Digital Commons Network^™

Validation Of The Use Of Clathromorphum Compactum Growth And Skeletal Δ18o As A Proxy For Seawater Conditions, Teagan Mcmahon

Pitzer Senior Theses

Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are important organisms that create benthic habitat in the photic zone of oceans worldwide. CCAs mechanisms of photosynthesis and calcification may, in some cases, make them vulnerable to climate change and ocean acidification. Therefore, CCA are important not only for their ecological role within ecosystems but also for their ability to indicate the effects that ocean acidification and climate change may have on other marine calcifying organisms. Some species of CCA are known to be useful recorders of paleo oceanic conditions. These climate archives and reconstructions of past environmental conditions are important for understanding past changes …

Disparities In Demand For Covid-19 Hospital Care In The United States: Insights From A Longitudinal Hierarchical Study, Wolfgang Messner

Faculty Publications

Background and aims

This study examined disparities in hospitalization for COVID-19 within the U.S. by racial and ethnic groups, health insurance status, and social support structure.

Methods

Using publicly available ecological case and contextual data from July 2020 to April 2021, a longitudinal hierarchical model for the 51 U.S. states was constructed.

Results

Racial/ethnic disparities were observed, such as that hospitalization rates were higher in states with a higher percentage of Black (β = .002, P = .009) and American Indian or Alaska Native persons (β = .003, P = .03). Conversely, lack of health insurance was related …

Investigation Of Pfas Exposure Risks In Kentucky Using Mapping Tools, Sweta Ojha

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of environmentally-persistent compounds, are environmentally ubiquitous and challenging to remediate. Several studies show that PFAS are detected in drinking water systems when sampling is conducted, making human exposure via drinking water an important health consideration. This research: 1) develops a mapping tool for prioritizing sampling locations; 2) establishes a method for making GIS data and meta(data) in the mapping tool accessible; 3) fosters decision making by integrating knowledge brokering and the alignment interest and influence matrix (AIIM). The tool developed is this research is a geospatial and statistical PFAS hot-spot screening model that …

Spatial And Temporal Heterogeneity Of Hyporheic Invertebrates In An Ozark Stream, David Fleshman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The hyporheic zone (HZ), an ecotone between surface water and groundwater in streams, provides extensive but underappreciated habitat for invertebrates in alluvial systems like the gravel-bed streams common in the Ozark highlands. Relative to its importance as a habitat, little is known about spatial distribution and response to disturbance by invertebrates in the HZ. In riffle-pool systems, surface water typically enters the HZ at the head of riffles (downwelling) and returns to the surface at the tail of riffles (upwelling). Previous research has found differences in invertebrate communities and environmental variables between upwelling and downwelling zones, but results have been …

A Hot Conflict Growing Ever Hotter: How Climate Change Provokes Instances Of Violence In South Sudan, Madison Menard

CMC Senior Theses

In South Sudan, people are not engaging in violent altercations because of climate change. People are not deciding to kill other people because the average temperature of the world has risen 1 degree celsius, or harming their neighbor because of irregular rain patterns. Alas the link from climate change to violence is not as direct as that. Rather, climate change has played a non-direct role in the South Sudanese conflict. Within the political marketplace it has subtly altered conditions which later spark or intensify outbreaks of violence. Climate change in this sense should be viewed as a stressor of sorts …

An Ecological Study Of Glyphosate Use And Non-Hodgkin’S Lymphoma, Dexter Corlett, Steven R. Browning

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Glyphosate is currently the most widely used herbicide in the world. Initially thought to be non-carcinogenic in humans, in 2015 glyphosate was classified as a “probable carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer due to several small epidemiological studies indicating a link between the pesticide and hematologic cancers, especially non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The current work is an ecological study using counties in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Iowa to compare glyphosate usage to NHL incidence using a multivariate Poisson regression. We found no significant correlation between glyphosate use and NHL incidence, though caution should be taken to draw significance from …

A North Carolina Zip Code Specific Analysis Of Community And Environmental Social Determinants Of Health Variables And Health Outcomes: Mortality And Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions, Alicia Mcdaniel

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic elevated public awareness of the impact of health inequities and the role that social determinants of health (SDOH) play in population health outcomes. Despite the utility, healthcare providers remain ill-informed on the community level SDOH data needed to improve health outcomes due to this information not being integrated into the Electronic Health Record (EHR) (Cantor and Thorpe, 2018; Park, 2018). Therefore, the association between community and environmental SDOH variables at the zip code level, using North Carolina hospital admissions data for infant mortality, adult mortality, and ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) were evaluated through logistic regression to …

Ecological Studies Of The South Atlantic Deep Sea To Inform Sustainable Management, Amelia Bridges

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Although deep-sea science continues to progress, the southern hemisphere represents a vast and yet understudied area, and the South Atlantic is no exception to this. However, as with other ocean basins, blue growth and the potential for expansion of new and emerging industries mean that information is required to characterise the ecology of the basin to inform sustainable management. Furthermore, novel tools will be required to assist in translating ecological knowledge into usable products that can facilitate marine spatial planning. The aims of this thesis were to contribute to our understanding of the benthic ecology of seamount and oceanic island …

The Potential Impact Of Macroalgal Generated Hydrogen Peroxide Levels On Co-Occurring Organism In Rock Pools, Agapery Yoane Pattinasarany

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Abstract Macroalgae have been identified as a potential source of ROS (e.g., hydrogen peroxide) in some rock pools and enclosed habitats; the accumulation of ROS may be harmful to other organisms. Although some studies have found vulnerability to these ROS, there has been little research on the potential impact of photosynthesis-induced oxidative stress on organisms living in rock pools. The aims of this study were to investigate the levels of hydrogen peroxide produced by macroalgae and to assess the effect of similar levels of H2O2 on a rock-pool resident, the snakelocks anemone. The objective of the first experimental chapter was …

Effects Of Snake Fungal Disease On The Survival And Growth Of The Queensnake (Regina Septemvittata), Andrew Jerome Ibach

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Having only emerged as a threat to snakes in 2006, relatively little is known of snake fungal disease’s (SFD) impacts on demographic processes, particularly survival and growth. I used data from an extensive capture-mark-recapture study to examine survival and growth in central Kentucky Queensnake (Regina septemivittata) populations. I found that diseased snakes and healthy snakes possessed similar monthly survival estimates (SFD positive 0.9687, 95% CI 0.8444 to 0.9944; SFD negative 0.8735, 95% CI 0.7518 to 0.9402) and that disease state transition probability from SFD negative to SFD positive, and SFD positive to SFD negative were also similar (N-P …

Anti-Vax Fear* Speech: A Public-Health-Driven Policy Initiative When Counter-Speech Won't Work (*Fake, Flawed, Fraudulent, False, Endangering, And Reckless), Barbara Pfeffer Billauer

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

Memphis State Magazine, 02:02, 1982 Spring

Memphis State University Magazine

Cover Story, "25 Years a University: Ivory Towers in the Political Arena" by Laurie Petrick

The hard-fought battle to make Memphis State a university is told in this special silver anniversary section full of memories from 1957.

Also featured, "On Top of the Charts" by Laura Derrington

MSU Cartographic Services Laboratory will not only design such maps, charts, and graphs for students, faculty and staff of MSU, but the unique service is also available to local governments, private businesses and citizens at a minimal fee.

Memphis State Magazine, 09:01, 1990 Spring

Memphis State University Magazine

Cover Story, "Video Magic"

For hundreds of years, painters have used brushes, potters have manipulated wheels and sculptors have brandished chisels. Now Memphis State's art students are wielding a new tool to produce images — the computer graphics system. On the Cover: "Hidden Symmetry" was produced with a computer and thermal printer. Its creator, James Watkins, teaches MSU art students to blend creativity with technology.

Also featured, "Standing at the River — A Look at the 1968 Sanitation Strike"

As custodian of the 1968 Sanitation Strike Archival Project, MSU's Mississippi Valley Collection is an important source of historical information used …

States' Public Health Funding And Population Health Outcomes: An Examination Through A Socio-Ecological Lens, Maureen K. Akubu-Odero

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The US public health system has been underfunded for decades, despite its significant mandate of improving overall population health outcomes. This ecological study evaluates the association between state public health funding and population health outcomes and the role of state public health funding in reducing state-level health disparities. The findings show that the relationships between public health investments and improvements in health outcomes and health disparity in states are moderated by socioeconomic contextual factors. The findings suggest a need for continued and increased public health investments, tailored to community needs and context

Effects Of Unpaved Roads On Relative Abundance And Epigenetics Of Early Successional Lizards, David Tevs

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Unpaved roads may provide uniform microhabitat characteristics and impart edge effects in the adjacent landscape that mediate environmental pressures acting on small vertebrates. These features may allow species that are associated with recent disturbance to persist in aging forest patches. Further, epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation may provide these species the phenotypic plasticity necessary to occupy multiple habitats with different environmental conditions. To understand how small vertebrates use unpaved roads, the relative abundance and occurrence of Florida scrub lizards (Sceloporus woodi) and six-lined racerunners (Aspidoscelis sexlineata) were quantified using visual encounter surveys along unpaved roads …

Meta-Analysis Of Major Histocompatibility Complex (Mhc) Class Iia Reveals Polymorphism And Positive Selection In Many Vertebrate Species, Donald Dearborn, Sophie Warren, Frank Hailer

All Faculty Scholarship

Pathogen-mediated selection and sexual selection are important drivers of evolution. Both processes are known to target genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a gene family encoding cell-surface proteins that display pathogen peptides to the immune system. The MHC is also a model for understanding processes such as gene duplication and trans-species allele sharing. The class II MHC protein is a heterodimer whose peptide-binding groove is encoded by an MHC-IIA gene and an MHC-IIB gene. However, our literature review found that class II MHC papers on infectious disease or sexual selection included IIA data only 18% and 9% of the …

Activity Levels Of Bat Species At Interstate Highway Sites With And Without Wildlife Underpasses In The Washington Cascades, Jenna Chapman

All Master's Theses

Roads force wildlife to navigate degraded and fragmented habitats across the globe, creating barriers to movement and increasing the risk of mortality. This includes bats, whose movements between foraging and roosting habitats may be impeded by roads. Wildlife crossing structures (WCS) are a common mitigation strategy to increase connectivity, but investigation into bat activity in and around these structures is limited. I investigated bat species presence and activity along Interstate-90 in the Cascade Range of Washington State. My goal was to test whether all bat species found in the nearby forest were also active along the highway, and whether bat …

Industrial Hemp As A Resource For Birds In Agroecosystems: Human–Wildlife Conflict Or Conservation Opportunity?, Emily A. Kotten, Iona Hennessy, Bryan M. Kluever, Zachary T. Brym, Bradley F. Blackwell, Lee A. Humberg, Page E. Klug

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.; hemp) is an emerging crop in the United States with little known about bird use or the potential for birds to become an agricultural pest. We identified birds associated with hemp fields, using repeated visits to oilseed plots in North Dakota, USA (n = 6) and cannabinoid (CBD) plots in Florida, USA (n = 4) from August to November 2020. We did not control for plot area or density; our observations were descriptive only. We observed 10 species in hemp, 12 species flying over hemp, and 11 species both foraging in and …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Culling On Browse Damage By The Japanese Serow In Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Shiori Ikushima, Naotoshi Kuninaga, Takashi Ikeda, Takuya Okamoto, Makoto Asano, Masatsugu Suzuki

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus; serow) is a protected territorial ungulate native to Japan. However, locally overabundant serow populations can damage forest plantations and agriculture through browsing. Despite government permitted annual culling of serows on forest lands of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, browse damage continues to be reported in hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa; cypress) plantations. Sika deer (Cervus nippon; deer), which are co-located with serows can also browse cypress, but their impacts have never been evaluated. The objective of our research was to evaluate the involvement of each species in browse damage and to establish …

Applications Of Remote Sensing And Geographic Information System On Salinity Assessment: A Case Study On Bang Pakong River, Thailand, Min Thura Mon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The Bang Pakong River (BPK) has an annual salinity issue. The river is an important source of freshwater supply in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) of Thailand, which has major agricultural and industrial activities. This research aims to understand and assess the past and future salinity distribution in the BPK River by using remote sensing and time series forecasting through water quality and Landsat image time series data. Regarding to remote sensing, this research employs four machine learning algorithms—multilinear regression, decision trees, random forest, and artificial neural networks—by applying reflectance bands of satellite images and measured salinity values. Random forest …

Turkey's Largest Cinereous Vulture Population In A Recently Discovered Breeding Area Innorth-West Anatolia, Şafak Arslan, Ci̇hangi̇r Ki̇razli

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Studies regarding the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), classified globally as near threatened, have recently accelerated in Turkey. Comprehensive studies particularly about the northwestern Anatolian population, have been conducted. Also, the genetic studies carried out, have revealed that the cinereous vulture population in Turkey is panmictic and that it has recently suffered a bottleneck. The main aim of this study conducted across the Köroğlu Mountains in Bolu was to determine the population size and the breeding success of the species. A total of 37 field surveys in 2018 and 2019 have revealed Turkey's largest breeding cinereous vulture colony and have detected …

Potential Effects Of Amynthas Agrestis Invasion On Woody Understory Flora In The Cvnp, Christian Mammana

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Ohio forests are threatened by the invasive ecosystem engineer A. agrestis. A. agrestis invasion typically co-occurs with the ecosystem engineer, Odocoileus virginianus, where their impacts may synergize. To determine the direct effects of A. agrestis invasion, fenced plots across the Cuyahoga Valley National Park that excluded deer were utilized. The species richness, Shannon diversity and evenness of woody understory flora was measured in each plot. Mustard extraction was used to determine earthworm abundance. Correlations between abundance and measured variables were used to highlight potential invasion effects. Abundance and species richness was found to have a significant, positive correlation (p = …

Industrial Hemp As A Resource For Birds In Agroecosystems: Human-Wildlife Conflict Or Conservation Opportunity?, Emily A. Kotten, Iona Hennessy, Bryan M. Kluever, Bradley F. Blackwell, Lee A. Humberg, Page E. Klug

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.; hemp) is an emerging crop in the United States with little known about bird use or the potential for birds to become an agricultural pest. We identified birds associated with hemp fields, using repeated visits to oilseed plots in North Dakota, USA (n = 6) and cannabinoid (CBD) plots in Florida, USA (n = 4) from August to November 2020. We did not control for plot area or density; our observations were descriptive only. We observed 10 species in hemp, 12 species flying over hemp, and 11 species both foraging in and …

Differentiating The Effects Of Two Non-Native Fish In The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Sarah Richardson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This study seeks to determine the individual effects of two non-native fish, the brook stickleback, Culaea inconstans, and pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus, on the aquatic invertebrates and food webs of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR). Ten ponds were analyzed and compared with stable isotope analysis and invertebrate abundance data. Three ponds were chosen to represent each of the following categories: fishless, brook stickleback invaded (BS), and coinvaded, along with a single pumpkinseed (PS) pond. Overall, δ[superscript]13C and δ[superscript]15N values increased in invaded ponds, indicating shifts in the zooplankton community structure and the carbon source of predatory invertebrates. Mean δ[superscript]13C was the …

An Investigation Of Rural And Mental Health Disparities Across Five Dimensions Of Healthcare Access, Nicholas Charles Coombs

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Access to healthcare is a complicated public health challenge. Healthcare access is multi-dimensional and combines characteristics of individuals, their households, and their social and physical environments with system-level characteristics of healthcare delivery systems, organizations and healthcare providers. Access encompasses five dimensions: approachability, acceptability, availability, affordability and appropriateness. This dissertation investigates these five dimensions of access to healthcare in the context of two populations of interest: 1) persons who reside in rural areas and 2) persons who experience mental health challenges. Both persons in rural areas and persons with mental health challenges have structural barriers to healthcare access. Additionally, rural health …

Understanding The Utilization Of Woody Biomass Through The Perspectives Of Southwest United States Forest Service Land Managers: A Qualitative Study, Mary-Ellen Reyna

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Dry ponderosa pine/mixed conifer stands in the Southwestern United States create an overabundance of woody biomass during restoration and fuel treatments. It has been the job of land managers and resource specialists to develop management goals and practices to treat stands and lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires while managing for accumulations of woody biomass. Knowing the limitations, setbacks, and successes will help researchers, the United States Forest Service, and other land managers better improve woody biomass utilization. In conjunction with three previous ForBio Southwest studies, we present results from ten phone interviews from three Arizona and New Mexico ranger …

The Impact Of Tobacco Use On Covid-19 Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Jessica Baker, Nandita Krishnan, Lorien C. Abroms, Carla J. Berg

GW Authored Works

Introduction. Tobacco use increases risks for numerous diseases, including respiratory illnesses. We examined the literature to determine whether a history of tobacco use increases risks for adverse outcomes among COVID-19 patients. Methods. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, LitCovid, Scopus, and Europe PMC (for preprints) using COVID-19 and tobacco-related terms. We included studies of human subjects with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infections that examined tobacco use history as an exposure and used multivariable analyses. The data was collected between March 31st, 2020, and February 20th, 2021. Outcomes included mortality, hospitalization, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and illness severity. Results. Among the 39 …

Quantifying Contributions Of Climate, Geography, And Gene Flow To Divergence: A Case Study For Three North American Pines, Constance E. Bolte

Theses and Dissertations

Long-lived species of trees, especially conifers, often display weak patterns of reproductive isolation, but clear patterns of local adaptation and phenotypic divergence. Discovering the evolutionary history of these patterns is paramount to a generalized understanding of speciation and the processes that confer population persistence versus those that compromise adaptive potential under rapidly changing environments. Forest trees have long generation times and low migratory potential making them especially vulnerable to population fragmentation and reductions of genetic diversity due to insufficient tracking of niche optima and adaptational lags. Within clades of the genus Pinus, evolutionary histories appear to be riddled with hybridization …

Transformation Of Farmer Resistance In Conservation Areas: Land Occupation By Farmers In Mount Halimun-Salak National Park, West Java, Sulastri Sardjo, Arya Hadi Dharmawan, Dudung Darusman, Ekawati Sri Wahyuni

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

A number of studies have shown various agrarian conflicts as a response by local farmers against the policy of national parks that prohibits them from accessing conservation forest areas. However, previous studies had not explained the dynamics of power relations between park authorities and farmers who stand in opposition to these policies. This study employs a qualitative research approach complemented by secondary data to explain the transformation of farmer resistance in the Mount Halimun-Salak National Park (TNGHS) area, namely from their repertoire of everyday resistance to practices of land occupation. Specifically, this study uses the “powercube” analytical framework to explain …

Vocal Analysis Of The Newly Described Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog, Carrie J. Kosiba

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Urbanization alters animal behaviors and especially impacts amphibians due to their sensitivity to environmental change, small home ranges, and reliance on acoustic communication to locate mates. A newly discovered leopard frog species, Rana kauffeldi, was recently described from the New York City metro area. This species was previously characterized as R. sphenocephala due to their nearly identical morphology, but the two species are distinguished based on genetics and calling characteristics. The goal of this project was to document calling intensity and phenology (timing) differences between urban and rural populations of R. kauffeldi, as well as describe variation across …