Life Sciences Commons^™

Dephosphorylation Of Mpk6 And Mpk3 By Phosphatases Modulates Responses To Herbivory In Arabidopsis, Claire Teresa Hann

Theses and Dissertations

As sessile organisms, plants rely on extracellular signals and chemical responses to defend against stressors. Extracellular stress signals inducing defense responses originate both from biotic or abiotic threats, and from products of tissue damage or hormones. In defense against herbivores, essential responses include rapid generation of jasmonic acid (JA) at the wound site, followed by the global expression of genes that impede digestion and growth. Early defense gene expression amplifies JA production, while later JA-responsive gene expression causes the accumulation of defense products. MAP kinase (MAPK) pathways play a central role in mediating the perception of self, non-self, and hormonal …

Futuring Perspectives And Practices For Urban Extension, Julie Fox, Solomon Garner

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Extension is well-positioned to engage strategically with urban communities now and in the future. A century of collaboration and proven impact provides Extension with a valuable foundation focused on relevant service accessible to all people; applied science and co-discovery; respectful and inclusive engagement; and commitment to community well-being. An exploration of the literature on the future, from the Extension perspective and from external viewpoints, informs a contemporary approach to focus on the future of urban Extension. An interplay of Extension professionals with diverse community stakeholders and dynamic technologies bridges past perspective and current context with practical methods to address the …

Restoring Lake Urmia: Moving Beyond A Uniform Lake Level (2-Page Summary), Somayeh Sima, Dory Rosenberg, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Sarah E. Null, Karin M. Kettenring

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

More than 5 million people live near Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran, one of the world's largest hypersaline lakes. Over the past two decades, the lake has lost 95% of its volume, lake level has dropped more than 7 m, and lake restoration has gained widespread interest. The government seeks a uniform "ecological" target lake level of 1274.1 m above sea level to lower salinity below 240 gL^-1 and recover brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) and flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus).

We have synthesized over 40 years of available data, defined 8 ecosystem services for human health, water quality, ecology, recreation, and …

Easy Adjustments To Create Success In Your Health Journey, Stephanie Menagh

All Student-Created Educational Resources

This handout informs readers about different ways to utilize healthy defaults in daily life. Definition of healthy defaults, prevalence and concerns with obesity, and methods to create small everyday lifestyle changes are discussed.

Perceptions Of Forest Change In The Governmental Region Of Kaffrine, Senegal, Rhiley E. Allbee

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Sénégal is a semi-arid West African country with a diverse ethnic makeup and a rapidly growing population that is largely rural, predominantly employed within the agricultural sector, and heavily reliant on the harvesting of forest products within state owned forests where populations have usufruct rights. The country experienced significant changes in land cover throughout the 20^th century due to a series of major droughts and large expansions in agriculture. These changes were partially concentrated throughout the region of Kaffrine, where the wooded savannas of the early 20^th century were systematically replaced by agriculture and converted to a shrub …

Longitudinal Data Methods For Evaluating Genome-By-Epigenome Interactions In Families, Justin C. Strickland, I-Chen Chen, Chanung Wang, David W. Fardo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Longitudinal measurement is commonly employed in health research and provides numerous benefits for understanding disease and trait progression over time. More broadly, it allows for proper treatment of correlated responses within clusters. We evaluated 3 methods for analyzing genome-by-epigenome interactions with longitudinal outcomes from family data.

Results: Linear mixed-effect models, generalized estimating equations, and quadratic inference functions were used to test a pharmacoepigenetic effect in 200 simulated posttreatment replicates. Adjustment for baseline outcome provided greater power and more accurate control of Type I error rates than computation of a pre-to-post change score.

Conclusions: Comparison of all modeling approaches indicated …

Successful Climate Change Strategies In Corporate Farming In North America, Deann Renee Reaves

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impact of climate change on agriculture is evident in changing growing seasons, crop yield, crop quality, and even complete crop losses. Changing climate conditions negatively affect the profitability of agricultural organizations. This study was a single descriptive case of one agricultural corporation in the western United States. The purpose was to identify and explore successful climate change-based sustainability strategies. The conceptual framework for this study was legitimacy theory. The data collection methods consisted of a semistructured interview of a corporate exectutive and obtaining corporate documents, including the annual report from the company's website. Data were analyzed using content analysis …

Econometric Estimation Of Groundwater Depth Change For The High Plains Aquifer, Jonathan R. Sims

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This article presents a new method for estimating changes in depth to groundwater at a yearly, county level and incorporates these estimates as the dependent variable of econometric models for the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer underlies eight states in the central United States and is the primary source of irrigation water for this large food producing region. The stock of groundwater is a finite, non-renewable resource with minimal recharge in most areas. Many fields of study, including hydrology and agricultural economics, are interested in depth to groundwater changes because they serve as a proxy for estimating …

Creating A Culture Of Evidence-Based Teaching Through Faculty Professional Development, Kirsten Fleming, David Polcyn

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This session will focus on leading change designed to instill a culture of equity-minded, evidence-based teaching and learning. Drawing on a community of practice model, a variety of professional development opportunities will be explored that enable STEM faculty members to redesign courses in ways that intentionally incorporates evidence-based teaching practices.

Facilitating Curriculum Change One Step At A Time, Joanna Mott

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Large departments provide additional challenges when leading change. Participants will learn strategies to thoughtfully move a department forward keeping transparency, respect for all and inclusiveness in mind and identifying, empowering and guiding department faculty leaders who are trusted by their peers.

Ocean Acidification And Predator-Prey Relations: Correlating Disruption Of Predator Avoidance With Chemosensory Deficits, Alexandra Fw Sidun, William G. Wright

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

One of the most destructive effects of global climate change is the increased carbon sequestering and consequential acidification of our world’s oceans. The impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms are still relatively unknown, especially effects on behavioral ecology. Avoiding predation has emerged from recent behavioral ecology literature as a critical feature in the life history of a wide array of animal species; experiments on marine fishes suggest acidic water compromises their predator-avoidance abilities. Recent assays in our lab suggest predator-induced behavior is reduced by weakly acidic water. These experiments do not address the potential factor of generalized malaise caused …

The Changes In Woodlot Land Cover From 1988 To 2006 Within Private/Farmland In Hancock County, Ohio, Louis C. Birchall

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The amount of woodlots in Ohio have dramatically decreased since the introduction of settlers into the State. The removal of forest for open space, urban areas, fuel and resources was key to this change. Since the development of the economy to a more service based industry in recent years, woodlots have begun to return in certain areas. This research shows the change in woodlot patterns in Hancock County, Ohio from 1988 to 2006.

The analysis was done by classifying the data into 'woodlot' and 'other land use' by using image segmentation and manual editing processes. Accuracy checks were conducted on …

Climate Change In The Dead Heart Of Australia, Joshua Larsen, Gerald C. Nanson, Timothy J. Cohen, Brian G. Jones, John D. Jansen, Jan-Hendrik May

Timothy Cohen

Despite the absence of large-scale glaciation, the Australian continent has experienced substantial environmental change throughout the Quaternary period. This is especially pronounced in central Australia, where one seventh of the continent is drained internally to the depocentre, and lowest point in Australia, Lake Eyre (Figure 1). Research has shown that at one time, large sandy braided and meandering rivers carried water through dunefields to a large freshwater lake system. Today, the rivers are hostage to the dunefield, and floodwaters might only reach Lake Eyre once every ten years or so. In order to understand the development of this arid desert …

How To Start A Movement: Ted Talk Annotated Resource List, Daulton Cowan

Undergraduate Research Award

No abstract provided.

Playing God, Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Technically speaking, animals and plants that we have selectively bred are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)."

Posting about the benefits and dangers of genetic modification from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/playing-god/

Meteorological Modes Of Variability For Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Air Quality In The United States: Implications For Pm2.5 Sensitivity To Climate Change, A. P K. Tai, L J. Mickley, D J. Jacob, E M. Leibensperger, L Zhang, J A. Fisher, H. O T. Pye

Jenny A Fisher

We applied a multiple linear regression model to understand the relationships of PM2.5 with meteorological variables in the contiguous US and from there to infer the sensitivity of PM2.5 to climate change. We used 2004–2008 PM2.5 observations from ~1000 sites (~200 sites for PM2.5 components) and compared to results from the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM). All data were deseasonalized to focus on synoptic-scale correlations. We find strong positive correlations of PM2.5 components with temperature in most of the US, except for nitrate in the Southeast where the correlation is negative. Relative humidity (RH) is generally positively correlated with sulfate …

Negotiating Change: Working With Children And Their Employers To Transform Child Domestic Work In Iringa, Tanzania, Natascha Klocker

Natascha Klocker

This paper documents the practical and action-oriented findings of an investigation into child domestic work undertaken in Iringa, Tanzania from 2005 to 2007. It provides an overview of the experiences of both child domestic workers and their employers, before discussing their suggestions for how child domestic working arrangements may be improved. The latter sections of the paper relate the attempts to regulate child domestic work that emerged from such dialogue. In providing detailed information on that process, the paper is positioned within the field of action research and resists the boundary frequently applied between academia and activism. It also moves …

Aeolian-Fluvial Interaction: Evidence For Late Quaternary Channel Change And Wind-Rift Linear Dune Formation In The Northwestern Simpson Desert, Australia, Gerald C. Nanson, Brian G. Jones, David M. Price, Tim Pietsch, C Bristow, Cameron B. Hollands

B. G. Jones

In central Australia the most easterly extent of the MacDonnell Ranges borders the northwestern Simpson Desert where widely spaced strike ridges intercept the regional linear dunefield. Topographic basins have disrupted regional drainage lines and isolated dune sets from the main dunefield. In the western part of Camel Flat basin large, red coloured linear dunes of fine sand, ~ 74 ka and older, are oriented almost due north. Through gaps in the ranges the Todd River traversed the eastern part of the basin until ~25 ka when it apparently avulsed ~25 km eastwards to its present position. Subsequently, linear dunes, smaller, …

Climate Change In The Dead Heart Of Australia, Joshua Larsen, Gerald C. Nanson, Timothy J. Cohen, Brian G. Jones, John D. Jansen, Jan-Hendrik May

B. G. Jones

Despite the absence of large-scale glaciation, the Australian continent has experienced substantial environmental change throughout the Quaternary period. This is especially pronounced in central Australia, where one seventh of the continent is drained internally to the depocentre, and lowest point in Australia, Lake Eyre (Figure 1). Research has shown that at one time, large sandy braided and meandering rivers carried water through dunefields to a large freshwater lake system. Today, the rivers are hostage to the dunefield, and floodwaters might only reach Lake Eyre once every ten years or so. In order to understand the development of this arid desert …

Response Of Coral Reefs To Climate Change: Expansion And Demise Of The Southernmost Pacific Coral Reef, Colin D. Woodroffe, Brendan P. Brooke, Michelle Linklater, David M. Kennedy, Brian G. Jones, Cameron Buchanan, Richard Mleczko, Quan Hua, Jian-Xin Zhao

B. G. Jones

Coral reefs track sea level and are particularly sensitive to changes in climate. Reefs are threatened by global warming, with many experiencing increased coral bleaching. Warmer sea surface temperatures might enable reef expansion into mid latitudes. Here we report multibeam sonar and coring that reveal an extensive relict coral reef around Lord Howe Island, which is fringed by the southernmost reef in the Pacific Ocean. The relict reef, in water depths of 25-50 m, flourished in early Holocene and covered an area more than 20 times larger than the modern reef. Radiocarbon and uranium-series dating indicates that corals grew between …

Rangeland Carbon Sequestration, Seth Cook, Zhao Ma, Roslynn Brain

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.

Temporal Analysis Of Field, Ssurgo, And Lidar Derived Site Indices In The Southeastern U.S., Steven Ham

All Theses

Sustainable forest management requires accurate information about site index (SI, tree height at a base age). The objectives of this study were to compare site indices from field inventory data (2008-2009), Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR, 2008), and to determine the uncertainty in the site indices from the southern part of the Clemson Experimental Forest. When LiDAR derived analysis were used to compare to SSURGO there were statistical differences for site indices for all of the tree species in this study: loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), white …

Bryophyte Species Composition Over Moisture Gradients In The Windmill Islands, East Antarctica: Development Of A Baseline For Monitoring Climate Change Impacts, J Wasley, S A. Robinson, J D. Turnbull, D H. King, W Wanek, M Popp

Sharon Robinson

Extreme environmental conditions prevail on the Antarctic continent and limit plant diversity to cryptogamic communities, dominated by bryophytes and lichens. Even small abiotic shifts, associated with climate change, are likely to have pronounced impacts on these communities that currently exist at their physiological limit of survival. Changes to moisture availability, due to precipitation shifts or alterations to permanent snow reserves, will most likely cause greatest impact. In order to establish a baseline for determining the effect of climate change on continental Antarctic terrestrial communities and to better understand bryophyte species distributions in relation to moisture in a floristically important Antarctic …

Bryophyte Species Composition Over Moisture Gradients In The Windmill Islands, East Antarctica: Development Of A Baseline For Monitoring Climate Change Impacts, J Wasley, S A. Robinson, J D. Turnbull, D H. King, W Wanek, M Popp

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Extreme environmental conditions prevail on the Antarctic continent and limit plant diversity to cryptogamic communities, dominated by bryophytes and lichens. Even small abiotic shifts, associated with climate change, are likely to have pronounced impacts on these communities that currently exist at their physiological limit of survival. Changes to moisture availability, due to precipitation shifts or alterations to permanent snow reserves, will most likely cause greatest impact. In order to establish a baseline for determining the effect of climate change on continental Antarctic terrestrial communities and to better understand bryophyte species distributions in relation to moisture in a floristically important Antarctic …

Predicting Clinically Signficant Change In An Inpatient Program For People With Severe Mental Illness, Talia Gonda, Frank P. Deane, Ganapathi A. Murugesan

Frank Deane

Objective: The first aim of this study was to assess the proportion of patients who achieved reliable and clinically significant change over the course of treatment in an inpatient psychosocial rehabilitation program. The second aim was to determine whether age, gender, length of stay, and diagnosis and co-morbid diagnosis predicted those who were classified as improved or not improved, using clinical significance criteria. Method: Three hundred and thirty-seven patients from inpatient units at Bloomfield Hospital, Orange, New South Wales, Australia were assessed at admission, 3-month reviews and discharge using the expanded Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Health of the Nation …

Age And Origin Of Alluvial Sediments Within And Flanking The Mt Lofty Ranges, Southern South Australia: A Late Quaternary Archive Of Climate And Environmental Change, D Banerjee, N F. Alley, R P. Bourman, S Buckman, J R. Prescott

Solomon Buckman Dr.

No abstract provided.

Radiocarbon Bomb Spike Reveals Biological Effects Of Antarctic Climate Change, Laurence J Clarke, Sharon A. Robinson, Quan Hua, David J. Ayre, David Fink

Sharon Robinson

The Antarctic has experienced major changes in temperature, wind speed and stratospheric ozone levels during thelast 50 years. However, until recently continental Antarctica appeared to be little impacted by climate warming, thusbiological changes were predicted to be relatively slow. Detecting the biological effects of Antarctic climate changehas been hindered by the paucity of long-term data sets, particularly for organisms that have been exposed to thesechanges throughout their lives. We show that radiocarbon signals are preserved along shoots of the dominant Antarcticmoss flora and use these to determine accurate growth rates over a period of several decades, allowing us toexplore the …

Developing Monitoring Methods For Leptasterias Spp. As Sentinel Species In Detecting Local Environmental Changes, Zachary Sturbaum, Kathryn Nuessly, Riley J. Smith, C. Sarah Cohen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Leptasterias spp., a six-rayed sea star, is found in rocky intertidal habitats ranging from Alaska to central California. Leptasterias spp. can be monitored on a broad scale throughout their range by a variety of means using timed counts and random plot censusing in order to detect both large-scale and local-level changes in the environment due to climate change, land-based human activity, or other environmental events. Leptasterias brood their young externally until the embryos grow into fully developed juveniles. These juveniles disperse by crawling away, limiting their dispersal potential. This localized dispersal provides an opportunity to use Leptasterias spp …

Calculating Clinically Significant Change: Applications Of The Clinical Global Impressions (Cgi) Scale To Evaluate Client Outcomes In Private Practice, Peter Kelly

Peter Kelly

The Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale is a therapist-rated measure of client outcome that has been widely used within the research literature. The current study aimed to develop reliable and clinically significant change indices for the CGI, and to demonstrate its application in private psychological practice. Following the guidelines developed by Clement, a file review was conducted of the authors’ first six years working in private practice. A reliable change on the CGI required the participants score to change by 2-points. Depending on the method used to calculate the clinical change indices, between 23% and 50% of the total participants …

Food And Nutrition Security In The Australia-New Zealand Region: Impact Of Climate Change, Linda C. Tapsell, Yasmine Probst, Mark Lawrence, Sharon Friel, Victoria M. Flood, Anne Therese Mcmahon, Rosalind Butler

L. C. Tapsell

No abstract provided.