The forest alpine tundra ecotone (FTE, also known as alpine treeline or subalpine parkland), is a conspicuous feature of mountain landscapes throughout the world. Climate change-driven increases in temperature are believed to result in FTE movement and tree invasion of subalpine meadows, which have been documented throughout the Northern Hemisphere...
Better Bones and Balance (BBB) is a community-based exercise program to improve bone health and reduce fall risk among older adults. Prior research has shown that when the program is delivered by researchers under controlled conditions, participants improved strength and balance, and maintained bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip....
Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF) contains transuranic (TRU) elements and numerous fission products as a result of the uranium fission process and neutron activation that occur in commercial light water power reactors. Recent environmental and nuclear proliferation concerns have spawned the development of advanced reprocessing techniques to close the nuclear fuel...
European hazelnut, Corylus avellana L., is the only economically important nut crop
in the family Betulaceae. One of the threats to the hazelnut industry in the Pacific
Northwest is the fungal disease eastern filbert blight (EFB) caused by the
pyrenomycete Anisogramma anomala. Host genetic resistance to EFB identified in the...
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an environmental bacterium as well as an opportunistic pathogen that primarily infects immunocompromised individuals, including those suffering from cystic fibrosis. The density-dependent regulation of gene expression via cell-to-cell communication, also termed quorum sensing (QS), is an important virulence determinant in this organism. Generally, P. aeruginosa uses three...
Since at least the 1970s, rural areas in the western United States, as elsewhere across the country and world, have been subject to social, economic, and political forces that have resulted in novel demographic and land tenure trends when compared to previous decades. Collectively, these processes of restructuring have created...
Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) is a pervasive environmental bacterium that can cause opportunistic infections in humans. Among the most robust and hardy members of the Mycobacterium genus, M. avium can persist and thrive in a range of challenging environments, including many which place it in direct contact with humans....
Hobby activities can be viewed through the lens of informal, free-choice learning. A wide range of hobbies combine fun and learning-intensive practices, and can contribute to scientific literacy. Hobby learning involves clear goal orientation, persistence and effort, and often results in more richly and strongly connected knowledge; traits highly valued...
Smallholder farmers rely on labor exchange to generate agricultural work when cash is rare and credit unavailable. Reciprocal altruism, biased by genetic kinship, has been implicated as the mechanism responsible for labor exchange; however, few empirical tests confirm this proposition. Competitive altruism could be operating if people differ in ability...
Hydrologic research is a very demanding application of fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) in terms of precision, accuracy and calibration. The physics behind the most frequently used DTS instruments are considered as they apply to four calibration methods for single-ended DTS installations. The new methods presented are more accurate than...