Digital Commons Network^™

Studies Assessing Insulin Signaling Dependent Neuronal Morphology And Novel Animal Sorting Methods In A C. Elegans Model, Skyler C. Hunter

Biological Sciences

The purpose of this work is two-part. The primary goal of this thesis is to identify a list of significant target insulin-like peptides (ILPs) that influence the maintenance of neuronal morphology in an aged animal model of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) and determine whether or not morphological changes have bearing on neuronal function. The second goal is to address and devise a solution for a common laboratory difficulty encountered within the research community, difficulty maintaining large age-synchronous populations of the model organism, C. elegans. Chapter 1 discusses the importance of insulin signaling and how it pertains to the morphology of …

Assessing Effects Of Climate Change On Access To Ecosystem Services In Rural Alaska, Helen S. Cold

Biological Sciences

Across the planet, climate change is altering the way human societies interact with the environment. Amplified climate change at high latitudes is significantly altering the structure and function of ecosystems, creating challenges and necessitating adaptation by societies in the region that depend on local ecosystem services for their livelihoods. Rural communities in Interior Alaska rely on plants and animals for food, clothing, fuel and shelter. Previous research suggests that climate-induced changes in environmental conditions are challenging the abilities of rural residents to travel across the land and access local resources, but detailed information on the nature and effect of specific …

Morphological And Phenological Responses Of Butterflies To Seasonal Temperature Increase In Alaska, Kathryn Margaret Daly

Biological Sciences

Climate is changing rapidly at high latitudes, and the responses of insects provide early indications of the impacts these changes have on biota. Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) are among the best-known Subarctic and Arctic insects, and research in Greenland has revealed significant declines in butterfly body sizes along with advances in the timing of their first flights in spring. These changes are ecologically significant because smaller body sizes can lead to reduced fecundity in butterflies, and earlier adult emergence can have detrimental effects across trophic levels because Lepidoptera are an important food resource for birds and mammals. The primary goal of …

Shining Light On Hibernator Genomes: Using Radiation To Reveal Dna Damage And Repair Dynamics In Arctic Ground Squirrels, Krysta L. Yancey

Biological Sciences

Mammalian hibernation is characterized by dynamic changes in metabolism and body temperature; it may be sustained for up to nine months in some species. The majority of hibernation is spent in torpor, a dormant state, which is regularly interrupted by brief periods of activity referred to as interbout arousal. Upon arousal thermogenesis begins in vascularized fat and ends with whole-body shivering until the animal reaches a body temperature around 36-37 °C. Interbout arousal is usually less than a day long and is commonly thought to be necessary for maintenance and repair of tissues, in addition to the cycling and replenishment …

Role Of Dietary Fat And Supplementation In Modulating Neurodegenerative Pathology In Two Animal Model Systems, Malabika Maulik

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Neurodegenerative disorders are progressive conditions that worsen over time and results in death of neurons. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent example of one such age-related disease, which is characterized by movement disorder (ataxia) and/or cognitive disability (dementia). Pathologically, PD is characterized by a toxic accumulation of α-synuclein protein in the midbrain leading to degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons. The etiology of PD is intricate, and the cause is attributed to genetic mutations and environmental factors like insecticides or heavy metals. Moreover, treatment options are limited and often aimed at treating the symptoms rather than the actual disease progression. Using …

Metal(Loid) Liberation From Alaskan Coal Combustion Products As A Function Of Time In Various Aqueous Media, Kyle P. Milke

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Little is known about the fate and potential toxicity of metal(loid)s that could be leached from coal combustion products by a (sub- )Arctic environment. Several potentially toxic elements are enriched in coal combustion products relative to the average crustal abundance including As, Cu, Se, and Sb. The overarching goal of this project is to examine the release of these and other metal(loid)s from early stage coal ash and fly ash from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) power plant and identify transformations in the presence of aqueous environmental media. Bioaccessibility experiments performed indicate that early stage coal ash and fly …

Dependence Of Aspen Stands On A Subsurface Water Subsidy: Implications For Climate Change Impacts, D. M. Love, M. D. Venturas, J. S. Sperry, P. D. Brooks, J. L. Pettit, Y. Wang, W. R. L. Anderegg, X. Tai, D. S. Mackay

Aspen Bibliography

The reliance of 10 Utah (USA) aspen forests on direct infiltration of growing season rain versus an additional subsurface water subsidy was determined from a trait- and process-based model of stomatal control. The model simulated the relationship between water supply to the root zone versus canopy transpiration and assimilation over a growing season. Canopy flux thresholds were identified that distinguished nonstressed, stressed, and dying stands. We found growing season rain and local soil moisture were insufficient for the survival of 5 of 10 stands. Six stands required a substantial subsidy (31–80% of potential seasonal transpiration) to avoid water stress and …

Treatment Challenges Of Delusional Disorders, Amanda Mikhaeil

Nursing Capstones

No abstract provided.

Mynews, Georgia Southern University

My News (2014-2020)

• Former Sudanese ‘Lost Boy’ graduates from Georgia Southern with Doctor of Public Health

• Armstrong Campus undergraduate recruited by pharmaceutical giant

• Approximately 2,200 degrees conferred during Georgia Southern’s 2018 Fall Commencement ceremonies

• Georgia Southern professor receives national Evolution Education Award

• Georgia Southern breaks ground for Engineering and Research building to equip students for the workforce

• Savannah-based artist brings landscape exhibit to Armstrong Campus Fine Arts Gallery

• Georgia Southern announces schedule for 2019 Moveable Feast lecture series in Savannah

• Follow Georgia Southern on Snapchat!

• On-Campus News

• In the Media

Incentivizing Transparency: Agricultural Benefit Corporations To Improve Consumer Trust, Kathryn Smith

San Diego Law Review

In the face of inadequate, often abysmal agricultural practices and laws that enable them, producers who provide the social good of transparency should receive a benefit. Amidst the debate that all benefit corporations should qualify for special tax treatment, this Comment proposes the development of a federal benefit corporation class offering special tax treatment to worthy agricultural producers. By reallocating current agricultural subsidies, Congress can feasibly correct the agricultural industry’s failure to adequately inform consumers.

Reindeer, Dogs, And Horses Among The Tozhu Reindeer Herder-Hunters In The Siberian Taiga, Tayana Arakchaa

Anthropology

Anthropological studies have typically represented reindeer as the uniquely key domesticated animal species for Siberian people. For Tozhu reindeer herder-hunters, however, such a perspective ignores the important roles of dogs and horses. These species are equally vital and interdependent partners of daily life in the mountainous areas of Tuva where Tozhu people live. Each animal comes with specific characteristics, challenges and benefits that necessitate a multispecies perspective--the reindeer-dog-horse triad of Tozhu hunting and reindeer herding economies. This research completes the picture of how taiga-dwelling Tozhu and the three important animal species co-exist together. It seeks to portray: 1) how the …

Testing Multispecies Coalescent Simulators With Summary Statistics, Hector Daniel BañOs Cervantes

Mathematics and Statistics

The Multispecies coalescent model (MSC) is increasingly used in phylogenetics to describe the formation of gene trees (depicting the direct ancestral relationships of sampled lineages) within species trees (depicting the branching of species from their common ancestor). A number of MSC simulators have been implemented, and these are often used to test inference methods built on the model. However, it is not clear from the literature that these simulators are always adequately tested. In this project, we formulated tools for testing these simulators and use them to show that of four well-known coalescent simulators, Mesquite, Hybrid-Lambda, SimPhy, and Phybase, only …

A Farmers Guide To Evaluate Soil Health Using Physical, Chemical, And Biological Indicators On An Agricultural Field In Alaska, Cory J. Cole

Natural Resources

Farmers across Alaska face many challenges. These challenges include climate extremes, wind and water erosion, weed pressure, crop pests, and nutrient-poor soils. Cover crops, crop rotation, crop residue, and tillage management are common conservation practices used to address soil related resource concerns. Research in the continental United States has shown that these soil conservation practices improve soil health. Resource managers are trying to determine the usefulness of soil health indicators to assess conservation practices in Alaska. The objective of this project was to provide Alaskan farmers, conservation planners, and land managers with a background on soil health, soil health indicators, …

Assessment And Application Of Dna Metabarcoding For Characterizing Arctic Shorebird Chick Diets, Danielle Elizabeth Gerik

Fisheries

Climate change in the Arctic is affecting the emergence timing of arthropods used as food by nesting shorebirds and their young. Characterizing the diets of shorebird young is a prerequisite to evaluate the potential for asynchrony to occur between the timing of arthropod emergence and when shorebird young hatch, an example of trophic mismatch. In this study, DNA metabarcoding was used to identify arthropod remains in feces collected from wild-caught Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), and Dunlin (Calidris alpina), young in Utqiaġvik, Alaska between 2014 and 2016. Arthropod specimens were collected at the field site to generate …

Navigating The Predator Gauntlet: Consumption Of Hatchery- And Wild-Born Juvenile Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus Keta) By Common Nearshore Marine Fishes In Southeast Alaska, Douglas H. Duncan

Fisheries

Juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) undergo extensive mortality at marine entry, a period which is believed to be a potential population bottleneck. Although this early mortality has been consistently observed, our understanding of the mechanisms responsible is limited. Furthermore, the implications of large-scale salmon hatchery releases for the ecology of juvenile chum salmon and their consumers is another important knowledge gap. To better understand the predation responses of abundant consumers to hatchery- and wild-born juvenile chum salmon, we examined the diets of Pacific staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus) and Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) near Juneau, Alaska, in 2016 and 2017. Chum …

Growth Of Juvenile Chilkat Lake Sockeye Salmon In Response To Density-Dependent And Environmental Factors, Jodi C. Neil

Fisheries

Chilkat Lake, in northern Southeast Alaska, is home to a Sockeye Salmon Oncorhynchus nerka population that is an important component in local commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries, and has been monitored since the late 1960s. The population began declining in the late 1980s, prompting fishery managers to evaluate the production potential of Chilkat Lake to determine if it could be a candidate for enhancement efforts such as fry stocking or lake fertilization. Sockeye Salmon fry were stocked into Chilkat Lake intermittently from 1989 to 2004 in both small- (<50,000) and large-scale (2.6-5.3 million) events. The purpose of this study was to determine whether stocking of fry resulted in decreased freshwater growth due to density-dependent processes. Fish scales from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's archived collection of adult Chilkat Lake Sockeye Salmon were measured and used as a proxy for fish growth. The objectives of this thesis were to 1) examine changes in juvenile Chilkat Lake Sockeye Salmon freshwater growth over time (1978-2012); 2) determine whether increased density of juvenile fry coupled with simultaneous climate events negatively affected freshwater growth of Chilkat Lake Sockeye Salmon; and 3) determine whether increased density of juvenile fry affected age at smoltification of Chilkat Lake Sockeye Salmon. We hypothesized that high fry density would slow growth and delay smoltification; however, these analyses produced variable results. We did not detect an effect of increased fry density on growth in the first year of fresh water, but found evidence for a subtle, negative relationship between fry density and second year freshwater growth of those fish that delayed migration. We also found that age at smoltification decreased with increasing fry density. Overall, the model results indicated that no factor or combination of factors related to stocking activity or climate consistently affected juvenile Sockeye Salmon scale growth, suggesting either unidentified, equally influential, or confounding mechanisms (e.g., high adult escapement and anomalous weather patterns).

Exploring The Potential Role Of Late Stage Predation And Chinook Salmon Age Structure, Kaitlyn A. Manishin

Fisheries

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations across the North Pacific have displayed a decrease in body size-at-return resulting from declines both in age- and body size-at-maturity. These changes have precipitated the loss of the oldest age classes in some populations and have occurred throughout the range of this species, suggesting a shared - yet currently unknown - driver in the common marine environment. A hypothesis for the cause of these changes is intense and/or selective predation marine mortality after the first winter in the ocean, potentially from predators selectively removing relatively large sub-adult Chinook salmon. Here I consider the question: under …

The Seasonal Dynamics Of Coastal Arctic Lagoons In Northwest Alaska, Marguerite Tibbles

Fisheries

Lagoons are zones of habitat transitions between freshwater and marine ecosystems, providing safe and productive feeding habitats for whitefishes in Northwest Alaska, important to subsistence users in the region. However, many important lagoon processes are not understood. Therefore, the goal of this thesis was to gain a baseline understanding of two important seasonal processes of lagoons in Northwest Alaska. First, I attempted to identify environmental processes correlated with Arctic lagoon breaching for three indicator lagoons that represent a range of environmental characteristics using generalized linear models (GLM) in an information theoretic approach and model averaging. Second, I developed a habitat …

Impacts Of A Top Predator (Esox Lucius) On Salmonids In Southcentral Alaska: Genetics, Connectivity, And Vulnerability, Chase S. Jalbert

Fisheries

Worldwide invasion and range expansion of northern pike (pike; Esox lucius) have been linked to the decline of native fishes and new techniques are needed to assess the effects of invasion over broad geographic scales. In Alaska, pike are native north and west of the Alaska Mountain Range but were introduced into Southcentral Alaska in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. To investigate the history of the invasion into Southcentral Alaska, I identified 7,889 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from three native and seven introduced populations in Alaska and examined genetic diversity, structure, and affinities of native and invasive pike. …

Factors Influencing Chinook Salmon Spawning Distribution In The Togiak River, Alaska, Stephanie L. Meggers

Fisheries

Salmonids are heavily dependent on specific habitat characteristics for survival, yet few studies in Alaska have examined the relationship between habitat and spawning distribution, using remote sensing approaches. To better understand the relationship between Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha spawning distribution and environmental variables like habitat type (e.g., run, riffle, pool), temperature, and proximity to channel islands, optical and thermal imagery were collected on the Togiak and Ongivinuk rivers in southwest Alaska. Object-based image analysis was used to classify and quantify habitat types, while thermal characteristics and the proximity of spawning locations to channel islands were determined in a GIS framework. …

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R4 Database Report 1 (Db1) 2017-2018, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R4 Database Report 1 (DB1) for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018. Database Report 1 is defined as "Total Searches, Result Clicks and Record Views by Month and Database." This report presents an annual total only.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results: 808,084 regular searches, 365,398 result clicks, and 277,604 record views for 377 reported databases.

Impact Of Technology On Improving Hiv And Tuberculosis Health Outcomes Among African Countries, Sunny Ibeneme

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

This study used health analytics approach to evaluate the association between population health outcomes and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures at a country level. This study used aggregate data obtained from the World Bank database, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) database for 53 African countries for the periods 2000 to 2016, and quantitatively explored the impact of ICT infrastructures’ diffusion on population health outcomes.

ICT data was obtained from the ITU database. Similarly, population health attributes were retrieved from the World Bank database. ICT infrastructure variables used in this study include: internet access, mobile phone use, and fixed …

Ketchikan Cup O' News 2018-12, Tina Booth

Ketchikan Cup O' News

No abstract provided.

Spatial Trends And Environmental Drivers Of Epibenthic Shelf Community Structure Across The Aleutian Islands, Aaron Bland

Marine Biology

The continental shelf around the Aleutian Islands supports important commercial and subsistence fisheries as well as multiple seabird and marine mammal populations. To sustainably manage these populations, more information is needed on the distribution of the benthic communities that support some of the top level consumers. Given the vast size and highly variable physical environment of the Aleutian Islands, it is likely that epibenthic community structure on the continental shelf will vary by geographic area and physical and oceanographic conditions. This project examined spatial patterns in Aleutian epibenthic shelf communities among oceanographic regions (island groups separated by major oceanographic passes) …

Estimates Of Primary Production Sources To Arctic Bivalves Using Amino Acid Stable Carbon Isotope Fingerprinting, Audrey G. Rowe

Marine Biology

Benthic invertebrates are a crucial trophic link in Arctic marine food webs. However, estimates of the contribution of primary production sources sustaining these organisms are not well characterized. Potential sources could include sinking particulate organic matter from sea ice algae and phytoplankton, terrestrial organic matter eroded from the coastal environment, macroalgal material, or microbial organic matter. Proportions of these sources could also be significantly altered in the future as a result of environmental change. We measured the stable carbon isotope values of essential amino acids in muscle tissue from two common bivalve genera (Macoma spp. and Astarte spp.) collected in …

Tracing Sea Ice Algae Into Various Benthic Feeding Types On The Chukchi Sea Shelf, Tanja Schollmeier

Marine Biology

Climate change in the Arctic is expected to have drastic effects on marine primary production sources by shifting ice-associated primary production to an overall greater contribution from pelagic primary production. This shift could influence the timing, amount, and quality of algal material reaching the benthos. We determined the contribution of sea ice particulate organic matter (iPOM) to benthic-feeding invertebrates by examining concentrations and stable carbon isotope values (expressed as δ¹³C values) of three FAs prominent in diatoms: 16:4(n-1), 16:1(n-7) and 20:5(n-3). Our underlying assumption was that diatoms make up the majority in sea ice algal communities compared with phytoplankton communities. …

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R4 Book Report 2 (Br2) By Title 2017-2018, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R4 Book Report 2 (BR2) for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018. Book Report 2 is defined as "Number of Successful Section Requests by Month and Title." This report presents an annual total only.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results: 104,151 successful section requests for 6,475 reported titles.

Pasnet: Pathway-Associated Sparse Deepneural Network For Prognosis Prediction From High-Throughput Data, Jie Hao, Youngsoon Kim, Tae-Kyung Kim, Mingon Kang

Faculty Articles

Background: Predicting prognosis in patients from large-scale genomic data is a fundamentally challenging problem in genomic medicine. However, the prognosis still remains poor in many diseases. The poor prognosis maybe caused by high complexity of biological systems, where multiple biological components and their hierarchical relationships are involved. Moreover, it is challenging to develop robust computational solutions with high-dimension, low-sample size data. Results: In this study, we propose a Pathway-Associated Sparse Deep Neural Network (PASNet) that not only predicts patients’ prognoses but also describes complex biological processes regarding biological pathways for prognosis. PASNet models a multilayered, hierarchical biological system of genes …

The Influence Of Slope On Vegetation Recovery Following Nonnative Grazer Removal On Santa Rosa Island, California, Ryan Summers, Jamie Masukawa, Brett D. Hartman

Western North American Naturalist

Ecosystem restoration efforts have been ongoing on the Channel Islands of California since the 1980s. Although these island ecosystems evolved without ungulate grazers, large nonnative grazers, including sheep, cattle, feral pigs, deer, and elk, were present on the islands for over 160 years. Intensive grazing led to reductions in the extent of woody vegetation, increases in the area of grassland and bare ground, and widespread landsliding and gully erosion. This study focuses on Santa Rosa Island, the second largest (215.3 km²) island in Channel Islands National Park. After the park was created in 1980, the National Park Service …

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R4 Journal Report 1 (Jr1) 2017-2018, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R4 Journal Report 1 (JR1) for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018. Journal Report 1 is defined as "Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal." This report presents an annual total only.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results: 957,289 successful full-text article requests for 27,451 reported titles.