Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Establishment, Expansion And Ecosystem Effects Of Phragmites Australis, An Invasive Species In Coastal Louisiana, Lee Ellis Stanton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As biological invasions have become a common phenomenon throughout the world, ecologists have intensified efforts to understand why natural communities are susceptible to invasion. Invading species can cause shifts in community structure that result in irreversible changes to ecosystem function. Phragmites australis has rapidly spread in North American coastal wetlands during the past 50 years and has become a dominant feature in Northern Gulf of Mexico brackish marshes. The rate at which Phragmites is spreading or the mechanisms controlling its establishment in these marshes is unknown. My research objectives were to: (1) determine the spatial and temporal patterns of Phragmites …

Five-Year Review Of Executive Order 13112 On Invasive Species, The National Invasive Species Council (Nisc)

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Seepage Study Of Mcleod Creek And East Canyon Creek Near Park City, Summit County, Utah, 2004, C. D. Wilkowske, U.S. Geological Survey, Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District, U.S. Department Of The Interior

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Seepage investigations on McLeod Creek downstream of U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station McLeod Creek near Park City, Utah, and its confluence with Kimball Creek during the summer of 2004 indicate that this section of the creek is a gaining reach. The total seepage gains ranged from 1.8 to 2.7 cubic feet per second, or a 32 to 55 percent gain. The apparent average total seepage gain was 2.2 cubic feet per second, or an average 42 percent gain. Seepage investigations from the U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station at East Canyon Creek below I-80 Rest Stop near Park City, Utah, to …

Copies Of Unique Comment Letters, Mark Belles, Bureau Of Reclamation

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Unique letters and messages regarding the "Notice to solicit comments and hold public meetings on the development of management strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, including Lower Basin shortage guidelines, under low reservoir conditions."

Cache County, Utah Resource Assessment, Utah Association Of Conservation Districts, Utah Department Of Agriculture And Foods, Natural Resources Conservation Service

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This resource assessment is designed to gather and display information specific to Cache County, Utah. This report will highlight the natural and social resources present in the county, detail specific concerns, and be used to aid in resource planning and target conservation assistance needs. This document is dynamic and will be updated as additional information is available through a multi-agency partnership effort. The general observations and summaries are listed first, followed by the specific resource inventories.

Economic Significance Of Recreational Uses Of National Parks And Other Public Lands, Dr. Daniel J. Stynes, National Park Service, U.S. Department Of The Interior

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This paper reviews concepts and methods for estimating the economic significance of recreational uses of public lands and reports estimates of recreation values and economic impacts from recent studies. Aimed primarily at non-economists, the review clarifies the distinction between valuation and impact studies, defines key concepts, summarizes the most accessible approaches, and discusses conceptual and practical issues related to choosing among available methods and interpreting and applying the results. Terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader are highlighted in bold face and defined in a glossary at the end of the paper.

Quantitative And Qualitative Assessment Of Groundwater Resources In Al-Khatim Area, Uae, Ahmed Khaled Othman

Theses

The UAE has achieved remarkable progress in transformation from separated small emirates to a modern union country with a high standard of living. The country is however, considered an extreme arid region.

In spite of these harsh conditions, The UAE government has encouraged plantation in towns, villages and country side. This has led to sharp increase in the agricultural sector particularly during the last three decades. As the irrigated land kept increasing, there was a deep concern about the water demand and the impact of agriculture activities on groundwater systems. Al-Khatim area is considered one of the most important agricultural …

Simulating The Oil Spill In The Arabian Gulf Marine Environment: A Risk Assessment In Association With Uae Coastal Desalination Plants, Abubaker Awad El-Hakeem

Theses

The current study is directed towards the development of oil spill hazard contour maps for the prediction of oil spill travel times and critical wind directions in association with major strategic desalination plants in United Arab Emirates. Five desalination plants in are selected along the UAE coastline to be the potential destination points of oil spill hazards. These plants are AI-Shuwayhat, AI-Mirfa, Umm AINar & Taweelah, Jebel Ali and AI-Layah.

In order to reach the set target, a coastal hydraulics simulation model is employed to adopt the real sea-state dynamic conditions. The hydrodynamic simulated results are tuned and tested against …

Copolymers And Blends Of Methyl Acrylate And Acrylic Isobutyl Poss Nanomaterials, Manikantan B. Nair, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ultra-thin polymer films attached to solid substrates (supported films) have attracted significant interest in recent years. Supported films are used in the design of advanced materials like photoresists, lubricants and other electronic devices. Glass transition temperatures (Tgs) of supported polymer films have also been of significant interest. The Tg has been shown to depend on the thickness of the polymer film on the surface and the inherent nature of the surface. The effect of end-grafting of a polymer chain to a surface, on the Tg of the polymer has been studied previously.1 Reports on the study of glass transition behaviors …

Effect Of Plasticizer On Pvac-D3 Dynamics Using 2h Solid-State Nmr, Rakesh R. Nambiar, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) is an important polymer for use in many applications due to its various bulk and surface characteristics. The structure of poly(vinyl acetate) results in a relatively low glass transition temperature (Tg) and makes it important for processing and applications such as paints, adhesives, thin films and surface coatings. Poly(vinyl acetate) can also be easily plasticized, widening its range of applications. The term "plasticizer" refers to a species that will decrease Tg of a polymer.1 Polymer-plasticizer systems have been studied for years and continue to be of current interest. The effects of polymer-plasticizer interactions2 and plasticizer structure3 on …

Synthesis And Electropolymerization Of 2-(3-Thienylethyl)-3-Thiopheneacetate, Nicholas Leventis, Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis, Sudhir Mulik, Amala Dass

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Conducting polymers offer great promise in the development of electronic devices, displays and sensors. In that regard, biomolecules can be attached to these polymers via functional groups, but the presence of such groups oftentimes hinders polymerization.1-3 One strategy is to polymerize a functionalized monomer precursor of a conducting polymer, followed by reaction of the dangling functional groups of the polymer with appropriately functionalized labels. An attractive functionalized thiophene for that purpose is 3-thienylethanol. Unfortunately, however, this monomer is not polymerizable.1,2 Thus, 3-thienylethanol has been esterified, followed by co-polymerization with 3-methylthiophene (3-MT), and subsequent hydrolysis of the ester to the free …

The Effect Of Interactive Computer Animations On Introductory Geology Students' Conceptual Understanding Of Mountain Building Processes, Michelle (Michelle Alicia) Malone

WWU Graduate School Collection

The use of computer animations to help students visualize processes they cannot observe directly is becoming more widespread in geoscience classrooms, but few studies have formally assessed the effectiveness of these technological aids as learning tools. This research project evaluated the effect of interactive computer animations on undergraduate introductory geology students' understanding of mountain building processes. The study focused on introductory geology students’ misconceptions about the formation of mountains. With the assistance of Flash programmers, an online interactive web activity was developed. This tool was aimed at reducing misconceptions, and included activities related to plate tectonics, isostasy, erosion and rock …

Effects Of Fire On Home Range Size, Site Fidelity And Habitat Associations Of Grassland Birds Overwintering In Southeast Texas, Heather Quebedeaux Baldwin

LSU Master's Theses

Understanding habitat affinities of wintering grassland birds is pertinent to their conservation. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the 1) effect burn history has on vegetation structure in coastal prairie; 2) habitat associations of the most common avian species; and, 3) home range size and site fidelity of Le Conte's Sparrow (LCSP). Data were collected on sites with 1-, 2- and 3-year burn histories during the winter of 2002 at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Line transects were conducted to estimate bird abundance and vegetation measurements were recorded for herbaceous density, shrub density, and community type. Twenty-six Le …

Enantioselective Syntheses And Chemical Investigations Of Plant-Derived Bioactive Volatile Compounds, Anne Marie Sauer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research, inspired by nature, provides ample opportunity for discovery, ingenuity, and creative endeavor. For these reasons, the work and accomplishments presented herein focus on the total syntheses and related investigations of a variety of natural product derivatives, specifically (+)-nootkatone and jasmone. While the former consists of several independent projects: (a) an enantioselective synthetic route to (+)-nootkatone and derivatives, (b) examination of the valencane ring system, (c) determination of the absolute configuration of (+)-nootkatone, and (d) rearrangements of various sesquiterpenoid derivatives; the latter focuses on the construction ofƒndelta, epsilon-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, hetero Pauson-Khand substrates, via [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements.

The Simultaneous Onset And Interaction Of Taylor And Dean Instabilities In A Couette Geometry, C. P. Hills, A. P. Bassom

Articles

The fluid flow between a pair of coaxial circular cylinders generated by the uniform rotation of the inner cylinder and an azimuthal pressure gradient is susceptible to both Taylor and Dean type instabilities. The flow can be characterised by two parameters: a measure of the relative magnitude of the rotation and pressure effects and a non-dimensional Taylor number. Neutral curves associated with each instability can be constructed but it has been suggested that these curves do not cross but rather posses `kinks'. Our work is based in the small gap, large wavenumber limit and considers the simultaneous onset of Taylor …

An Explicit Mapping Between The Frequency Domain And The Time Domain Representations Of Nonlinear Systems, Marissa Condon, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

Explicit expressions are presented that describe the input-output behaviour of a nonlinear system in both the frequency and the time domain. The expressions are based on a set of coefficients that do not depend on the input to the system and are universal for a given system. The anharmonic oscillator is chosen as an example and is discussed for different choices of its physical parameters. It is shown that the typical approach for the determination of the Volterra Series representation is not valid for the important case when the nonlinear system exhibits oscillatory behaviour and the input has a pole …

On The Integrability Of A Class Of Nonlinear Dispersive Wave Equations, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

We investigate the integrability of a class of 1+1 dimensional models describing nonlinear dispersive waves in continuous media, e.g. cylindrical compressible hyperelastic rods, shallow water waves, etc. The only completely integrable cases coincide with the Camassa-Holm and Degasperis-Procesi equations.

Manev Potential And General Relativity, Rossen Ivanov, Emil Prodanov

Articles

Manevis classical potential is known to successfully modify Newtonian celestial mechanics, in accordance with the general-relativistic description. The idea of replacing the exact solution of Einsteinis equations, describing orbiting bodies, with a classical potential is widely used today. These models are not restricted to planetary motion only, but also include numerous interesting astrophysical phenomena such as accretion of matter around black holes or massive stars.

Structure, Magnetic, And Transport Properties Of Ti-Substituted La₀.₇Sr₀.₃Mno₃, M. S. Kim, Jinbo Yang, Qingsheng Cai, X.-D. Zhou, William Joseph James, William B. Yelon, D. Buddhikot, Satish K. Malik, Paul Ernest Parris

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ti-substituted perovskites La_0.7Sr_0.3Mn_1-xTi_xO₃ with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20, were investigated by neutron diffraction, magnetization, electric resistivity, and magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. All samples show a rhombohedral structure (space group R3c) from 10 K to room temperature. At room temperature, the cell parameters a,c and the unit cell volume increase with increasing Ti content. However, at 10 K, the cell parameter a has a maximum value for x = 0.10, and decreases for x > 0.10, while the unit cell volume remains nearly constant for x > 0.10. The average (Mn,Ti)-O bond length increases …

Guide To Growing Summer Grain & Forages In The South Coast Region, Western Australia, Andrea Hills, Sally-Anne Penny

Agriculture reports

Growing summer grain and forages in the south coast region of Western Australia. Information is included for sorghum, millet family, sunflowers, and safflower.

Early Paleozoic Orogenesis In The Maine-Quebec Appalachians, Christopher Charles Gerbi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accretionary orogens, such as the Appalachian orogen, form by episodic docking of oceanic and continental fragments. Two factors that exert significant control on the development of an accretionary orogen are: (1) the nature and source of the accreting fragments, and (2) the thermal and deformational structure of the crust. This study addresses aspects of both of these controls. In the Northern Appalachians, a long-lived but untested hypothesis suggested that Early Paleozoic accretion in western Maine, which marked the initiation of Appalachian development, involved the docking of an island arc. My goal was to test this hypothesis for the Maine-Qukbec segment …

Porphyroblast Kinematics And Crenulation Cleavage Development In The Aureole Of The Mooselookmeguntic Pluton, Western Maine, Matthew E. Dupee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The porphyroblastic pelitic schists of western Maine are ideal for studying the deformation and metamorphism that accompanies pluton emplacement. A regional lowpressure, high-temperature metamorphic event affected the areally extensive Silurian sediments with the thermal peak occuning ca. 404 Ma. This metamorphism produced the widespread assemblage staurolite + andalusite + biotite +I- garnet, and occurred during the late stages of development of a northeast-trending, steeply-dipping axial-surface foliation. A period of extensive plutonism accompanied and followed this Acadian-aged deformation and metamorphism. This study focuses specifically on the contact aureole of the Mooselookmeguntic pluton emplaced ca. 370 Ma. Contact metamorphism accompanied the development …

Epizootiology Of Sin Nombre And El Moro Canyon Hantaviruses, Southeastern Colorado, 1995–2000, Charles H. Calisher, J. Jeffrey Root, James N. Mills, Joan E. Rowe, Serena A. Reeder, Emily S. Jentes, Kent Wagoner, Barry J. Beaty

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sin Nombre virus (SNV) is an etiologic agent of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. To better understand the natural history of this virus we studied population dynamics and temporal pattern of infection of its rodent hosts in southeastern Colorado (USA) from 1995 to 2000. We present evidence for the presence of two hantaviruses, SNV in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and El Moro Canyon virus in western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), at our study sites. Sin Nombre virus appeared only sporadically in deer mouse populations; overall prevalence of antibody to SNV was 2.6%. El Moro Canyon virus was enzootic: …

Population Dynamics Of A Diverse Rodent Assemblage In Mixed Grass-Shrub Habitat, Southeastern Colorado, 1995–2000, Charles H. Calisher, James N. Mills, William P. Sweeney, J. Jeffrey Root, Serena A. Reeder, Emily S. Jentes, Kent Wagoner, Barry J. Beaty

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We followed seasonal and year-to-year population dynamics for a diverse rodent assemblage in a short-grass prairie ecosystem in southeastern Colorado (USA) for 6 yr. We captured 2,798 individual rodents (range, one to 812 individuals per species) belonging to 19 species. The two most common species, deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), generally had population peaks in winter and nadirs in summer; several other murid species demonstrated autumn peaks and spring nadirs; heteromyids were infrequently captured in winter, and populations generally peaked in summer or autumn. Interannual trends indicated an interactive effect between …

Uterine Mast Cells And Immunoglobulin-E Antibody Responses During Clearance Of Tritrichomonas Foetus, L. B. Corbeil, C. M. Campero, J. C. Rhyan, M. L. Anderson, L. J. Gershwin, D. W. Agnew, L. Munson, R. H. Bondurant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We showed earlier that Tritrichomonas foetus–specific bovine immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 and IgA antibodies in uterine and vaginal secretions are correlated with clearance of this sexually transmitted infection. Eosinophils have been noted in previous studies of bovine trichomoniasis but the role of mast cells and IgE responses have not been reported. The hypothesis that IgE and mast cell degranulation play a role in clearance was tested in 25 virgin heifers inseminated experimentally and infected intravaginally with T. foetus strain D1 at estrus and cultured weekly. Groups were euthanatized at 3, 6, 9, or 12 weeks, when tissues were fixed and secretions …

West Nile Virus Infection In Farmed American Alligators (Alligator Mississippiensis) In Florida, Elliott R. Jacobson, Pamela E. Ginn, J. Mitchell Troutman, Lisa Farina, Lillian Stark, Kaci Klenk, Kristen L. Burkhalter, Nicholas Komar

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Serologic Evidence Of Exposure Of Wild Mammals To Flaviviruses In The Central And Eastern United States, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeffrey S. Hall, Robert G. Mclean, Nicole L. Marlenee, Barry J. Beaty, Justin Gansowski, Larry Clark

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Serosurveys were conducted to obtain flavivirus and West Nile virus (WNV) seroprevalence data from mammals. Sera from 513 small- and medium-sized mammals collected during late summer and fall 2003 from Colorado, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were screened for flavivirus-specific antibodies. Sera samples containing antibody to flaviviruses were screened for WNV-specific antibodies by epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and confirmed with plaque reduction neutralization tests. Prevalence of WNV antibodies among study sites ranged from 0% to 42.8% among the mammal communities sampled. High prevalence rates for WNV were noted among raccoons (100%, with a very small sample size, N = …

Comparison Of Nicarbazin Absorption In Chickens, Mallards, And Canada Geese, C. A. Yoder, L. A. Miller, K. S. Bynum

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Nicarbazin (NCZ), a coccidiostat commonly used in the poultry industry, causes reduced hatchability and egg quality in layer hens at a concentration of 125 ppm (8.4 mg/kg) in the feed. Although this effect is undesirable in the poultry industry, NCZ could provide a useful wildlife contraception tool for waterfowl, particularly urban geese. We tested the absorption of NCZ in chickens (Gallus gallus), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and Canada geese (Branta canadensis) gavaged with 8.4 mg of NCZ/kg per bird each day for 8 d. Plasma levels of 4,4′-dinitrocarbanilide (DNC) differed significantly among species. Peak plasma …

Evaluation Of Cocoa- And Coffee-Derived Methylxanthines As Toxicants For The Control Of Pest Coyotes, John J. Johnston

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Methylxanthines were quantified in coffee, tea, and chocolate products. Tarajuilie tea from India, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs contained the highest levels of methylxanthines. Theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline combined in the ratios observed in tea and chocolate were ingested by coyotes. Although both mixtures induced acute toxicity, the symptoms accompanying the chocolate methylxanthine mimic were preferable. Manipulation of the ratios of methylxanthines in the chocolate mimic led to the identification of a 5:1 theobromine/caffeine mixture as a promising coyote toxicant. This mixture was then administered to coyotes using the coyote lure operative device (CLOD). Mortality occurred in every coyote that …

The Geographically Contiguous And Expanding Coastal Range Of The Northern Curlytail Lizard (Leiocephalus Carinatus Armouri ) In Florida, Walter E. Meshaka Jr., Henry T. Smith, Richard M. Engeman, Christopher L. Dean, Jon A. Moore, William E. O'Brien

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We surveyed for the presence of the Northern Curlytail Lizard, Leiocephalus carinatus armouri, from Port Salerno, Martin County, FL, northward to the Indian River-Brevard county line to determine the extent to which this species occurs along the Florida East Coast. The geographic range of L. c. armouri appears to be uninterrupted along the coast from northern Broward County through Palm Beach County. The heavily modified coastal habitat provided this species with the open sunny conditions and cement analogues to the rocky substratum to which it is adapted. Its ubiquity, rate of geographic expansion, combined with its carnivorous habits and large …