Digital Commons Network^™

Phosphorus Release And Recovery From Simulated Ferric Wastewater Sludge, Aseel Alnimer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Phosphorus (P) is a fundamental element necessary for all life forms and a key component in the fertilizer industry. Meanwhile, the excessive load of P to water bodies due to human activities has the potential to promote eutrophication. Wastewater treatment plants remove P either biologically or chemically and produce P rich sludge which could be a potential renewable source for P. At present, commercial technologies exist for P recovery from biological wastewater sludge. However, P recovery from chemical sludge particularly iron(III)-phosphate (Fe-P) sludge generated in chemical P removal plants that use iron(III) salts remains a challenge.

This study explored, in …

Ethical Dilemmas And Moral Distress In Companion Animal Veterinary Medicine: Mental Health Implications, Bronwyn Dickson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mental health concerns are a significant problem in the veterinary community, and studies suggest that veterinarians working in Western countries are at higher risk of suicide compared to the general population and other healthcare professionals (Bartram et al., 2009; Bartram & Baldwin, 2010; Platt et al., 2012). Additionally, veterinary medicine is an occupation inundated with complex ethical and moral dilemmas. However, current studies are limited in their ability to contextualize the risk and contributing factors fully; therefore, they offer limited insight into effective preventative and support strategies. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), eight companion animal veterinarians were interviewed about their …

Uptake Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances By Fish, Mussel, And Passive Samplers In Mobile-Laboratory Exposures Using Groundwater From A Contamination Plume At A Historical Fire Training Area, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Larry B. Barber, Heidi M. Pickard, David A. Alvarez, Jitka Becanova, Steffanie H. Keefe, Denise R. Leblanc, Rainer Lohmann, Jeffrey A. Steevens, Alan M. Vajda

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Aqueous film-forming foams historically were used during fire training activities on Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and created an extensive per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) groundwater contamination plume. The potential for PFAS bioconcentration from exposure to the contaminated groundwater, which discharges to surface water bodies, was assessed with mobile-laboratory experiments using groundwater from the contamination plume and a nearby reference location. The on-site continuous-flow 21-day exposures used male and female fathead minnows, freshwater mussels, polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), and polyethylene tube samplers (PETS) to evaluate biotic and abiotic uptake. The composition of the PFAS-contaminated groundwater was complex and …

Cultural Behaviors And Their Influence On The Proximal Femur: Comparisons Of Postural Behavior, Occupation, And Subsistence-Settlement Between A Pre-Contact And Historic Sample, Joanna Klein

Master's Theses

Little is known archaeologically about the Late Woodland Schroeder Mounds mortuary group from west-central Illinois. As such, bioarchaeological data is at the forefront of archaeological problem-solving for not only the site, but the geographical area as well. Skeletal data such as proximal femur angles and activity markers contribute to the understanding of subsistence-settlement trends and postural behavior of the mortuary complex. Femoral neck version is associated with postural behaviors such as squatting and kneeling. The neck-shaft angle is linked to mobility and settlement patterns. Bicondylar angle was explored to see if behaviors had any affect. Allen’s fossa and Poirier’s facet …

The Indecisions Of 1789: Inconstant Originalism And Strategic Ambiguity, Jed H. Shugerman

Faculty Scholarship

The unitary executive theory relies on the First Congress and an ostensible “Decision of 1789” as an originalist basis for unconditional presidential removal power. In light of new evidence, the First Congress was undecided on any constitutional theory and retreated to ambiguity in order to compromise and move on to other urgent business.

Seila Law’s strict separation-of-powers argument depends on indefeasibility (i.e., Congress may not set limits or conditions on the president’s power of civil removal). In fact, few members of the First Congress defended or even discussed indefeasibility. Only nine of fifty-four participating representatives explicitly endorsed the presidentialist view …

Punishment Without The State, I. Bennett Capers

Faculty Scholarship

People are speaking up on social media and in other virtual spaces, sometimes to spur the criminal process, sometimes in response to the criminal system’s perceived failures, and even sometimes completely indifferent to the criminal system. People are expressing moral condemnation. They are shaming, shunning, banishing, and canceling. What are the implications of punishment through virtual spaces, in lieu of the usual—and now seemingly antiquated—space of physical courtrooms? More broadly, when all the world can become a virtual courtroom, a “place” for judgment, what are the implications for how we think about crime itself? And perhaps most importantly, if social …

Reflection, Deliberation, And Dialogue: Stipanowich's Contribution To Dispute Resolution, Jacqueline Nolan-Haley .

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Small Intestinal Microbiome: Vibing With Intestinal Stem Cells, Victoria Poplaski, Faith Sawyer, Sarah E Blutt

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The epithelial lining of the small intestine mediates its absorptive and secretory function and thus is a critical component of human health. Regeneration and renewal of the epithelium is the result of proliferation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Many cell types and molecular factors are known to regulate the ability of ISCs to proliferate, including adjacent neighboring epithelial cells and the underlying, supportive stromal cells. The microbiome resides in the lumen of the small intestine and is in close contact with the epithelium. Due to its proximity to ISCs, it has been hypothesized that species within the microbiome have the …

If N. T. Wright Is Right, How Then Shall We Do Theology?, Howard A. Snyder

The Asbury Journal

In November of 2022, theologian N.T. Wright gave a series of lectures for the Centennial Celebration of Asbury Theological Seminary. In this response from Asbury Theological Seminary’s Howard Snyder, the implications of Wright’s lectures are explored and expanded. In particular, Snyder explores the meaning of Scriptural Theology as opposed to Systematic Theology. He explores how Systematic Theology came to be the dominant way of reading scripture, and then proposes ten principles for doing theology rooted in scripture instead of any human system.

Psalm 1a–B (1:1–2:12 As Combined And A Chiasm): What Yhwh Knows About People’S Paths And Plans That Will Perish, W. Creighton Marlowe

The Asbury Journal

This article seeks to explore whether a division really exists between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. The author argues that the presence of a chiasm which extends throughout the two psalms gives potential further evidence for the argument that the two psalms where once part of one continuous literary creation. The themes involve the laws of YHWH and the consequences of breaking these laws both for individuals and for nations.

Dr. David Reese And The Three Errors Of Phrenology: Religion, Anatomy, And Moral Insanity, Philip Hardt

The Asbury Journal

Today, phrenology is a mostly-forgotten and thoroughly medically disgraced theory of human behavior. Yet, in its mid-nineteenth century heyday, it not only claimed to explain one’s personality based on the size of the bumps on one’s head but also (scarily) attempted to push prison reform in a less punitive direction. Somewhat surprisingly, as phrenology crossed the Atlantic in the 1820s, a number of doctors, professors, and ordinary citizens accepted and promoted its rather startling claims. At the same time, traditionalists response is exemplifies by Dr. David M. Reese, a highly regarded physician in Manhattan who opposed its attack on (mainly …

Applying Single Cell Multi-Omic Analyses To Understand Treatment Resistance In Pediatric High Grade Glioma, Rebecca L Murdaugh, Jamie N Anastas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite improvements in cancer patient outcomes seen in the past decade, tumor resistance to therapy remains a major impediment to achieving durable clinical responses. Intratumoral heterogeneity related to genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolic differences between individual cancer cells has emerged as a driver of therapeutic resistance. This cell to cell heterogeneity can be assessed using single cell profiling technologies that enable the identification of tumor cell clones that exhibit similar defining features like specific mutations or patterns of DNA methylation. Single cell profiling of tumors before and after treatment can generate new insights into the cancer cell characteristics that …

Advanced Photon Counting Ct Imaging Pipeline For Cardiac Phenotyping Of Apolipoprotein E Mouse Models, Alex J Allphin, Ali Mahzarnia, Darin P Clark, Yi Qi, Zay Y Han, Prajwal Bhandari, Ketan B Ghaghada, Alexandra Badea, Cristian T Badea

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is associated with the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene and lipid metabolism. This study aimed to develop an imaging-based pipeline to comprehensively assess cardiac structure and function in mouse models expressing different APOE genotypes using photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT).

Methods: 123 mice grouped based on APOE genotype (APOE2, APOE3, APOE4, APOE knockout (KO)), gender, human NOS2 factor, and diet (control or high fat) were used in this study. The pipeline included PCCT imaging on a custom-built system with contrast-enhanced in vivo imaging and intrinsic cardiac gating, spectral and temporal iterative reconstruction, spectral decomposition, and deep learning cardiac …

Promiscuous Feeding Across Multiple Honey Bee Hosts Amplifies The Vectorial Capacity Of Varroa Destructor, Zachary S. Lamas, Serhat Solmaz, Eugene V. Ryabov, Joseph Mowery, Matthew Heermann, Daniel Sonenshine, Jay D. Evans, David J. Hawthorne

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Varroa destructor is a cosmopolitan pest and leading cause of colony loss of the European honey bee. Historically described as a competent vector of honey bee viruses, this arthropod vector is the cause of a global pandemic of Deformed wing virus, now endemic in honeybee populations in all Varroa-infested regions. Our work shows that viral spread is driven by Varroa actively switching from one adult bee to another as they feed. Assays using fluorescent microspheres were used to indicate the movement of fluids in both directions between host and vector when Varroa feed. Therefore, Varroa could be in either …

A Multi-Isotope Approach Reveals Seasonal Variation In The Reliance On Marine Resources, Production Of Metabolic Water, And Ingestion Of Seawater By Two Species Of Coastal Passerine To Maintain Water Balance, Lucas Navarrete, Nico Lübcker, Felipe Alvarez, Roberto Nespolo, Juan Carlos Sanchez-Hernandez, Karin Maldonado, Zachary D. Sharp, John P. Whiteman, Seth D. Newsome, Pablo Sabat

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Tracing how free-ranging organisms interact with their environment to maintain water balance is a difficult topic to study for logistical and methodological reasons. We use a novel combination of triple-oxygen stable isotope analyses of water extracted from plasma (δ¹⁶O, δ¹⁷O, δ¹⁸O) and bulk tissue carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopes of feathers and blood to estimate the proportional contribution of marine resources, seawater, and metabolic water used by two species of unique songbirds (genus Cinclodes) to maintain their water balance in a seasonal coastal environment. We …

Strong, Recent Selective Sweeps Reshape Genetic Diversity In Freshwater Bivalve Megalonaias Nervosa, Rebekah L. Rogers, Stephanie L. Grizzard, Jeffrey T. Garner

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Freshwater Unionid bivalves have recently faced ecological upheaval through pollution, barriers to dispersal, harvesting, and changes in fish–host prevalence. Currently, over 70% of species in North America are threatened, endangered or extinct. To characterize the genetic response to recent selective pressures, we collected population genetic data for one successful bivalve species, Megalonaias nervosa. We identify megabase-sized regions that are nearly monomorphic across the population, signals of strong, recent selection reshaping diversity across 73 Mb total. These signatures of selection are greater than is commonly seen in population genetic models. We observe 102 duplicate genes with high dN/d …

Employing The Houseless As Corporate Social Responsibility, Nicholas A. Smith, Larry R. Martinez, Shi (Tracy) Xu, Anna Mattila, Lisa Yixing Gao

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose

Many hospitality organizations see the benefits of engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR), which can take many forms. This study aims to examine one relatively unique form of CSR: hiring individuals experiencing houselessness. This research aimed to investigate the impact of hiring individuals experiencing houselessness on customers’ behavioral intentions, attitudes toward an organization and perceptions of CSR actions.

Design/methodology/approach

Across two experiments, this study investigated the impact of employing individuals experiencing houselessness on customers’ perceptions of the employee and organization using organizational legitimacy theory.

Findings

Results demonstrate that employees known to be houseless elicited more positive employee and organizational …

The Daily Association Between Affect And Alcohol Use: A Meta-Analysis Of Individual Participant Data, Jonas Dora, Marilyn Piccirillo, Kelly Arbeau, Stephen Armeli, Marc Auriacombe, Bruce Bartholow, Adriene M. Beltz, Shari M. Blumenstock, Cynthia Mohr, Multiple Additional Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Influential psychological theories hypothesize that people consume alcohol in response to the experience of both negative and positive emotions. Despite two decades of daily diary and ecological momentary assessment research, it remains unclear whether people consume more alcohol on days they experience higher negative and positive affect in everyday life. In this preregistered meta-analysis, we synthesized the evidence for these daily associations between affect and alcohol use. We included individual participant data from 69 studies (N = 12,394), which used daily and momentary surveys to assess affect and the number of alcoholic drinks consumed. Results indicate that people are not …

Estimating The Distribution Of Oryzomys Palustris, A Potential Key Host In Expanding Rickettsial Tick-Borne Disease Risk, Catherine A. Lippi, Samuel Canfield, Christina Espada, Holly D. Gaff, Sadie J. Ryan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Increasingly, geographic approaches to assessing the risk of tick-borne diseases are being used to inform public health decision-making and surveillance efforts. The distributions of key tick species of medical importance are often modeled as a function of environmental factors, using niche modeling approaches to capture habitat suitability. However, this is often disconnected from the potential distribution of key host species, which may play an important role in the actual transmission cycle and risk potential in expanding tick-borne disease risk. Using species distribution modeling, we explore the potential geographic range of Oryzomys palustris, the marsh rice rat, which has been …

Disparate Population And Holobiont Structure Of Pocilloporid Corals Across The Red Sea Gradient Demonstrate Species-Specific Evolutionary Trajectories, Carol Buitrago-López, Anny Cárdenas, Benjamin C.C. Hume, Thierry Gosselin, Fabian Staubach, Manuel Aranda, Daniel J. Barshis, Yvonne Sawall, Christian R. Voolstra

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Global habitat degradation heightens the need to better understand patterns of genetic connectivity and diversity of marine biota across geographical ranges to guide conservation efforts. Corals across the Red Sea are subject to pronounced environmental differences, but studies so far suggest that animal populations are largely connected, excepting evidence for a genetic break between the northern-central and southern regions. Here, we investigated population structure and holobiont assemblage of two common pocilloporid corals, Pocillopora verrucosa and Stylophora pistillata, across the Red Sea. We found little evidence for population differentiation in P. verrucosa, except for the southernmost site. Conversely, S. …

The Practice And Promise Of Temporal Genomics For Measuring Evolutionary Responses To Global Change, René D. Clark, Katrina A. Catalano, Kyra S. Fitz, Eric Garcia, Kyle E. Jaynes, Brendan N. Reid, Allyson Sawkins, Anthony A. Snead, John C. Whalen, Malin L. Pinsky

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding the evolutionary consequences of anthropogenic change is imperative for estimating long-term species resilience. While contemporary genomic data can provide us with important insights into recent demographic histories, investigating past change using present genomic data alone has limitations. In comparison, temporal genomics studies, defined herein as those that incorporate time series genomic data, utilize museum collections and repeated field sampling to directly examine evolutionary change. As temporal genomics is applied to more systems, species and questions, best practices can be helpful guides to make the most efficient use of limited resources. Here, we conduct a systematic literature review to synthesize …

Levels Of Autotrophy And Heterotrophy In Mesophotic Corals Near The End Photic Zone, Amy Carmignani, Veronica Z. Radice, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Alex I. Holman, Karen Miller, Kliti Grice, Zoe Richards

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mesophotic corals live at ~30-150 m depth and can sustain metabolic processes under light-limited conditions by enhancing autotrophy through specialized photoadaptations or increasing heterotrophic nutrient acquisition. These acclimatory processes are often species-specific, however mesophotic ecosystems are largely unexplored and acclimation limits for most species are unknown. This study examined mesophotic coral ecosystems using a remotely operated vehicle (Ashmore Reef, Western Australia at 40–75m depth) to investigate the trophic ecology of five species of scleractinian coral (from genera Leptoseris, Pachyseris, and Craterastrea) using stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of host and symbiont tissues …

Use Of Amino Acid Isotope Analysis To Investigate Capital Versus Income Breeding Strategies In Migratory Avian Species, Nico Lübcker, John P. Whiteman, Oliver N. Shipley, Keith A. Hobson, Seth D. Newsome

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

1. Income and capital breeding represent opposing ends of a continuum of reproductive strategies. Quantifying nutrient allocation to reproduction is challenging, but recent advances in compound-specific stable isotope analysis hold promise for tracing the source of individual compounds allocated to reproduction.

2. Here, we describe a novel approach of using measured carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of individual amino acids (AAs) in pectoral muscle of egg-laying females and egg yolk as a useful tool to quantify the reliance on income versus capital breeding in migrating species. We used white-fronted (Anser albifrons frontalis), lesser snow (A. …

Editorial: New Frontiers In The Application Of Stable Isotopes To Ecological And Ecophysiological Research, Keith A. Hobson, John P. Whiteman, Seth D. Newsome

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Editorial: Molecular Mechanisms In Ocular Development And Disease, Rajalekshmy Shyam, Daisy Y Shu, Elizabeth Zuniga-Sanchez, Deepika Vasudevan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Diagnostic Performance Of Point-Of-Use Ultrasound Of Resuscitation Outcomes: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of 3265 Patients, Maciej Dudek, Lukasz Szarpak, Frank W Peacock, Aleksandra Gasecka, Tomasz Michalski, Pawel Wroblewski, Halla Kaminska, Gabriela Borkowska, Ewa Skrzypek, Adam Smereka, Jaroslaw Meyer-Szary, Sylwia Marciniak, Mariola Malecka

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Echocardiography in the setting of resuscitation can provide information as to the cause of the cardiac arrest, as well as indicators of futility. This systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to determine the value of point-of-care ultrasonography (PoCUS) in the assessment of survival for adult patients with cardiac arrest.

METHODS: This meta-analysis was performed in adherence to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane have been searched from databases inception until March 2nd 2021. The search was limited to adult patients with cardiac arrest and without publication dates or …

Prevalence Of Trypanosoma Cruzi, The Etiologic Agent Of Chagas Disease, Infection In Texas Skunks (Mammalia: Mephitidae), Bonnie E Gulas-Wroblewski, Rodion Gorchakov, Rebecca B Kairis, Robert C Dowler, Kristy O Murray

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background:

Chagas disease is one of the world's most neglected tropical diseases, infecting over six million people across the Americas. The hemoparasite Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent for the disease, circulating in domestic, peridomestic, and sylvatic transmission cycles that are maintained by triatomine vectors and a diversity of wild and synanthropic hosts. Public health and wildlife management interventions targeting the interruption of T. cruzi transmission rely on an understanding of the dynamics driving the ecology of this zoonotic pathogen. One wildlife host that purportedly plays a role in the transmission of Chagas disease within the southern United States is …

A Snapshot Of Postgraduate Research At Mtu 2023, Stephen Cassidy

Publications

As our postgraduate research students live and work in an increasingly digital and information-driven age, the ability to write and communicate in a variety of styles appropriate to a range of audiences becomes increasingly important. The Graduate Studies Office working with the MTU Library Service and others, supports research students to develop their writing skills not just for academic publication but also for communicating to the general public. As part of this initiative, we organized the second annual MTU Postgraduate Research Writing Competition. Its aim was to provide postgraduate research students from all disciplines across the University with an opportunity …

Mass Spectrometry Imaging As An Emerging Tool For Studying Metabolism In Human Brain Organoids, Gerarda Cappuccio, Saleh M Khalil, Sivan Osenberg, Feng Li, Mirjana Maletic-Savatic

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Human brain organoids are emerging models to study human brain development and pathology as they recapitulate the development and characteristics of major neural cell types, and enable manipulation through an in vitro system. Over the past decade, with the advent of spatial technologies, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has become a prominent tool for metabolic microscopy, providing label-free, non-targeted molecular and spatial distribution information of the metabolites within tissue, including lipids. This technology has never been used for studies of brain organoids and here, we set out to develop a standardized protocol for preparation and mass spectrometry imaging of human brain …

Forniceal Deep Brain Stimulation In A Mouse Model Of Rett Syndrome Increases Neurogenesis And Hippocampal Memory Beyond The Treatment Period, Qi Wang, Bin Tang, Shuang Hao, Zhenyu Wu, Tingting Yang, Jianrong Tang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Rett syndrome (RTT), caused by mutations in the X-linked gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2), severely impairs learning and memory. We previously showed that forniceal deep brain stimulation (DBS) stimulates hippocampal neurogenesis with concomitant improvements in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory in a mouse model of RTT.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the duration of DBS benefits; characterize DBS effects on hippocampal neurogenesis; and determine whether DBS influences MECP2 genotype and survival of newborn dentate granular cells (DGCs) in RTT mice.

METHODS: Chronic DBS was delivered through an electrode implanted in the fimbria-fornix. We tested separate cohorts of mice in contextual …