. These one-host ticks only quest for hosts as larvae. As much as 90% of the life cycle may consist of questing when hosts are scarce. Most of the literature on questing relates …

A Parametric Analysis Of Choice Under Risk, David W. Sottile

Masters Theses

Accurate assessment of risk propensity is important because risky choices underlie a broad range of behavioral problems. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is an assessment that measures propensity to engage in risky choice. While this is a useful assessment, the BART changes two variables that affect risky choice simultaneously, probability of an undesirable outcome and stake size, which cannot be separated within the context of the BART. The goal of this study was to evaluate the separate and combined effects of key factors that are likely to risky choice (Magnitude of payoff, probability of an undesirable outcome, and stake …

Bacterial Diversity And Ecology Of Two Cryptoendolithic Habitats In The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah, Usa, Sukhpreet Kaur

All Dissertations

Sandstone outcrops in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah are host to cryptoendolithic communities dominated by cyanobacteria. These communities produce extracellular polymeric substances that not only aid their survival, but also support other heterotrophic bacteria. Developing a better understanding of the role of these cryptoendolithic communities requires a deeper knowledge of the microbial diversity present. We analyzed the cryptoendolithic bacterial communities in the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone samples collected from several microgeological features associated with a large sandstone dome. These communities clustered into distinctive groups that correlated with topography, suggesting that moisture availability plays an important role in shaping the …

An Approach To Identify A Minimum And Rational Proportion Of Caesarean Sections In Resource-Poor Settings: A Global Network Study, José M. Belizán, Nicole Minckas, Elizabeth M. Mcclure, Sarah Saleem, Janet L. Moore, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Fabian Esamai, Archana Patel, Elwyn Chomba, Ana L. Garces

Community Health Sciences

Background: Caesarean section prevalence is increasing in Asia and Latin America while remaining low in most African regions. Caesarean section delivery is effective for saving maternal and infant lives when they are provided for medically-indicated reasons. On the basis of ecological studies, caesarean delivery prevalence between 9% and 19% has been associated with better maternal and perinatal outcomes, such as reduced maternal land fetal mortality. However, the specific prevalence of obstetric and medical complications that require caesarean section have not been established, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We sought to provide information to inform the approach to …

An Approach To Identify A Minimum And Rational Proportion Of Caesarean Sections In Resource-Poor Settings: A Global Network Study., José M. Belizán, Nicole Minckas, Elizabeth M. Mcclure, Sarah Saleem, Janet L. Moore, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Fabian Esamai, Archana Patel, Elwyn Chomba, Ana L. Garces, Fernando Althabe, Margo S. Harrison, Nancy F. Krebs, Richard Derman, Waldemar A. Carlo, Edward A. Liechty, Patricia L. Hibberd, Pierre M. Buekens, Robert L. Goldenberg

Global Health Articles

BACKGROUND: Caesarean section prevalence is increasing in Asia and Latin America while remaining low in most African regions. Caesarean section delivery is effective for saving maternal and infant lives when they are provided for medically-indicated reasons. On the basis of ecological studies, caesarean delivery prevalence between 9% and 19% has been associated with better maternal and perinatal outcomes, such as reduced maternal land fetal mortality. However, the specific prevalence of obstetric and medical complications that require caesarean section have not been established, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We sought to provide information to inform the approach to the …

Relationships Between Landscape Constraints And A Crayfish Assemblage With Consideration Of Competitor Presence, Joshua B. Mouser, Robert Mollenhauer, Shannon K. Brewer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Aim: Crayfish are globally diverse and one of the most important taxa in North American streams. Despite their importance, many species are of conservation concern and efforts to improve conditions are limited. Here, we address two major impediments to improving conditions: (a) our lack of knowledge of the interplay among natural landscape and human-induced changes; and (b) a very limited understanding of how species interactions affect overall crayfish distributions.

Location: Ozark Highlands ecoregion, USA.

Methods: We used both existing data and field-collected data to examine the relationships between 12 Faxonius species and physicochemical variables at multiple spatial scales. Data were …

Disparitas Kematian Maternal Di Indonesia: Studi Ekologi Dengan Analisis Spasial, Rahmah Hida Nurrizka, Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono

Media Kesehatan Masyarakat Indonesia

This study is an analyze disparity of maternal mortality in Indonesia with spatial analysis using intermediate
factor such as maternal health service, reproduction status, socio economic and demography. This study
aimed to spatially analyze disparity of maternal mortality, analyze the influence and risk of maternal mortality on
intermediate factors, and provide recommendations on maternal health problems in Indonesia. This study using
ecological study design (agrerat studies), spatial analysis, bivariate analysis, and multivariate analysis. Unit of
analysis in this study is districts/cities in Indonesia. The results showed that disparity of maternal mortality caused
by intermediate factor gap between districts/cities in Indonesia, …

Relative Abundance Of Pond Snails In Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, And The Spread Of An Invasive Snail, Michele D. Larson, Christina M. Torrieri, A. Ross Black

Western North American Naturalist

Freshwater gastropods comprise a diverse and highly imperiled taxonomic group that is threatened by anthropogenic factors including the introduction of nonnative species. We surveyed 10 wetland ponds in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to assess the possible expansion of the nonnative European ear snail (Radix auricularia) and to determine the genus richness and relative abundance of native gastropods. D-frame dip nets were used to sample gastropods at 4 locations in each pond. Six genera of gastropods were found, including R. auricularia in 6 ponds where it was not previously known. Radix auricularia is now the dominant genus in Middle …

Wpa News 106 (2018), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2018), number 106

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Smokejumper Magazine, July 2018, National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines

This issue of the National Smokejumper Association (NSA) Smokejumper Magazine contains the following articles: Next Issue of Smokejumper: Fire-Any Hope for Change?; Alaska, Bent Props and Luck-An Unintended Sequel of Risk & Humor; Sounding Off from the Editor; Five Carloads of Brave Jumpers Set Out for the 1959 Redding Rookie Party-Three Make It Back; Recording Smokejumper History; Nicholas Becomes Oldest Living Former Smokejumper; A Salmon River Story; The City's Cowboy; Blast from the Past; Odds and Ends; Surviving an Australian Firestorm-February 1983; Book Review: Attention To Detail Gives Corbet's Work Extra Punch; Two Acres; Remembering Ray Beasley; Remembering Roland "Big …