Harris County Mosquito Control Division (HCMCD) is responsible for surveillance of mosquito species that are vectors of St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) virus and West Nile Virus (WNV) within Harris County, Texas, including the Houston metroplex. The metroplex area has some unique attributes and a vast variety of environmental habitats that are attractive to vectors of arboviruses and for the transmission of arboviruses to the human population. Data describing the efficacy of Gravid (GV) and Underhouse (UH) CO2 traps were analyzed to determine if there is a significant difference between these two trap types with respect to the number of mosquitoes and the variety of mosquito species caught. This study was conducted during the off-peak HCMCD trapping season, to gain information in preparation for a yearround trapping program utilizing Underhouse CO2 traps for WNV and SLE virus surveillance. Adjusting for the week of collection, results suggest that Gravid traps caught significantly (P = 0.009) more mosquitoes (mean = 23.134 per trap) in the study area than Underhouse traps (mean = 3.616 per trap), and that Underhouse Traps caught a larger variety of mosquito species (n = 13) than Gravid Traps (n = 11), out of 15 total different species caught. Gravid and Underhouse traps caught 9 out of 15 of the same mosquito species during the study period. Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito catches in Gravid traps and temperature were strongly correlated (Spearman's Correlation Coefficient = 0.707, P = 0.005). Geographic Information System spatial analysis indicated clustering of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito catches in both Gravid traps, week 9 and 21 (Moran's I = 0.69, P = 0.040 and 0.74, P = 0.021, respectfully ) and Underhouse traps, week 13 and 19 (Moran's I = 0.92, P = 0.002, and 0.89, P = 0.011, respectfully). It is recommended that Harris County Mosquito Control Division continue to utilize gravid traps as a primary method of surveillance. Gravid traps (16,194) caught 85% more mosquitoes than Underhouse traps (2,531) over the fourteen week study period. Their overall success far outweighs the additional materials or labor required for their use in a successful surveillance program.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, page: 0341. Adviser: Luis Ostrosky. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-228). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Free radicals play a critical role in the formation of tropospheric air pollution, but current condensed chemical mechanisms used in gridded photochemical models under-predict total radical concentrations. This dissertation evaluates three hypotheses regarding radical sources and sinks using environmental chamber data and ambient data from southeast Texas. The first hypothesis, that aromatics chemistry is under-represented as a radical source in condensed chemical mechanisms, was evaluated mainly by using environmental chamber simulations and in part by using ambient simulations. Results indicate that improved characterization of aromatics chemistry in condensed chemical mechanisms will lead to more rapid and extensive free radical formation. The second hypothesis, that alkene reactions are under-represented as a radical source in condensed chemical mechanisms, was also evaluated using chamber data and TexAQS-2000 data. Results indicate that the methods used in mechanism condensation lead to lower estimates of free radical production than detailed, compound specific models. The third hypothesis, chlorine emissions and chemistry as a radical source, was also evaluated in a series of sensitivity analyses with various levels of molecular chlorine emissions. Results imply that incorporating chlorine chemistry in condensed chemical mechanisms is expected to lead to more accurate modeling of OH, HO₂ and O₃, particularly for the southeast Texas region where relatively large chlorine emissions occur from various anthropogenic sources of molecular chlorine. The relative magnitudes of these radical sources (aromatics, alkenes, and molecular chlorine) in southeast Texas were also compared using box modeling with TexAQS-2000 data. Results indicate that the relative importance of these three types of radical sources depends on the strengths of their corresponding emissions. / text

Light rail transit (LRT) systems are tools to help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, promote high-density development and more affordable housing, and curtail urban sprawl in metropolitan cities throughout the United States. The impact of transit system services on property values has been studied from various perspectives using many statistical approaches. There are two general categories of effects that proximity to a light rail system can have on the value of residential properties: accessibility benefits (experienced in close proximity to the LRT stations) might increase property values, while nuisance qualities (experienced in both proximity to the LRT line and stations) could have a negative effect on residential property values. Due to the opposing nature of these coexisting effects, results from many empirical studies have been contradictory or inconclusive. This report reviews the spectrum of results found by the growing body of literature focusing on the capitalization effects of rail stations on property values. The economic effect of one particular LRT system, the 7.5 mile long METRORail line located in Houston, Texas, on the value of properties within close proximity to rail stations has not been thoroughly examined, as it only opened for service in 2004. This study utilizes property data acquired from the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD), Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, and Hedonic Price Models to analyze the impact of the LRT system in the city of Houston, Texas, on the value of residential properties that lie within close proximity to the line’s rail stations. / text

Hip hop is a counter cultural movement that emerged in the 1970s in the South Bronx; it has since grown to be a global movement. It is a counter culture that emerges in the post-segregated, post-industrial, and globalized world. Since 2002, archival collections that document hip hop have manifested within academic institutions. Placing hip hop in academic institutions that have historically served as manifestations of hegemony can lead to codification and commodification. This case study examines the University of Houston Hip Hop Collection and explains the establishment of the archive using the cultural competence framework. It concludes that staff at the University of Houston is culturally competent. The case study suggests that building culturally competent archivists can be tool to ensuring representation within an archive of all facets of society.

Thesis (Dr. P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2008. / "May 2008." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: B, page: 0911. Adviser: Lu-Yu Hwang. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-169).

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2008. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, page: . Adviser: Charles E. Begley. Includes bibliographical references.