Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

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.

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 …

Holocene Climatic Change And Past Irish Societal Response, David Brown, M. Baillie, J. Palmer, Christian Turney

David C. Brown

No abstract provided.

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.

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 …

Holocene Sea-Level Change On The Southeast Coast Of Australia: A Review, Colin Murray-Wallace, Brian Jones, Craig Sloss

B. G. Jones

No abstract provided.

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, …

The Sedimentary Record Of Palaeoenvironments And Sea-Level Change In The Gulf Of Carpentaria, Australia, Through The Last Glacial Cycle, Jessica Reeves, Allan Chivas, Adriana Garcia, Sabine Holt, Martine Couapel, Brian Jones, Dionisio Cendon, David Fink

B. G. Jones

Environmental evolution of the Gulf of Carpentaria region, the world's largest tropical epicontinental seaway, through the last glacial cycle has been determined from a series of six sediment cores. These cores form the focus of a multi-disciplinary study to elucidate sea level, climate and environmental change in the region. The sedimentary record reveals a series of facies including open shallow marine, marginal marine, estuarine, lacustrine and subaerial exposure, throughout the extent of the basin during this period. The partial or complete closure of the central basin from marine waters results from sea level falling below the height of one or …

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 …

Large-Scale Washover Sedimentation In A Freshwater Lagoon From The Southeast Australian Coast: Sea-Level Change, Tsunami Or Exceptionally Large Storm?, Brian Jones, Adam Switzer

B. G. Jones

No abstract provided.

Mammalian Responses To Pleistocene Climate Change In Southeastern Australia, Richard Roberts, Jonathon Olley, John Hellstrom, Dirk Megirian, Gavin Prideaux, Kira Westaway

Richard G Roberts

No abstract provided.

Redating The Advance Of The New Zealand Franz Josef Glacier During The Last Termination: Evidence For Asynchronous Climate Change, Richard Roberts, Christian Turney, Matt Mcglone, J Cooper, J Wilmshurst, N De Jonge, C Prior

Richard G Roberts

No abstract provided.

Human Occupation, Adaptation And Behavioural Change In The Pleistocene And Holocene Of South India: Recent Investigations In The Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, Richard Roberts, Kevin White, Christopher Clarkson, Jinu Koshy, Ravi Korisettar, Sacha Jones, Clive Oppenheimer, Nicole Boivin, Michael Petraglia, Peter Ditchfield, Janardhana B, Jamie Hampson, Preston Miracle, Kevin Cunningham, M Kasturi Bai, Dorian Fuller, Michael Haslam

Richard G Roberts

No abstract provided.

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 …

Case Study On The Pattern Change In Arabidopsis Thaliana Intron Sequence, Ren Zhang, Rachel Caldwell, Yan-Xia Lin, Jinda Kongcharoen, Yiren Yang

Associate Professor Yan-Xia Lin

A large portion in eukaryotic genomes is introns but their function is not yet fully elucidated. The aims of this study are to employ the generalized Bernoulli modeling approach to estimate the change points based on GC distribution in intron sequences of Arabidopsis thaliana and to investigate whether there is any correlation between gene properties (the gene expression level and the protein function) and these intron pattern changes. The influence of the intron length and the number of GC on the intron sequence pattern changes is demonstrated. Among the random sampled intron sequences, 10.71% have been identified to have pattern …

The Analysis Of Pattern Change In Intron Sequences, Jinda Kongcharoen, Yan-Xia Lin, Rachel Caldwell, Yiren Yang, Ren Zhang

Associate Professor Yan-Xia Lin

The Generalized Bernoulli Modeling approach is used to analyze the pattern change in intron sequences of a model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. The influence of the intron length and the number of GC on the intron sequence pattern changes is examined. Two other gene properties, the gene expression level and the protein function encoded are also assessed. Among the random sampled intron sequences,10.71% of them have been identified to have sequence pattern change. Our study shows that the number of GC and the intron length significantly influence the intron pattern change while the gene expression level and the protein function …

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 …

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 …

Investigating Three Decades Of Vegetation Change In A Mojave Desert Mountain Range, Chris Lee Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project is a vegetation change study spanning 29 years in the Newberry Mountains of Southern Nevada. Long term monitoring data are crucial for understanding the effects of climate change on vegetation dynamics. Successful management intervention in vegetation change will require identification of early indicator plant species and their responses to climatic cues. This project is one of the oldest comparisons of resurveyed Mojave vegetation community plots with repeatable methodology and the longest survey interval reported for the southeastern Mojave Desert. 103 plots were relocated and resurveyed based on data methods in Jim Holland's thesis titled "A Vegetative Analysis of …

Seed Bank Persistence And Climate Change, Mark K. J Ooi

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

"The strong mechanistic relationship between climatic factors and seed dormancy and germination suggests that forecast climatic changes will significantly affect seed bank persistence. This review focuses on the potential impact of changing temperature, rainfall and fire regimes on the longevity of long-term persistent seed-banks. Currently, there are few studies investigating the mechanistic responses of demographic processes, such as seed-bank dynamics, to forecast climate change. However, from the work that has been published, several key points have been highlighted. First, increased air temperatures will produce significantly higher soil temperatures in open and sparsely vegetated habitats. Some evidence shows that this could …

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 …

Climate Change, Fuel And Fire Behaviour In A Eucalypt Forest, Stuart Matthews, Andrew L. Sullivan, Penny Watson, Richard J. Williams

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

A suite of models was used to examine the links between climate, fuels and fire behaviour in dry eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia. Predictions from a downscaled climate model were used to drive models of fuel amount, the moisture content of fuels and two models of forest fire behaviour at a location in western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. We found that a warming and drying climate produced lower fine fuel amounts, but greater availability of this fuel to burn due to lower moisture contents. Changing fuel load had only a small effect on fuel moisture. A warmer, drier …

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

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We applied a multiple linear regression model to understand the relationships of PM_2.5 with meteorological variables in the contiguous US and from there to infer the sensitivity of PM_2.5 to climate change. We used 2004–2008 PM_2.5 observations from ~1000 sites (~200 sites for PM_2.5 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 PM_2.5 components with temperature in most of the US, except for nitrate in the Southeast where the correlation is negative. Relative humidity (RH) is …