Digital Commons Network^™

Solar Irradiation Estimator Based On A Self-Calibrated Reference Solar Cell, Touria Hassboun, Lhoussain El Bahir, Youness Aite Driss, Mustapha El Adnani

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this paper we propose a concept for estimating solar irradiation based on measurements of the current, voltage, and temperature of a photovoltaic (PV) cell. The estimation of the irradiation is obtained by processing these measurements using a PV cell mathematical model combined with a PI controller. Since the PV cell current is very sensitive to the irradiance level, the principle of the method is to force the model to reproduce the same current as that measured on the cell by applying an appropriate irradiance as input, for measured temperature and voltage. The appropriate irradiance, which is the output of …

A Comparison Of Macrofaunal And Algal Communities In Oyster Aquaculture Gear, An Eelgrass Bed, Oyster Reef, And A Mudflat In Great Bay, New Hampshire, Megan Elizabeth Glenn

Master's Theses and Capstones

Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and eelgrass (Zostera marina) are important ecosystem engineers in Great Bay, NH, however despite restoration efforts they have been in decline. In addition to loss of the resource, this degradation results in loss of associated ecosystem services such as habitat provision. It is possible that the recent increase in oyster farming in Great Bay could help mitigate habitat loss. My research objective was to quantify the biotic communities present in three natural habitats (eelgrass beds, oyster reefs and mudflats) in Great Bay NH and compare those to communities living on the type of gear (“racks and bags”) …

"Treat Everybody Right:" Multidimensional Foodways In Detroit, Alex B. Hill

Wayne State University Theses

Detroit is assumed to be a “food desert” even with contradicting evidence. With fruits and vegetables available at each of Detroit’s 70+ independent grocery stores, there remains a lack of understanding in consumer preference and perception of nutritional access. It was reported in 2010 that upwards of $200 million in grocery spending leaves the City of Detroit. Throughout the months of July to September 2014, 73 Detroit residents participated in focus groups and group interviews to discuss food purchasing habits and perceptions of food access. Of the 73 participants, 51 completed a Food Purchasing and Eating Patterns (FPEP) survey which …

Spatial Analysis Of Newborn Hearing Screening In New York State, Nafin Harun

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Spatial Analysis of Newborn Hearing Screening in New York State

Methods For Sampling Sequential Annual Bone Growth Layers For Stable Isotope Analysis, Calandra N. Turner Tomaszewicz, Jeffrey A. Seminoff, Larisa Avens, Carolyn M. Kurle

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

1. Stable carbon (§¹³C) and nitrogen (§¹⁵N) isotope analysis (SIA) has proven useful in addressing fundamental questions in ecology such as reconstructing trophic interactions, habitat connections and climate regime shifts. The temporal scales over which SIA can be used to address ecological problems vary depending on the protein turnover times of the analysed tissue. Hard, inert tissues, such as teeth, bones and mollusc shells, grow in regular intervals (i.e. daily or annually), and sequential sampling of these growth layers provides a time series of isotopic patterns. As a result, SIA on these tissues is useful for …

Patuxent’S Long-Term Research On Wolves, David L. Mech

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) was one of the first species placed on the Endangered Species List in 1967. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 legally protected the wolf along with other listed species. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Patuxent) in Laurel, MD, began its Endangered Wildlife Program in 1966, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologist Ray Erickson was assigned to lead it. In 1973, I was transferred to the program from Region 3 of the USFWS, having been employed there since 1969 to study wolves in Minnesota. Endangered Species Act protection of the wolf fostered its …

Conservation Ecology Of Cave Bats, Neil M. Furey, Paul A. Racey

KIP Articles

Caves and other subterranean sites such as mines are critical to the survival of hundreds of bat species worldwide, since they often provide shelter for most of a nation’s bat fauna. In the temperate zone, caves provide roosts for hibernation and for some species, breeding in summer, whereas in warmer regions, they support high species richness year round and enormous colonies that maintain substantial ecosystem services. Due to the solubility of the substrate, the highest densities of caves occur in karst landscapes. Given their importance for bats, relatively few studies have investigated factors involved in cave selection, although current evidence …

The Influence Of Fine Particulate Matter On Inflammatory Bowel Disease In South Carolina: An Ecological Analysis, Joshua Eric Sellner

Theses and Dissertations

Background. The Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, including both Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, are lifelong disorders of the Gastrointestinal tract. In recent years, both conditions have become much more prevalent and recognized as major public health issues. Environmental factors have become the focus of recent research around the cause of these diseases. Although shown to have detrimental effects on diseases similar to that of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, fine particulate matter’s role in these diseases has not been adequately investigated.

Aim. The purpose of this study was to test the relation of fine particulate matter with hospitalizations attributable to …

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Marshall Mcluhan And Communication Ethics: The Taming Of Americanitis, Julie A. Cramer Hunsberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1880 neurologist George Miller Beard identified the diagnosis of neurasthenia. Popularly referred to as Americanitis, Beard treated an increasing number of people for symptoms of anxiety, malaise and gastric discomfort. Per Beard, the illness resulted from the rapidly changing mechanical landscape of modernity. Similarly, contemporary Media Ecology literature suggests that Americanitis continues amidst our current digital moment. Manifest as narcissistically anxious nervous exhaustion, digital Americanitis results due to technological encouragement of existential and communicative closure, thereby negatively implicating the human condition, human communication and communication ethics practices. As such, this project considers Marshall McLuhan’s Media Ecology to examine the …

Active Aggregation Among Sexes In Bean Flower Thrips (Megalurothrips Sjostedti) On Cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata), Saliou Niassy, Sunday Ekesi, Nguya K. Maniania, Benedict Orindi, Gerald B. Moritz, Willem J. De Kogel, Sevgan Subramanian

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Male sexual aggregations are a common territorial, mating-related or resource-based, behaviour observed in diverse organisms, including insects such as thrips. The influence of factors such as plant substrate, time of day, and geographic location on aggregation of thrips is uncertain, therefore we monitored the dispersion of male and female bean flower thrips (BFT), Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), on cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae), over three cowpea growth stages and across three cowpea-growing areas of Kenya. Our results indicated that for all the crop growth stages, the density of BFTs varied over the time of day, with higher densities …

University Of Texas At Tyler Catalog, 2016 - 2017, University Of Texas At Tyler

Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Is The Breeze Making You Wheeze? Air Quality And Asthma In The Us, Gaurav A. Nagar

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Objective: A secular trend towards increased current and lifetime asthma prevalence has been observed in the US. The current study compared ambient Air Quality Index (AQI) data and asthma prevalence data from all fifty US states.

Methods: Air pollution is measured as AQI by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). County level AQI data are available at the EPA website. Asthma prevalence data for each state are available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. Data from 50 US states (2011-2013) were analyzed for AQI and asthma prevalence. The average of proportions for all counties in each …

Water Mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia): Powerful But Widely Neglected Bioindicators – A Review, Tom Goldschmidt

Neotropical Biodiversity

Various biomonitoring methods are used worldwide to evaluate water quality and the ecological integrity of freshwater habitats. Most of these methods are based upon macroinvertebrates, mainly insects, whereas water mites (Hydrachnidia) are widely neglected. In the present review, I summarize the diversity and ecology of water mites and evaluate their potential as bioindicators. Studies correlating water mite assemblages with water quality are presented in a detailed historical overview. Possible constraints to use this group as bioindicators are also discussed. The particular importance of Hydrachnidia in the monitoring of springs is discussed, as well as the state of knowledge on the …

Understanding The Evolutionary History Of A High Andean Endemic: The Ecuadorian Hillstar (Oreotrochilus Chimborazo), Carlos Antonio Rodríguez Saltos, Elisa Bonaccorso

Neotropical Biodiversity

Geographic isolation has been proposed as the factor driving subspecific diversity of the Ecuadorian hillstar (Oreotrochilus chimborazo), a highland species restricted to the naturally fragmented paramos of Ecuador and southern Colombia. Current taxonomy recognizes three subspecies: O. c. chimborazo (from the Chimborazo volcano), O. c. soderstromi (from the Quilotoa volcano), and O. c. jamesonii (along the paramos of Ecuador and southern Colombia). To understand the origin of this morphological diversity, we explored the genetic variation along the species range based on analyses of two mitochondrial genes (ND2 and ND4), and one nuclear intron (MUSK). Subspecies O. c. soderstromi was not …

Remote Sensing Derived Fire Frequency, Soil Moisture And Ecosystem Productivity Explain Regional Movements In Emu Over Australia, Nima Madani, John S. Kimball, Mona Nazeri, Lalit Kumar, David L.R. Affleck

Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group Publications

Species distribution modeling has been widely used in studying habitat relationships and for conservation purposes. However, neglecting ecological knowledge about species, e.g. their seasonal movements, and ignoring the proper environmental factors that can explain key elements for species survival (shelter, food and water) increase model uncertainty. This study exemplifies how these ecological gaps in species distribution modeling can be addressed by modeling the distribution of the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) in Australia. Emus cover a large area during the austral winter. However, their habitat shrinks during the summer months. We show evidence of emu summer habitat shrinkage due to …

Host Location And Host-Associated Divergence In Parasitoids Of The Gall Midge, Asteromyia Carbonifera, Jeffrey L. Howell

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Some of the world's greatest mysteries are the series of ecological and behavioral processes that promote adaptive radiation: when one species rapidly diverges into multiple descendants due to ecological selective pressures. Selective pressures from natural enemies have the potential to drive such radiations, as has been suggested in the diversification of the goldenrod gall-midge, Asteromyia carbonifera (Stireman et al., 2008, 2012). This complex, multitrophic system involves the midge species complex, their goldenrod host plants (Solidago sp.), and a suite of parasitoid enemies in the diverse wasp superfamily, Chalcidoidea. There is evidence that the midge is undergoing host-associated differentiation (HAD), in …

The Biotic Effects Of Tertiary Geoclimatic Change In The Southern Hemisphere, Stuart Val Nielsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I explore how pre-Quaternary geoclimatic phenomena and geographical heterogeneity influenced sub-continental speciation processes and contemporary biogeographic patterns across the Southern Hemisphere, with particular focus on two regions that have experienced elevated levels of ongoing aridification – sub-Saharan (particularly Southern) Africa and Australia. I used standard methods from the molecular phylogeneticists’ toolbox (e.g. tree building using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, haplotype networks, uncorrected p-distances) combined with environmental niche modeling, morphometric principal components and fossil calibrated molecular dating analyses in order to ascertain the role that Miocene geo-climatic events played in promoting lineage accumulation and diversification through time. I found a …

The Association Of Atrazine And Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma In Kentucky, Justine F. Maxwell

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

Atrazine, one of the most widely used agricultural pesticides, largely sprayed on corn. throughout the Midwest.34 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated 76.4 million pounds are applied annually where its usage on corn accounts for approximately 86% of total United States (US) domestic usage (in pounds).35 Approximately 75% of the field corn acreage grown in the U.S. is treated with atrazine.35 Once atrazine enters into waterways, it can persist having a half-life greater than 200 days in surface waters.34 In Kentucky, atrazine is the most heavily applied in heavy corn-producing locations, which are mostly in western regions of the …

Characterizing Health Risks In Privately-Supplied Drinking Water Due To Agricultural Practices In Rural Western Kentucky, Karen Schroeder Card

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

At least 400,000 people in Kentucky rely on private water wells or springs for drinking water. 551 households that rely on private water wells for drinking water were surveyed in 2009 about adverse health outcomes, including selected cancer incidence, adverse birth outcomes, and yearly incidence of diarrheal illness. Survey recipients were drawn from a population of well owners in the Jackson Purchase Region of Kentucky whose wells were tested for nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), triazine pesticides, and E. coli or total coliforms, by Kentucky Geologic Survey within the previous 15 years. 214 questionnaires were returned and matched to water quality data for …

Nitrogen And Warming Effects On Nitrous Oxide Production Associated With Coastal Macroinvertibrates, Melanie H. Gárate

Open Access Master's Theses

Bivalve shellfish potentially reduce excess nitrogen in the water column, however they can also be involved in the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas. Environmental controls on N₂O production from bivalves have not been well quantified. We tested responses of N2O production by three bivalves (Mytilus edulis, Mercenaria mercenaria and Crassostrea virginica) to nitrogen (N) loading and/or warming after immediate (1 day) and short-term (14-28 days) exposure. This two-factor laboratory study had four treatments: (1) ammonium nitrate (N) addition (targeting 100μM-N), (2) warming (22^oC), (3) N addition + …

Temperature Effects On The Proteome Of Ciona Intestinalis, Chelsea Lopez

Open Access Master's Theses

Ciona intestinalis is a solitary ascidian that lives in temperate waters around the globe. C. intestinalis in Rhode Island exhibit normal embryonic development at water temperatures between 10° C and 18° C. This thesis is interested in what changes occur in the ovary tissue at temperatures above 18° C and below 10° C. A preliminary study to assess the reproductive fitness of C. intestinalis, found that C. intestinalis raised at 22 °C had lower embryo viability when compared to the normal temperature range. 22 °C was chosen to mimic the high temperature predicted in some climate change models (IPCC, …

Ecological Laws And Their Promise Of Explanations, Viorel Pâslaru

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Marcel Weber (1999) argued that the principle of competitive exclusion is a law of ecology that could explain phenomena (1) by direct application, or (2) by describing default states. Since he did not offer an account of explanation by direct application of laws, I offer an interpretation of explanation by direct application of laws based on a proposal by Elgin and Sober (2002). I show that in both cases it is the descriptions of mechanisms that explain phenomena, and not the laws. Lev Ginzburg and Mark Colyvan (2004) argued Malthus’ Law of Exponential Growth is the first law of ecology, …

A Floristic Study Of The Oak Leaf Lake Unit Of The Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area In Nicollet County, Minnesota, Heidi Rauenhorst

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Prairies play an integral ecological role, protecting biodiversity and providing habitat for fauna. The number of prairie acres has significantly declined in Minnesota, making the existing prairies that much more valuable. The Oak Leaf Lake Unit of the Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area in Nicollet County, Minnesota (latitude 44.311050, longitude -94.015577) was purchased by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 1994 and is being managed as tallgrass prairie. Floristic surveys were performed during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons to gather baseline data. These data were used to assess the quality of the site through calculation of various indices …

The Utilization Of Morphological And Genetic Diagnostic Techniques For The Description Of Trematode Species Collected From Waterbirds From Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota, Usa, Tyler Joseph Achatz

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Historically, morphological techniques for species identification were the leading diagnostic methodology, however, the increased usage of genetic techniques has led to a decrease in reports of morphometrics. The decrease in morphological reports increases the chance of missing diagnostic morphometrics. The three studies described herein used morphological and genetic diagnostic methods to identify trematodes from five families in order to improve genetic and morphological information for trematode species identification.

The first study identified ten species of trematodes from intestines of waterbirds previously collected from Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota. Nine of the species were sequenced for 28S ribosomal DNA (rDNA). Two species were …

Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns And Protective Effects Of Statins In Bacteremic Patients, Ajinkya Pawar

Open Access Dissertations

The significant increase in antimicrobial resistance over the past few years is a serious global public health concern, particularly as the development of new antimicrobial agents had been slow for many years. Infections with resistant organisms are associated with poor clinical outcomes and higher cost burdens. Determining antimicrobial resistance patterns can help identify problem areas and modify treatment practices to improve clinical outcomes. Additionally, identifying adjunctive therapies can also help improve clinical outcomes among infected patients. The objectives, hypotheses, methods and results of this dissertation are threefold:

Manuscript 1: The objective was to analyze antimicrobial resistance trends in E. faecalis …

Photosynthetic Response Of Bromus Inermis In Grasslands Of Different Altitudes, Panagiota Kostopoulou, Maria Karatassiou

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

In Greece, grasslands constitute an important component of montane areas. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the photosynthetic responses of the forage species Bromus inermis at two montane grasslands (Filippaioi, Grammatiko) and a lowland grassland under differential irradiation and CO2 concentration levels. In each area, gas exchange parameters were calculated under: a) ambient conditions along with the measurement of variable to maximal fluorescence, b) low (300 µmol m-2 s-1) and high (1400 µmol m-2 s-1) radiation, and c) ambient (380 µmol mol-1) and high (800 µmol mol-1) CO2 concentrations. In addition, assimilation response curves to different levels …

Stress-Induced Changes In Abundance Differ Among Obligate And Facultative Endosymbionts Of The Soybean Aphid, Laramy S. Enders, Nicholas Miller

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Bacterial endosymbionts can drive evolutionary novelty by conferring adaptive benefits under adverse environmental conditions. Among aphid species there is growing evidence that symbionts influence tolerance to various forms of stress. However, the extent to which stress inflicted on the aphid host has cascading effects on symbiont community dynamics remains poorly understood. Here we simultaneously quantified the effect of host-plant induced and xenobiotic stress on soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) fitness and relative abundance of its three bacterial symbionts. Exposure to soybean defensive stress (Rag1 gene) and a neurotoxic insecticide (thiamethoxam) substantially reduced aphid composite fitness (survival 9 reproduction) …

Evaluating Survival Of Released Ranched American Alligator In Coastal Louisiana, Kristy Durham Capelle

LSU Master's Theses

Since 1986, Louisiana’s American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) ranching program has required the release of alligators produced from eggs collected from wild nests to maintain wild populations. This project assessed long-term harvest data (1991-2010s) to estimate survival of released alligators. First, wildlife and fishery harvest models and general inter-disciplinary survival models were evaluated to determine best fit to the data. Second, once the best fitting model was selected, release length, precipitation and temperature from release sites, and an index of hunter effort were added to investigate influences on survival estimates. Release length was included because over time the proportion and size …

A Step In The Right Direction: Streambank Restoration Efforts At The Botanical Garden Of The Ozarks, Dylan S. Milholen, Madison Brown, Steven Thao, Lisa S. Wood

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks (BGO) is a unique destination in Northwest Arkansas that draws more than 80,000 visitors a year. While the BGO manages low-input practices, run-off from pesticide application and synthetic fertilizers containing phosphorus and nitrogen are of concern to water quality, habitat, and overall ecological interactions of the BGO streambanks and adjacent Hilton Creek, which flows directly into Lake Fayetteville. One way to reduce pollution to waterbodies is through the use of riparian buffers. This project sought to establish a riparian buffer immediately adjacent to a portion of Hilton Creek in an effort to improve ecological …

Essentials Of Research Methods In Neurosurgery And Allied Sciences For Research, Appraisal And Application Of Scientific Information To Patient Care (Part I), Ignatius N. Esene, Amr M. El-Shehaby, Saleh S. Baeesa

Neurosciences

Every neurosurgeon ought to be acquainted with the basics of research methods to enhance the comprehension of the research process and critical appraisal procedures of a scientific write-up. This in turn will ensure the appropriate application of scientific knowledge to patient care. Recent publications reveal that a significant proportion of articles published in neurosurgery are mislabeled with dire consequences on the sorting and indexing of evidence. Furthermore, many clinicians report that they feel unqualified to read the medical literature critically hence, it is for this reason that we conducted this review. Herein, we present a simple algorithm to facilitate the …