Remotely sensing the morphometrics and dynamics of a cold region dune field using historical aerial photography and airborne LIDAR data

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Remote Sensing 10 (2018): 792, doi:10.3390/rs10050792.This study uses an airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey, historical aerial photography and historical climate data to describe the character and dynamics of the Nogahabara Sand Dunes, a sub-Arctic dune field in interior Alaska’s discontinuous permafrost zone. The Nogahabara Sand Dunes consist of a 43-km2 area of active transverse and barchanoid dunes within a 3200-km2 area of vegetated dune and sand sheet deposits. The average dune height in the active portion of the dune field is 5.8 m, with a maximum dune height of 28 m. Dune spacing is variable with average crest-to-crest distances for select transects ranging from 66–132 m. Between 1952 and 2015, dunes migrated at an average rate of 0.52 m a−1. Dune movement was greatest between 1952 and 1978 (0.68 m a−1) and least between 1978 and 2015 (0.43 m a−1). Dunes migrated predominantly to the southeast; however, along the dune field margin, net migration was towards the edge of the dune field regardless of heading. Better constraining the processes controlling dune field dynamics at the Nogahabara dunes would provide information that can be used to model possible reactivation of more northerly dune fields and sand sheets in response to climate change, shifting fire regimes and permafrost thaw.Funding for this research was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey Land Change Science and Land Remote Sensing programs, the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service and the University of Alaska Fairbanks

Everything Is Drag: The Politics of Performing Beautiful Women in Cold War Chile

This dissertation examines productions, consumption, and performances of female bodies, genders, and sexualities in Chile under changing Cold War political regimes from 1950-1990. Drawing on deconstructionist and performance approaches, I consider the multiple, changing ways Cold War Chilean cisgender and transgender women performed their femininity as part of racialized nationalist projects, analyzing laws and government documents, contemporary print media, television, film, literature, cabaret and theater performances, and oral histories and testimonies of female, queer, and transgender Chileans, including cabaret artists and nightclub owners. My focus on nonreproductive sexuality tells a new story of women in Latin America, of queerness in Latin America, and of Chilean politics and civil rights. It also reveals race, sex, and gender constructions as transnational processes. Establishing the entertainment industry as a fundamental structure of power, I demonstrate the role of productive sexualities such as beauty culture, sexual performance, and nude magazines in providing education in femininity under democracy and dictatorship. I show that, despite drastic regime shifts, including the presidency of socialist Salvador Allende and the US backed right-wing dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, the elite maintained overarching continuities in policing heteronormative gender and sexuality and in the related sexualization of female bodies. Yet all Cold War Chilean governments also made space for- and enjoyed the performance of- alternative sexualities. The performance of essentialized aesthetic and behavioral markers of femininity was central to constructions of gender and sexuality for both cisgender and transgender women. Likewise, cisgender women and queer Chileans resisted and inverted normative notions of binary gender roles in public and private spaces throughout the Cold War period. By centering transgender communities in the history of sexuality and states and reframing sexual performance as potentially emancipatory rather than inherently exploitative, my work pushes beyond the usual scope of Latin American feminist scholarship, challenging cultural and scholarly paradigms about Latin American gender and sexual identities and their sources of power and influence

Variability in the practice of fertility preservation for patients with cancer

Fertility is important to women and men with cancer. While options for fertility preservation (FP) are available, knowledge regarding the medical application of FP is lacking. Therefore we examined FP practices for cancer patients among reproductive endocrinologists (REs). A 36 item survey was sent to board-certified REs. 98% of respondents reported counseling women with cancer about FP options. Oocyte and embryo cryopreservation were universally offered by these providers, but variability was noted in reported management of these cases-particularly for women with breast cancer. 86% of the respondents reported using letrozole during controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer to minimize patient exposure to estrogen. 49% of respondents who reported using letrozole in COS for patients with ER+ breast cancer reported that they would also use letrozole in COS for women with ER negative breast cancer. Variability was also noted in the management of FP for men with cancer. 83% of participants reported counseling men about sperm banking with 22% recommending against banking for men previously exposed to chemotherapy. Overall, 79% of respondents reported knowledge of American Society for Clinical Oncology FP guidelines-knowledge that was associated with providers offering gonadal tissue cryopreservation (RR 1.82, 95% CI 1.14-2.90). These findings demonstrate that RE management of FP in cancer patients varies. Although some variability may be dictated by local resources, standardization of FP practices and communication with treating oncologists may help ensure consistent recommendations and outcomes for patients seeking FP

BATCH REVERSE OSMOSIS: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS, MODEL VALIDATION, AND DESIGN IMPLICATIONS

In theory, batch reverse osmosis (RO) systems can achieve the lowest practical energy consumption by varying feed pressure over time. However, few batch RO syste ms have been built and operated. We have tested a bench-scale prototype of a true batch RO system using a bladder and a 2.5” (6.35 cm) spiral wound membrane element. Some practical issues in implementing batch RO include system start-up time, system depressurization, osmotic backwash during the reset phases, and lower permeate quality. This study is the first to validate batch models by measuring the hydraulic work of both the high pressure pump and the circulation pump. The experimental measurements agree well with the model (error ≤ 3 %) after accounting for concentration polarization. We used the validated model to calculate the energy savings of true batch systems at higher salinities and recovery ratios. We find that the energy savings achievable by true batch systems are less than previously thought, but still significant at relatively high recoveries. At 50% recovery of seawater feed, a batch RO plant could save 15% of the energy consumed by a continuous RO plant while still maintaining the same effective flux. Further studies should identify the additional costs associated with batch RO in order to identify the operating conditions where batch RO will be an economically favorable option compared to conventional continuous RO

Hemorrhagic Disease in Montana’s Wild Ruminants

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease and bluetongue virus have been documented in Montana for decades.  Montana has experienced localized and variable population declines in wild cervids when these outbreaks occur.  Transmission is seasonal in North America, with infection occurring in the late summer and fall.  In northern states, transmission ends once adult vectors cease activity with the onset of winter.  Montana is in an epidemic zone where outbreaks appear periodically and mortality events can be significant.  Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife health lab has tested samples from suspected outbreak events, research captures and opportunistically for detection of EHD and BTV.  Environmental factors and virus-vector-host interactions are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to improve our understanding of these orbivirus dynamics.  Enhanced reporting, surveillance, and research efforts are potential tools that may improve our understanding of the role these viruses play in wild ruminant populations across the state

Pathogen and host genotype differently affect pathogen fitness through their effects on different life-history stages

Abstract Background Adaptation of pathogens to their hosts depends critically on factors affecting pathogen reproductive rate. While pathogen reproduction is the end result of an intricate interaction between host and pathogen, the relative contributions of host and pathogen genotype to variation in pathogen life history within the host are not well understood. Untangling these contributions allows us to identify traits with sufficient genetic variation for selection to act and to identify mechanisms of coevolution between pathogens and their hosts. We investigated the effects of pathogen and host genotype on three life-history components of pathogen fitness; infection efficiency, latent period, and sporulation capacity, in the oat crown rust fungus, Puccinia coronata f.sp. avenae, as it infects oats (Avena sativa). Results We show that both pathogen and host genotype significantly affect total spore production but do so through their effects on different life-history stages. Pathogen genotype has the strongest effect on the early stage of infection efficiency, while host genotype most strongly affects the later life-history stages of latent period and sporulation capacity. In addition, host genotype affected the relationship between pathogen density and the later life-history traits of latent period and sporulation capacity. We did not find evidence of pathogen-by-host genotypic (GxG) interactions. Conclusion Our results illustrate mechanisms by which variation in host populations will affect the evolution of pathogen life history. Results show that different pathogen life-history stages have the potential to respond differently to selection by host or pathogen genotype and suggest mechanisms of antagonistic coevolution. Pathogen populations may adapt to host genotypes through increased infection efficiency while their plant hosts may adapt by limiting the later stages of pathogen growth and spore production within the host.</p