TRACKING THE SOURCES AND FATES OF FLUORESCENT ORGANIC MATTER IN THE EUTROPHIC NEUSE RIVER ESTUARY, NORTH CAROLINA

Eutrophication is defined as ‘an increase in the rate of supply of organic matter (OM) to an ecosystem’. In estuaries, this can take two forms: an increase in allochthonous and an increase in autochthonous OM. The goal of this dissertation was to use spectrofluorometry, as excitation emission matrices (EEMs), and other measures of OM quantity and quality, to constrain the OM pool in the Neuse River Estuary (NRE) and to assess how climate change and human activities in the watershed are altering the quantity and quality of OM. EEMs can be coupled with the statistical decomposition technique, parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), to identify broad classes of fluorescent OM (FOM). The first chapter assessed the use of PARAFAC as applied to fluorescent dissolved OM (FDOM) and base extracted fluorescent particulate OM (BEFPOM) and determined the dominate sources of these two pools were different. The second chapter used multivariate statistics to identify sources of FOM. Results suggest the FDOM pool is composed of terrestrial, humic-like OM while the FPOM pool contains terrestrial, humic-like and autochthonous OM. In the final chapters, I focused on how anthropogenic activities alter OM in the NRE. A dissolved organic carbon (DOC) source and sink term, under different riverine discharge conditions, was calculated to assess when the estuary acts as a processer versus a pipeline for DOC export. Results indicate the source and sink term was an order of magnitude less than riverine loading and contained large variability. They do suggest the estuary may act as a pipeline for riverine DOC export to the coastal ocean following extreme events. Finally, I assessed the ability of estuarine phytoplankton and bacterial assemblages to use watershed dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) as a nutrient source. I used DON addition bioassays to assess the impact of wastewater treatment facility effluent, chicken and turkey litter leachate, and river DON on phytoplankton growth. Chicken litter leachate was the only treatment which stimulated phytoplankton growth. This research serves as a baseline for understanding the current FOM pool in the NRE and demonstrates how the OM pool may be changing in response to climatic and anthropogenic pressures.Doctor of Philosoph

Assessing Biomass Fuel Consumption in Kasigau, Kenya as a Predictor of Hypertension

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally and disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, such as Kenya. Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is influenced by a variety of factors such as diet, tobacco use, and genetics. One such factor linked to hypertension is exposure to air pollution, but minimal research exists on the effects of household air pollution. Hypertension that is not related to common Western risk indicators, such as waist-to-hip ratio, body mass indices, and hypercholestorlemia, is prevalent in the community of Kasigau, Kenya, along with the prevalence of risks for household air pollution exposure such as cooking with solid fuel types. A survey was conducted in Kasigau to assess the extent of biomass fuel consumption. No significant relationship was found between blood pressure and factors such as fuel type and ventilation practices (e.g. chimney presence and kitchen location), but numerous risk factors for household air pollution exposure were identified

Epoch Locale.

My explorations around the world are intertwined with my excavation of the layers of art history. My discoveries about the traditions of the printmaking medium are fused with the heritage I inherit as an artist. This is what is put into my current body of work. With this supporting manuscript, I hope to inform about the technical aspects of my unique aesthetic and to entertain with the ideas behind my current body of work by making connections between my personal visions and experiences and the significance of the artists and craftsman who inspire me

Grounded Theory Investigation into Depression during the Freshman Year of College

Purpose: In a national study of college students during the fall of 2017, a total of 31,463 students reported feeling hopeless (51.7%), being overwhelmed (86.5%), feeling so depressed it was difficult to function (39.3%), and seriously considered suicide (12.1%) (American College Health Association, 2017). These statistics represent a major concern regarding health care practice because it is a severe mental health crisis that can disrupt students’ daily lives. The purpose of this research is to amplify awareness of freshman student depression to gain knowledge about the mental health of college students using grounded theory methodology. Theoretical/conceptual framework: Attending college for the first time can be a life changing event for many students. Depression, whether formally diagnosed or self-identified, is an increasingly significant problem in emerging adults. Method: Grounded theory methodology will be used to examine the experience of depression during the freshmen year of college. Purposive sampling will be used to recruit sophomore students who identify as having had depression during their freshman year. Recruitment will continue until data saturation occurs. Following informed consent, interviews will begin with one open-ended question of “What was the experience of your freshman year in college?” Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and constantly compared for emerging themes throughout the data collection process. Data will be analyzed using NVivo software. Results/conclusions: Results will describe the initial categories associated with depression in this population. These preliminary categories will help provide a more in depth understanding of the experience of depression

Disaggregated cost-benefit analysis incorporating ecosystem services and disservices: A case from SAI Sanctuary

Under private management and ownership, privately protected areas provide opportunities for in situ environmental conservation. These areas also provide ecosystem services and disservices for various stakeholders, but their impact on various stakeholders has not been comprehensively studied. To evaluate the economic impact of a privately protected area, a disaggregated cost-benefit analysis was conducted on SAI Sanctuary incorporating its ecosystem services and disservices on private, local, and global stakeholders over a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020. SAI Sanctuary is a privately protected area located in southern Kodagu, a district in the Western Ghats forests of Karnataka, India. To valuate costs and benefits, interviews were conducted with private and local stakeholders. A literature review integrating other valuation techniques was performed as well. Discount rates of 0% and 6% were selected, and sensitivity analysis yielded various tradeoffs bore by each stakeholder group. Results indicate private stakeholders bear the greatest net costs, and local stakeholders gain the greatest net benefits largely due to pollination, a regulating service valued between $546,210 and$774,810 in the year 2020. Global stakeholders remained the least affected by SAI Sanctuary with net benefits ranging from $27,900 to$39,570 in 2020. Still, the results validate stakeholder predictions that SAI Sanctuary not only sequesters carbon dioxide, it provides a range of ecosystem services while harboring biodiversity and producing natural capital. The results also indicate that environmental conservation occasionally yields unintended tradeoffs with disproportionate costs and benefits. In sum, environmental conservation can have a multiplicity of outcomes, but measuring these outcomes and bringing privately protected areas into strategies for global conservation is vital

Kentucky Terrain

The terrain of Kentucky has been shaped by geologic forces and the underlying rocks.Tectonic forces lifted, bent, and buckled the rocks–originally formed from sediments on shallow sea floors or swampy lowlands. Weathering and erosion shaved the hills and dissected the plains, exposing at the surface a cross section of rocks 250 to 500 million years old. The sands, gravels, silts, and clays of the Jackson Purchase Region are younger, remnants of a time when the sea lapped at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The landforms in Kentucky are the result of the differential weathering of interbedded sandstones, siltstones, shales, and limestones. Sandstones and siltstones resist erosion, limestones dissolve along cracks and crevices, and shales break down quickly when exposed to air and water. Areas dominated by sandstones and siltstones tend to have hills with steep sides. As the shale content increases, the landscape becomes more rounded, with wide stream valleys. Areas underlain by limestone may have few surface streams (karst topography) and gently rolling land. As the shale content in the rocks increases relative to limestone, the land becomes hillier. Natural resources–coal, oil, natural gas, soils–are the products of geologic history and vary from region to region. In turn, the ecology and economy of the different regions of Kentucky are distinctive. To learn more about the rocks and terrain typical of your area, find the region you live in on the map and then go to the associated text and picture group for that region (color-coded frame and header block matches the map region color)

Geologic Hazards in Kentucky

Geologic data were derived from the Kentucky Geological Survey-U.S. Geological Survey areal geologic mapping project. Nearly 190 geologists mapped the geology of Kentucky from 1960 to 1978. KGS geologists converted the resulting 707 geologic quadrangle maps into digital format at part of the STATEMAP component of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program of the United States Geological Survey

Measuring the U.S. Employment Situation Using Online Panels: The Yale Labor Survey

This study presents the design and results of a rapid-fire survey that collects labor market data for individuals in the United States. The purpose is to test online panels for their application to social, economic, and demographic information as well as to apply this approach to the U.S. labor market. The Yale Labor Survey (YLS) used an online panel from YouGov to replicate statistics from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the government’s official source of household labor market statistics. The YLS’s advantages included its timeliness, low cost, and ability to develop new questions quickly to study unusual labor market patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the YLS track employment data closely from the CPS during the pandemic. Although YLS estimates of unemployment and participation rates mirrored the broad trends in CPS data, YLS estimates of those two rates were less accurate than for employment. The study demonstrates the power of carefully crafted online surveys to replicate expensive traditional methods quickly and inexpensively