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Carbon Allocation to Wood Formation in European Beech Forests – From Cell to Ecosystem
No full textUnderstanding the magnitude and drivers of tree biomass increment is essential for improving model-based projections of the land carbon sink, which in turn is key to adequately supporting climate change mitigation efforts and nature-based climate solutions. Traditionally, carbon uptake through photosynthesis and the allocation of that carbon to woody tissues have been assumed to be closely linked. On one hand, the expansion of developing wood cells relies on turgor pressure, which is generated by water absorbed through the roots and transpired through the leaves. On the other hand, building secondary cell walls depends on the transport of photosynthetic products, such as sugars, from the leaves to the growing tissues where biomass is formed. Importantly, only a small fraction (1.68–23.08%) of the total sequestered carbon is allocated to xylem tissues where it will be stored for a long time and can help offset anthropogenic carbon emissions on climate-relevant timescales. However, we still do not fully understand the dynamics of this carbon allocation or its response to changes in a tree’s abiotic and biotic environment. In particular, the magnitude and temporal variability of carbon investment in wood formation remain poorly quantified. The objectives of this dissertation are to (1) reduce uncertainties in estimates of carbon allocation to tree woody biomass, (2) explore carbon sink–source relationships across spatial scales from the cell to the forest-stand level, and (3) address some of the most important and persistent uncertainties in our understanding of climate change impacts on carbon uptake and allocation processes. In Appendix A, I integrate climatic, eddy-covariance, tree-ring, and forest inventory data in a multidisciplinary approach to demonstrate the drought responses of carbon uptake and allocation to long-lasting woody biomass pools at two European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests of Hainich (DE-Hai, Germany) and Sorø (DK-Sor, Denmark). In Appendix B, I continue to investigate the relationship between photosynthesis and woody biomass growth at both Hainich and Sorø at much finer (i.e., intra-annual) temporal resolution. Lastly, in Appendix C, I examine the degree to which wood core sampling strategies can bias estimates of forest productivity in two contrasting plots at the Vielsalm flux-tower site in Belgium (BE-Vie). As a whole, this dissertation captures both interannual and intra-annual dynamics of carbon uptake and allocation to wood formation in European beech forests under changing climate conditions. The three main studies are tightly connected and offer novel insights into carbon dynamics from wood tissues and individual trees to the ecosystem level. Our discussions and recommendations also aim to help improve estimates of tree biomass growth at flux-tower sites elsewhere, particularly those characterized by heterogeneous forest structure and composition. This combined empirical insight will support the development of improved mechanistic models capable of more accurately representing forest growth dynamics and contributing to more reliable projections of future land carbon trajectories
Age-Friendly Care, Banner University Medical Center-Phoenix
No full textBackground: The older adult population in the United States is growing rapidly, and this trend demands our urgent attention. By 2030, there will be more older adults than children under 18 for the first time in history, and in Arizona, nearly one in four residents will be aged 65 or older (U.S Census Bureau, 2018). This shift will undoubtedly lead to a significant increase in the demand for care for older adults, placing considerable pressure on the healthcare system. Objectives: This quality improvement project aims to identify the barriers and analyze the challenges impacting patient care delivery at Banner University Medical Center-Phoenix (BUMCP), an Age-friendly care center, and develop potential solutions to address these issues, focusing on the required criteria outlined by the Geriatrics Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) measures. Methods: We identified 65 BUMCP employees who have managed older adults and engaged with the ACE unit, where age-friendly care is consistently implemented. The employees include physicians, surgeons, other healthcare providers, nurses, case managers, social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists, pharmacists, and administrators. We engaged these employees in interviews using questionnaires to uncover operational challenges and barriers to care, as well as to gain insights into their experiences and gather direct feedback. This information was subsequently summarized using the Qualtrics platform to highlight areas needing improvement and potential solutions. Results: The main barriers to care include patient complexities (53%) and time constraints, affecting 80% of respondents, with cognitive impairment and mobility limitations being significant issues. Challenges with end-of-life care and advance directives are also noted, impacting 82% of respondents to varying degrees. Conclusion: The Age-friendly care initiatives have demonstrated effectiveness in addressing the distinctive needs of older adults; however, they are not without considerable challenges
Human Capital, Human Agency, and Social Systems in the Experience of Scholarship Alumni: A Case Study of the Paraguayan Scholarship Program Don Carlos Antonio López (BECAL)
No full textGovernment-funded scholarship programs play a crucial role in shaping global knowledge, promoting international mobility, and building human capital. These programs exist for various reasons, but their success often depends on the experience of scholarship recipients and in their capacity to apply their newly acquired skills in meaningful ways. Moreover, beyond their capacity-building goals, these programs can serve as a catalyst for students’ personal and professional growth. Thus, understanding how students navigate the scholarship application process, their academic and social experiences abroad, and their post-graduation trajectories offers critical insights into the importance of these initiatives. This dissertation explored the perceptions of challenges and opportunities of study abroad experiences as well as contribution to home country through the eyes of Paraguayan scholarship alumni. To this end, I carried out document analysis and alumni interviews. Documents pertaining to the establishment, design and evaluation of the BECAL program were analyzed to provide context to the data analysis. Moreover, twenty-six BECAL scholarship alumni were interviewed to learn about their scholarship application process, their international experiences, and return to their home country. The data was analyzed using Human Capital, Human Agency theory, and navigational and social capitals. The analysis of document and interview data reveals insights into the design, implementation, and impact of the BECAL scholarship program in Paraguay. Established to support academically promising students with limited financial resources, BECAL aims to promote human capital development through international higher education opportunities. While the program facilitates access to global academic experiences, findings indicate that students often require additional economic and social capital to fully seize these opportunities.
Furthermore, alumni interviews highlight both the transformative nature of the program as well as its structural limitations. Alumni considered their international experiences as life-changing, contributing to both personal growth and professional advancement. Many viewed the scholarship as a unique opportunity that not only shaped their careers but also influenced their families and communities. Additionally, despite unequal access, alumni demonstrated agency and strategic planning in navigating the application process, using their navigational and social capital for support. Alumni also noted challenges which included personal struggles such as anxiety, language barriers, and cultural adaptation abroad, as well as reintegration difficulties upon returning to Paraguay. Despite challenges identified by BECAL alumni, the program remains the only government-funded scholarship covering key knowledge areas and foreign language courses for Paraguayans, offering a transformative opportunity for personal and professional growth. Alumni experiences highlighted the program’s dual role in advancing human capital while emphasizing the need for policy reforms to enhance human capital contribution to Paraguay’s development
Irrigation Sanitizers and Soil Health: A Survey of Romaine Production Systems in Arizona
No full textPurpose. Romaine growers in the Desert Southwest have connected with the University of Arizona’s Cooperative Extension to investigate whether or not sanitizer application is affecting soil health. This study was designed to determine if sanitizer treated sprinkler irrigation water impacts soil health in romaine production systems of Arizona, and to identify soil health indicators that are sensitive to these changes. Background. As outbreaks of foodborne illnesses are on the rise, the California and Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreements were developed from extensive research findings that promoted the use of antimicrobial agents, or “sanitizers,” in sprinkler-irrigated leafy vegetables production systems. The main hypotheses were twofold: first, there are deleterious soil health changes caused by the implementation of irrigation sanitizers in US Southwestern sprinkler-irrigated romaine production systems; secondly, certain soil parameters could be used to guide interpretations of these soil health changes after sanitizer application. Methods. A subset of five fields from an initial survey population of 14 were analyzed. Forty samples were collected, and 39 soil properties were measured. The full suite of soil health assays included indicators of carbon dynamics, nitrogen dynamics, and additional physical and chemical properties. Statistical analyses were then conducted to determine sanitizer impacts on individual soil health indicators, as well as multivariate soil health profiles of collected samples. Results. Results showed sanitizers significantly impacted several indicators of carbon and nitrogen dynamics, including total soil carbon, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and potentially mineralizable nitrogen. Additional soil physical and chemical properties were not impacted. Sanitizers had no effect on multivariate soil health profiles, which were mostly determined by preexisting site conditions. Conclusions. This study does not provide convincing evidence to diverge from the use of irrigation sanitizers, though land managers should work with experts to monitor soil health and manage soil carbon and nutrients when determining management practices like fertilizer rates. Additionally, growers should consider utilizing strategies like cover cropping, application of organic amendments, and diverse crop rotations to ensure effective carbon and nitrogen cycling in the agroecosystem
The Ages to Come Are Wisest
No full textIn this paper, I examine the proposition supplied by the earliest historians: that their subject, the events of the past, is worthy of record and study. Rather than approaching this premise from a theoretical standpoint, I will instead project that question onto the problems faced not by a collective group, but by a single individual, whose example is drawn from the series of novels (affectionately known as the Soldier novels) by the American science–fiction/fantasy author Gene Wolfe. I suggest that a different way of thinking about historiography may be reached by considering the problems common to historiography and to the protagonist of the novels, whose situation is uniquely fitted to such an exercise. I then demonstrate how this may be done through a comparison of situations occurring in the fictional world of the Soldier novels with those recorded by ancient writers. This comparison does not necessarily aim to confirm or deny the idea that a study of historiography can provide benefit to present actors, but rather that considering these events in comparison with Latro’s story provides new insights into their importance
La Migración Humaniza: Experiences of Enacting Migrant Care in Guatemala
No full textFrom Arizona’s borderlands to Guatemala’s highlands, spaces that offer hospitality to migrants play a crucial role in the journey of the growing number of people whose lives are in transit. This research follows the experiences inside Casa Myrna Mack during its first months of operation, highlighting the overall work of la Red Jesuita con Migrantes Guatemala from the perspective of staff and volunteers to understand the work, impact, and embodied experience of offering hospitality to migrants in Guatemala. This research contributes to bodies of knowledge surrounding the migrant experience, specifically emphasizing spaces of care, and provides a nuanced and ethnographic perspective of humanitarian action beyond macropolitical and institutional approaches common to existing discourse. Key themes explored in this project include the motivations driving humanitarian actors, the emotional and physical impact of enacting migrant aid on staff and volunteers, and the potential for this work to have politicizing effects as collaborators navigate the complexities of providing care within an uncaring political context, a question with resonance well beyond Guatemala
School Counselor Education and Professional Identity Formation: A Content Analysis of Graduate School Counseling Programs in the United States
No full textSchool Counselors continue to grapple with questions surrounding their professional identity as ongoing debate persists over whether they should be viewed primarily as counselors, educators, or a balanced combination of both. This identity formation process often begins in graduate school as students explore different programs, complete coursework, engage in practicum and internship experiences, and interact with faculty and peers. While previous research has identified variation across school counseling programs (Pérusse et al., 2001; Pérusse et al., 2015), few studies have examined how these differences might influence the development of school counseling students’ professional identities. Using content analysis, this study examined the structure and characteristics of 212 school counseling graduate programs in the United States. The results reveal ongoing inconsistencies among programs and provide valuable insight into the continued identity confusion within the profession, differences that may shape how students understand and define their roles within their educational environments
Women in Greek and Roman Athletics
No full textThis thesis addresses scholarly debate about whether women participated in athletics in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Some people still argue today that women could not participate in ancient athletics, using restrictive definitions of what is considered as athletic and sometimes omitting important evidence. The assumption that women did not participate in ancient athletics was also the basis of Victorian era arguments against women’s inclusion in sports. Pierre de Coubertin, for example, vehemently opposed women’s inclusion in the modern Olympics, citing “ancient ideals” as a reason not to allow women in sports. This work provides a great deal of evidence that women did participate in ancient athletics, assessing both literary and material evidence from the ancient world. There is a particular emphasis on material evidence to provide a sense of what female athletics were like in the ancient world without the biases of ancient authors. Ancient literature especially demonstrates how women’s participation in athletics was received at the time. This work also draws connections to the modern era, outlining how participation in women’s sports has increased since the Victorian era and arguing against the misuse of ancient evidence in the modern world to bolster claims that women should not participate in sports
Scaling Data Driven Building Energy Modeling using Large Language Models: Prompt Engineering and Agentic Workflow
No full textData-driven building energy modeling (BEM) faces scalability challenges due to the complexity of diverse building and data types as well as integrating them into effective models. Large language models (LLMs) offer significant potential to enhance code generation and reasoning capabilities, which could facilitate broader adoption and implementation of data-driven BEM. In this paper, I hypothesize that LLMs can incorporate domain-specific knowledge into data processing and modeling, enabling automation of data-driven BEM across building types (residential and commercial), modeling output (zone temperature and energy consumption), and specific modeling needs. This paper leverages LLMs in the forms of prompt engineering and agentic workflow. A Machine Learning Operations (MLOps)-based prompt template is developed to systematically generate Python code for data-driven modeling. Experiments are carried out around four BEM scenarios and results indicate that both approaches are effectively scalable for implementing data-driven BMS solutions where bi-sequential prompting achieves the highest success rates of 95% in code accuracy. The agentic workflow, a paradigm where agents utilize planning, action, tools, and memory, further improves the automation, self-correction, and interaction with LLM, and resulting in improved accuracy to 100%.This framework can help energy engineers, facility managers, and sustainability consultants in automating BEM workflows, especially where coding expertise is limited, or scalability is a priority
Proceedings of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, Volume 57 (2025)
No full text66th Annual Meeting / April 12, 2025 / Arizona State University, West Valley Campus / Glendale, AZThis volume is part of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact [email protected]