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Ethnomedical, Ecological And Phytochemical Studies Of The Palauan Flora, Christopher Kitalong

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There has been a serious deterioration of Palauan culture, language and traditional practices over the last century. To promote health and avoid this deterioration of tradition, ecological, ethnobotanical and phytochemical studies have been carried out on the plant Phaleria nisidai Kaneh. (Thymelaeaceae), "Delal a Kar", Palauan for "Mother of Medicine". This study is the first study that sets the foundations for the development of natural Palauan therapeutics, through validation of ethnomedically significant plants. Validations of these plants is done through documenting Palauan plant ethnomedical data; mapping the distribution of Palauan plants on limestone Rock Islands; and analyzing ethnopharmacological and phytochemical …

From Medicine To Butterflies And Back Again, C Parmesan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

My research focuses on the current impacts of climate change on wildlife, from field-based work on butterflies to synthetic analyses of global impacts on a broad range of species across terrestrial and marine biomes. I work actively with governmental agencies and NGOs to help develop conservation assessment and planning tools aimed at preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change.

Millennial Minimum Temperature Variations In The Qilian Mountains, China: Evidence From Tree Rings, Yong Zhang, Xuemei Shao, Zhi-Yong Yin, Yang Wang

Environmental and Ocean Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

A 1343-year tree-ring chronology was developed from Qilian junipers in the central Qilian Mountains of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP), China. The climatic implications of this chronology were investigated using simple correlation, partial correlation and response function analyses. The chronology was significantly positively correlated with temperature variables prior to and during the growing season, especially with monthly minimum temperature. Minimum temperature anomalies from January to August since AD 670 were then reconstructed based on the tree-ring chronology. The reconstruction explained 58% of the variance in the instrumental temperature records during the calibration period (1960–2012) and captured the variation patterns in …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Carbon Storage In Forest Ecosystems On Hainan Island, Southern China, Hai Ren, Linjun Li, Qiang Liu, Xu Wang, Yide Li, Dafeng Hui, Shuguang Jian, Jun Wang, Huai Yang, Hongfang Lu, Guoyi Zhou, Xuli Tang, Qianmei Zhang, Dong Wang, Lianlian Yuan, Xubing Chen

Biology Faculty Research

Spatial and temporal patterns of carbon (C) storage in forest ecosystems significantly affect the terrestrial C budget, but such patterns are unclear in the forests in Hainan Province, the largest tropical island in China. Here, we estimated the spatial and temporal patterns of C storage from 1993–2008 in Hainan's forest ecosystems by combining our measured data with four consecutive national forest inventories data. Forest coverage increased from 20.7% in the 1950s to 56.4% in the 2010s. The average C density of 163.7 Mg C/ha in Hainan's forest ecosystems in this study was slightly higher than that of China's mainland forests, …

Inferred Vs Realized Patterns Of Gene Flow: An Analysis Of Population Structure In The Andros Island Rock Iguana., Giuliano Colosimo, Charles R. Knapp, Lisa E. Wallace, Mark E. Welch

CAS Publications

Ecological data, the primary source of information on patterns and rates of migration, can be integrated with genetic data to more accurately describe the realized connectivity between geographically isolated demes. In this paper we implement this approach and discuss its implications for managing populations of the endangered Andros Island Rock Iguana, Cyclura cychlura cychlura. This iguana is endemic to Andros, a highly fragmented landmass of large islands and smaller cays. Field observations suggest that geographically isolated demes were panmictic due to high, inferred rates of gene flow. We expand on these observations using 16 polymorphic microsatellites to investigate the genetic …

Checklist Of Aquatic Oligochaetes Species In Tigris–Euphrates River Basin, Haifa J. Jaweir

Baghdad Science Journal

A total of 60 species of aquatic oligochaetes were identified in different sites within Tigris-Euphrates basin / Iraq, including River Tigris, River Euphrates, Southern marshes ( Al-Haweiza , Al-Hammar and Al-Chebaiesh ) , Shutt Al-Germa, and Shatt Al-Arab. In River Euphrates 39 species were identified, 40 species from River Tigris and 32 species from Shatt-Al-Arab and southern marshes.The identified species were classified as four species of Family Aeolosomatidae, 54 species of Naididae ( 31 Naidinae , 8 Pristininae and 15 Tubificid worms), one species of each of Lumbriculidae ( Lumbriculus variegates) and Lumbricidae ( Eiseiella tetraedra). Among Aeolosomatidae , Aelosoma …

Seasonal Study For Habitat Of Myriophyllum Spicatum L. In Al-Burgga Marsh, Hor Al-Hammar, Southern Iraq, Mohammed A. H. Al-Kenzawi

Baghdad Science Journal

Myriophyllum spicatum distribution in Al-Burgga marsh, Hor Al-Hammar was described in relation to some of the physical-chemical properties for its habitat (water depth, light penetration, water temperature, water salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, Ca+2, Mg+2, reactive NO2=, reactive NO3-1, and reactive PO4-3) during 2011, seasonally. CANOCO ordination program (CCA) was used to analyse the data. Its vegetation cover percentage was with its peak at summer, its value was 90 %, while the lowest value was 20 % in winter. Statistically, Positive relationships for WT, sal., Ca+2, Mg+2, reactive NO2=, reactive NO3-1, and reactive PO4-3 with the vegetation cover percentage were observed. …

Bioe 370.01: General Ecology, Erick P. Greene

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Pharyngeal And Cervical Cancer Incidences Significantly Correlate With Personal Uv Doses Among Whites In The United States, Dianne E. Godar, Rong Tang, Stephen Merrill

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Because we found UV-exposed oral tissue cells have reduced DNA repair and apoptotic cell death compared with skin tissue cells, we asked if a correlation existed between personal UV dose and the incidences of oral and pharyngeal cancer in the United States. We analyzed the International Agency for Research on Cancer's incidence data for oral and pharyngeal cancers by race (white and black) and sex using each state's average annual personal UV dose. We refer to our data as ‘white’ rather than ‘Caucasian,’ which is a specific subgroup of whites, and ‘black’ rather than African-American because blacks from other countries …

Baylisascaris Procyonis Prevalence And Impact In Raccoon (Procyon Lotor) Populations, Matthew Ingle

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Baylisascaris procyonis is a nematode parasite that infects the small intestines of raccoons (Procyon lotor). Raccoons are the definitive host for this parasite, which can have both an indirect and direct life cycle. In intermediate hosts, the parasite causes serious pathology resulting from larvae migrating through host tissue to the brain. Infection via exposure to B. procyonis eggs is fatal in over 90 vertebrate species that serve as intermediate hosts, including humans. The zoonotic potential of B. procyonis makes understanding factors that impact prevalence and pathology in raccoons important for management strategies. Alimentary canals from 226 raccoons trapped in nine …

Ensc 495.01: Field Study, Vicki J. Watson

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Factors Limiting The Spread Of The Protective Symbiont Hamiltonella Defensa In Aphis Craccivora Aphids, Hannah R. Dykstra, Stephanie R. Weldon, Adam J. Martinez, Jennifer A. White, Keith R. Hopper, George E. Heimpel, Mark K. Asplen, Kerry M. Oliver

Entomology Faculty Publications

Many insects are associated with heritable symbionts that mediate ecological interactions, including host protection against natural enemies. The cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, is a polyphagous pest that harbors Hamiltonella defensa, which defends against parasitic wasps. Despite this protective benefit, this symbiont occurs only at intermediate frequencies in field populations. To identify factors constraining H. defensa invasion in Ap. craccivora, we estimated symbiont transmission rates, performed fitness assays, and measured infection dynamics in population cages to evaluate effects of infection. Similar to results with the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, we found no consistent costs to infection using …

Sympatric Prey Responses To Lethal Top-Predator Control: Predator Manipulation Experiments, Benjamin L. Allen, Lee R. Allen, Richard M. Engeman, Luke K.-P. Leung

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduction: Many prey species around the world are suffering declines due to a variety of interacting causes such as land use change, climate change, invasive species and novel disease. Recent studies on the ecological roles of top-predators have suggested that lethal top-predator control by humans (typically undertaken to protect livestock or managed game from predation) is an indirect additional cause of prey declines through trophic cascade effects. Such studies have prompted calls to prohibit lethal top-predator control with the expectation that doing so will result in widespread benefits for biodiversity at all trophic levels. However, applied experiments investigating in situ …

Pendapatan Daerah, Pembiayaan Kesehatan, Dan Gizi Buruk Pada Balita: Studi Korelasi Tingkat Kabupaten/Kota, Septyana Choirunisa, Asri C. Adisasmita

Kesmas

Pendanaan kesehatan merupakan salah satu faktor penting dalam memengaruhi derajat kesehatan, termasuk salah satu masalah gizi pada balita yang disebut gizi buruk. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan mendeskripsikan pendapatan daerah dan pembiayaan kesehatan serta korelasinya dengan gizi buruk pada balita di tingkat kabupaten/kota di Indonesia tahun 2007. Penelitian ini merupakan studi ekologi/korelasi. Data pendapatan daerah dan pembiayaan kesehatan didapat dari Kementerian Keuangan, sedangkan data gizi buruk menggunakan data Riset Kesehatan Nasional tahun 2007. Sebanyak 250 kabupaten/kota yang diteliti dengan tidak mengikutsertakan kabupaten/kota yang datanya tidak lengkap atau tidak valid. Secara nasional, hanya persentase pendapatan asli daerah (PAD) per total …

Low Risk Of Attrition Among Adults On Antiretroviral Therapy In The Rwandan National Program: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis Of 6, 12, And 18 Month Outcomes, Harriet Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, Aleksandra Jakubowski, Veronicah Mudisha, Paulin Basinga, Anita Asiimwe, Denis Nash, Batya Elul

Publications and Research

Background
We report levels and determinants of attrition in Rwanda, one of the few African countries with universal ART access.

Methods
We analyzed data abstracted from health facility records of a nationally representative sample of adults [≥18 years] who initiated ART 6, 12, and 18 months prior to data collection; and collected facility characteristics with a health facility assessment questionnaire. Weighted proportions and rates of attrition [loss to follow-up or death] were calculated, and patient- and health facility-level factors associated with attrition examined using Cox proportional hazard models.

Results
1678 adults initiated ART 6, 12 and 18 months prior to …

Acute Effects Of Tio2 Nanomaterials On The Viability And Taxonomic Composition Of Aquatic Bacterial Communities Assessed Via High-Throughput Screening And Next Generation Sequencing, Binh Chu, Tiezheng Tong, Jean-François Gaillard, Kimberley A. Gray, John J. Kelly

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The nanotechnology industry is growing rapidly, leading to concerns about the potential ecological consequences of the release of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to the environment. One challenge of assessing the ecological risks of ENMs is the incredible diversity of ENMs currently available and the rapid pace at which new ENMs are being developed. High-throughput screening (HTS) is a popular approach to assessing ENM cytotoxicity that offers the opportunity to rapidly test in parallel a wide range of ENMs at multiple concentrations. However, current HTS approaches generally test one cell type at a time, which limits their ability to predict responses of …

Green Roofs Over Time: A Spatially Explicit Method For Studying Green Roof Vegetative Dynamics And Performance, Max R. Piana, Stephanie C. Carlisle

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

In the past decade, conventional green roof research methodology has emphasized performance measures that assume a static state condition of vegetative composition based on design intent and establishment conditions. Such research has predominantly been limited to short-term observations for low diversity, rigorously maintained systems. These conditions, however, are not the reality of many installed green roofs, and as a result knowledge of how these living systems change over time is limited. Given this perspective, this paper presents an ecologically grounded and spatially explicit methodology aimed at assessing the long-term performance and dynamics of green roof vegetation. The method allows for …

Water, Behavior, And Health In Alaska, Troy L. Ritter

Biological Sciences

This dissertation addresses the need for a better understanding of how water and sanitation infrastructure and water use behaviors come together to influence health. The ultimate aim is to inform water infrastructure designs and behavior change programming for the prevention of acute respiratory infections (ARIs), skin infections, and diarrhea. All three diseases are of public health significance in Alaska, and all three can be prevented by proper access and use of water and sanitation services. I begin the dissertation by illustrating that some residents who have access to treated water continue to consume untreated river water and rain. In fact, …

The Role Of The Narrative In Values-Led Business, Dave F. Brauer, David B. Brauer

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

Many leaders of values-based organizations already possess the requisite passion for the core values of their respective organizations. The ability to have their organizations perform in a manner consistent with these values is critical to gain the authenticity necessary for their audiences in order to discern the value of what that particular organization offers. The inability to articulate this to all stakeholders — including the marketplace, investors, employees, and competitors — may increase the hazard of mortality for the organization.

One characteristic that human beings do not share with any other creature on earth is the ability to relate complex …

Linking Individual Biological Outcomes To Resource Use, Christopher Ryan Ayers

Theses and Dissertations

Minimum resource requirements support population persistence; however, ecologists and conservationists often want to identify factors that improve biological outcomes of animals. The population-level approach common in wildlife-resource studies limits our ability to draw inferences about the importance of resources and other factors by failing to link them with individual fitness. Measuring individual-based biological outcomes and resource use helps determine variation in mechanistic relationships between animal fitness and behavior. I suggest using direct metrics of resource use such as food consumption and distance traveled, to avoid errors with estimating resource availability. I summarize these concepts in an analytical framework for modeling …

Expression Of Facultative Den Behavior In Ursidae, Nicholas Lee Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

Many ecological and evolutionary processes have been described underlying natural selection but supporting evidence in wild settings is often lacking and our understanding remains incomplete. Using a multi-scale approach, I investigated expression of facultative den behavior (denning) among and within ursid species. Among species, lack of denning behavior was supported by relaxation of selection pressures of seasonal food availability due to realization of two sources of ecological opportunity; colonization of new habitat and adaptation of key innovations. Of denning species, I found evidence of adaptive ecological plasticity in den chronology among and within populations consistent with relaxed selective pressures influencing …

Conservation Of Bridle Shiner (Notropis Bifrenatus) In Connecticut: Issues In Detecting An Elusive Species, Kasey C. Pregler

Master's Theses

Bridle Shiner (Notropis bifrenatus) is apparently declining over most of its range and is currently listed as a species of concern in Connecticut. Using an occupancy modeling framework in program PRESENCE, my study compared seining and electrofishing backpack unit detection probabilities of Bridle Shiner. This research indicated the apparent decline of Bridle Shiner in the state was in part due to changes in sampling gear used for statewide surveys. Seining used 50 years ago was demonstrably more effective at capturing Bridle Shiner than the currently favored and more frequently used electrofishing gear. In light of this recent finding, …

Investigating Differences In Risk Behaviors Among Rural, Suburban, And Urban Adolescents, Heather Dubendris

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization, one-third of the disease morbidity and two-thirds of premature deaths among adults are associated with behaviors that can be traced back to adolescence. These include behaviors resulting in unintentional injury, violent behaviors, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. The purpose of this research was to explore how differing levels of urbanicity affect youth’s engagement in risk behaviors.

Methods: Analysis was done using a nationally representative sample of 9th-12th graders in the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), the most recent year for which urbanicity is available. The main exposure was urbanicity (classified as urban, …

Quaternary Growth History Of Glover's Reef, Belize: Insights Into Reef Distribution, Ecological Change, And Pleistocene Sea Level, Noelle J. Van Ee

Open Access Dissertations

Glover’s Reef is a coral atoll located outside of the Belize Barrier Reef, 30 km from the coast of southern Belize. A single-channel seismic survey of approximately 111 km of grid lines reveals that almost 90% of the surveyed lagoon patch reefs sit on Pleistocene topographic highs. In contrast to previous theories that emphasize the role of karst processes during sea-level low stands in creating topography, records from ten rotary cores into modern reef deposits indicated that the Pleistocene topographic highs are comprised of in situ reef facies: “Reefs sit on reefs”. Although Pleistocene reef deposits formed the template for …

North Versus South: The Effects Of Foreign Direct Investment And Historical Legacies On Poverty Reduction In Post-Đổi Mới Vietnam, Scott R. Sanders

Faculty Publications

This research examines the factors that account for variance in provincial poverty reduction rates between 2002 and 2008 in Vietnam. In particular, this paper uses spatial regression modeling to show that foreign direct investment (FDI) and the capitalist legacies of southern Vietnam significantly affected provincial poverty reduction during this time period. These findings suggest that although Vietnam as a whole has benefited from post-Đổi Mới economic reform and FDI, the historical capitalist legacies of the former Republic of Vietnam played a strong role in aiding provinces in the south in attracting FDI and subsequently reducing provincial poverty.

Historical Demography And Dispersal Patterns In The Eastern Pipistrelle Bat (Perimyotis Subflavus), Alynn M. Martin

Masters Theses

The recent emergence of threats to North American bat conservation has prompted increased population genetics research on high risk species. The eastern pipistrelle bat is affected by both white-nose syndrome and wind turbine mortality. However, little work has been done regarding the population structure and effective population size of this species. Using the HVI region of the mitochondria and eight microsatellite loci, I analyzed male and female structure across the sample range of P. subflavus and estimated the effective population size of their populations. Pairwise F_ST values indicate that there is one panmictic population based on microsatellite data, while …

Examining The Influence Of Farmers' Market Motivations On Access To Healthful Foods And Business Opportunities For Farms, Rachel K. Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Farmers’ markets are increasingly promoted as mechanisms for improving access to healthful foods for low-income households, as they are relatively inexpensive to establish and they can provide affordable food for low-income households by offering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer (SNAP/EBT). SNAP/EBT at markets also expands revenue opportunities for participating farmers. Market mangers provide a critical role in overseeing SNAP/EBT at markets and influencing business opportunities for farmers. Using a mixed-method approach, this study aimed to evaluate how managers’ motivations influence SNAP/EBT availability and participation at markets and business opportunities for small- and moderate- sized farms.

To develop a …

Effects Of Contaminated St. Lucie River Saltwater Sediments On An Amphipod (Ampelisca Abdita) And A Hard-Shell Clam (Mercenaria Mercenaria), Tham C. Hoang, Gary M. Rand

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The St. Lucie estuary (SLE) ecosystem in South Florida has been shown to be contaminated with metals and pesticides. Our earlier studies also showed that aquatic organisms, especially benthic species in the SLE ecosystem, might be potentially at high risk from copper (Cu) exposure. The objectives of this study were to conduct studies with separate groups of organisms exposed to seven field-collected sediment samples from the St. Lucie River according to standard procedures to evaluate toxicity and tissue concentrations of Cu and zinc (Zn). Short term and longer term whole sediment acute toxicity studies were performed with Ampelisca abdita and …

Analysis Of High Fat Diet Induced Genes During Mammary Gland Development: Identifying Role Players In Poor Prognosis Of Breast Cancer, Raquel C. Martinez-Chacin, Megan Keniry, Robert Dearth

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Background

Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) increases the risk of developing breast cancer (BC). Studies in rodents have shown HFD causes changes in the genetic programming of the maturing mammary gland (MG) increasing the susceptibility of developing the disease. Less is known about how HFD induced genes impact BC development. HFD exposure two weeks before conception to six weeks of age was previously shown to dramatically change MG gene expression in 10 week old mice. Therefore, we investigated these differentially expressed HFD-induced genes for their expression in BC using the NKI 295 breast tumor …

Gladys-On-The-Prairie: The Effect Of Social And Environmental Forces On The Identity And Life Of Dr. Gladys C. Galligar, Desiree M.E. King

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Twentieth century Americans recognized problems created by both the subjected status women held by society and the harmful impact humanity had on natural resources and domains. America’s search for realization and solutions for the inherent problems associated with the devaluation of women and nature did not come quickly or easily; it took a path that wound around both traditional concepts and progressive insights. I argue in this thesis that the biography of Dr. Gladys C. Galligar demonstrates, on an intimate level, America’s dawning awareness of the necessity of a healthier environment and a more egalitarian society. As a biology researcher …