Patterns in the Potamoplankton of the Saginaw River and Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Michigan

As part of ongoing research evaluating the baseline conditions of the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR), Michigan, prior to a large scale floodplain wetland restoration, this project focused the variation in phytoplankton and water chemistry; spatially, seasonally, and hydrologically. During the growing season of 2014, phytoplankton and water chemistry parameters were surveyed throughout the SNWR and Saginaw River. These samples were synthesized and data were compared for patterns by season, sample location, and longitudinal position on the Saginaw River. Phytoplankton and water chemistry were also compared to hydrologic data including river slope (which served as an indicator of hydraulic residence time) as well as the occurrence of reverse or stalled flow in the Saginaw River. Results indicated that phytoplankton communities in floodplain wetlands, tributaries, and the main river channel varied significantly by taxonomic composition and abundance, as did key water chemistry parameters (Total Phosphorus, Nitrate, Total Dissolved Solids). Additionally, potamoplankton communities in the Saginaw River varied longitudinally, becoming more abundant, taxonomically rich, and diverse from upstream to downstream. Prolonged residence times due to low slopes also showed more diverse and abundant potamoplankton communities with fewer diatoms than times of high slopes. The occurrence of reverse flow was found to be associated with a homogenizing effect along the course of the Saginaw River both in terms of biology and water chemistry.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116235/1/james_stack_thesis_snre_final_2015.pd

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, EXPERIENCE, & SUPPORT AMONG PRE-PHARMACY STUDENTS

This study was guided by Astin’s Student Involvement theory which explored student’s needs in a demanding program amongst 12 pre-pharmacy students at the University of the Pacific. This qualitative study looked to uncover the engagement, experiences, and support of pre-pharmacy students in order to learn what students want from their learning experiences; to aid in student success and retention. Qualitative interviews provided detailed stories to their pre-pharmacy experiences. Through a thorough analysis of the data seven themes emerged: (a) peer support (b) time management (c) exam structure (d) increased faculty support (e) housing placement (f) coping with stress (g) core classes. Students who were interviewed often-mentioned that their peers, who once were in situations similar to those that they found themselves in, helped them stay in the program. Many of the students had mentioned the importance of time management in a pre-pharmacy course. The students also mentioned that they had exams back-to-back, and it was a challenge for many of them to be prepared for all of them. The faculty has been associated with student success, and their being available for the students is important in fostering better outcomes for students. Learning how students are impacted by their housing experiences is important to understand because it connects to their classroom behaviors. Coping with stress was mentioned through many themes, and the ability of the students to deal with that stress was important to their success. It was important to understand what the students find useful from their non-science courses to learn what they desire from their learning experiences. The results from this study provide improvements to the students experiences and needs. The recommendations include the University of the Pacific adjusting the current curriculum when they are developing their exam schedules. Adding a course that aids in support for students focusing on time management, and as well preparation for students to encourage their school and social life balance. Having faculty available after class Q&A and providing online or in-person office hour sessions will aid in the student\u27s success. This will allow flexibility for interactions between faculty and students. Housing facilities should have more late-night study areas, like in the Chan Hall Apartments that the PharmD students currently have. There should also be housing placements that are specifically designated for STEM students

Expression of Susceptibility to Fusarium Head Blight and Grain Mold in A\u3csub\u3e1\u3c/sub\u3e and A\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Cytoplasms of \u3ci\u3eSorghum bicolor\u3c/i\u3e

Panicle diseases are among the major constraints to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) production in the northern Great Plains; host plant resistance is the primary management option. However, essentially all commercial sorghum hybrids contain A1 cytoplasm, which raises the concern about increased disease risk as a result of cytoplasmic genetic uniformity. To determine the influence of cytoplasmic background on the expression of susceptibility to panicle diseases, F1 hybrids with four nuclear genotypes in each of two cytoplasms (A1 and A2) were planted in three environmentally diverse geographic locations in Nebraska. Fusarium head blight ranged in incidence from 13 to 100% across locations. Grain mold, caused primarily by species of Alternaria, Fusarium, and Cladosporium, ranged in incidence from 5 to 100% across locations. There was a significant effect of nuclear genotype on the incidence and severity of both head blight and grain mold across the three locations. Cytoplasm had no effect on head blight incidence or severity, or on grain mold severity. Cytoplasm had a significant effect on grain mold incidence, with A1 exhibiting slightly lower incidence than A2 (64 versus 70%). Although the cytoplasm effect for grain mold incidence was statistically significant, most of the variation in grain mold incidence was attributable to nuclear genotype. The slight increase in grain mold incidence attributable to A2 cytoplasm should be overcome easily by selection of nuclear genotypes with grain mold resistance. The use of A2 cytoplasm to incorporate genetic diversity into grain sorghum hybrids should not increase the risk of head blight or grain mold in commercial grain production

Expression of Susceptibility to Fusarium Head Blight and Grain Mold in A\u3csub\u3e1\u3c/sub\u3e and A\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Cytoplasms of \u3ci\u3eSorghum bicolor\u3c/i\u3e

Panicle diseases are among the major constraints to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) production in the northern Great Plains; host plant resistance is the primary management option. However, essentially all commercial sorghum hybrids contain A1 cytoplasm, which raises the concern about increased disease risk as a result of cytoplasmic genetic uniformity. To determine the influence of cytoplasmic background on the expression of susceptibility to panicle diseases, F1 hybrids with four nuclear genotypes in each of two cytoplasms (A1 and A2) were planted in three environmentally diverse geographic locations in Nebraska. Fusarium head blight ranged in incidence from 13 to 100% across locations. Grain mold, caused primarily by species of Alternaria, Fusarium, and Cladosporium, ranged in incidence from 5 to 100% across locations. There was a significant effect of nuclear genotype on the incidence and severity of both head blight and grain mold across the three locations. Cytoplasm had no effect on head blight incidence or severity, or on grain mold severity. Cytoplasm had a significant effect on grain mold incidence, with A1 exhibiting slightly lower incidence than A2 (64 versus 70%). Although the cytoplasm effect for grain mold incidence was statistically significant, most of the variation in grain mold incidence was attributable to nuclear genotype. The slight increase in grain mold incidence attributable to A2 cytoplasm should be overcome easily by selection of nuclear genotypes with grain mold resistance. The use of A2 cytoplasm to incorporate genetic diversity into grain sorghum hybrids should not increase the risk of head blight or grain mold in commercial grain production

Investigation of the NACA 4-(3)(8)-045 Two-blade Propellers at Forward Mach Numbers to 0.725 to Determine the Effects of Compressibility and Solidity on Performance

As part of a general investigation of propellers at high forward speeds, tests of two 2-blade propellers having the NACA 4-(3)(8)-03 and NACA 4-(3)(8)-45 blade designs have been made in the Langley 8-foot high-speed tunnel through a range of blade angle from 20 degrees to 60 degrees for forward Mach numbers from 0.165 to 0.725 to establish in detail the changes in propeller characteristics due to compressibility effects. These propellers differed primarily only in blade solidity, one propeller having 50 percent and more solidity than the other. Serious losses in propeller efficiency were found as the propeller tip Mach number exceeded 0.91, irrespective of forward speed or blade angle. The magnitude of the efficiency losses varied from 9 percent to 22 percent per 0.1 increase in tip Mach number above the critical value. The range of advance ratio for peak efficiency decreased markedly with increase of forward speed. The general form of the changes in thrust and power coefficients was found to be similar to the changes in airfoil lift coefficient with changes in Mach number. Efficiency losses due to compressibility effects decreased with increase of blade width. The results indicated that the high level of propeller efficiency obtained at low speeds could be maintained to forward sea-level speeds exceeding 500 miles per hour

Emergence of a New Population of Rathayibacter toxicus: An Ecologically Complex, Geographically Isolated Bacterium

Citation: Arif, M., Busot, G. Y., Mann, R., Rodoni, B., Liu, S. Z., & Stack, J. P. (2016). Emergence of a New Population of Rathayibacter toxicus: An Ecologically Complex, Geographically Isolated Bacterium. Plos One, 11(5), 20. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156182Rathayibacter toxicus is a gram-positive bacterium that infects the floral parts of several Poaceae species in Australia. Bacterial ooze is often produced on the surface of infected plants and bacterial galls are produced in place of seed. R. toxicus is a regulated plant pathogen in the U.S. yet reliable detection and diagnostic tools are lacking. To better understand this geographically-isolated plant pathogen, genetic variation as a function of geographic location, host species, and date of isolation was determined for isolates collected over a forty-year period. Discriminant analyses of recently collected and archived isolates using Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) identified three populations of R. toxicus; RT-I and RT-II from South Australia and RT-III from Western Australia. Population RT-I, detected in 2013 and 2014 from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, is a newly emerged population of R. toxicus not previously reported. Commonly used housekeeping genes failed to discriminate among the R. toxicus isolates. However, strategically selected and genome-dispersed MLST genes representing an array of cellular functions from chromosome replication, antibiotic resistance and biosynthetic pathways to bacterial acquired immunity were discriminative. Genetic variation among isolates within the RT-I population was less than the within-population variation for the previously reported RT-II and RT-III populations. The lower relative genetic variation within the RT-I population and its absence from sampling over the past 40 years suggest its recent emergence. RT-I was the dominant population on the Yorke Peninsula during the 2013-2014 sampling period perhaps indicating a competitive advantage over the previously detected RT-II population. The potential for introduction of this bacterial plant pathogen into new geographic areas provide a rationale for understanding the ecological and evolutionary trajectories of R. toxicus

Prognostic Indicators and Outcome Measures for Surgical Removal of Symptomatic Nonadvanced Cataract

This article is made available in accordance with the publisher's public repositories policy.Objectives To report changes in perceived visual functioning after surgery for symptomatic cataract with preoperative corrected distance visual acuity [CDVA] of 0.4 logMAR or better (Snellen equivalent, 20/50) and to investigate the relationship between any observed changes and preoperative physical characteristics and psychophysical consequences of the lens opacity and any changes in psychophysical findings after the procedure. Methods Eighty-five patients with cataract completed a validated questionnaire concerning functional vision satisfaction and a series of visual performance assessments before and 2 months after cataract surgery. The lens optical density and Lens Opacities Classification System III score of the cataract were recorded. Correlations between changes in the Rasch-analyzed questionnaire score and changes in visual performance after cataract surgery, as well as preoperative psychophysical measures, lens optical density, and Lens Opacities Classification System III score, were determined. Results The mean (SD) questionnaire score improved from 2.15 (0.36) to 1.54 (0.41) (P > .05 for both). Conclusion Psychophysical tests alternative to CDVA better represent improvements in self-reported visual functioning following removal of symptomatic nonadvanced cataract