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Assessing the Live Bait Industry and the Ecological Status of Invasive Cyprinodontiformes (Sheepshead minnow: Cyprinodon variegatus and Gulf killifish: Fundulus grandis) in Texas Streams
Get PDFThe introduction of invasive species is one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity. Once established, invasive species often cause irreversible ecological damage on native communities. Here, I investigated the pathway of introduction and ecological impacts of the sheepshead minnow (C. variegatus) and the gulf killifish (F. grandis). Both species were thought to have been introduced into inland Texas waters via bait-bucket releases and have caused native populations of their inland congeners to decline. While I did not find evidence that either species were being sold in inland shops, bait industry experts did reveal other potentially harmful species, which are permitted for sale, being distributed throughout the state. Investigation of each species ecological niches also revealed overlap is aspects of invasive species’ feeding ecology with their native congeners in the Brazos and Red River basins. This overlap indicates possible negative interactions that could lead to declines in native fish population
WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION FROM AN EAST TEXAS PERSPECTIVE: NACOGDOCHES COUNTY FROM 1861-1876
Get PDFInitially founded in 1826 as a municipality of Mexico and organized as a county in 1837—and sharing its name with the oldest town in Texas—Nacogdoches County flourishes with a rich history and has been a factor in nearly every major event in early Texas history. The Civil War is no exception. Men from the county contributed to the war effort but also felt the war’s sting at home. Citizens did what they could to survive. The county continued under the yoke of Reconstruction after the war before booming again in the 1880s thanks largely to the town the county shares its name with. While Nacogdoches County has a long history with racism and white supremacy as well, this public history project summarizes a fifteen-year period of that history from 1861 to 1876 with a focus on the presence of slavery and, ultimately, white supremacy, arguably when such peaked and guided many of the actions of white citizens. Most importantly, this project features the creation of a digital museum exhibition, utilizing interpretation theory and relevant literature to explain the creation of an online exhibit. The exhibit first provides an overview of the actions of the many Confederate units raised in the county and then notable units from neighboring counties that also included Nacogdocheans. The exhibit then features the years of Reconstruction with a focus on Federal soldier presence in the county as well as the activities of the Freedmen’s Bureau and their relationship with the citizens (both black and white)
GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE BONE SPRING FORMATION, DELAWARE BASIN, USING CHEMOSTRATIGRAPHY AND INTEGRATED PETROPHYSICS
Get PDFThe Delaware Basin forms part of West Texas\u27s and New Mexico’s famous petroleum-generating Permian Basin. The Bone Spring Formation is a prolific hydrocarbon producer within this basin, creating one of the world’s richest oil shales. This formation has lithological sequences that are characterized by repeating carbonate and siliciclastic intervals of a third-order cycle which can largely be correlated to highstand and lowstand systems tracts, respectively. Lithological complexity and facies change are manifested by debris flows, turbidites, and slumps. In addition to glacio-eustasy, both tectonism and broader Milankovitch cycles have influenced the depositional history. Previous investigations have utilized cores and wireline logs to provide high-resolution chemo-facies segregation, which can be correlated with reservoir and rock properties; however,core and wireline logs are sporadically collected, whereas drill cuttings are available from most wells. For this study, XRF elemental data derived from drill cuttings collected at 30 – 60ft (9 – 18m) intervals have been compared to wireline well logs. XRF measurements were categorized using hierarchical cluster and principal component analysis based on chemical facies. Chemostratigraphic units and packages were applied to generate cross-sections and facies maps to understand depositional cyclicity, terrigenous influence, grain size, ii mineralogy, organic content and rock property distribution. These data sets can be used to high-grade acreage for resource identification and storage to optimize drilling performance, completion designs and as a geosteering input
Educational Leaders’ Attempts at Holding the Fort: A Transformative Endeavor in Lebanon
Get PDFDespite its small size, Lebanon has had its fair share of nationwide turbulences that further instigated conflict and instability among the Lebanese population. The crises have weighed heavily on the educational system in Lebanon and has impeded its operations on many fronts. However, educational leaders have attempted to adopt transformative practices in addressing the anticipated and unanticipated challenges. Educational leaders in Lebanon have learned to perceive that ‘the only constant is change,’ and have come to realize and acknowledge that their goals of enhancing educational experiences remain the same but the paths to achieve these goals are nonlinear
Revolutionary
Get PDFThis poem describes Black radical love as revolutionary. The authors address how radical Black love sustains resistance and Blackness and is revolutionary
Connecting Old Techniques with New Ideas
Get PDFMetalworking is an ancient field that provides numerous methods to create a similar outcome. This semester I’ve been studying several traditional techniques in jewelry making while attempting to incorporate my own designs. The techniques that I have been focusing on are casting and stone-setting. For casting, I have been experimenting with both lost-wax casting and sand-casting in order to create thoughtful, one-of-a-kind works. Casting is often the best method to use when creating organic designs. My designs include snakes and historic Viking imagery that is often easier to create by carving wax and manipulating sand molds.
The inclusion of precious stones brings color and vibrance to my original works. I particularly enjoy the process of problem solving in order to design a finished work that allows me to capture a precious stone as the final step. Experimenting with stone setting requires research from technical jewelry books, advice from other jewelers, and mimicking methods used in instructional videos.
Doing this experimentation while still at the university will help prepare me for continued work after graduation. By expanding my “tool belt”, I can continue a career of making unique works
El Salvador\u27s Food Clock
Get PDFThe initial concept stemmed from an honors project collaboration. The project was a research paper on the evolution of El Salvador’s food culture. Topics discussed were El Salvador\u27s food culture, focusing on the history, staple foods, food medicine, dietetics, and how the country has been impacted by the expansion of globalization. Additionally, the relationship between medical conditions and how dietitians respond to them are further explored. Globalization has negatively impacted El Salvador\u27s health status, dietary practices, and ingrained poor habits that will be carried on for generations
Modelling, Cloning, and Expression of the J domain of C. elegans Rme-8 Protein
Get PDFRme-8 is a J domain containing plasma membrane protein that is required for endocytosis in various cells The J domain is a characteristic structural motif found mainly in heat shock protein 40 (Hsp 40 or DnaJ) and other proteins such as Rme-8 Within the J domain is a tripeptide, the HPD motif, that is required by the J domain protein to interact with and stimulate the ATPase activity of Hsp70 a major cellular chaperone Rme-8 protein in C elegans CeRme-8 has not been identified with a particular Hsp70 partner CeHsp70 1 is the only cytosolic Hsp70 in C elegans therefore, we hypothesize that it is the binding partner for the J domain of CeRme-8 To test this hypothesis, we first need to express and purify the J domain of CeRme-8 We report herein the successful cloning and expression of the J domain of CeRme-8 Computer modelling revealed that the amino acid sequence of the J domain of CeRme-8 folds into the canonical J domain conformation, containing the HPD tripeptide Complementary DNA of the J domain of CeRme-8 was cloned into the pGEX-Tev-KG plasmid, in frame with the gene for glutathione S transferase ( to yield a GST CeRme-8 fusion protein IPTG induced expression of the expected 37 kilodalton fusion protein was confirmed by both SDS-PAGE and western blotting using antibody against GST Work is ongoing to develop a protocol for purification of both GST tagged and untagged J domains of CeRme-8 Future work will involve testing the effect of the J domain protein on the ATPase activity of CeHsp70-