The Toba Caldera Complex is the youngest resurgent caldera in the last 100 kyrs, formed from four overlapping eruptions starting 1.2 Myrs ago. The last caldera-forming eruption, the Youngest Toba Tuff eruption, occurred ~74 kyrs ago, emitting 2800 km3 of ash and pumice into the atmosphere and forming the caldera...
Cnidarians, such as corals and sea anemones serve as hosts to a variety of organisms including symbiotic dinoflagellates, bacteria, virus, and apicomplexans. As corals are vital to the health and productivity of the reef ecosystem it is important to understand how these organisms interact with each component of the holobiont....
During the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) in Christchurch, NZ, an estimated $15B in damages occurred due to liquefaction-induced phenomena, illustrating the importance of understanding site-specific responses to seismic ground motions, as well the importance of accurately predicting liquefaction severity. One potential method for improving the understanding of how a site...
With confirmation of non-nutritive sugar, erythritol, having insecticidal properties to Dipterans, this thesis research focuses on use of erythritol as a human-safe management tool for small berry and cherry pest, Drosophila suzukii, commonly referred to as spotted-wing drosophila. Drosophila suzukii is a destructive invasive fruit fly from Asia with an...
This study investigated the impact of organic chromium (Cr) supplementation and flaxseed on live performance, carcass yield, serum metabolites, muscle lipid profile, histopathological aspects, and meat quality parameters. Ninety (n=90), day-old Cobb chicks were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet containing 0% flaxseed (Control), 10% flaxseed (Diet 1) and Diet 1...
Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body by mass, comprising roughly 40% of total bodyweight in adults. It plays diverse and unique roles that include movement, locomotion, and support for posture and internal organs, among others. The structural foundation for all skeletal muscle in adults is formed early...
Most studies of plant disease epidemiology have focused on epidemics in host
populations composed of a single genotype. But crop plant diversity can be a useful
means of improving the deployment of resistance genes. In a series of experiments with wheat stripe rust and potato late blight, we studied factors...
The solution structure determination of DNA molecules has been an important part of structural biology. NMR solution structures are a complement to structures solved via X-ray crystallography; the two methods are the only ways of obtaining three dimensional coordinates of macromolecules. Because of the nature of the molecule, the solution...
Literacy projects can lead to community empowerment, particularly when roundtable discussions initiate goals and students draw on their experiences and strengths to serve as "literacy ambassadors." In the two following linked manuscripts, I make my case for a literacy ambassador model of literacy service learning project that engages communities and...