Law and Literature in Pennsylvania: A Changing Landscape

This thesis examines themes of American national identity perpetuated in Pennsylvania surrounding private property through historical, literary and legal analysis. Ideals of private property and land ownership are broken into three transitions throughout Pennsylvania history: the American frontier and initial land claiming by settlers, mass-deforestation and the introduction of widespread agriculture, and finally industrialization and the introduction of mining and fracking. Each of these transitions highlights the physical changes to the region and how they were influenced by American ideals of private property, productivity, and profitability. Throughout this thesis, I analyze both literary and legal texts to examine societal beliefs regarding property and land use. Chapter One, The Frontier: Early American Settlement and Law, analyzes James Fenimore Cooper’s fictional novel, The Deerslayer, as an account of early frontier settlement and mindset. Cooper’s depictions of historical and regional European-settler mindset is coupled with analysis of the work of influential frontier political actors, such as Benjamin Franklin. Additionally, early American property rights are analyzed through landmark court decisions, such as Johnson v. McIntosh. Chapter Two, The Transition from Frontier to Settlement: Deforestation and Agriculture, examines Conrad Richter’s fictional novel, The Fields, as an account of shifting American mindset from lawless frontier to established settlement. Richter’s text works hand-in-hand with further analysis of land distribution practices in Pennsylvania, such as Ch. 1259 of the PA Statutes at Large. Widespread logging and agriculture are also examined through every-developing ideals of American private property as a means of pushing production. Finally, Chapter Three, The Complexities of Extractivism and Subsurface Property Rights: Mining and Fracking, delves into the complications of property rights as technology is used as a tool to further land productivity, exploitation, and extractivism. In this chapter, I analyze Mitch Troutman’s non-fiction book, The Bootleg Coal Rebellion: The Pennsylvania Miners who Seized and Industry 1925-1942, alongside Pennsylvania mineral law, such as the Mining Law of 1872 and the Rule of Capture. I then shift to the state’s booming fracking industry, examining Julia Spicher Kasdorf’s book of poems, Shale Play, alongside Pennsylvania fracking cases, such as Robinson Township (and Delaware RiverKeeper) V. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This thesis argues that ideals of individualism, production and profit are consistent themes that have shaped American national identity and have had irreversible consequences on Pennsylvania. The literary analysis of the different texts both compare and contrast with the legal narratives presented, which continually push extraction and production. Though my thesis highlights how property rights have changed overtime, such as with the introduction of mineral vs. estate rights, I argue that property rights continue to perpetuate their intended purpose: individual profit and land use

Impacts of invasive plants on soil fungi and on above- and belowground plant diversity in temperate forests

Urbanization is considered as a major driver for biotic homogenization and also promotes the dispersal of non-native species. In the last decades, non-native plant species have increasingly invaded Central European forests. The spread of alien plants is generally assumed to be one of the most important threats for native biodiversity and this in turn could affect forest ecosystem functions and services. Understanding how invasive species affect native biodiversity, both above- and belowground, and their impact on ecosystem functioning is of central importance in conservation biology. Within the scope of this thesis, four studies were conducted to examine the introduction pathways of non-native plant species into natural forest habitats and to better understand potential effects of non-native plants on ecosystems by changing plant, soil bacterial and fungal communities. The aim of the first study was to examine the roles of suburban settlements and of the surrounding landscape composition for the spread of non-native plants into adjacent mixed deciduous forests in Southern and Northwestern Switzerland. For this purpose, I conducted field surveys and recorded the number and abundance of native and non-native species in forest sites situated adjacent to settlements and in control sites far from settlements. In both study regions, non-native species were found in higher number and larger abundance in forests adjacent to settlements than in forests far away from settlements. These findings highlight the role of settlements as an effective source for the spread of non-native plant species into suburban forests. In addition, the occurrence of non-native plants was positively affected by the proximity of roads and by the percentage cover of gardens around the study sites, showing that the composition of the surrounding landscape matrix also affects the establishment of non-native plants. Apart from understanding the pathways of the introduction of non-native species into natural habitats, assessing and understanding their impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is of crucial importance. Several studies investigated the impacts of non-native, invasive species on aboveground biodiversity, whereas belowground diversity and its role for ecosystem functioning are much less studied in this respect. Therefore, the aim of the second study was to assess the potential impacts of the annual invasive plant species Impatiens glandulifera on soil fungal and bacterial communities in forests of Northwestern Switzerland. To do this, I collected soil samples in coniferous and deciduous forest areas invaded by I. glandulifera and in forest areas, which were not yet invaded. The diversity and composition of the soil fungal community was assessed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. Biolog Ecoplates were used to assess the activity of soil bacterial communities. Forests invaded by I. glandulifera were characterized by a higher diversity and an altered composition of the soil fungal community, and by an overall lower soil bacterial activity in late spring. These can be indirect effects of altered soil properties induced by the presence of the invasive plant, combined with the release of allelopathic compounds into the soil. Soil fungi fulfil a variety of ecosystem functions. Among them, mycorrhizal fungi develop mutualistic partnerships with the roots of the majority of plant species and play a crucial role for soil nutrient and water uptake by plants, the diversity of the plant communities and forest ecosystem functioning. The third study aimed to investigate the effects of I. glandulifera on hyphal growth of ectomycorrhizal fungi, their genetic diversity and the diversity of other soil fungi in deciduous forests. Pairs of transect lines were established at the edge of I. glandulifera patches. Using ingrowth mesh bags, I assessed hyphal length along the transects, and applied the T-RFLP analysis to examine fungal genetic diversity. I. glandulifera drastically reduced hyphal growth and affected the composition of the soil fungal community, but did not alter their diversity. This may negatively affect nutrient cycling and soil stability. Disregarding the fact that the majority of ecosystems have more than 50% of plant biomass belowground, most studies investigating the effects of invasive species on plant diversity focused only on the aboveground vegetation. The aim of the fourth study was to assess the potential impact of invasive plants on belowground plant species richness in deciduous forests. This has not yet been examined in any study. I established plots in forests invaded by I. glandulifera and in forests, which were not yet invaded. In each plot, I conducted vegetation surveys to assess aboveground plant diversity. Belowground species richness was determined by collecting root samples and by applying the fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) technique for two regions of the chloroplast DNA. Plant species richness was reduced above- but not belowground in invaded forests, whereas plant species composition differed between invaded and uninvaded forests both above- and belowground. Root biomass was strongly reduced in forests invaded by I. glandulifera, and this may negatively affect their soil stability and productivity. These results show that the impact of invasive plants may differ between above- and belowground plant communities. The findings of this thesis highlight the role of settlements for the spread of non-native plant species into adjacent forests. By focusing on belowground diversity, my studies show that annual invasive plants have the potential to disturb belowground fungal, bacterial and plant communities. As a consequence, ecosystem services and functions of invaded forest habitats, such as nutrient cycling, productivity and soil stability, may also be influenced. Removal of existing I. glandulifera populations and preventing further spread of this invasive plant may be a worthy investment for the conservation of native species diversity and the functioning of forest ecosystems

EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION ON SEPARATION CONTROL THROUGH CONTOURED TRANSVERSE GROOVES

The present work describes the results of an experimental and numerical investigation aimed at characterizing the performance of a recently introduced passive method to delay flow separation. The technique is based on the use of suitably-shaped transverse grooves. In previous works small contoured cavities were shown to be able to delay flow separation and to increase the efficiency of diffusers in both laminar and turbulent flow. Now we apply the same flow control strategy to an external flow, by introducing one transverse groove, i.e. a small cavity, over different boat tails applied on the rear portion of an axisymmetric body whose configuration without boat-tail had already been investigated experimentally and numerically. Boat-tailing is a well-known drag reduction method and consists in a gradual decrease of the body cross-section before a sharp-edged base, where the pressure is consequently increased. The drag-reducing performance of boat tails improves with the reduction of the base cross-section, but only as long as no significant boundary-layer separation is present over the lateral surface. Hence, we combine boat-tailing with properly contoured transverse grooves to delay boundary-layer separation and thus to further reduce the pressure drag. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is assessed through a synergic use of wind tunnel tests and Variational MultiScale Large-Eddy Simulations (VMS-LES)

Design and development of a manipulator based on an electromagnet for the navigation of a magnetic endoscopic capsule

The gastrointestinal tract is home to some of the most deadly human diseases. Problems are related to the difficulty of accessing it for diagnosis or intervention and concomitant patient discomfort. Flexible endoscopy has established itself as the method of choice with high diagnostic accuracy, but there remain several technical limitations and the procedure is poorly tolerated by patients. The use of magnetic fields to control and steer endoscopic capsules is increasing in minimally invasive surgical applications. In fact, magnetic coupling is one of the few physical phenomena capable of transmitting motion beyond a physical barrier and allowing for a compact design of the “slave” device. In this framework, the authors present a preliminary study for the design of a magnetic coupling for magnetic endoscopic capsules considering an electromagnetic approach within the proposed thesis. In particular the target was to maximize the magnetic interaction forces and torques induced by the external electromagnetic source on the endoscopic capsule embedding an internal permanent magnet, still complying with the limitations imposed by the specific applicative scenario

Determination of the wind response of Saturn 5 by statistical methods, volume 1

Statistical analysis of Saturn 5 launch vehicle wind response - Vol.

The nonalcoholic steatohepatitis metabotype: Imbalance of circulating amino acids and transamination reactions reflect impaired mitochondrial function

Fil: Sookoian, Silvia Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Pirola, Carlos José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentin

Evaluation of registration, compression and classification algorithms. Volume 1: Results

The registration, compression, and classification algorithms were selected on the basis that such a group would include most of the different and commonly used approaches. The results of the investigation indicate clearcut, cost effective choices for registering, compressing, and classifying multispectral imagery

Evaluation of registration, compression, and classification algorithms. Volume 2: Documentation

There are no author-identified significant results in this report