Environmental regulations have contributed to environmental quality improvements over the past century in the U.S. Potential consequences of environmental regulations for economic growth and productivity have been widely examined in the economics literature. However, there’s limited research on how such policies affect human health, fetuses and infants especially. In this...
About 48 million cases of Foodborne illnesses (FBIs) are estimated to occur every year in the US. These are diseases caused by contamination of foods with bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and toxic chemicals. Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) are an important health-care and community associated problem. Since C. difficile spores have...
Our goal is to build a system to model the RNA sequences that reveals their structural information by using efficient dynamic programming algorithms and deep learning approaches. We aim to 1) achieve linear-time for RNA secondary structure prediction based on existing minimum free energy models; 2) utilize deep neural networks...
The overall objective of this dissertation study was to develop and validate the performance of cellulose nanomaterials (CNs) incorporated fruit coatings for improving the storability of postharvest pears and bananas under various storage conditions. Four specific studies were conducted to fulfill the research objectives as stated below.
First, cellulose nanocrystal...
Antibacterial activities in the salivary glands of
female mosquitoes Aedes aegypti were investigated in this
study.
The mean salivary bacteriolytic activity, during a
period of 14-day of female mosquitoes exposed to five
different concentrations of Gram-positive bacteria
Micrococcus lysodeikticus in the sucrose meal, was
detected by a lysoplate method. A...
Image feature detection and matching are two critical processes for many computer vision tasks. Currently, intensity-based local interest region detectors and local feature-based matching methods are used widely in computer vision applications. But in some applications, such as biological object recognition tasks, within-class changes in pose, lighting, color, and texture...
Capacity Planning is a gradually recognized need in UNIX environments. However, the effort to address this problem has been more or less event driven and is often discarded after crises are over. The main cause to this situation is that the tools to support the CP function in UNIX environments...
Microbial communities in Arctic coastal lagoons drive biogeochemical cycles at the terrestrial-marine interface and help to determine the fate and form of resources like nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) as they are delivered to the Arctic Ocean. Though rising rates of primary production in the Arctic Ocean are well-characterized, the...
Circadian clocks coordinate molecular, cellular, physiological, and behavioral processes with the 24-hour solar day. While clock functions are well understood in young animals, it is not clear how aging or neurodegenerative disease affects the various levels of the circadian system. A common symptom of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease...
Clostridium difficile´s presence has been reported in meat products stored typically at low temperatures. This study evaluated the viability in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) of spores from epidemic C. difficile strain R20291 (4.6 log CFU/ml) and M120 (7.8 log CFU/ml). Viability was assessed during 4 months at -80°C, -20°C, 4°C...
Transcription of the VERNALIZATION1 gene (VRN1) is induced by prolonged cold
(vernalization) to trigger flowering of cereal crops, such as wheat and barley. VRN1 encodes a
MADS box transcription factor that promotes flowering by regulating the expression of other
genes. Here we use transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and chromatin immunoprecipitation
sequencing...
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cereal crops
Deng, W., Casao, M. C., Wang, P., Sato, K., Hayes, P. M., Finnegan, E. J., &
Trevaskis, B
A beta Poisson dose-response model for Vibrio vulnificus food poisoning cases leading to septicemia was used when evaluating the effect of 15°C depuration on the estimated risk of raw oyster consumption. Statistical variability sources included V. vulnificus load at harvest, time and temperature during harvest and transportation to processing plants,...
Artists use different means of stylization to control the
focus on different objects in the scene. This allows them to portray complex meaning and achieve certain artistic effects. Most
prior work on painterly rendering of videos, however, uses only
a single painting style, with fixed global parameters, irrespective of objects...
The phenolic compounds in blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) fruit and leaf extracts (BLE) were determined based on HPLC analysis. Antimicrobial assays against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli, as well as fungi isolated from the rotting blueberry fruit were conducted. The effects of chitosan coating incorporating different concentrations...
Vortex shedding is a phenomenon relevant to any industry dealing with fluid flow. The shed vortices often produce oscillatory forces, which have been suspect in the catastrophic failure of airplanes and bridges alike. To prevent further engineering failures a better understanding of the underlying physics is needed. It has been...
Significant challenges remain before lithium-ion batteries can support the decarbonization of the transportation and power sectors required to avert catastrophic climate change. The energy density of these batteries must be increased, while decreasing the price, and maintaining or increasing their lifespan. To improve the practical energy density of existing materials,...
BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts that are 200 bp or longer, do not encode proteins,
and potentially play important roles in eukaryotic gene regulation. However, the number, characteristics and
expression inheritance pattern of lncRNAs in maize are still largely unknown.
RESULTS: By exploiting available public EST databases, maize...
The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to transformative developments across multiple sectors, fostering innovation and redefining our interactions with technology. As AI matures and becomes integrated into society, it offers numerous opportunities to address global challenges and revolutionize a wide array of human endeavors. These advances are driven...
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as excess hepatic lipid accumulation, in the absence of excess alcohol consumption and chronic liver disease. NAFLD can range in severity from simple fatty liver (steatosis) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH is defined as hepatic steatosis with inflammation and hepatic injury and describes...
The spatial distribution of forest disturbance is commonly calculated using a satellite imagery-driven bi- or tri-temporal change analysis. Working in Colombia’s Cordillera de los Picachos National Natural Park – a region of consistent cloud cover and dramatic topographic relief – a change assessment with such infrequent observations cannot capture long-term...
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand activated transcription factor that is a member of the basic helix-loop-helix PER-ARNT-SIM (bHLH/PAS) protein family of cellular sensors. The AHR is conserved across multiple animal phyla and is required for proper vertebrate development. A structurally diverse group of chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic...
Porphyry Cu-(Au-Mo) deposits are critical sources of several economically important metals. The processes governing the total metal endowment and relative proportions of ore metals at these large magmatic-hydrothermal deposits remain uncertain. The Sulphurets porphyry district, in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, contains four porphyry Au-Cu-Mo deposits that each feature distinct Cu/Au...
We conducted a detailed investigation of U isotopes in conjunction with a broad geochemical investigation during field-scale biostimulation and desorption experiments. This investigation was carried out in the uranium-contaminated alluvial aquifer of the Rifle field research site. In this well-characterized setting, a more comprehensive understanding of U isotope geochemistry is...
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, P.G. Laubach b,
P.E. Long c, K.H. Williams c
aCollege of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
Hydrogen is the green fuel that can be produced from water through electrolysis and used via hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity with zero carbon dioxide emission. The commercialization of electrolyzers and fuel cells is the critical step to achieving global carbon neutrality. However, it is severely hampered by the...
Coring/logging data and physical property measurements from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 349 are integrated with, and correlated to, reflection seismic data to map seismic sequence boundaries and facies of the central basin and neighboring regions of the South China Sea. First-order sequence boundaries are interpreted, which are Oligocene/Miocene, middle...
Grassland recovery from degradation is increasingly occurring worldwide. Diverse managements have been considered as effective ways to restore degraded grassland, but it remains unclear how semi-arid grasslands respond to long-term grazing exclusion and fenced mowing. Here, a study was conducted under open grazing, grazing exclusion and fenced mowing in a...
State-owned forestland in P.R. China has long been an important source of natural resources for communities. The Chinese government has undertaken several conservation initiatives with the intent to restore degraded landscapes and conserve biodiversity, while simultaneously improving the quality of life for rural people. Using Yaze Village, Pingwu County, Sichuan...
Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is an enveloped, single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus. The BVDV genome is about 12.5 kb long and consists of a single open reading frame (ORF) flanked by untranslated regions at the 5' and 3' ends (5'-UTR and 3'- UTR, respectively). To investigate the role of cis-sequences...
BACKGROUND: Meniscal injury is a common cause of lameness in the dog. Tissue engineered bioscaffolds may be a treatment option for meniscal incompetency, and ideally would possess meniscus-like extracellular matrix (ECM) and withstand meniscal tensile hoop strains. Synovium may be a useful cell source for meniscal tissue engineering because of...
A large amount of organic carbon is stored in high-latitude soils. A substantial proportion of this carbon stock is vulnerable and may decompose rapidly due to temperature increases that are already greater than the global average. It is therefore crucial to quantify and understand carbon exchange between the atmosphere and...
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/gmd-3-565-2010, 2010.
Wilson, J. P., Lam, C. S., and Deng, Y.: Comparison of the performance of
Forests play a crucial role in the global carbon (C) cycle by storing and sequestering a substantial amount of C in the terrestrial biosphere. Due to temporal dynamics in climate and vegetation activity, there are significant regional variations in carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes between the biosphere and atmosphere in forests...
California and Steller sea lions (Zalophus californianus, Eumetopias jubatus, respectively) are considered sentinel species because they have long life spans, are long-term coastal residents, feed at high trophic levels, and have large blubber stores that serve as depots for anthropogenic toxicants. There are few studies on sea lion health and...
Artificial Intelligence has gained resurgence in popularity through machine learning methods. This thesis investigates the current use of AI, the impact it will have on the economy and the ethical considerations for developing this technology. In the coming decade AI could increase global economic output over $10 Trillion. AI will...
Recognizing human actions in videos is a long-standing problem in computer vision with a wide range of applications including video surveillance, content retrieval, and sports analysis. This thesis focuses on addressing efficiency and robustness of video classification in unconstrained real-world settings. The thesis work can be broadly divided into four...
Culture, thought worldview and language have been
discussed for a long time in different fields from various
perspectives. However, the basis of this study is the view
of language as both the product and producer of people just
as people are the producer and product of language. Each
language requires...
Large amount of organic carbon is stored in high latitude soils. A substantial proportion of this carbon stock is vulnerable and may decompose rapidly due to temperature increases that are already greater than the global average. It is therefore crucial to quantify and understand carbon exchange between the atmosphere and...
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Deng, Y.: Comparison of the performance of flow-routing
algorithms used in GIS-based hydrologic
Pacific lamprey is an important cultural and ecological species to freshwater ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Lamprey often rear in low gradient portions of watersheds that have high exposure to climate warming, yet very little is known about their thermal physiology in comparison with other anadromous fishes such as Pacific...
Western diets are high in fat and sucrose and can influence behavior and gut microbiota. There is growing evidence that altering the microbiome can influence the brain and behavior. This study was designed to determine whether diet-induced changes in the gut microbiota could contribute to alterations in anxiety, memory or...
We live on an Urban Planet. The current unprecedented urbanization is accompanied by intensive land cover transition and demographic shifts from rural to urban livelihoods. Cities serve as cultural, economic, political centers that facilitate wealth creation and innovation of the society, sustaining human from multi-dimensions with large ecological footprints far...
The Hi-CLIMB broadband seismic experiment (2002-2005) operated 233 stations along an 800 km long north-south line from the Himalayan foreland into the central Tibetan Plateau and in a 350x350 km sub-array within southern Tibet and central and eastern Nepal. Station spacing was approximately 8 km along the line and 50...
Dense hyphal mats formed by ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi are prominent features in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest soils and have been estimated to cover up to 40% of the forest floor in some stands. Although previous studies have examined various aspects of EcM fungi, little is known about their associated microbial...
Poplar Bark Storage Proteins (BSP) are important in storing nitrogen (N)
recovered from autumn-senescent leaves, and supply N for spring growth. Plants of
Populus tremula x P. alba were transformed with a poplar BSP antisense cDNA
fused to a double 35S promoter. Regenerated lines were screened for reduced BSP
accumulation...
Long field-life systems are those for which operational, as opposed to capital, expenditures dominate the life time cost of the system. In established product categories, operational experience and historical maintenance data allows engineers to make informed decisions influencing maintenance during the early design stages when design changes are at their...
The symbiosis between cnidarians, such as corals and sea anemones, and photosynthetic dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Symbiodinium spp. is one of the most productive in the marine environment. This mutualistic endosymbiosis allow reef-building corals to lay down the foundation of coral reef ecosystems, which supports a highly biodiverse community...
This thesis consists of two major components. The first part is concerned with video object instance segmentation (VOS), which is the task of assigning per-pixel labels perframe of a video sequence to indicate foreground object instance membership, given the first frame ground truth mask. VOS has myriad applications, from video...
This dissertation addresses the problem of video labeling at both the frame and pixel levels using deep learning. For pixel-level video labeling, we have studied two problems: i) Spatiotemporal video segmentation and ii) Boundary detection and boundary flow estimation. For the problem of spatiotemporal video segmentation, we have developed recurrent...
Abstract In this work, we study the transient behavior of homogenized models for solute transport
in two-region porous media. We focus on the following three models: (1) a time nonlocal, two-equation
model (2eq-nlt). This model does not rely on time constraints and, therefore, is particularly
useful in the short-time regime,...
Electric grid is a critical cyber-physical infrastructure that serves as lifeline for modern society. With the increasing trend of cyber-attacks, electric grid security has become a significant concern. Electric grid operators are working hard to reduce the risk of these attacks towards the system. Having security metrics for monitoring the...
In poplar (Populus spp.) a 32-kilodalton bark storage protein (BSP) accumulates during the fall and winter, and is thought to be a major storage form of overwintering nitrogen. BSP is induced by short-day (SD) photoperiod, and under natural conditions BSP accumulation coincides with the induction of dormancy. Because BSP accumulates...