136879 research outputs found
Sort by
Rethinking Relocation and Resilience: An Analysis of Household Hazard Adaptation in the Greater Houston and New Orleans Regions
No full textAmong the suite of flood risk reducing strategies used for adaptation, voluntary relocation or managed retreat is one of the most extreme. Altogether moving from one���s home is not an equivalent action to adaptation strategies in place, such as investing in one���s home or supporting the construction of community-wide mitigation infrastructure. Research has established that household relocation decisions depend on the complex interplay of ���push��� ��� undesirable and/or potentially harmful characteristics such as crime ��� and ���pull��� ��� desirable and/or beneficial characteristics such as employment and amenities ��� factors of place that affect quality of life. This study extends resilience theory to the conceptualization of relocation decisions by framing these pushes and pulls of place as tradeoffs between resilience ���capitals��� or resources and capabilities needed to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and adapt to natural hazards. This study presents a conceptual framework outlining the web of interacting household and community capitals involved in relocation decisions to answer: How is voluntary relocation different from other adaptation strategies? Why? And to what consequence? To explore these questions, this research uses mixed methods to examine original survey and interview data collected in 2022 from residents of the Greater Houston and Greater New Orleans regions. The findings suggest that existing local adaptation efforts are associated with a greater likelihood of preferring relocation response to increasing flood risk as opposed to modifying their current home or doing nothing. This research also illuminates which factors of places are most closely associated with relocation preferences and how the importance of these factors is moderated by household level resources. By conceptualizing relocation as tradeoffs between capitals, this research sheds light on how household level decisions can affect community level assets by adding to (e.g., human capital ��� gains in educated, working households) or detracting from (e.g., financial capital ��� loss of tax revenue) collective capital. Understanding how different coastal residents experience the pushes and pulls of place can inform compensating policies for sending communities to build and maintain resilience to future hazards
All the Sarcoplasm Is a Stage; and All the Anabolic and Catabolic Complexes Merely Players; They Have Their Exits and Entrances An Analysis of How Proteolytic Pathways Impact Protein Synthesis Capacity in C2C12 Myotubes
Get PDFThe control of anabolism and catabolism in muscle, termed protein turnover, is a heavily studied research area. It is known that steps in anabolism involve the mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) and can have a direct impact on catabolic pathways. While we acknowledge that catabolism within the cell provides an intracellular source of amino acids (AA) to support anabolism, lesser known is whether catabolic pathways within skeletal muscle have a direct impact on anabolic capacity. To better understand how catabolic pathways impact anabolism, these studies used key anabolic and/or catabolic inhibitors to determine their role on 24-h fractional protein synthesis rates (FSR) and anabolic signaling in cultured C2C12 myotubes. The underlying hypothesis for the present study was catabolic processes directly affect the anabolic capacity by affecting anabolic signal transduction. To complete these studies, specialized inhibitors designed to block the autophagic (NSC 185058) and/or proteasomal (MG-262) catabolic pathways and/or anabolic signaling through mTOR were utilized to delineate contributions of the respective catabolic pathways on mTOR activity and FSR. Application of MG-262 had no statistical impact on FSR. However, incubation of cells with NSC 185058 yielded blunted FSR (p=0.0146), similar to that of complete mTOR inhibition using Torin 1 (p=0.0012). When Torin 1 and NSC 185058 were combined, FSR was lowered beyond single inhibitor application levels (vs Control; p<0.0001). Western blot analyses revealed that NSC 185058 had a differential effect on the activation of two mTOR targets, showing a decrease in activation of p70S6K (involved with ribosomal biogenesis) with no change in eIF4EBP (involved with CAP-dependent mRNA translation). This effect persisted when NSC 185058 was combined with either Rapamycin, MG-262, or Torin 1. Both p70S6K and eIF4EBP1 responded as expected to incubation with Torin 1, regardless of combination with either catabolic inhibitor. These results collectively suggest that there is a direct contribution of autophagic processes on normal anabolism in the cell affecting FSR, which could be mediated through disrupted mTOR signal transduction through a yet to be defined mechanism affecting ribosomal biogenesis. Additionally, the data indicate that autophagic contribution to cellular protein turnover outweighs the proteasomal contribution to intracellular AA utilized in anabolism
Precision Performance Validation of the ME2/1 Firmware for the CMS Muon Trigger System
Get PDFThe Large Hadron Collider (LHC) stands as the world's most powerful particle accelerator, designed to generate proton beam collisions for the examination of fundamental matter properties. Among the LHC's detectors, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) plays a pivotal role as a general-purpose detector. This intricate system identifies and reconstructs particle parameters emerging from the proton-proton collisions, employing various sub-detectors such as tracking detectors, calorimeters, and muon detectors. The sheer volume of data per collision and the rapid collision rate necessitate pragmatic data handling, rendering it impractical to retain information from every proton-proton collision. The CMS includes a trigger system to swiftly assess each collision event, efficiently distinguishing between those of potential scientific interest and background events. The CMS muon system, designed for the identification and reconstruction of muon properties, becomes particularly crucial as muons often signify intriguing collisions. The reliability and efficiency of muon trigger decisions are paramount. The CMS muon trigger test stand at Texas A&M serves as a validation testing environment for assessing the muon trigger algorithm's performance. The tests involve the controlled transmission of realistic collision data to the Optical Trigger Mother Board (OTMB) through a muon detector emulator board. The testing software injects event data from full CMS detector software simulations, ensuring concordance between trigger OTMB decisions in real hardware and predicted decisions in the simulation. Similar validation techniques have been successfully applied to other firmwares within the CMS system. The developmental stride of this project involves adapting and applying proven performance testing techniques to the ME2/1 firmware through the utilization of the Texas A&M test stand tools for precise OTMB measurements. The overall aim of this project is to provide useful tools and techniques to firmware developers that assess the trigger decision accuracy of OTMB with ME2/1 firmware
The Effects of Investigator Disturbance on Nesting White-Tailed Hawks in South Texas
Get PDFThe white-tailed hawk (Geranoaetus albicaudatus) is a common raptor located throughout Central and South America. Only one subspecies of white-tailed hawk, G. a. hypospodius, is known to live as far north as the coastal regions of Texas. Despite being classified as a state-threatened species in Texas, little is known about the white-tailed hawk���s life history and population demographics. The lack of information about the white-tailed hawk makes it challenging to identify how to protect and manage the species. The few studies done on this species in the past indicate that white-tailed hawks are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Additionally, the white-tailed hawks��� nesting locations within Texas (grasslands, savannahs, pastures) are becoming increasingly threatened and fragmented. Information pertaining to impacts of nesting disturbance and nesting success could be essential in protecting the animal���s natural populations. In my study, I quantified nesting disturbance activities and their impacts on nesting white-tailed hawks, specifically by focusing on whether adults will avoid their nests and young for greater amounts of time following researcher approach. This behavior could decrease nestling success by leaving them vulnerable and without parental care for more extended periods. To learn more about the white-tailed hawk���s disturbance reactions, I measured the amount of time the adults leave the nest following researcher approach and investigate possible impacts. I used data collected from footage captured by motion-activated cameras placed at white-tailed hawk nests throughout several different locations in south Texas during the 2021 breeding season. Preliminary analysis focused on the nest located on Mustang Island State Park in Nueces County, Texas, where over 5,000 minutes of footage was reviewed in total. The average length of time that the adult white-tailed hawks spent away from their nest following an investigator disturbance event (116 mins) was significantly longer than time spent away from the nest for any other reason on days with (46.9 mins) and without (44 mins) a disturbance event. The total amount of time that both adults were absent from their nest also increased on days with (64.5 % of recorded daylight hours) and without (57.8% of recorded daylight hours) a disturbance event. Establishing buffer zones around white-tailed hawk nests during their nesting season may be an effective way to protect their populations in the coastal bend region of Texas
