U.S. Military Engagement with Authoritarian East/Central African States

This paper examines the question, How can the US best engage authoritarian governments in Africa militarily, in order to facilitate more positive outcomes for that country\u27s citizens? In order to answer this, it is necessary to examine the presumption that authoritarian governments do not promote positive outcomes for their constituents. If this is not the case, then it may be possible to use different, non-traditional means in order to identify positive performance indicators. This can lead to a more holistic assessment, and allow the US to leverage the resources of the military to further promote these outcomes. In this thesis, I argue that if it is possible for an authoritarian government to facilitate positive outcomes for its people, it may be possible to craft a military engagement plan so that the US military can help continue this cycle. The benefits of a well-crafted engagement plan can improve the lives of that country\u27s citizens, and improve governance by its leaders. For the everyday people in these countries, the consequences of a poorly-crafted plan could hardly be worse

Interactions of Francisella Tularensis With Components of the Host Fibrinolytic System

Francisella tularensis (FT) is a Gram-negative coccobacillus and causative agent of a life-threatening disease commonly referred to as tularemia. Due to the highly infectious nature of the organism, its previous development as a biowarfare agent and its potential use in acts of bioterrorism, this bacterium is listed as a Category A select agent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Efforts to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of FT within the host environment are vital for the development of safe and effective vaccines, as well as treatments, against tularemia. Though considered an intracellular pathogen, FT research of late has shown an abundance of extracellular bacteria in the plasma fraction of host\u27s blood during infection. The goal of these studies was to identify and characterize the interactions of Francisella tularensis with components of the host fibrinolytic system. Because many bacterial pathogens utilize proteins found in the host plasma fraction as a means to augment dissemination as well as to defend themselves against components of the host immune system, I first sought to determine if FT was able to bind these on its surface in vitro using fresh frozen human plasma. By using an ELISA assay I was able to detect significant levels of plasminogen and fibronectin binding to the bacterial cell surface. Based on this observation, further studies were designed to dissect possible in vitroand in vivo functions of these FT-bound host proteins. Plasminogen (PLG) is a zymogen that upon activation is converted into the serine protease plasmin, which plays a key role in the proteolytic degradation of fibrin blood clots. Many pathogenic organisms have taken advantage of both the broad-specificity and abundance of this circulating host protein by binding it to their surface, which not only gives the pathogen an ability to degrade extracellular matrix components for dissemination but also aids in the defense against host immune responses. The ability of FT to acquire surface bound PLG that can be activated may be an important virulence mechanism that results in an increase in initial infectivity, survival, and/or dissemination of this bacterium in vivo

A Guide to Managing Pasture Water: Stabilized Stream and Pond Access Sites

This guide shows cattle producers how they might graze streamside buffers and protect water quality. See related grant E2004-24.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_ag_pubs/1223/thumbnail.jp

A Taxonomy of Communications Demand

Demand forecasts are an essential tool for planning capacity and formulating policy. Traffic estimates are becoming increasingly unreliable, however, as accelerating rates of use and new communications applications invalidate conventional forecasting assumptions. This paper presents an alternative approach to the study of telecommunications demand: build aggregate estimates for demand based on the elasticity of demand for bandwidth. We argue that price elasticity models are necessary to grasp the interaction between Moore-type technological progress and non-linear demand functions. Traditional marketing models are premised on existing or, at best, foreseeable services. But in a period of sustained price declines, applications-based forecasts will be unreliable. Dramatically lower prices can cause fundamental changes in the mix of applications and, hence, the nature of demand. We consider the option of posing demand theoretically in terms of service attributes. Our conclusion is that the positive feedback loop of technology-driven price decreases and high-elasticity demand will quickly make it possible to base forecasts on bandwidth elasticity alone. Industry analysts and policymakers need models of consumer demand applicable under dynamic conditions. We conclude by drawing implications of our demand model for network planning, universal service policies, and the commoditization of communications carriage

Local Strain Measurement of Kevlar Strand with Fiber Optic Bragg Grating

1987 DuPont manufactured 4560 denier Kevlar/Epoxy Strands were instrumented with nine and three sensors each. Stress tests were performed at 30,45,60,70 and 80% of ultimate strength with dwell times of 10,000 seconds. FBG showed uneven stress levels which is contrary to conventional observation

Strain Measurement during Stress Rupture of Composite Over-Wrapped Pressure Vessel with Fiber Bragg Gratings Sensors

Fiber optic Bragg gratings were used to measure strain fields during Stress Rupture (SSM) test of Kevlar Composite Over-Wrapped Pressure Vessels (COPV). The sensors were embedded under the over-wrapped attached to the liner released from the Kevlar and attached to the Kevlar released from the liner. Additional sensors (foil gages and fiber bragg gratings) were surface mounted on the COPY liner

Microbial Communities and Chemosynthesis in Yellowstone Lake Sublacustrine Hydrothermal Vent Waters

Five sublacustrine thermal spring locations from 1 to 109 m water depth in Yellowstone Lake were surveyed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing in relation to their chemical composition and dark CO2 fixation rates. They harbor distinct chemosynthetic bacterial communities, depending on temperature (16–110°C) and electron donor supply (H2S <1 to >100 μM; NH3 <0.5 to >10 μM). Members of the Aquificales, most closely affiliated with the genus Sulfurihydrogenibium, are the most frequently recovered bacterial 16S rRNA gene phylotypes in the hottest samples; the detection of these thermophilic sulfur-oxidizing autotrophs coincided with maximal dark CO2 fixation rates reaching near 9 μM C h−1 at temperatures of 50–60°C. Vents at lower temperatures yielded mostly phylotypes related to the mesophilic gammaproteobacterial sulfur oxidizer Thiovirga. In contrast, cool vent water with low chemosynthetic activity yielded predominantly phylotypes related to freshwater Actinobacterial clusters with a cosmopolitan distribution

Channel Movement, Error Analysis, and Impacts for Neighboring Landowners: A Lower Bear River, UT Case Study

The Bear River Fellows program is a unique learning experience for undergraduate students giving hands-on experience in collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing environmental and ecological data. The Bear River is an important resource that provides water to farms, reservoirs, wetlands, wildlife, and hydropower generation. Because of the river’s value, it is important to understand how the Bear River channel moves and how that affects the surrounding landscape, which is a topic of interest for local land owners but especially conservationists in protecting wetlands and river ecology. We collected hydrological, topologic, and vegetative data from three persisting research sites along an 8 mile stretch of the Bear River, two along the river main stem between Idaho-Utah state line and Cutler reservoir with the first at the Bear River Bottoms near Morton and the second is just below the confluence of the Bear and the Cub Rivers, a major tributary, and a site on the Cub River In the study of these sites, we developed water level, river bank surveys, riparian zones delineation, and river bed contours using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and transom surveying equipment. We used the data to develop multi-year cross sectional views of each research site providing a graphical view of the river cross section. Data that was collected by previous fellows in 2012 and 2013 was added to the cross section picture to observe how the river has changing over the past several years. The results of this multi-year view shows how the river has shifted and erosion on riparian zone around the river. The erosion is clearly visible on steep banks, at the Morton study site six feet of erosion took place laterally on steep bank. This shift of the river and its flow is useful to understand the river’s ecology, the impact that small changed to the river have on wildlife, and assist local land owners and conservationists in maintaining the Bear River and its wetlands

The Centrality of the Center: Best Practices for Engaging Students on Campus

Communication centers exist primarily as a complementary student service (Strawser, Apostel, Carpenter, Cuny, Dvorak, & Head, 2019). As an integral campus student services, centers must place an overarching emphasis on student engagement. Student engagement, according to NSSE, is the time and effort students put into their educational activities and the institutional deployment of educational resources. Communication centers, to continue to prove their value to institutions, must continue to build programming and initiatives that are worthy of students’ time and get students to participate. To address engagement concerns, the authors of this essay offer ten best practices for building and sustaining student engagement in the communication center. The best practices are universal and transferable, meaning, any center, no matter the vision or the resources, could theoretically implement the ideas