Studies that have examined watershed groups have lacked the analysis of an empirical national data set to account for the factors that affect watershed groups growth and variation. This has made it difficult to assume any particular relationship between the presence of watershed groups and any environmental, social or political...
Connecting with nature is associated with social, physical, and emotional benefits such as stress relief, improved physical health, and lower crime. Parks and other natural areas offer spaces in which to connect with nature and reap these and other benefits (e.g., family bonding, social events, learning). Despite increasing populations of...
State-of-the-art, high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques for acquisition of metabolomic and lipidomic data coupled with advanced computational methods provide new opportunities for interpreting large and complex datasets and comprehending the underlying biological processes of diseases. Both metabolomics and lipidomics strive to obtain comprehensive analyses of small molecules, i.e., metabolites and lipids,...
Each year the United States: Forest Service (USFS) spends billions of dollars fighting forest fires. One strategy used by the USFS to prevent catastrophic fires is through forest restoration programs, in which potential forest fuel is removed through mechanized thinning. This program is expensive and generates high volumes of small-diameter...
Pin and hanger assemblies are a common type of connection used in past engineering practice for steel girder bridges. The connection consists of pins, hanger plates, and girder ends. The connection detail was used widely between 1930 and 1980. The connections are considered fracture critical and nonredundant because connection failure...
The aim of this thesis is to study past 10 years of security vulnerabilities reported against Linux Kernel and all existing mitigation techniques that prevent the exploitation of those vulnerabilities. To systematically study the security vulnerabilities, they were categorized into classes and sub-classes based on their type.
This thesis first...
Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections in the United Stated have been linked to consumption of raw shellfish, particularly oysters, with symptoms of headache, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting. Depuration, as a post-harvest process, has a long history of being applied in shellfish industry to reduce sewage bacteria. In order to reduce the...
Science is one of the fundamental building blocks of modern societies, and though some science topics are easily accepted by public audiences, others generate intense social controversy by challenging beliefs that are fundamental to a person’s, or group’s, identity. The Theory of Evolution is one of these “hot-button” issues, as...
Modern plant pathology benefits from integrating methods and concepts from evolutionary biology. For example, evolutionary concepts are used to identify and examine species boundaries of plant pathogens, recognize processes underlying pathogen biogeography, identify traits that characterize emerging species, and discover new molecular interactions that originate under processes of selection. In...
Successfully predicting an accurate estimated cost is important in the assembly planning process. When designing an assembly plan, an accurate estimation ensures that the proposed plan can be achieved within the predetermined budget. However, achieving an accurate prediction is a challenge since it requires professional judgment, which is dependent upon...