Estimating exploitable stock biomass for the Maine green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) fishery using a spatial statistics approach

The objective of this study was to investigate the spatial patterns in green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) density off the coast of Maine, using data from a fishery-independent survey program, to estimate the exploitable biomass of this species. The dependence of sea urchin variables on the environment, the lack of stationarity, and the presence of discontinuities in the study area made intrinsic geostatistics inappropriate for the study; therefore, we used triangulated irregular networks (TINs) to characterize the large-scale patterns in sea urchin density. The resulting density surfaces were modified to include only areas of the appropriate substrate type and depth zone, and were used to calculate total biomass. Exploitable biomass was estimated by using two different sea urchin density threshold values, which made different assumptions about the fishing industry. We observed considerable spatial variability on both small and large scales, including large-scale patterns in sea urchin density related to depth and fishing pressure. We conclude that the TIN method provides a reasonable spatial approach for generating biomass estimates for a fishery unsuited to geostatistics, but we suggest further studies into uncertainty estimation and the selection of threshold density values

Strategies for Handling Spatial Uncertainty due to Discretization

Geographic information systems (GISs) allow users to analyze geographic phenomena within areas of interest that lead to an understanding of their relationships and thus provide a helpful tool in decision-making. Neglecting the inherent uncertainties in spatial representations may result in undesired misinterpretations. There are several sources of uncertainty contributing to the quality of spatial data within a GIS: imperfections (e.g., inaccuracy and imprecision) and effects of discretization. An example for discretization in the thematic domain is the chosen number of classes to represent a spatial phenomenon (e.g., air temperature). In order to improve the utility of a GIS an inclusion of a formal data quality model is essential. A data quality model stores, specifies, and handles the necessary data required to provide uncertainty information for GIS applications. This dissertation develops a data quality model that associates sources of uncertainty with units of information (e.g., measurement and coverage) in a GIS. The data quality model provides a basis to construct metrics dealing with different sources of uncertainty and to support tools for propagation and cross-propagation. Two specific metrics are developed that focus on two sources of uncertainty: inaccuracy and discretization. The first metric identifies a minimal?resolvable object size within a sampled field of a continuous variable. This metric, called detectability, is calculated as a spatially varying variable. The second metric, called reliability, investigates the effects of discretization on reliability. This metric estimates the variation of an underlying random variable and determines the reliability of a representation. It is also calculated as a spatially varying variable. Subsequently, this metric is used to assess the relationship between the influence of the number of sample points versus the influence of the degree of variation on the reliability of a representation. The results of this investigation show that the variation influences the reliability of a representation more than the number of sample points

Reintegration Programming

Among the goals of the US correctional system, rehabilitation remains important The correctional system strives to successfully reintegrate formerly incarcerated individuals into their communities where they refrain from committing further crime While there was a body of research in prior decades suggesting rehabilitation and reintegration efforts were ineffective (“nothing works”), more recent research has discredited this idea by demonstrating that many programs can be effective in correctional settings (“what works”

BUDWEISER IN THE 2017 SUPER BOWL: DIALECTIC VALUES ADVOCACY AND THE RHETORICAL STAKEHOLDER

Organizational-public relations discourse is changing given the advent of social media, and corporate statements are evaluated under different criteria in the digital age. Grounding Budweiser’s response to controversy over their 2017 Super Bowl advertisement in terms of consumer expectations for corporate social responsibility provides a new perspective for approaching Bostdorff and Vibbert’s (1994) conceptualization of values advocacy. This study recognizes the power of the rhetorical stakeholder, a discursively created public, and demands re-evaluation of the values common to society from a co-creational OPR perspective. Conceptualizing dialectic values advocacy outlines the changing values among contemporary, common stakeholders as well as the means for communicating these values superficially to promote unanimity among publics and organizations. Previously successful universal values like unity and patriotism have since been replaced with sensationalism and discord; formally engendering these values through ambiguous controversy allows an organization to strategically construct audience perceptions of reputation

My eyes are up here: the comedy of Amy Schumer and the carnivalesque

Kirmser Undergraduate Research Award - Individual Non-Freshman category, honorable mentionCitation: Windholz, B. (2014) My eyes are up here: the comedy of Amy Schumer and the carnivalesque. Unpublished manuscript, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.Paul, GregoryThrough the lens of Bakhtin's carnivalesque, I analyze stand-up comic Amy Schumer's Comedy Central special Mostly Sex Stuff. Her use of sexual material juxtaposes the material upper and lower stratums and subverts the social structure of gender roles through chaos and humor, specifically through the use of the grotesque body as a site in which to grapple with abstract concepts like sexism. Schumer's attractive looks contrast her archetypical unruly woman stage persona and attack the hegemony of sexism in American culture while also challenging perceptions of race and class. Schumer's carnivalesque satire eviscerates the image of the classical body, with its roots in oppression and power disparity, offering instead a body that is constantly in process which unifies people through its relation to the cosmic. I show how Schumer's use of these ideas transforms her otherwise dirty comedy into subtle social criticism, generating feminist commentary in the male dominated field of stand-up comedy

Interview with Martha Zakrzewski -- Kansas Master Teacher 1988

An Interview with Martha Zakrzewski -- Kansas Master Teacher 1988.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/ors/1215/thumbnail.jp

Einfluss genetischer Varianten auf den Fett- und Zuckerstoffwechsel bei Kindern

Ziel dieser Arbeit war es Kandidatengene, die mit der Entwicklung von Adipositas assoziiert sind, auf eine veränderte Kopienzahl zu untersuchen. Zwar fanden wir in den von uns ausgewählten Genen keine Veränderungen der Kopienzahl, es gelang uns jedoch der Nachweis eines Nukleotid-Polymorphismus in SIM1 (rs3734354). Für diesen konnten wir erstmals eine Assoziation mit Parametern der Adipositas in einer Kinderkohorte zeigen. Weiterführend untersuchten wir die Effekte von Typ-2-Diabetes-assoziierten SNPs auf Glukosehomöostase und Insulinmetabolismus. Wir fanden eine Assoziation von rs2877716 (ADCY5) mit einer verminderten Insulinsekretion und von rs17271305 (VPS13C) mit einem erhöhten Nüchternglukosespiegel. Zusammenfassend unterstreichen die Effekte von SNPs wie VPS13C und ADCY5 die Komplexität der bisher unvollständig verstandenen Interaktionen von Alter, Genotyp und Phänotyp auf die Entwicklung des Typ-2-Diabetes. Für die Entwicklung der Adipositas scheinen Veränderungen der Kopienzahl in den untersuchten Genen bei übergewichtigen Kindern eine untergeordnete Rolle zu spielen. Weiterführende Arbeiten sind zur Erklärung der Heritabilität beider Krankheitsbilder und der komplexen Interaktionen von Phänotyp und Genotyp notwendig.:1 Bibliographische Beschreibung 2 Einführung 2.1 Bedeutung und Interaktion von Diabetes und Adipositas 2.2 Überblick Genetik Adipositas und Typ-2-Diabetes: Epidemiologie, Monogen vs. Polygen und Methodik 2.3 Der Leptin-Melanocortin Kreislauf 2.4 Überblick über Gene des Leptin-Melanocortin Kreislaufs (Leptin, POMC, MCR, SIM1) 2.5 Von Adipositas zu Diabetes 2.6 Charakteristik der Typ-2-Diabetes Kandidatengene (GIPR, ADCY5, GCKR, VPS13C) 2.7 Ziele der Arbeit 3 Publikation 1 'Copy number variations in “classical” obesity candidate genes are not frequently associated with severe early-onset obesity in children' 4 Publikation 2 'Effects of Genetic Variants in ADCY5, GIPR, GCKR and VPS13C on Early Impairment of Glucose and Insulin Metabolism in Children' 5 Zusammenfassung der Arbeit 6 Literaturverzeichnis 7 Anlagen 7.1 Supplementary Methods, Publikation 1 7.2 Supplementary Methods, Publikation 2 7.3 Erklärung über die eigenständige Abfassung der Arbeit 7.4 Erklärung über den wissenschaftlichen Beitrag des Promovenden an der ausgewählten Publikation 7.5 Lebenslauf 7.6 Publikationsverzeichnis 7.7 Danksagun

Dinosaurios con cuellos espinosos

Los saurópodos fueron dinosaurios herbívoros y cuadrúpedos, con cuellos y colas largas. Estos alcanzaron tamaños colosales, convirtiéndose en los vertebrados continentales más grandes del planeta. Dicraeosauridae es posiblemente el grupo más peculiar de saurópodos, por presentar espinas neurales altas y bifurcadas en sus vértebras presacras. Sorprendentemente, la Patagonia proporcionó su mayor diversidad durante el Cretácico Temprano. Investigaciones recientes mostraron que al menos una de sus especies presentaba vértebras cervicales invadidas internamente por cavidades neumáticas, aligerando su peso en vida. Los dicraeosáuridos habrían crecido rápidamente durante sus primeras etapas de vida; luego su crecimiento se habría ralentizado y vuelto cíclico.Fil: Windholz, Guillermo Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología; Argentin