ROAR: Repository for Open Access, Archives, and Research (Univ. of North Alabama)
Not a member yet
970 research outputs found
Sort by
Blockchain Technology Development and Its Relevance to Higher Education
No full textBlockchain is an important and innovative technology that has only had targeted use for a few years (Peters and Panayi, 2016). Initially, it was the supporting technology for bitcoin transactions, and very soon thereafter, it became the foundation on which to support business transactions in industries such as banking, trading, insurance, voting, etc. (Atzori, 2015). This paper focuses on providing background information on the development of Blockchain Technology (BT) to those unfamiliar with this concept, as well as noting some of its current and potential future uses to those more well-versed in it
SUPPORTING STUDENTS: OER and Textbook Affordability Initiatives at a Mid-Sized University
No full textOn mutualism, models, and masting: The effects of seed-dispersing animals on the plants they disperse
Get PDFSpecies interactions are context dependent, in that their direction and magnitude can vary across ecological conditions. For seed dispersal interactions—especially interactions between plants and seed-caching animals—the direction of the interactions is often obscured because of seed mortality inherent in seed handling and the delayed effects of fitness benefits received by plants. It is, therefore, an open question in ecology to understand the ecological context
Acute physiological response by the plethodontid salamander Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander) to predation stress from alarm chemicals and predator kairomones
Get PDFPlethodontid salamanders may reduce predation risk via behavioral responses to predator kairomones and alarm chemicals from injured salamanders. However, it not known whether such predator cues prompt acute physiological responses, which may enhance arousal and the physical ability to escape from a predator. I examined whether predator chemical cues elicit an acute cardiac response in Eurycea cirrigera (Green, 1831) (Southern Two-lined Salamander). I compared heart rates before and after exposure to the odor of the large predatory Pseudotriton ruber (Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801) (Red Salamander) and exposure to alarm chemicals from homogenized skin of conspecifics. For two controls, I compared heart rates before and after exposure to the odor of live conspecifics and the odor of the large non-predatory Plethodon mississippi Highton in Highton, Maha and Maxson, 1989 (Mississippi Slimy Salamander). Compared with resting values, heart rates significantly increased in response to predator kairomones (mean rate increased 10.9% after 2 min and 12.7% after 5 min) and alarm chemicals from conspecifics (mean rate increased 12.0% after 2 min and 14.5% after 5 min). In contrast, heart rates after exposure to each control odor did not significantly differ from resting values. Results demonstrate an acute cardiac response to chemical cues indicative of either a predator or a predation event
Biogeography of American Northwest Hot Spring A/B′-Lineage Synechococcus Populations
Get PDFPrevious analyses have shown how diversity among unicellular cyanobacteria inhabiting island-like hot springs is structured relative to physical separation and physiochemical differences among springs, especially at local to regional scales. However, these studies have been limited by the low resolution provided by the molecular markers surveyed. We analyzed large datasets obtained by high-throughput sequencing of a segment of the photosynthesis gene psaA from samples collected in hot springs from geothermal basins in Yellowstone National Park, Montana, and Oregon, all known from previous studies to contain populations of A/B′-lineage Synechococcus. The fraction of identical sequences was greater among springs separated by \u3c 50 km than among springs separated by \u3e50 km, and springs separated by \u3e800 km shared sequence variants only rarely. Phylogenetic analyses provided evidence for endemic lineages that could be related to geographic isolation and/or geochemical differences on regional scales. Ecotype Simulation 2 was used to predict putative ecotypes (ecologically distinct populations), and their membership, and canonical correspondence analysis was used to examine the geographical and geochemical bases for variation in their distribution
Insights into the dynamics between viruses and their hosts in a hot spring microbial mat
Get PDFOur current knowledge of host–virus interactions in biofilms is limited to computational predictions based on laboratory experiments with a small number of cultured bacteria. However, natural biofilms are diverse and chiefly composed of uncultured bacteria and archaea with no viral infection patterns and lifestyle predictions described to date. Herein, we predict the first DNA sequence-based host–virus interactions in a natural biofilm. Using single-cell genomics and metagenomics applied to a hot spring mat of the Cone Pool in Mono County, California, we provide insights into virus–host range, lifestyle and distribution across different mat layers. Thirty-four out of 130 single cells contained at least one viral contig (26%), which, together with the metagenome-assembled genomes, resulted in detection of 59 viruses linked to 34 host species. Analysis of single-cell amplification kinetics revealed a lack of active viral replication on the single-cell level. These findings were further supported by mapping metagenomic reads from different mat layers to the obtained host–virus pairs, which indicated a low copy number of viral genomes compared to their hosts. Lastly, the metagenomic data revealed high layer specificity of viruses, suggesting limited diffusion to other mat layers. Taken together, these observations indicate that in low mobility environments with high microbial abundance, lysogeny is the predominant viral lifestyle, in line with the previously proposed “Piggyback-the-Winner” theory
The Implementation and Evaluation of Self-Advocacy Programming for College Students
Get PDFThe existence of barriers for college students living with disabilities is expansive and far-reaching; however, Field, Sarver, and Shaw (2003) and Walker and Test (2011) indicate that the development of self-advocacy skills increases the likelihood of overall academic success. It is vital that disability support services on college campuses recognize and develop programming to provide students with opportunities to increase their self-advocacy skills. This research assesses the effectiveness of self-advocacy workshops offered through an office of disability support services at a mid-sized regional university in the southeast. Causal agency theory and the ecological model of self-determination guided the development of a pre-test/post-test, which assesses the effectiveness of the workshops. Data collected provide insight into how effective the workshops are for current students, if participants’ prior utilization of services in high school affects their initial measured confidence in self-advocacy at the pre-test, and what modifications are necessary for optimum programming in the future. Analyses indicate that the self-advocacy workshops were effective in increasing participants’ confidence in their own levels of self-advocacy. Nearly half of the measures from the pre-test/post-test were significant at the p \u3c .001 and p \u3c.01 levels. The ecological model of self-determination, intersectionality, and standpoint theory inform the semi-structured interviews, with findings suggesting that participants’ perceptions of their own confidence in self-advocacy are influenced by experiences of marginalization, salience of social identities, and perceptions of disability(ies). Confidence in self-advocacy is influenced by, and is simultaneously influencing, each system within participants’ socio-ecological environments
