Development and assessment of predictive spatial models for a rare Tennessee anuran: Barking treefrog (Hyla gratiosa)

In Tennessee, the Barking Treefrog (Hyla gratiosa) is listed as both rare and vulnerable, and more field data is needed to elucidate its distribution. Predictive modeling using the program MaxEnt provided results for models that guided field sampling to potential presence locations. From April-August 2017, 126 sites (63 historical; 63 predicted) were visited monthly and sampled for frog calls according to a standardized protocol. Field results revealed H. gratiosa’s auditory presence at 23 out of 63 historic sites and at nine out of 63 predicted sites. While other predictive models were also generated, MaxEnt was demonstrated to be most precise in predicting presence likelihood. Weighted regression analysis showed that shrub/scrub and woody wetland coverages were the most positively associated with presence. The results suggest that H. gratiosa is not as relatively abundant as some frog species throughout ecologically relevant landscapes in Tennessee

Psycho-Ecological Systems Model: A Systems Approach to Planning and Gauging the Community Impact of Community-Engaged Scholarship

This article presents the Psycho-Ecological Systems Model (PESM) – an integrative conceptual model rooted in General Systems Theory (GST). PESM was developed to inform and guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of transdisciplinary (and multilevel) community-engaged scholarship (e.g., a participatory community action research project undertaken by faculty that involves graduate and/or undergraduate students as service-learning research assistants). To set the stage, the first section critiques past conceptual models. Following a description of GST, the second section provides a comprehensive description of PESM, which represents an integration of three conceptual developments: the ecological systems model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), the biopsychosocial model (Kiesler, 2000), and the principle of reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1978). In the third section, we discuss implications of PESM for community-based research. A greater emphasis on the development of integrative conceptual frameworks may increase the likelihood that community-based research projects will: (a) address complex questions; (b) develop and implement efficacious (and sustainable) transdisciplinary (and multilevel) projects; (c) assess constructs at multiple levels using a blend of quantitative and qualitative approaches; and (d) utilize multiple research designs and methods to systematically examine hypotheses regarding a project’s influence on outcome variables and process variables

Community collaboration with Thrive Regional Partnership and the greater Chattanooga region

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GIS collaboration with UTC,Thrive Regional Partnership, and the Greater Chattanooga Region

We present several of our research products that have resulted in our collaboration with UTC students/faculty/staff, Thrive Regional Partnership, and agencies of the greater Chattanooga region, using modern methods and innovations in GIS technology

Using Geospatial Analysis to Model For The Cryptic Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) in Tennessee

The Southeastern United States retains some of the highest salamander diversity on Earth, with a high degree of endemism. However, this region has also experienced consistent declines across recent decades. The seasonality and complex life-history of salamander populations leads to data gaps and detection difficulties. As a consequence, researchers have begun using citizen-science and museum data as a means of projecting current distributions. Habitat specialists like, Hemidactylium scutatum (Four-toed Salamander), have experienced habitat loss and subsequent populations declines. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has listed it as a species of “Greatest Conservation Need”. To mitigate data gaps, geospatial models are generated using various existing data sources. Landscape metrics that are used to populate the model include land cover type, elevation, slope, soil type, and hydrology. Using geospatial tools, we will be better able to elucidate the current habitat suitability for this cryptic species and these results will be useful to resource managers who require tested models using occupancy and habitat data. Models created in ArcGIS will be cross-validated using data collected in the field from predicted occupancy. The anticipated sampling for this project will begin in March 2020 and this poster presents preliminary models to be field tested

Human immunoglobulin E flexes between acutely bent and extended conformations

Crystallographic and solution studies have shown that IgE molecules are acutely bent in their Fc region. Crystal structures reveal the Cε2 domain pair folded back onto the Cε3-Cε4 domains, but is the molecule exclusively bent or can the Cε2 domains adopt extended conformations and even “flip” from one side of the molecule to the other? We report the crystal structure of IgE-Fc captured in a fully extended, symmetrical conformation and show by molecular dynamics, calorimetry, stopped-flow kinetic, SPR and FRET analyses, that the antibody can indeed adopt such extended conformations in solution. This diversity of conformational states available to IgE-Fc offers a new perspective on IgE function in allergen recognition, as part of the B cell receptor and as a therapeutic target in allergic disease