Master of Science in Geology

thesisA complex mixture of wave, tide, and fluvial energies form paralic strata, and although these units are important hydrocarbon reservoirs, they are complex and poorly understood. This study documents the architecture of an estuarine succession using outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous John Henry Member of the Straight Cliffs Formation, southern Utah (USA). Terrestrial LiDAR, photomosaics, 18 detailed measured sections, and 652 paleocurrent indicator measurements inform this stratigraphic analysis. The ~65-m-thick interval of interest records evolution of a mixed-energy to wave-dominated estuary, with basal elongate tidal bars overlain by carbonaceous bay fill, tidal flat deposits, a bayhead delta, and ultimately a coastal plain succession. A detailed interpretation of the ~8.5-m-thick by 550-m-wide bayhead delta outcrop highlights internal architecture as well as the relationship between the bayhead delta, the underlying tidal bar units, and the overlying coastal plain strata. Within the bayhead delta, beds are composed of very fine- to medium-grained trough cross-stratified, rippled (some climbing), planar laminated, planar cross-stratified sandstones, and interbedded mudstone/siltstone. These units thicken and coarsen vertically. Statistical analysis of the bayhead delta indicates that average bedding thickness, net to gross, amalgamation ratio and grain size increase down-dip, and vertically up-section. This study compares grain size analysis results to a published study of a heterolithic fluvial point bar to provide guidelines for subsurface differentiation of inclined heterolithic strata, and to better predict the impact on reservoir distribution and probable fluid flow pathways. Understanding the variety of expressions and reservoir behavior of IHS intervals will guide future studies of heterogeneous paralic reservoirs

Understanding and increasing soybean yields

An understanding of the main factors influencing grain yield in soybean can provide key insights for making management decisions to increase yield. Seed number is determined by the amount of photosynthate produced between R1 and R5 that is allocated to the seeds, divided by the minimum amount of photosynthate needed to keep a single seed from aborting. Stresses or improvements in crop growth prior to flowering should not have a significant impact on final yield, provided that \u3e95% light interception is achieved by R1. Seed weight is determined by the seed growth rate and the length of the seed fill period. Simplified, soybean yield is mainly determined by photosynthate production from R1 to R5 and the length of the seed fill period. Management practices should focus on maximizing photosynthate production during seed set to increase seed number and limiting stresses during seed fill to extend the seed fill duration and increase seed weight

Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus responsive to 308-nm excimer laser treatment.

Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus (ILVEN) is a rare cutaneous disease that presents as linear psoriasiform plaques with associated prominent pruritus. The lesions commonly pre-sent on the legs with onset during childhood. Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus typically is refractory to treatment. Therapies range from topical treatments to lasers and surgical options. It is clinically and histopathologically similar to psoriasis, suggesting it may respond to established psoriasis treatments such as the excimer laser. We report the case of an otherwise healthy 20-year-old woman with dry, pruritic, red lesions on the right leg that had been present since infancy. Biopsy revealed psoriasiform hyperplasia with a verruciform surface. Multiple topical treatments including ablative C

129 - Analysis of Corpus Callosum and Ventricles in Brain Tissue of MK801/CDPPB Treated C57BL6/J Mice

The neurodevelopmental hypothesis depicts schizophrenia as a long-term consequence of aberrant development of the glutamate and dopamine neurotransmitter systems during the perinatal period. The drug MK-801 is a glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that produces schizophrenia-like symptoms in laboratory rodents when administered early in development. Our laboratory has been investigating whether CDPPB, a positive allosteric modulator of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), would reverse the effects of MK-801. To test this, mice were first administered 0.25 mg/kg MK-801 as neonates, and later given 10.0 mg/kg CDBBD or saline during their juvenile period. Previously, our lab found that MK-801 produced a series of long-term behavioral deficits, some of which were reversed with CDPPB treatment. For the current study, brains were extracted, sectioned with a cryostat, and stained with myelin-specific Luxol-Fast Blue. Brain sections were digitized and examined microscopically. Morphometric measures such as total section volume, lateral ventricle volume and corpus callosum volume were determined with ImageJ software. The goal of the current study is to determine if a reduction of myelinated structures such as the corpus callosum and/or enlargement of the cerebral ventricles are related to the behavioral deficits observed earlier

Two distinct halo populations in the solar neighborhood. IV. Lithium abundances

We investigate if there is a difference in the lithium abundances of stars belonging to two halo populations of F and G main-sequence stars previously found to differ in [alpha/Fe] for the metallicity range -1.4 < [Fe/H] < -0.7. Li abundances are derived from the LiI 6707.8 A line measured in high-resolution spectra using MARCS model atmospheres. Furthermore, masses of the stars are determined from the logTeff - logg diagram by interpolating between Yonsei-Yale evolutionary tracks. There is no significant systematic difference in the lithium abundances of high- and low-alpha halo stars. For the large majority of stars with masses 0.7 < M/M_sun < 0.9 and heavy-element mass fractions 0.001 < Z < 0.006, the Li abundance is well fitted by a relation A(Li) = a0 + a1 M + a2 Z + a3 M Z, where a0, a1, a2, and a3 are constants. Extrapolating this relation to Z = 0 leads to a Li abundance close to the primordial value predicted from standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis calculations and the WMAP baryon density. The relation, however, does not apply to stars with [Fe/H] < -1.5. We suggest that metal-rich halo stars were formed with a Li abundance close to the primordial value, and that lithium in their atmospheres has been depleted in time with an approximately linear dependence on stellar mass and Z. The lack of a systematic difference in the Li abundances of high- and low-alpha stars indicates that an environmental effect is not important for the destruction of lithium.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic