Diatom-inferred records of paleolimnological variability and continental hydrothermal activity in Yellowstone National Park, USA

Fossil diatoms were used to reconstruct paleoclimatic and hydrothermal conditions in Yellowstone National Park. First, an extensive literature review summarizes the current state of knowledge about eukaryotic organisms characteristic of continental hydrothermal environments. Eukaryotes in hydrothermal systems can live at extremes of acidity (pH 9.0), and at moderately high temperatures (\u3c62 \u3e○C). Silicate and carbonate precipitation in continental hydrothermal environments is mediated by eukaryotic organisms, which are important members of biofilm communities. A case study of alkaline-chloride sinter deposits in Yellowstone Lake and the Upper Geyser Basin inferred in-situ diatom growth rather than post-depositional accumulation of valves settling from the water column. Conical spires from the floor of Yellowstone Lake contained opportunistic fossil diatom species indicative of relatively shallow and alkaline conditions during structure formation. Fossil diatoms of the Upper Geyser Basin were low-nutrient and aerophilic species and in various stages of diagenetic alteration. An analysis of fossil diatoms showed that assemblages of Yellowstone Lake were sensitive to both direct climate impacts on the lake’s physical and chemical structure and indirect impacts on catchment processes. A major shift in species composition occurred at approximately 6475 and 1500 cal years BP. The diatom species composition suggests that the early Holocene winters and springs were cooler than today, with a relatively short interval of spring mixing. In the middle Holocene, the diatoms composition indicates a transition to warmer winters and springs, but colder summer temperatures. Specifically, the diatom assemblage suggests earlier ice-out and delayed stratification that resulted in periods of extended spring mixing. The late-Holocene diatom assemblage is indicative of wetter springs and sustained spring mixing. The impact of hydrothermal explosion events was assessed on diatom communities using sediment cores from Yellowstone Lake and Cub Creek Pond. The impact of these events was more pronounced in the early Holocene sediment record of the shallower, smaller Cub Creek Pond than in Yellowstone Lake. Overall, diatom assemblages were generally resilient to disturbance via hydrothermal disturbance, with only short-duration changes in diatom assemblage. Advisor: Sherilyn C. Frit

The effect of environment on seed composition of tofu and natto soybean cultivars

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 22, 2007)Includes bibliographical references.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2006.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Agronomy.Composition of soybean seeds is important to manufacturers of tofu and natto food products. The effect of environment on seed composition of tofu and natto soybean cultivars was measured in Missouri in 2004 and 2005. The environment was altered by varying the planting date and by planting at 7 to 10 locations in four soybean-producing regions in Missouri. The carboydrates sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and protein and oil were measured by near infrared (NIR). Planting date affected tofu soybean composition. Significant planting date by cultivar interactions were found for sucrose, raffinose, and protein in both years. Sucrose increased with later planting in 2005. Location in Missouri also affected seed composition. Sucrose was highest at the Columbia location and stachyose was lowest at Oran for both years. Sucrose was negatively correlated to August temperatures in 2004 and 2005. These results can aid in producing management strategies for growers of tofu and natto soybean cultivars

Sex Talk: A Multiple Case Study to Explore and Understand Parent-Child Sexual Health Communication in Chinese Immigrant Families

Parent-child sexual health communication can be beneficial. Many factors affect such communication in Chinese immigrant families. This qualitative study explored the influences of acculturation, parenting, and parental participation in the Raising Sexually Healthy Children Program (RSHC) on such communication. With a hermeneutic framework, the purpose was to develop understanding based on the topic, context, and researcher interpretations. Twelve interviews elicited data from six parent-child dyads, three from the RSHC. Analysis involved coding processes; data were compared repeatedly and organized into themes. Perceived personality differences between generations were confounded with cultural communicative differences. Parents used implicitness observed in Chinese culture to establish "open" communication; children expected explicitness observed in Western culture. Post- RSHC, parents perceived themselves as more open to talking about sex; children did not perceive such parental changes. Future research should include joint interviews and longitudinal program evaluation. Future practice should focus on cross-cultural communication and involving children in RSHC

The Effectiveness of E-Cigarettes for Smoking Cessation: A Comparison With Nicotine Replacement Therapy and No Use of Evidence-Based Cessation Aids in the German Population

BACKGROUND: Our primary aim was to assess-in the German population-the effectiveness of e-cigarettes (ECs; with or without nicotine), nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and no use of evidence-based aids in smoking cessation. METHODS: Analysis of cross-sectional data from a representative survey of the population (age 14‒96 years) conducted in 2016‒2021. All current smokers and recent ex-smokers (6 months earlier were 15.6% [9.4; 23.8] in the ECs group and 13.8% [7.3; 22.9] in the NRT group. CONCLUSION: In Germany, use of ECs in an attempt to quit smoking is associated with a higher rate of abstinence than attempting to quit unaided

Alcohol Sale Status and Homicide Victimization in Kentucky, 2005-2012: Is There a Spatial Association?

To date, the association between the alcohol sale status of decedents’ residence and alcohol-related homicide victimization have not been studied as far as we know. The current study aims to: i) determine whether homicide victims who were residents of wet counties had higher odds of testing positive for alcohol than their counterparts in moist or dry counties after adjusting for confounders; ii) determine whether homicides and alcohol-related homicides tend to cluster spatially; iii) determine whether the aforementioned associations exist only in highly-populated counties. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the data on homicide victims in the Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System from 2005 to 2012. Spatial statistics were used to determine the spatial autocorrelation in rates of homicides and alcohol-related homicides. Overall, 944 homicide victims were included. The male to female ratio was 3:1. About 32.8% of homicide victims tested positive for alcohol. About 33.0% of homicide decedents who were residents in wet counties tested positive for alcohol compared to 32.5% of their counterparts in moist/dry counties. Residence in wet counties was associated with a statistically insignificant increase in the unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of alcohol-related homicide victimization (OR=1.20, 95% CI=0.81-1.77) as well as the adjusted odds (aOR=1.33, 95% CI=0.83-2.12). There was no association between population size and alcohol-related homicide rate

Brown S & Seals J Injury & Violence 53 J Inj Violence Res. 2019 Jan; 11(1): 53 - 6 4 . doi: 10.5249/ jivr.v11i1. 997 J ournal homepage: http://www.jivresearch.org S Intimate partner problems and suicide: are we missing the violence?

Background: Suicide consistently ranks in the top ten causes of death nationally. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel coding scheme to determine what percentage of suicide cases from 2005-2015 in Kentucky involved violence when intimate partner problems were identified. Currently, researchers using the national dataset, containing these data, only have the option to identify intimate partner problems unless each case is reviewed individually. Methods: Data from the Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System from 2005-2015 were used to create a subset of cases where intimate partner problems were identified and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the death scene investigation incident narratives was conducted to identify cases where intimate partner violence also contributed to the suicide. Results: Intimate partner problems were identified in 1,327 (26%) of all suicide cases where circumstances were known and intimate partner violence in 575 (43%) cases identified as having intimate partner problems. There was an argument or fight in 30% of cases where intimate partner problems were identified and most were immediately followed by the suicide. Conclusions: We did find supporting evidence of our hypothesis that there is a great deal of underlying and outright violence in intimate relationships, which is exacerbating the risk of suicide. This detailed coding schema guided abstractors to better identify intimate partner violence in suicides, which could be easily replicated

Faculty Recital: Oral Moses, bass-baritone and the Fisk Jubilee Singers

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Oral Moses, bass-baritone and Rosalyn Floyd, piano with the Fisk Jubilee Singers.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1416/thumbnail.jp

Social Network and Content Analysis of the North American Carbon Program as a Scientific Community of Practice

The North American Carbon Program (NACP) was formed to further the scientific understanding of sources, sinks, and stocks of carbon in Earth's environment. Carbon cycle science integrates multidisciplinary research, providing decision-support information for managing climate and carbon-related change across multiple sectors of society. This investigation uses the conceptual framework of com-munities of practice (CoP) to explore the role that the NACP has played in connecting researchers into a carbon cycle knowledge network, and in enabling them to conduct physical science that includes ideas from social science. A CoP describes the communities formed when people consistently engage in shared communication and activities toward a common passion or learning goal. We apply the CoP model by using keyword analysis of abstracts from scientific publications to analyze the research outputs of the NACP in terms of its knowledge domain. We also construct a co-authorship network from the publications of core NACP members, describe the structure and social pathways within the community. Results of the content analysis indicate that the NACP community of practice has substantially expanded its research on human and social impacts on the carbon cycle, contributing to a better understanding of how human and physical processes interact with one another. Results of the co-authorship social network analysis demonstrate that the NACP has formed a tightly connected community with many social pathways through which knowledge may flow, and that it has also expanded its network of institutions involved in carbon cycle research over the past seven years