Digital Commons Network^™

Cannibalism And Synchrony In Seabird Egg-Laying Behavior, Yosia I. Nurhan, Shandelle M. Henson

Faculty Publications

During years of high sea surface temperature, food resources for glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) are scarce. In response, male gulls cannibalize the eggs of neighbors. When this occurs, female gulls in dense areas of the colony adopt a tactic of egg-laying synchrony, in which they lay eggs synchronously on an every-other-day schedule. Field observations show that the first-laid egg of each clutch is the most likely to be cannibalized. In this paper, we analyzed a discrete-time model of egg-laying behavior that tracks egg order in the nest. Using Jury conditions, we found that the equilibrium destabilizes into a two-cycle as …

Ppo2 Mutations In Amaranthus Palmeri: Implications On Cross-Resistance, Pamela Carvalho-Moore, Gulab Rangani, James Heiser, Douglas Findley, Steven J. Bowe, Nilda Roma-Burgos

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In Arkansas, resistance to protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (PPO)-inhibiting herbicides in Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats. is mainly due to target site mutations. Although A. palmeri PPO-mutations are well investigated, the cross-resistance that each ppo mutant endows to weed populations is not yet well understood. We aimed to evaluate the response of PPO-resistant A. palmeri accessions, harboring the ppo2 mutations ΔG210 and G399A, to multiple PPO-inhibiting herbicides. Six resistant and one susceptible field accessions were subjected to a dose–response assay with fomesafen, and selected survivors from different fomesafen doses were genotyped to characterize the mutation profile. The level of resistance …

Farmer Perceptions And Willingness To Pay For Novel Livestock Pest Control Technologies: A Case Of Tsetse Repellent Collar In Kwale County In Kenya, Beatrice W. Muriithi, Nancy G. Gathogo, Gracious M. Diiro, Michael M. Kidoido, Michael Nyangánga Okal, Daniel K. Masiga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tsetse-transmitted Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT) is one of the most important constraints to livestock development in Africa. Use of trypanocides has been the most widespread approach for the management of AAT, despite the associated drug resistance and health con-cerns associated with drug metabolites in animal products. Alternative control measures that target tsetse fly vectors of AAT, though effective, have been hard to sustain in part because these are public goods applied area-wide. The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and partners have developed and implemented a novel tsetse repellent collar (TRC) applied on animals to limit contact of …

Why Familial Searches Of Civilian Dna Databases Can And Should Survive Carpenter, Jasper Ford-Monroe

UC Law Journal

Over the past few years, a powerful new forensic technique has emerged. By uploading DNA from a crime scene to a civilian DNA database, such as GEDmatch, investigators can discover the genetic relatives of the perpetrator and thereby track down the perpetrator himself. This procedure is known as forensic genetic genealogy searching (FGGS), and in under three years it has cracked numerous decades-old cases once thought to be unsolvable.

Concerned about genetic privacy and discrimination, most legal commentators have thus far confronted FGGS with raised hackles. They either argue FGGS is a Fourth Amendment search under Carpenter, or that it …

Comparing Person And People Perception: Multiple Group Members Do Not Increase Stereotype Priming, Lm Persson, M Golubickis, D Dublas, N Mastnak, Et Al

School of Psychology

A characteristic feature of daily life is encountering people in groups. Surprisingly, however, at least during the initial stages of processing, research has focused almost exclusively on the construal of single individuals. As such, it remains unclear whether person and people (i.e., group) perception yield comparable or divergent outcomes. Addressing this issue, here we explored a core social-cognitive topic—stereotype activation—by presenting both single and multiple facial primes in a sequential-priming task. In addition, the processes underlying task performance were probed using a drift diffusion model analysis. Based on prior work, it was hypothesised that multiple (vs. single) primes would increase …

Mycoremediation And Fungi-Assisted Phytoremediation Of Heavy Metal Contaminated Landfills Soil, Auwalu Hassan

Student Works (2020-2029)

The research is aimed to study the bioremediation of heavy metal landfill leachate contaminated soil using consortia of indigenous filamentous fungi and indigenous plants. Thirteen identified fungal isolates were used to formulate the consortia for mycoremediation. The mycoremediation was carried out in three phases, namely laboratory trial 1 using five consortia, laboratory trial 2 with varied concentrations of inoculum, and field application. The fungi-assisted phytoremediation was carried out in two phases: laboratory trials using Alocasia calidora, Prosopis juliflora, and Jatropha sp. and field trial using A. calidora. The analyses conducted included soil physicochemical and biological parameters, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) …

Development Of A Highly Sensitive Pressure Sensing System With Custom-Built Software For Continuous Physiological Measurements, Masoud Panahi

Masters Theses

In this work, a pressure sensing system was designed and fabricated by developing a highly sensitive cone-structured pressure sensor with a custom-built software for physiological monitoring applications. A novel highly sensitive cone structured porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based pressure sensor capable of detecting very low-pressure ranges was developed for respiration monitoring. The pressure sensor was fabricated using a master mold, a hybrid-structured dielectric layer, and fabric-based electrodes. The master mold with inverted cone structures was created using a rapid and precise three-dimensional (3D) printing technique. The dielectric layer, with pores and cone structures, was prepared by annealing a mixture of PDMS, …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of The Roadside Transportation Related Air Quality (Startraq) And Neighborhood Characterization, Jaymin Kwon, Yushin Ahn, Steve Chung

Mineta Transportation Institute

To promote active transportation modes (such as bike ride and walking), and to create safer communities for easier access to transit, it is essential to provide consolidated data-driven transportation information to the public. The relevant and timely information from data facilitates the improvement of decision-making processes for the establishment of public policy and urban planning for sustainable growth, and for promoting public health in the region. For the characterization of the spatial variation of transportation-emitted air pollution in the Fresno/Clovis neighborhood in California, various species of particulate matters emitted from traffic sources were measured using real-time monitors and GPS loggers …

Applications Of Deep Learning Augmented Systems For Covid-19 Predictions- A Literature Review, Cherie Noteboom, David Zeng, Rajesh Godasu, Kruttika Sutrave

Research & Publications

Covid-19 Diagnosis needs new Information Systems technologies as Deep learning methods, especially in medical image screening. We aim to review the applications of deep learning augmented systems in Covid-19 predictions with the help of a large literature collection from four major databases IEEE explore, ACM, Web of Science, and PubMed. We have identified three major research themes from the current literature, Image Classification, Image segmentation, and evaluation methods for DL models. Among the DL techniques, Transfer Learning is identified as the most popular method for different tasks on Chest X-rays and CT scans. Pre-trained models such as ResNet, VGG, DenseNet, …

Effect Of Borrelia Burgdorferi On The Amyloid-Beta And Phospho-Tau Markers And Oxidative Stress Response Of Neuroblastoma Cells, Dina Elzohiry

Master's Theses

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the neurons are injured and mostly subjected to death throughout the brain, interconnections between neural networks may detach, and several regions of the brain begin to shrink in size. Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) and phospho-tau (p-Tau) are considered as main hallmarks of AD. Lyme-causing bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi can invade central nervous system resulting in neurological disorders. To evaluate how B. burgdorferi bacteria can contribute to the development and/or progress of AD, protein expression of Amyloid-Beta aggregates and p-Tau protein tangles were assessed before and after infection with B. burgdorferi in BE2C and Kelly neuroblastoma cell lines. To assess …

No Evidence Of Stochastic Resonance In Postural Sway Response To Noisy Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation In Healthy Young Adults, Dominique Rice

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The transcutaneous application of a sub-sensory electrical stimulation to the vestibular afferents, known as noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS), is thought to cause a reduction in postural sway at optimal amplitude intensities due to a mechanism known as stochastic resonance (SR). SR is a phenomenon whereby the addition of low amplitude noise to a non-linear system can be beneficial rather than detrimental. In humans, behavioral markers of SR in postural sway have been inconsistent, potentially due to insufficient power or false positives. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to determine whether the frequency of observing SR-like effects improves …

Avian Influenza A Virus Susceptibility, Infection, Transmission, And Antibody Kinetics In European Starlings, Jeremy W. Ellis, J. Jeffrey Root, Loredana M. Mccurdy, Kevin T. Bentler, Nicole L. Barrett, Kaci K. Vandalen, Katherine L. Dirsmith, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) pose risks to public, agricultural, and wildlife health. Bridge hosts are spillover hosts that share habitat with both maintenance hosts (e.g., mallards) and target hosts (e.g., poultry). We conducted a comprehensive assessment of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), a common visitor to both urban and agricultural environments, to assess whether this species might act as a potential maintenance or bridge host for IAVs. First, we experimentally inoculated starlings with a wild bird IAV to investigate susceptibility and replication kinetics. Next, we evaluated whether IAV might spill over to starlings from sharing resources with a …

Mesopredator Frugivory Has No Effect On Seed Viability And Emergence Under Experimental Conditions, John P. Draper, Trisha B. Atwood, Noelle G. Beckman, Karin M. Kettenring, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Members of the order Carnivora are a unique and important seed disperser who consume and deposit undamaged seeds while providing regular long-distance seed dispersal opportunities. Some members of Carnivora, such as coyotes (Canis latrans), are undergoing range expansions which may help the plant species they consume colonize new locations or replace dispersal services provided by recently extirpated species. In this study, we evaluated aspects of the seed dispersal effectiveness of coyotes and gut passage time to determine the potential dispersal distances for three commonly consumed and commonly occurring plant species (Amelanchier alnifolia, Celtis ehrenbergiana, and Juniperus osteosperma). We also investigated …

Evaluating Evapotranspiration And Management Of Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus Palmeri S. Watson), Jasmine M. Mausbach

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Palmer amaranth (PA) is the most problematic weed in agronomic cropping systems in the United States. Acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor-/glyphosate-resistant (GR) PA has been confirmed in Nebraska and is widespread in several counties. Soybean resistant to isoxaflutole/glufosinate/glyphosate has been developed to provide additional herbicide sites of action for control of herbicide-resistant weeds. The objectives of this study were to evaluate herbicide programs for control of ALS inhibitor/GR PA and their effect on PA density and biomass, as well as soybean injury and yield in isoxaflutole/glufosinate/glyphosate-resistant soybean. A PRE herbicide fb glufosinate controlled PA 80%–99% 21 d after late-POST in 2018 …

Patterns Of Depredation In The Hawai‘I Deep-Set Longline Fishery Informed By Fishery And False Killer Whale Behavior, Joseph E. Fader, Robin W. Baird, Amanda L. Bradford, Daniel C. Dunn, Karin A. Forney, Andrew J. Read

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) depredate bait and catch in the Hawai‘i-based deep-set longline fishery, and as a result, this species is hooked or entangled more than any other cetacean in this fishery. We analyzed data collected by fisheries observers and from satellite-linked transmitters deployed on false killer whales to identify patterns of odontocete depredation that could help fishermen avoid overlap with whales. Odontocete depredation was observed on ˜6% of deep-set hauls across the fleet from 2004 to 2018. Model outcomes from binomial GAMMs suggested coarse patterns, for example, higher rates of depredation in winter, at lower latitudes, and with …

Toward An Understanding Of Fundamental Mechanisms In Transitional And Turbulence Flow Control, Ethan A. Davis

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Turbulence is an emergent phenomenon found throughout nature and engineering, alike. It plays a vital role in the aquatic locomotion of organisms, scalar mixing, fluid transport, shipping and transportation, and even the flow of biological fluids in the human body. Therefore, it is of utmost importance in both a practical and engineering sense to better understand turbulence with the goal of better controlling it. This dissertation focuses broadly on better understanding the underlying mechanisms behind wall-bounded turbulent flows, with an emphasis on exploiting those mechanisms for turbulence flow control.

We developed a numerical simulation to study the effect of slip …

Biofiltration Application At Ethanol Plants: Analysis Of Aqueous Streams And Treatment Of Vocs, Katie Marie Mowat

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Other Student Research

The United States used 14.5 billion gallons of the biofuel ethanol in 2019 produced primarily (82%) in dry-mill corn ethanol plants. These plants produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — some of which are hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) — during production. Traditional treatment methods for gaseous emissions use a large quantity of water or natural gas. Thus, a bio-trickling filter (BTF) is considered an innovative alternative treatment method. A lab-scale BTF was used in this study to look at the effect of ethanol concentration and temperature on the treatment of a HAPs mixture. Gaseous and aqueous testing were performed on the …

Fire, Water, And Biodiversity In The Sierra Nevada: A Possible Triple Win, Scott L. Stephens, Sally Thompson, Gabrielle Boisramé, Brandon M. Collins, Lauren C. Ponisio, Ekaterina Rakhmatulina, Zachary L. Steel, Jens T. Stevens, Jan W. Van Wagtendonk, Kate Wilkin

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Reducing the risk of large, severe wildfires while also increasing the security of mountain water supplies and enhancing biodiversity are urgent priorities in western US forests. After a century of fire suppression, Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks located in California’s Sierra Nevada initiated programs to manage wildfires and these areas present a rare opportunity to study the effects of restored fire regimes. Forest cover decreased during the managed wildfire period and meadow and shrubland cover increased, especially in Yosemite’s Illilouette Creek basin that experienced a 20% reduction in forest area. These areas now support greater pyrodiversity and consequently greater …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofibers For Energy Harvesting Applications, Jui Vitthal Kharade

Theses and Dissertations

Miniaturization of portable devices demand a power source that does not require recharging or replacement. Piezoelectric energy harvesters are devices that harvest mechanical energy from environment and convert it into electrical energy thus being an ideal candidate for replacing batteries in small devices. Objective of this thesis is to fabricate an energy harvester with efficient energy conversion. In this thesis, the effect of fabricating mechanisms, solvents, and composites on polyvinylidene nanofibers are analysed in order to improve the piezoelectric response of the nanofibers. These nanofibers are then used for fabricating an energy harvester. The energy harvester is implemented in a …

Production And Characterization Of Polyurethane Fibers By Forcespinning Method And Incorporation Of Luminiscense Nanoparticles, Sunanda Kumar Saha

Theses and Dissertations

In this work, Polyurethane (PU) fine fiber nonwoven mats are generated using the Forcespinning® method. A detailed study focusing on the effect of PU concentration within solutions of N, N Dimethylformamide and the effect of relative humidity (RH) on fiber average diameter and fiber yield is presented. Solutions were prepared with 4 different concentrations, 14, 15, 16 and 17 wt% of PU. It was observed that as concentration of PU increases, average diameter shows a tendency to increase. Production of fibers with RH varying from X to X was analyzed. It was shown that higher RH is convenient for PU …

Uptake Analysis Of As(Iii) And As(V) By Cassia Fistula Seedlings, Valeria Velazquez

Theses and Dissertations

The natural and anthropogenic contamination of water by arsenic has become a major concern to the environment and public health. Phytoremediation is an attractive alternative to ecologically friendly remove contaminants at a potential high efficiency and low cost. Absorption of As(III) and As(V) was evaluated by the measuring the content of arsenic in the roots, leaves and stems Cassia fistula grown under controlled conditions in a hydroponics system. After seeds were germinated, the plants were grown in Hoagland nutrient solution individually supplemented with 1, 2, 5 ppm of As(III) and As(V). After two weeks of exposure, samples of leaves, roots, …

Analysis Of 316 Omnitrophota (Op3) Genomes Reveals A Diverse And Ubiquitous Candidate Phylum Of Putative Syntrophs, Predators, And Free-Living Nanobacteria Encoding Giant Open-Reading Frames., Cale O. Seymour

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Candidate bacterial phylum Omnitrophota has never been isolated and is poorly understood. In this study, we explored the genomics, phylogeny, taxonomy, distribution, cell size, and predicted physiology of Omnitrophota based on 316 genomes. Phylogenomic concordance identified seven classes accommodating 144 species. Calibration of genome-based taxonomy to ribosomal SSU profiling revealed most Omnitrophota classes are prevalent in the Earth Microbiome Dataset, particularly in soils and sediments. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting and differential size filtration experiments showed ultra-small (<400 >nm) cells are common across the phylum, as are parasitism-related genes, including a conserved tight adherence (Tad) complex and ATP/ADP translocase. However, nucleotide and …

Minority Adolescents And School Referral: The Importance Of School Counselors And The Referral System, Samantha Jo Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate a school-based referral system in northwest Missouri that is effectively able to identify students with mental health concerns, help students find treatment options, and provide any follow-up needed. The main focus in this qualitative case study was on what makes one school district in northwest Missouri have an effective and successful mental health referral system. The theory guiding this study was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This motivational theory is a five-tier model of human needs, including physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Without having all these needs met, an …

The Influence Of Views Regarding Scriptural Authority On Female Leadership: The Independent Baptist African American Denomination, Cynthia Mczeal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the proposed exploratory research study is to examine how different views on scriptural authority regarding female leadership impact women in leadership in the Independent Baptist African American denominational church. The research is necessitated by the extant complementarian-egalitarian debates on scriptural authority regarding female leadership in the selected religious denomination, the high view of scripture amongst evangelicals, and the increasing growth of women’s influence on the evangelical church. There have been little, if any efforts, to understand how various views regarding scriptural authority affect women in leadership in the Independent Baptist African American Denominational Church setting. The main …

Legacy Trail: Photovoice Of African American/Black Women Ces Doctoral Graduates Persistence, Andrea M. Garraway

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study examined the retrospective experiences of seven African American/Black (AA/Black) women who graduated from a Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) doctoral program, accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The purpose of the study was to investigate ancestral links to their persistence. This study obtained data from semi-structured individual interviews, a focus group, and PhotoVoice pursuit. Through these different methods of data collection, the validity of the study was increased. The research problem identified was that the CES doctoral degree attrition rate remains stagnated (approximately 50%) and the rate for AA/Black women …

Correlating Maslovian Need Satisfaction To Educational Attainment And Time Since Completion, Anthony Brandt Babbitt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational research study was to investigate how accurately an individual’s needs satisfaction (i.e., the criterion variables) may be predicted from the combination of educational attainment and time since completion (i.e., the predictor variables). The present study addresses a gap in the literature regarding whether secondary education, post-secondary education, or both, correlate to the satisfaction of Maslow’s hierarchical needs across a broad spectrum sample of the United States population. A US-based quota sample of 245 paid adult participants operating on Prolific Academic’s online research platform provided the data within a Qualtrics-hosted version of the Five Need …

A Content Analysis Of Social Media Posts Among Recreational Cyclists: A Gender Perspective, Eunjung Kim, Kijung Choi, James Lappeman, Jari Salo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Recreational cyclists are pertinent but rarely studied leisure and tourism segment. Recreational cycling has traditionally been considered as a ‘masculine stereotyped’ sport. The purpose of the research is to better understand a gendered consumer view of recreational cycling and to possibly promote recreational cycling to women and men in countries like South Africa with keen interests of recreational cycling in the form of sport tourism. This research employs a content analysis of social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as a research method. Specifically, the gendered nature of recreational cycling is focused upon. In total, 2,504 posts from 1,598 …

Radiologic Technologists In Saudi Arabia: Does Long-Term Exposure To Radiation Increase The Risk Of Hematological Disorders?, Mohammed Makkawi, Sultan Alasmari, Nasser A. Shubayr, Yazeed I. Alashban, Nashwa H. Eisa, Hussain A. Khairy

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To determine the influence of prolonged exposure to radiation based on dosimeter readings on hematological parameters among radiologic technologists (RTs) in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was specifically conducted on selected RTs with experience of more than 10 years and the highest thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) readings among all RTs in the Radiological Department, Sabya General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia from August to October 2020. The RTs group was compared with a control group of non-irradiated participants. Blood samples were collected for hematological and coagulation profile evaluation. Results: The acquired radiation dose analysis revealed that the average accumulated …

Seeding Rate, Nitrogen Fertilzer, And Cutting Timing Effects On Teff Forage Yield And Nutritive Value, Michael C. Laca

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Teff [Eragostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is a relatively new forage gaining popularity in the United States; however, information regarding agronomic production practices is lacking. This study was conducted to determine the combination of seeding rate, fertilization, and harvest timing to optimize teff dry-matter yield (DMY) and nutritive value. Four seeding rates (2, 5, 8, and 11 lb/acre), four nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates (0, 25, 50, and 100 lb/acre), and two harvest strategies [boot stage (2-cut) and full seed-head stage (1-cut; stockpiled)] were evaluated in 2010 and 2011 in Kaysville, UT and Yerington, NV. The effects of harvest (1- vs …

Phytochrome Physiology And Plant Perception Of Far-Red Photons, Paul Kusuma

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Photons are the primary energy source for most life on Earth, as they drive photosynthesis, a process that turns the CO₂ in air into food. One crucial parameters for the optimization of growth is leaf area, which determines the ability of a plant to capture photons for photosynthesis. In order to gain access to photons in shaded environments, plants have evolved unique sensors, called photoreceptors, which respond to changes in the color and intensity of light.

Far-red photons (photons at the edge of human vision that appear as dim red light) hold particular promise in regulating plant shape and …