Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Remediation (2)
- Aerial Photography (1)
- Alfalfa (1)
- Analytical Techniques (1)
- Arboriculture (1)
-
- Assay (1)
- Bioactivity (1)
- Biochemical sensing (1)
- Biodegradation (1)
- Biomass (1)
- Brackish waters (1)
- Breeding (1)
- Carbon-14 (1)
- Channelization (1)
- Charadrius wilsonia (1)
- Chromatography (1)
- Climate change (1)
- Cloud computing (1)
- Coastal plain (1)
- Combinatorics (1)
- Connectivity (1)
- Conservation easements (1)
- Daily survival rate (1)
- Dam removal (1)
- Drug release (1)
- Dynein LC2 (1)
- Ecological communities (1)
- Embryo (1)
- Environmental filtering (1)
- Fish traits (1)
- Publication
Articles 1 - 22 of 22
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Assessing Equitable Distribution Of The Urban Tree Canopy At The Neighborhood Scale In Greenville, South Carolina., April Riehm
Assessing Equitable Distribution Of The Urban Tree Canopy At The Neighborhood Scale In Greenville, South Carolina., April Riehm
All Theses
We are living in an era that necessitates adaptation and resilience. The Earth is warming. Our climate has changed (EPA, 2016). Our planet is also rapidly urbanizing. It is predicted that 68% of people will live in cities by 2050. The City of Greenville is a rapidly growing city in South Carolina that has been losing its tree canopy to development(City of Greenville, 2023). The Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) is a community asset that provides many quality-of-life benefits including improved air quality, stormwater management, carbon sequestration, mental and physical well-being, increased mobility and access, aesthetics, a reduction in energy costs, …
Photobiomodulation Of Bovine Oocytes During Maturation Increases Atp Content And Enhances Subsequent Embryonic Development, Kendall Richey
Photobiomodulation Of Bovine Oocytes During Maturation Increases Atp Content And Enhances Subsequent Embryonic Development, Kendall Richey
All Theses
Bovine in-vitro production(IVP) of embryos is a growing field for producing offspring with desirable genetics in the cattle industries. While IVP is effective, oocyte cytoplasmic maturation is compromised, and bovine oocytes matured in-vitro have reduced metabolic activity than those matured in-vivo. Mitochondria are the central unit of oocyte metabolism, producing ATP through OXPHOS. Photobiomodulation is a light treatment reported to improve metabolic activity. In five experiments, we measured the effects of photobiomodulation treatment with red LED at 16-(L-16) and 20 h(L-20) of bovine oocyte in-vitro maturation on subsequent embryonic development, mitochondrial activity and nuclear progression. Bovine COCs were aspirated …
Models Of Functional Redundancy In Ecological Communities, Sandra Annie Tsiorintsoa
Models Of Functional Redundancy In Ecological Communities, Sandra Annie Tsiorintsoa
All Dissertations
Functional redundancy is the number of taxa that perform a given function within a given community. In most systems, high levels of functional redundancy are important, because they contribute to ecosystem stability. However, we currently have very little understanding of why functional redundancy varies among communities. One possible factor that could affect functional redundancy is environmental complexity. Many studies show that simplified ecosystems harbor communities with lower taxon diversity. What is less clear is if this simplicity and lower taxon diversity also affects functional redundancy. To answer this question, we use metacommunity models to explore the connection between environmental complexity …
Green On The Map - The Influence Of Conservation Easements On The Naturalness Of Landscapes In The United States, Nakisha Fouch
Green On The Map - The Influence Of Conservation Easements On The Naturalness Of Landscapes In The United States, Nakisha Fouch
All Dissertations
Large protected areas have long been the cornerstone of conservation biology, however, in an era branded by the human dominance of ecosystems, regional landscape structure and function are often a consequence of accumulated land-use decisions that may or may not include a nod to conservation planning. With underrepresentation of habitats in publicly protected areas, attention has focused on the function of alternative land conservation mechanisms. Private conservation easements (CEs) have proliferated in the United States, yet assessing landscape-level function is confounded by holder and donor intent, national and regional policy, regional landscape contexts, varying extents, resolution, and temporal scale. Over …
Application Of A 14c-Assay To Assess Methanotrophic Biodegradation Of Tce In Low Ph Groundwater, Evan Groome
Application Of A 14c-Assay To Assess Methanotrophic Biodegradation Of Tce In Low Ph Groundwater, Evan Groome
All Theses
Current biological strategies for remediating trichloroethylene (TCE) in low pH aquifers (i.e., pH14C-TCE assay was developed to determine pseudo first-order rate constants for the degradation of TCE in microcosms containing soil and groundwater from the Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (BOMARC) superfund site, where the pH ranges from 4.1 to 4.9. The 14C-TCE assay was also adapted to calculate soil-normalized rate constants for data from this site, as well as data that Szwast21 collected from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). In addition to natural attenuation, biostimulation through amendments of methane and nutrients were also assessed. This treatment …
Radioluminescence Based Biochemical Sensing And Imaging Strategies To Measure Local Drug Release And Ph, Gretchen B. Schober
Radioluminescence Based Biochemical Sensing And Imaging Strategies To Measure Local Drug Release And Ph, Gretchen B. Schober
All Dissertations
In this dissertation we describe methods for measuring infection relevant biochemical analytes using radioluminescent and ultrasound luminescent materials. Films and nanoparticles fabricated with europium doped gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd2O2S:Eu3+) are used to quantitatively measure radiolabeled pharmaceutical concentration, specifically tritium labeled vancomycin (3H-vancomycin). Europium and dysprosium doped strontium aluminate is used to fabricate an ultrasound modulated, pH sensing film. These methods are indicated for theranostic evaluation of implant associated infection. Bacterial biofilms are inherently resistant to traditional antibiotic treatment and can coat biomedical implants. These biofilm related infections are difficult or impossible to eradicate …
Optimization Of Modular, Long-Range, Ultra-Fast Optical Tweezers With Fluorescence Capabilities For Single-Molecule And Single-Cell Based Biophysical Measurements, Subash C. Godar
All Dissertations
An Optical tweezer is a tightly focused laser beam that applies and senses precise and localized optical force to a dielectric microsphere and offers a unique and effective tool for manipulating the single cell or cell components, including nucleotides and dynein motor proteins. Here, I used highly stabilized optomechanical components and ultra-sensitive detection modules to significantly improve the measurement capabilities over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. I combined the optical tweezer-based force spectroscopy technique with fluorescence microscopy to develop an integrated high-resolution force-fluorescence system capable of measuring displacements at sub-nanometer, forces at sub-piconewton over a temporal range …
Floating Treatment Wetlands For Brackish Waters: Plant Selection And Nutrient Uptake Potential., Andrea Landaverde
Floating Treatment Wetlands For Brackish Waters: Plant Selection And Nutrient Uptake Potential., Andrea Landaverde
All Theses
Brackish water bodies in coastal regions provide critical ecosystem services that support human and environmental health. Anthropogenic activities such as agricultural and industrial activities, construction, urban settlements, and tourism contribute to increased inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in brackish coastal ecosystems. Excess nutrients can lead to impaired water quality and affect marine organisms. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are a vegetated-base technology used to remove contaminants from water column, that has been mainly studied and applied in freshwater systems. Application of FTWs in brackish systems requires further investigation, as high salinity in brackish waters could result in toxicity to …
Supertertiary Structural Dynamics Modulate Function In Postsynaptic Density Protein 95, George L. Hamilton Iii
Supertertiary Structural Dynamics Modulate Function In Postsynaptic Density Protein 95, George L. Hamilton Iii
All Dissertations
Proteins, RNA, and DNA serve as the primary sub-cellular machinery that give rise to the necessary functions of life. The long-standing paradigm has been that the structures of biomolecules, or the arrangement of the subunits that make up a biomolecule, determine biological function. However, biomolecules are not static objects. Instead, they often undergo structural rearrangements that are crucial to enabling and regulating their functions. In my thesis I present several studies of the interplay between the structures, dynamics, and functions of biomolecules that combine experimental fluorescence spectroscopy and computational methods to probe these systems at the single-molecule level. In particular, …
Pasture Biomass Estimation Using Crop Surface Modeling And Vegetation Indices, Brendan Macinnis
Pasture Biomass Estimation Using Crop Surface Modeling And Vegetation Indices, Brendan Macinnis
All Theses
Biomass estimations are a critical function of any grazing or haylage system. Determination of ideal harvesting or grazing times help optimize the quality and quantity of above-ground biomass (AGB). The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Alfalfa and Tall Fescue biomass estimations. Using a DJI Mavic Pro, RGB and NDVI images were taken and used to create orthomosaic images. Structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques were used to developed digital elevation models to evaluate the change in canopy height (∆H) between pre- and post-harvests. Change in canopy height (∆H) was shown to provide the …
Intelligent Resource Prediction For Hpc And Scientific Workflows, Benjamin Shealy
Intelligent Resource Prediction For Hpc And Scientific Workflows, Benjamin Shealy
All Dissertations
Scientific workflows and high-performance computing (HPC) platforms are critically important to modern scientific research. In order to perform scientific experiments at scale, domain scientists must have knowledge and expertise in software and hardware systems that are highly complex and rapidly evolving. While computational expertise will be essential for domain scientists going forward, any tools or practices that reduce this burden for domain scientists will greatly increase the rate of scientific discoveries. One challenge that exists for domain scientists today is knowing the resource usage patterns of an application for the purpose of resource provisioning. A tool that accurately estimates these …
Comparative Aquatic Toxicity Of A Commercial Naphthenic Acid And Processes For Mitigating Risks, Ciera Kinley
Comparative Aquatic Toxicity Of A Commercial Naphthenic Acid And Processes For Mitigating Risks, Ciera Kinley
All Theses
Comparative toxicity data can inform predictions of relative risk, and can be used to implement strategies for altering exposures to mitigate risk. Naphthenic acids (NAs) are a complex group of carboxylic acids that naturally occur in petroleum sources and energy-derived process waters (e.g. refinery effluents and oil sands process affected waters). These compounds are relatively persistent in water and can be a source of toxicity to aquatic organisms. In the first experiment of this thesis, responses of sentinel aquatic organisms to 7-d exposures of commercial (Fluka) NAs were measured (in terms of acute toxicity) to discern relative sensitivities. In terms …
Development, Validation, And Application Of Analytical Methods For Characterizing Adsorbed Protein Orientation, Conformation, And Bioactivity, Aby Thyparambil
Development, Validation, And Application Of Analytical Methods For Characterizing Adsorbed Protein Orientation, Conformation, And Bioactivity, Aby Thyparambil
All Dissertations
The structure and bioactivity of adsorbed proteins are tightly interrelated and play a key role in their interaction with the surrounding environment. These factors are of critical importance in many biotechnological applications. However, because the bioactive state of an adsorbed protein is a function of the orientation, conformation, and accessibility of its bioactive site(s), the isolated determination of just one or two of these factors will typically not be sufficient to understand the structure-function relationships of the adsorbed layer. Rather a combination of methods is needed to address each of these factors in a synergistic manner to provide a complementary …
Establishing A Permanent Feeding Site: Reniform Nematode Manipulation Of Soybean Genes, Nathan Wayne Redding
Establishing A Permanent Feeding Site: Reniform Nematode Manipulation Of Soybean Genes, Nathan Wayne Redding
All Theses
Reniform nematode, Rotelynchulus reniformis, is a semi-endoparasite capable of infecting more that 300 host plant species in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions. Female nematodes penetrate host roots and introduce effectors that lead to the formation of multinucleate feeding sites called syncytia. The objective of our study was to identify plant genes involved in the process of syncitium formation. We used a split-root system in which half of a plant’s roots were inoculated with R. reniformis while the rest of the root system remained uninfected. Illumina RNA-seq was used to quantify gene expression patterns in replicate samples of infected and …
Use Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uav) For Urban Tree Inventories, Brian Ritter
Use Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uav) For Urban Tree Inventories, Brian Ritter
All Theses
In contrast to standard aerial imagery, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) utilize recent technological advances to provide an affordable alternative for imagery acquisition. Increased value can be realized through clarity and detail providing higher resolution (2-5 cm) over traditional products. Many natural resource disciplines such as urban forestry will benefit from UAS. Tree inventories for risk assessment, biodiversity, planning, and design can be efficiently achieved with the UAS. Recent advances in photogrammetric processing have proved automated methods for three dimensional rendering of aerial imagery. Point clouds can be generated from images providing additional benefits. Association of spatial locational information within the …
South Atlantic Stream Fish Assemblages: Multi-Scale Structuring Factors, Trait Associations And Channelization, And Responses To Dam Removal, Cathy Marion
All Dissertations
South Atlantic coastal plain wadeable streams are unique and understudied freshwater environments that provide crucial habitats for a wide range of aquatic taxa. In Chapter 1, we investigated patterns in fish assemblages across South Carolina's coastal plain, and developed statistical models to identify the dominant multi-scale abiotic environmental factors that influence assemblage structure. Our analyses indicated the presence of four predominant fish assemblages that commonly occur in the coastal plain, which we termed the: 1) fluvial, 2) eastern mudminnow, 3) centrarchid, and 4) non-fluvial assemblages. Natural geographic gradients and instream habitat parameters associated with velocity, channel form, stream size, and …
Development And Evaluation Of An Enrichment Culture For Reductive Dechlorination Of Tetrachloroethene Under Low Ph Conditions, Rui Xiao
All Theses
Perchloroethene (PCE) is a pollutant of major environmental concern at hazardous waste sites worldwide. PCE and trichloroethene (TCE) are suspected carcinogens and are ranked 16th and 31st, respectively, on the Environmental Protection Agency's priority list for hazardous substances, developed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. As a consequence of the widespread use of chlorinated solvents (including PCE and TCE) for dry cleaning, chemical feedstocks, metal degreasing and other purposes, chloroethenes are widely distributed in the environment. Many soils and groundwater throughout the world are contaminated by chloroethenes. Therefore, further improvements are needed in clean-up methods. Bioaugmentation has …
Determination Of Pore Size Distribution In Capillary-Channeled Polymer (C-Cp) Fiber Stationary Phases By Inverse Size-Exclusion Chromatography (Isec) And The Study Of The Role Of Interstitial Fraction On C-Cp Fibers On Protein Binding Capacity, Zhengxin Wang
All Theses
ABSTRACT High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), first used in the 1960's, is a rapidly evolving analytical technique, widely employed for identification, separation, and purification in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The development of the stationary phases has played an important role in improving this technique. Each stationary phase will have its own disadvantages. Polysaccharide-based stationary phases such as cross-linked dextran cannot tolerate high pressures and linear velocities; silica stationary phases are rigid enough but slow mass transfer in the pores on the surface causes another problem; with the introduction of non-porous and small bead packing materials, the low surface area and …
Phenological Relationships Of Nesting Barn Swallows In A Swallow-Fly-Cattle System And Their Potential Role In Suppression Of Pest Flies In A Warming Climate, Claire Stuyck
All Theses
Conservation efforts for birds that provide ecosystem services in agricultural systems require management approaches that cross disciplines. This information is communicated through a variety of outlets but rarely in ways that interface effectively with normal management approaches. The disconnect between agriculture and wildlife conservation reduces the likelihood that ecosystem service benefits will be realized. One understudied ecosystem service provided by birds such as barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) is their role in suppression of flies that are pests to livestock. Climate change, however, may differentially affect flies that respond largely to temperature, and swallows that migrate and respond to photoperiod and …
Persistence Of A Vulnerable Semi-Aquatic Turtle In An Intensively-Managed Forest Landscape, Christopher O'Bryan
Persistence Of A Vulnerable Semi-Aquatic Turtle In An Intensively-Managed Forest Landscape, Christopher O'Bryan
All Theses
Understanding spatial and population ecology of organisms allows land managers to predict how changes in distribution and composition of landscape features influence persistence. Our goal was to investigate body size, sex ratios, survival, individual movements, and habitat selection of a vulnerable freshwater turtle species, the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), in an intensively-managed forest landscape in eastern North Carolina, USA. Spotted turtles naturally occur in wetland-dominated landscapes, but this system is heavily-altered, with >222,000 hectares of pine plantations and >10,000 km of ditches managed by Weyerhaeuser Company. During 2012-2013, we captured and individually marked 280 turtles, and used radio-telemetry (n = …
Assessing The Response Of Small Mammal Functional Guilds To A Simulated Pathogen Attack In A Deciduous Forest Ecosystem, Katie Keck
All Theses
Oak trees (Quercus species) are a foundation species that influence the population dynamics of other organisms by stabilizing ecosystem processes. Globally, oak-dominated forests have experienced widespread mortality due to the fungal pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, which causes the disease Sudden Oak Death (SOD). I investigated the impact of a simulated pathogen attack such as SOD on the small mammal assemblage of an oak forest in Cornwall, New York. Specifically, I tested the hypothesis that specialist species are most impacted by the loss of foundation species and that they would decline in abundance because of changes in food and habitat resources. In …
Nest Success And Habitat Choice Of Wilson's Plovers In Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve, South Carolina, Elizabeth Zinsser
Nest Success And Habitat Choice Of Wilson's Plovers In Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve, South Carolina, Elizabeth Zinsser
All Theses
Little is known about the reproductive ecology of Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia). I conducted a study of nest site selection and nest success at a critical breeding area in South Carolina, USA. Data from other coastal nesting birds in the region suggest that a suite of environmental factors including flooding and predation may limit nest success in this region. To assess nest success rates of Wilson's Plovers in an area with limited human disturbance I monitored 72 nests during 2012 and 2013 on South Island and Sand Island located in Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center and Heritage Preserve. I measured environmental …