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ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACTS OF NEAR-SHORE ACTIVITY ON THE MOLLUSCAN COMMUNITIES IN LAKE TANGANYIKA, AFRICA
No full textIn recent decades, increased near-shore agriculture and urbanization surrounding the large lake basins of the African Rift Valley have led to increasing rates of sedimentation and nutrient loading. These environmental changes can impact benthic habitats through altering substrates, suffocating feeding appendages, and accumulating organic matter on the lake floor. Whereas the response of marine benthos to similar anthropogenic effects is increasingly documented, freshwater environments have been historically understudied. Consequently, our understanding of freshwater benthic response in areas at-risk of sedimentation is limited. Using extensive shell beds of mollusks collected from 9 to 20m along three coastlines of Lake Tanganyika, I reconstructed the taxonomic, functional feeding, and taphonomic composition of benthic communities. Results indicate an inverse taxonomic and functional community composition across sites, driven by substrate type and organic matter concentrations. N. tanganyicense, a gastropod with mixed detritivore/suspension-feeding habits, along with numerous algivore/grazing gastropods, were abundant in muddy, organic-rich areas, whereas a suspension-feeding unionid bivalve, G. burtoni, thrived in sandy, organic-limited substrates. After performing taxonomic rank-order and similarity metrics on each site, results indicate a taxonomic discordance trend in organic-rich substrates similar to that found in areas experiencing anthropogenic eutrophication. The findings also suggest broader relevance for understanding taxonomic and functional tolerances, indicating that relationships among molluscan functional feeding groups could serve as biological indicators of organic-rich substrates
On the Tightrope: Multivocality Use by Extremist Ideological Groups on Digital Platforms
Get PDFFinancial support was provided by the University of Oklahoma Libraries' Open Access Fund.Extremist ideological groups strategically communicate across platforms and face the decision of whether to diversify their focus to appeal to a broader audience or narrow it down to achieve specific objectives. One approach involves adopting multivocality: communicating about diverse issues but emphasizing a limited set of issues on each platform. Using qualitative and computational analyses of social media communications (203,730 tweets) of extremist ideological groups (N = 44), Study 1 found that most extremist ideological groups engage in multivocality by emphasizing different issues on their X feed compared to their website. Study 2, a controlled, randomized laboratory experiment of individual reactions to a simulated ideological group's online messaging (N = 196) indicated that when these groups adopt a multivocal strategy, viewers perceived the messages and the group as less credible but recalled and disseminated the messages more.Ye
Sample preparation and cleanup methods for clinical top-down proteomics
Get PDFFinancial support was provided by the University of Oklahoma Libraries' Open Access Fund.Introduction
The investigation of different proteoforms in clinical samples is a promising approach to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of diseases. Furthermore, proteoform analysis holds great potential for identifying disease-specific biomarkers and targets for personalized medicine. Despite advances in top-down proteomics (TDP) instrumentation, sample preparation and cleanup remain challenging. Work in this area has focused on developing rapid, cost-effective, and less-labor-intensive protocols aimed at minimizing the introduction of artefactual modifications to endogenous proteoforms or bias in proteoform recovery during sample processing.
Area covered
To inform the selection of sample processing approaches in clinical TDP, this review summarizes state-of-the-art targeted (i.e. affinity and non-affinity-based enrichment) and untargeted (i.e. gel-based fractionation) sample preparation protocols. In addition, currently available offline and online sample cleanup procedures (e.g. dialysis, solid-phase extraction, filter-aided sample preparation, precipitation, and solid-phase protein preparation) are reviewed, highlighting their effectiveness for desalting and/or detergent removal.
Expert opinion
TDP demonstrates great potential in the clinical setting due to its ability to capture disease-specific proteoforms commonly overlooked in traditional diagnostic assays. The establishment of standardized guidelines for reproducible clinical TDP workflows is essential to leverage advances in sample preparation techniques and analytical instrumentation to facilitate wider adoption of TDP for clinical applications.Ye
Species Transformation and Social Reform: The Politics and Biopolitics of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's Evolutionary Theory
Get PDFJean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829) is well known as a pre-Darwinian proponent of evolution. But much of what has been written on Lamarck, on his ‘Lamarckian’ belief in the inheritance of acquired characters, and on his conception of the role of the will in biological development mischaracterizes his views. Indeed, surprisingly little in-depth analysis has been published regarding his views on human physiology and development. Further, since Robert M. Young’s signal 1969 essay on Malthus and the evolutionists, Darwin scholars have sought to place Darwin’s work in its social and political context; however, this has yet to be done adequately for Lamarck. In this dissertation I seek to address this gap. I examine Lamarck’s comments on human intelligence, physiology, and moral agency, and place them in the context of prevailing debates in France about the physiology of mind and morals and the future of the nation. I show how Lamarckian ideas about biological melioration—particularly in relation to social and political reform—served as both an aspirational standard and as rhetorical fodder for physicians, hygienists, and public health reformers throughout the nineteenth century who adapted evolutionary ideas into justifications for the primacy of medical authority in societal reform and regeneration. Even amongst those who were not prepared to embrace the idea that evolution was the mechanism of speciation, it was widely accepted that living organisms displayed a remarkable level of plasticity in their physiology and morphology, and that altering them physically could have far-reaching effects on functioning, social behavior, and overall wellbeing. This conviction was at the root of what would, over the course of the nineteenth century, give rise to various efforts to create a reformed and regenerated France by improving its people, including through hygienic reform, medical interventions, and the management of various pathologies that were believed to be hereditary, including ‘degeneration.’ In short, Lamarckian biology played a major role in what Michel Foucault termed biopolitics, including in its eugenic aspects. Thus, I argue that Lamarckian biology should be evaluated not just as a pre-Darwinian evolutionary theory, but as a contribution to ongoing debates about the importance and possibility of effecting political change via medico-biological management and alteration of the human body and species
TRANSPORTATION JUSTICE IN PLANNING: MEASURING AND MAPPING TRANSPORTATION EQUITY IN OKLAHOMA COUNTY AND OKLAHOMA CITY
No full textThis study investigates transportation equity in Oklahoma through a multi-scalar, data-driven approach that connects academic theory with local planning practice. The study addresses disparities in mobility and accessibility that disproportionately affect marginalized populations, particularly in auto-dependent areas like Oklahoma County and Oklahoma City. It comprises three components: a systematic literature review, a county-level transportation equity assessment, and a city-level transit gap analysis. The literature review synthesizes 86 studies from 2000 to 2023, highlighting evolving definitions, key equity frameworks, and methodological trends. Findings reveal growing attention to mobility justice, spatial disparities, and the intersection of transportation with health, environmental, and socio-demographic factors. However, recent declines in equity-focused publications suggest a need for renewed focus, especially in light of emerging mobility technologies and climate challenges. The second component applies the Transportation Justice Threshold Index Framework (TJTIF) to evaluate transportation equity across 20 municipalities in Oklahoma County. Using demographic, socioeconomic, land use, and transportation data, the study identifies justice areas such as Arcadia, Valley Brook, and Woodlawn Park, where interventions are most urgently needed. It also flags transitional areas like Nichols Hills and Lake Aluma that may face future equity risks. The final section assesses transit gaps in Oklahoma City by comparing transit demand and supply at the block group level. Using spatial analysis in R and ArcGIS Pro, the study finds a mismatch between high-need areas and existing transit infrastructure, exposing significant transit deserts. The research concludes with policy recommendations to enhance equity through improved public transit coverage, multimodal integration, and inclusive planning strategies. The integrated approach, combining literature review, index-based spatial analysis, and transit desert mapping, offers a replicable framework for addressing transportation justice in similarly auto-centric cities
Investigating the Ballistics IQ Triage
Get PDFBallistics IQ (BIQ) is one of several instruments used to assist forensic practitioners in making comparisons about cartridge cases along with indicating the possible number of firearms used on scene. BIQ came to fruition in 2019; however, there are very few published articles discussing its triage capabilities or performance at comparing cartridge cases. With that, this study focused on evaluating the performance of the BIQ Crime Scene Analysis (CSA) Triage Report by using three hundred (300) cartridge cases, ten (10) firearms, and six (6) brands of 9mm ammunition. Each firearm was shot thirty (30) times using five (5) shots each of six (6) ammunition brands. This study started off by conducting several tests on the metadata information that users enter when imaging cartridge cases. After evaluating the metadata effects, the CSA Triage algorithm was tested. A CSA Triage report was conducted for all three hundred (300) cartridge cases used throughout this study and the BIQ Triage concluded that all cartridge cases originated from seven (7) firearms; however, the ground truth was that there were ten (10) firearms. This output caused further analysis to take place which resulted in ten (10) additional CSA Triage reports being conducted. Each CSA Triage report contained thirty (30) cartridge cases from each firearm. Interpretation of these CSA Triage reports concluded that the BIQ Triage had difficulty with three (3) firearms (Ruger LC9, Ruger P89, and Springfield XD9) which resulted in another breakdown. Furthermore, it was concluded that the BIQ Triage had difficulty with cartridge cases of Remington and Winchester ammunition. These results indicate that forensic practitioners should use caution when using BIQ to analyze their cartridge cases as the algorithm had difficulty analyzing ten (10) commonly available firearms, as well as two (2) commonly available ammunition brands, meaning the triage algorithm may provide misleading information
DATA-DRIVEN CLUSTERING AND SUPERVISED LEARNING APPROACHES FOR DRILLING DYNAMICS FEATURES IDENTIFICATION IN DRILLING OPERATIONS
No full textAbstractDrilling operations in the oil and gas industry face significant challenges, including the failure of the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) and the wear of drilling bits, which lead to increased Non-Productive Time (NPT) and considerable costs. These challenges primarily arise from the harsh environments present in the rocks that the bit and the drill string encounter during the drilling process. To improve drilling efficiency and cost saving, a comprehensive understanding of drill bit dynamics and its governing parameters is key. Drilling vibrations are generated due to the contact between rock formations and the drill string. These are classified into three modes: axial, lateral, and torsional. This study presents an approach to classify and predict drilling vibrations through a combination of an experimental setup and machine-learning approaches modeling. To achieve this, an experimental setup was created to simulate the drilling operation, and rocks such as chalk, sandstone, and granite were drilled. The research focuses on key surface parameters that drillers can manipulate, such as revolutions per minute (RPM) and weight on bit (WOB), to mitigate downhole problems. A 2” PDC drill bit utilized in this project makes the research interesting because it allows for studying real bit behavior with actual bits and rocks. Complementing this, a gyro data sensor placed on the bit helps to record real data supported by DasyLab, a software that records information from a Data Acquisition System (DAQ), which is a group of sensors responsible for measuring and acquiring physical parameters that are later processed by the computer. The experimental setup consists of a mechanical drilling apparatus integrated with both the earlier-named gyro data sensor and DaisyLab software. This set allows for real-time monitoring and analysis of drill bit behavior under varying conditions. The test was conducted using different rock types and two ranges of parameters for RPM (above 166 and below 100) and BHA weights (69 kg and 54 kg). These values allow us to simulate drilling scenarios. Following the physical experiments, a machine-learning model has been developed to emulate and predict drill bit dynamics. This virtual representation enables exploration of a range of operational conditions and parameters beyond the limitations of physical testing. The possibility of using machine-learning facilitates the integration of historical drilling data, improving the model’s predictive capabilities. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the complex relationship between surface parameters, downhole tools, and wellbore conditions. For instance, optimizing drilling parameters, predicting and mitigating potential failures, reducing wear on drilling equipment, NPT, and costs, and enhancing overall drilling efficiency and safety
"I beg my president to care" : examining intersectionality and substance use in the LGBTQ+ community and the impact of drug policy on minoritized communities
No full textThis thesis examines the historical significance of drug policy in the United States from 1875 to 2022. Specifically, this thesis will explore drug policy’s impact on minoritized communities, particularly the LGBTQ+ community and its intersections with communities of color. At the center of this research, however, my goal is to discuss substance use in the LGBTQ+ community and explore why the rates of substance use remain so high today. This research is important and relevant because the LGBTQ+ community is largely ignored throughout historical narratives despite the deep historical trauma endured by this community. I will make relevant contributions to this discussion using analysis, oral history interviews, and the archives available to me through The Women’s Research and BGLTQ+ Student Center at the University of Central Oklahoma. This thesis will utilize a multidisciplinary approach of both History and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies methodologies and pedagogies. In addition, this thesis will utilize approaches from other academic fields such as Political Science, Law, and Sociology. Although several scholars across a variety of fields discuss the impacts of drug policy on minoritized communities and substance use in the LGBTQ+ community, very few historians present their voices in the parameters of these discussions. It is my goal to introduce these issues to the historical field and call attention towards reforming these policies. In this thesis, I argue that drug policy is indeed a tool of the government to control and police bodies that do not fit the status quo, specifically those within the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, I will argue that the LGBTQ+ community has been ignored in historical narratives related to substance use and drug policy, leading to further demonization and isolation of this community
The Future Orientations and Well-being of Children Involved in the Child Welfare System
No full textThis dissertation focuses on the well-being and future orientations of youth involved in the child welfare system. To conduct this research, I draw on the life course framework to examine how interpersonal relationships, structural constraints, and individual agency pattern the relationship between child welfare involvement and multiple domains of child well-being. This analysis incorporates causal inference techniques in nationally representative data as well as a participatory method to emphasize the lived experience of local teens living in group homes. Chapter 2 uses propensity score matching to analyze the impact of kinship care on child well-being compared to non-relative foster care on emotional and behavioral well-being while accounting for unobserved differences inherent in child placement decisions. My co-authors and I find that behavioral differences affect the placement decision, not the placement type affecting the behavioral differences. Chapter 3 explores the relationship between experiencing a placement change and developing internalizing and externalizing behaviors. My co-authors and I find that placement disruptions did not significantly contribute to behavioral concerns in our sample, suggesting that other factors may have more salient effects, such as experiencing trauma and peer relationships. Chapter 4 examines how having a foreshortened future orientation mediates the relationship between self-esteem and expectations of two traditional milestones: graduating high school and getting a good job. I find that having a foreshortened orientation fully mediates the relationship between negative self-esteem and expecting to graduate high school but not expecting to get a good job. Chapter 5 then unpacks future orientations among teens living in Oklahoma group homes using the participatory method Photovoice. Findings from this chapter demonstrate the importance of sustained sibling relationships and the participants’ appreciation of good connections and influences in their lives. I conclude by discussing potential avenues and implications for research and programming