Digital Commons Network^™

Resource Selection And Calving Success Of Moose In Colorado, Forest P. Hayes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Across much of North America, moose populations (Alces alces) are declining due to disease, predation, climate, and anthropogenic pressures. Despite this, populations of moose in Colorado have continued to grow. Studying successful (i.e., persistent or growing) populations of moose can facilitate the continued conservation of the species by identifying habitat features critical for moose persistence.

First, I evaluated calving success of moose in Colorado and the impact of willow habitat quality and nutrition. I then estimated the probability of female moose having a calf using repeated observations in a Bayesian occupancy model. I assigned values for dry matter …

A New Classification System For Analyzing Burned Human Remains, Amanda Noel Williams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fatal fires produce a range of physical alterations to the body that can be studied and analyzed to interpret perimortem events. Currently, the forensic community lacks a consistent, objective, and detailed scale to describe burn injuries or patterns in a variety of settings and conditions. There is a need to create a scale based on quantitative experimental data (e.g. duration and temperature of fire) that provides insight into the nature of the fire and cause of injuries contributing to the condition of the remains.

Observations from four main fire environments were used in developing a new classification system for analyzing …

Acid Hydrolysis-Based Sugarcane Bagasse Biorefining For Levulinic Acid Production: Dynamic Mechanistic Modeling Under Varying Operating Conditions, Emília S. Lopes, Julio C.J. Gariboti, Luis H.Z. Feistel, Elmer Ccopa Rivera, Rubens Mac Iel Filho, Laura P. Tovar

Faculty Publications

© 2020, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. The study on the lignocellulosic material conversion into bio-based platform chemicals, such as levulinic acid (LA), is one of the most promising routes to promote the development of advanced biorefineries. In this work, a dynamic mechanistic model is developed to simulate the LA production from lignocellulosic material. A wide operating range is used to estimate the parameters of the reaction kinetics. Because multi-parameter estimation problem is complex, a genetic algorithm-based optimization procedure is used to determine the optimum parameters values. Measurements are obtained for various reaction times (0 - 45 min) temperatures (150 - 200 …

The Covid-19 Vaccine Dilemma, Dorit R. Reiss

Faculty Scholarship

COVID-19 continues to lead to large numbers of deaths, harms, and financial costs. Without an effective vaccine, those will continue. The pressure to find a vaccine is high; and that pressure places a risk on the safeguards in place to assure that vaccines are safe and effective will be ignored. The United States has an extensive apparatus to oversee vaccine safety before and after licensing, including multiple federal committees and several monitoring systems, and that apparatus gave us, in 2020, an extraordinarily safe vaccine supply. This Article explains the different pressures that push for and against using the same apparatus …

The Prebiotic Provenance Of Semi-Aqueous Solvents, Jennifer L. Lago, Bradley T. Burcar, Nicholas V. Hud, Rio Febrian, Christopher A. Mehta, Paul J. Bracher, Zachary D. Atlas, Matthew A. Pasek

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The numerous and varied roles of phosphorylated organic molecules in biochemistry suggest they may have been important to the origin of life. The prominence of phosphorylated molecules presents a conundrum given that phosphorylation is a thermodynamically unfavorable, endergonic process in water, and most natural sources of phosphate are poorly soluble. We recently demonstrated that a semi-aqueous solvent consisting of urea, ammonium formate, and water (UAFW) supports the dissolution of phosphate and the phosphorylation of nucleosides. However, the prebiotic feasibility and robustness of the UAFW system are unclear. Here, we study the UAFW system as a medium in which phosphate minerals …

Utilizing Ecological Niche Modelling To Predict Habitat Suitability Of Eastern Equine Encephalitis In Florida, Claire Burch, Rebecca Loraamm, Thomas R. Unnasch, Joni A. Downs

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) is a virus found predominantly east of the Mississippi River in the United States that can be fatal to both equines and humans. The disease has previously been most prolific in states like Florida, but there has been an increase in the prevalence in other states further up north on the east coast of the United States in recent years. The purpose of this research is to use the ecological niche modelling program Maxent to model EEEV habitat suitability probability. This research utilized data of fatality incidence in equine hosts, versus sentinel chicken infection data, …

Optimizing Arbovirus Surveillance Using Risk Mapping And Coverage Modelling, Joni A. Downs, Mehrdad Vaziri, George Deskins, William Kellner, Kristi M. Miley, Thomas R. Unnasch

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Diseases carried by mosquitoes and other arthropods endanger human health globally. Though costly, surveillance efforts are vital for disease control and prevention This paper describes an approach for strategically configuring targeted disease surveillance sites across a study area. The methodology combines risk index mapping and spatial optimization modelling. The risk index is used to identify demand for surveillance, and the maximum covering location problem is used to select a specified number of candidate surveillance sites that covers the maximum amount of risk. The approach is demonstrated using a case study where optimal locations for sentinel surveillance sites are selected for …

A Hydrologic Landscapes Perspective On Groundwater Connectivity Of Depressional Wetlands, Brian P. Neff, Donald O. Rosenberry, Scott G. Leibowitz, Dave M. Mushet, Heather E. Golden, Mark C. Rains, J. R. Brooks, Charles R. Lane

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Research into processes governing the hydrologic connectivity of depressional wetlands has advanced rapidly in recent years. Nevertheless, a need persists for broadly applicable, non-site-specific guidance to facilitate further research. Here, we explicitly use the hydrologic landscapes theoretical framework to develop broadly applicable conceptual knowledge of depressional-wetland hydrologic connectivity. We used a numerical model to simulate the groundwater flow through five generic hydrologic landscapes. Next, we inserted depressional wetlands into the generic landscapes and repeated the modeling exercise. The results strongly characterize groundwater connectivity from uplands to lowlands as being predominantly indirect. Groundwater flowed from uplands and most of it was …

The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Apple, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

All Current Publications

Fire blight is caused by a bacteria called Erwinia amylovora. Some varieties of apples are very susceptible to this disease, such as Jonathan, Jonagold, and Gala. Blossoms, terminal twigs, and sometimes entire limbs or trees are killed.

Faulty Forensics: Bolstering Judicial Gatekeeping In Georgia Courts, Miranda S. Bidinger

Georgia Law Review

Forensic evidence is widely used in criminal cases
across the country and is accorded great weight by
juries. But critics have begun to question its reliability.
Its use has contributed to numerous wrongful
convictions, and though some individuals have been
exonerated, many remain incarcerated for crimes they
did not commit.
This Note explores a variety of forensic science
disciplines and their associated problems, the recent
push for forensic reform, and the current standards
governing the admissibility of forensic evidence at the
federal level and in Georgia courts, highlighting the
lenient standard embodied in the Georgia Code and
elaborated upon in …

Sex And Age Differences In Prevalence And Risk Factors For Prediabetes In Mexican-Americans, Kristina Vatcheva, Belinda M. Reininger, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Joseph B. Mccormick

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

AIMS:

Over 1/3 of Americans have prediabetes, while 9.4% have type 2 diabetes. The aim of our study was to estimate the prevalence of prediabetes in Mexican Americans, with known 28.2% prevalence of type 2 diabetes, by age and sex and to identify critical socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with prediabetes.

METHODS:

Data were collected between 2004 and 2017 from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort in Texas. Weighted crude and sex- and age- stratified prevalences were calculated. Survey weighted logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify risk factors for prediabetes.

RESULTS:

The prevalence of prediabetes (32%) was slightly higher than …

Stability Of Anisotropic Parabolic Equations Without Boundary Conditions, Huashui Zhan, Zhaosheng Feng

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hiv-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (Hand) Biomarker Identification: Significance Analysis Of Microarrays And Two Persuasive Approaches With Random Forest, Hansapani Rodrigo, Bryan Martinez, Roberto De La Garza, Upal Roy

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: HIV Associated Neurological Disorders (HAND) is relatively common among people with HIV-1 infection, even those taking combined antiretroviral treatment (cART). Genome-wide screening of transcription regulation in brain tissue helps in identifying substantial abnormalities present in patients’ gene transcripts and to discover possible biomarkers for HAND. This study explores the possibility of identifying differentially expressed (DE) genes, which can serve as potential biomarkers to detect HAND. In this study, we have investigated the gene expression levels of three subject groups with different impairment levels of HAND along with a control group in three distinct brain sectors: white matter, frontal cortex, …

Bayesian Modelling Of Nonlinear Poisson Regression With Artificial Neural Networks, Hansapani Rodrigo, Chris P. Tsokos

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Modelling and prediction of count and rate responses have substantial usage in many fields, including health, finance, social, etc. Conventionally, linear Poisson regression models have been widely used to model these responses. However, the linearity assumption of the systematic component of linear Poisson regression models restricts their capability of handling complex data patterns. In this regard, it is important to develop nonlinear Poisson regression models to capture the inherent variability within the count data. In this study, we introduce a probabilistically driven nonlinear Poisson regression model with Bayesian artificial neural networks (ANN) to model count and rate data. This new …

Collection Weeding: Innovative Processes And Tools To Ease The Burden, Gregory M. Nelson, Michael C. Goates, David S. Pixton, Megan Frost, Dan Broadbent

Faculty Publications

Evaluating collections and ultimately removing content poses a variety of difficult issues, including choosing appropriate deselection criteria, communicating with stakeholders, providing accountability, and managing the overall timetable to finish projects on time. The Science and Engineering librarians at Brigham Young University evaluated their entire print collection of over 350,000 items within one year, significantly reducing the number of items kept on the open shelves and the physical collection footprint. Keys to accomplishing this project were extensive preparation, tracking progress and accountability facilitated by Google Sheets and an interactive GIS stacks map, and stakeholder feedback facilitated by a novel web-based tool. …

Genetic Evidence, Maoa, And State V. Yepez, Nita A. Farahany, Roderick T. Kennedy, Brandon L. Garrett

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Richmond Law Magazine: Winter 2020, University Of Richmond

Richmond Law Magazine

To Right A Wrong

A Whistleblower and A Wiretap

A Homegrown Panel

Modelling Mycorrhizal Fungi Dispersal By The Mycophagous Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia Bicolor) [Dataset], Melissa Danks, Natalie Simpson, Todd F. Elliot, C.E. Timothy Paine, Karl Vernes

Research Datasets

Despite the importance of mammal-fungal interactions, tools to estimate the mammal-assisted dispersal distances of fungi are lacking. Many mammals actively consume fungal fruiting bodies, the spores of which remain viable after passage through their digestive tract. Many of these fungi form symbiotic relationships with trees and provide an array of other key ecosystem functions. We present a flexible, general model to predict the distance a mycophagous mammal would disperse fungal spores. We modelled the probability of spore dispersal by combining animal movement data from GPS-telemetry with data on spore gut-retention time. We test this model using an exemplar generalist mycophagist, …

Human Impact Overrides Bioclimatic Drivers Of Red Fox Home Range Size Globally, Michael Main, Robert Davis, David Blake, Harriet Mills, Tim Doherty

Research Datasets

Aim Identifying the variables that influence animal home range size is important for understanding the biological requirements of individuals and their social interactions. Given their often broad distributions, carnivores are model organisms for studying range-wide determinants of home range size. Here we test predictions about environmental determinants of home range size for one of the world’s most widely distributed carnivores, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Location Global

Methods We compiled a database of 70 mean home range estimates from 62 studies and four continents, which we analysed according to site-based temperature, precipitation, environmental productivity and human influence …

Hybrid Zone Barriers Comparative Data Set, David L. Field

Research Datasets

Many recent studies have addressed the mechanisms operating during the early stages of speciation, but surprisingly few studies have tested theoretical predictions on the evolution of strong reproductive isolation (RI). To help address this gap, we first undertook a quantitative review of the hybrid zone literature for flowering plants in relation to reproductive barriers. Then, using Populus as an exemplary model group, we analysed genome-wide variation for phylogenetic tree topologies in both early- and late-stage speciation taxa to determine how these patterns may be related to the genomic architecture of RI. Our plant literature survey revealed variation in barrier complexity …

Contemporary Epidemiology Of Rising Atrial Septal Defect Trends Across Usa 1991-2016: A Combined Ecological Geotemporospatial And Causal Inferential Study, Albert Stuart Reece

Research Datasets

Background: Cardiovascular anomalies are the largest group of congenital anomalies and the major cause of death in young children, with a range of data linking rising atrial septal defect incidence (ASDI) with prenatal cannabis exposure. Objectives / Hypotheses. Is cannabis associated with ASDI in USA? Is this relationship causal?

Methods: Geospatiotemporal cohort study, 1991-2016. Census populations of adults, babies, congenital anomalies, income and ethnicity. Drug exposure data on cigarettes, alcohol abuse, past month cannabis use, analgesia abuse and cocaine taken from National Survey of Drug Use and Health (78.9% response rate). Cannabinoid concentrations from Drug Enforcement Agency. Inverse probability weighted …

A Genome-Wide Association Study Of Cocaine Use Disorder Accounting For Phenotypic Heterogeneity And Gene–Environment Interaction, Jiangwen Sun, Henry R. Kranzler, Joel Gelernter, Jinbo Bi

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Background: Phenotypic heterogeneity and complicated gene-environment interplay in etiology are among the primary factors that hinder the identification of genetic variants associated with cocaine use disorder. Methods: To detect novel genetic variants associated with cocaine use disorder, we derived disease traits with reduced phenotypic heterogeneity using cluster analysis of a study sample (n = 9965). We then used these traits in genome-wide association tests, performed separately for 2070 African Americans and 1570 European Americans, using a new mixed model that accounted for the moderating effects of 5 childhood environmental factors. We used an independent sample (918 African Americans, 1382 European …

Outlier Profiles Of Atomic Structures Derived From X-Ray Crystallography And From Cryo-Electron Microscopy, Lin Chen, Jing He, Angelo Facchiano

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Background: As more protein atomic structures are determined from cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) density maps, validation of such structures is an important task. Methods: We applied a histogram-based outlier score (HBOS) to six sets of cryo-EM atomic structures and five sets of X-ray atomic structures, including one derived from X-ray data with better than 1.5 Å resolution. Cryo-EM data sets contain structures released by December 2016 and those released between 2017 and 2019, derived from resolution ranges 0–4 Å and 4–6 Å respectively. Results: The distribution of HBOS values in five sets of X-ray structures show that HBOS is sensitive distinguishing …

Granulosa Cell Proliferation Is Inhibited By Pge2 In The Primate Ovulatory Follicle, Patric S. Lundberg, Gil J. Moskowitz, Carmel Bellacose, Esra Demirel, Heidi A. Trau, Diane M. Duffy

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a key paracrine mediator of ovulation. Few specific PGE2-regulated gene products have been identified, so we hypothesized that PGE2 may regulate the expression and/or activity of a network of proteins to promote ovulation. To test this concept, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was used to predict PGE2-regulated functionalities in the primate ovulatory follicle. Cynomolgus macaques underwent ovarian stimulation. Follicular granulosa cells were obtained before (0 h) or 36 h after an ovulatory dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), with ovulation anticipated 37-40 h after hCG. Granulosa cells were obtained from additional monkeys 36 h after treatment with …

Acknowledgement Entity Recognition In Cord-19 Papers, Jian Wu, Pei Wang, Xin Wei, Sarah Rajtmajer, C. Lee Giles, Christopher Griffin

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Acknowledgements are ubiquitous in scholarly papers. Existing acknowledgement entity recognition methods assume all named entities are acknowledged. Here, we examine the nuances between acknowledged and named entities by analyzing sentence structure. We develop an acknowledgement extraction system, AckExtract based on open-source text mining software and evaluate our method using manually labeled data. AckExtract uses the PDF of a scholarly paper as input and outputs acknowledgement entities. Results show an overall performance of F₁=0.92. We built a supplementary database by linking CORD-19 papers with acknowledgement entities extracted by AckExtract including persons and organizations and find that only up to …

Opening Books And The National Corpus Of Graduate Research, William A. Ingram, Edward A. Fox, Jian Wu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Virginia Tech University Libraries, in collaboration with Virginia Tech Department of Computer Science and Old Dominion University Department of Computer Science, request $505,214 in grant funding for a 3-year project, the goal of which is to bring computational access to book-length documents, demonstrating that with Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). The project is motivated by the following library and community needs. (1) Despite huge volumes of book-length documents in digital libraries, there is a lack of models offering effective and efficient computational access to these long documents. (2) Nationwide open access services for ETDs generally function at the metadata level. …

Seagrass Losses Since Mid-20th Century Fuelled Co2 Emissions From Soil Carbon Stocks [Dataset], Cristian Salinas, Carlos M. Duarte, Paul S. Lavery, Pere Masque, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Javier Leon, David Callaghan, Gary A. Kendrick, Oscar Serrano

Research Datasets

The database compiles published data (in Salinas et al. 2020) on biogeochemical characteristics (density, organic carbon, stable carbon isotopes, sediment grain size) of cores from Posidonia australis and sinuosa soil in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia.

Snp Population Genetic Data For The Seagrass Halodule Uninervis From Pilbara Region, Western Australia, Kathryn Margaret Mcmahon, Richard Evans

Research Datasets

This dataset contains 80 SNP loci from 15 locations with 25-47 samples per locations. Each column contains data from two alleles. All genotyped samples are included. Prior to population genetic analysis clone mates were identified and removed.

Predictors Of Marine Genetic Structure In The Indo-Australian Archipelago, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Udhi Eko Hernawan

Research Datasets

This is the dataset extracted from 101 publications on 99 marine species from eight taxonomic groups in the Indo Australian Archipelago. Data extracted includes measures of genetic structure and the potential predictors.

Conserving Critical Seagrass Habitat For Dugong. Dugong Seagrass Associations Summary Data., Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Paul Lavery, Nicole Said, Chris Cleguer, Amanda Hodgson

Research Datasets

This is the summary dataset of the dugong seagrass associations data containing dugong counts, benthic habitat cover, seagrass nutrient content, water temperature, water current speed, water depth and water transparency from three locations in the Pilbara over 3 time periods in 2018-2019.