Johnson County Hospital was a hospital located in Mountain City, TN that existed from 1972 until its final closure in 1998. The hospital faced multiple financial challenges during its existence and was forced to close three times. In 1988 it closed for the penultimate time, and as it had in the past, it counted on the community, local business and local government to reopen the hospital. Three local businessmen were particularly dedicated to reopening the county hospital and reached out to East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and their newly formed College of Medicine. A partnership was formed between the community and ETSU to open a rural campus to educate medical, nursing, public health and allied health students. This rural campus was made a reality through the Kellogg Grant awarded to ETSU in 1991 and was expanded to include graduate medical education in 1996. This collaboration between the community, local businesses, local government and ETSU was able to reopen the hospital in 1992 and jump-started interprofessional education at ETSU which is continued today in the form of the Academic Health Sciences Center and the Interprofessional Education Program.

Land-use, feeding habits, and response to seasonality by Quaternary megaherbivores in Saltville, Virginia, is poorly understood. Stable isotope analyses of serially sampled Bootherium and Equus enamel from Saltville were used to explore seasonally calibrated (δ18O) patterns in megaherbivore diet (δ13C) and land-use (87Sr/86Sr). Overall, this dataset suggests an open forest with relatively constant temperatures year round that were similar to modern conditions. Neither Bootherium or Equus individuals spent a significant amount of time at higher elevations in the nearby Blue Ridge geologic province. These analyses provide a unique perspective on long-term response of large mammals to climatic shifts and their impact on local ecosystems. Results are also relevant to modern conservation decisions, especially those surrounding highland grassy balds in the Appalachians, and their maintenance by grazing pressure.

More than 100 landslides have been mapped along the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains. Large landslide deposits are up to 4.6 kilometers long and have an area of approximately 5-9 km². Landslide types include multiple and successive rock slumps, debris slumps and debris flows. Most landslides have a main head scarp in the Bishop Conglomerate and the large landslides have many minor scarps. Multiple slump blocks are manifest by repeated transverse ridges and trenches in the head area of some landslides. Most body and toe areas are deeply incised by gully erosion (up to 91 meters deep) and drainages are well developed with little ponding. Detailed mapping of the large landslides shows that the deposits are an accumulation of successive slope failures that have continually eroded the landscape over time. Many landslides in the area appear to be inactive and dormant but slopes may continue to fail particularly if landslides are disturbed. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to analyse slope failing factors and the main factor that seems to have contributed to slope failure is the presence of abundant shale-rich, weak bedrock capped with the thick and fairly resistant Bishop Conglomerate. Slopes are further destabilized as water percolates down through the porous Bishop Conglomerate. Eventually the water meets underlying shale-rich bedrock where it is channelled near this contact until it emerges as springs. This groundwater flow likely reduces shear strength of the shale-rich substrate and of some of the finer grained layers in the Bishop Conglomerate. Other important slope failure factors include the removal of easily erodable Mesozoic shales from beneath the more-resistant Bishop Conglomerate, headward gully erosion, bedrock dip and slope aspect.

Springs in the Ash Meadows, Nevada wetland area are discharging groundwater at a high volume that cannot be sustained by local, present-day precipitation and associated recharge. Previous groundwater flow models for this region have required groundwater to flow through complex geology for long distances (160km) through fractures that, in the current stress field, should be closed in many instances in the presumed flow direction. This thesis examines several possible flow paths and evaluates each flow path using chemical and isotopic signatures in the water, as well as geologic and geophysical constraints, and determines that flow from beneath the Yucca Mountain area is the most viable source of groundwater for the springs at Ash Meadows. Isotopic signatures also indicate that recharge likely occurred during the last pluvial, a cooler, wetter period about 13,000 or more years ago, and that present-day water is discharging from storage. Geophysical investigations show the relationship of a deep-seated crustal feature (the Gravity Fault) with shallow offset faults near the Ash Meadows springs. The damage zone of the Gravity Fault appears to provide a conduit for groundwater flow; the north-south fractures should have the greatest aperture under the current stress field, and the buried tufa mounds (revealed with ground penetrating radar data) indicate localized upwelling from a deeper regional water source.

The Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations are significant gas producers in the southern Uinta Basin of Utah. To date, however, predicting the stratigraphic distribution and lateral extent of potential gas-bearing channel sandstone reservoirs in these fluvial units has proven difficult due to their complex architecture, and the limited spacing of wells in the region. A new strategy to correlate the Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations has been developed using core, well-log, and 3D seismic data. The detailed stratigraphy and sedimentology of the interval were interpreted using descriptions of a near continuous core of the Dakota Formation from the study area. The gamma-ray and density-porosity log signatures of interpreted mud-dominated overbank, coal-bearing overbank, and channel sandstone intervals from the cored well were used to identify the same lithologies in nearby wells and correlate similar stratal packages across the study area. Data from three 3D seismic surveys covering approximately 140 mi2 (225 km2) of the study area were utilized to generate spectral decomposition, waveform classification, and percent less-than-threshold attributes of the Dakota-Cedar Mountain interval. These individual attributes were combined to create a composite attribute that was merged with interpreted lithological data from the well-log correlations. The overall process resulted in a high-resolution correlation of the Dakota-Cedar Mountain interval that permitted the identification and mapping of fluvial-channel reservoir fairways and channel belts throughout the study area. In the future, the strategy employed in this study may result in improved well-success rates in the southern Uinta Basin and assist in more detailed reconstructions of the Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formation depositional systems.

Numerous well-preserved, exhumed paleochannels in the Morrison, Cedar Mountain and Dakota Sandstone formations are exposed east of Castle Dale, Utah. These channels consist primarily of point bar complexes and scattered, low sinuosity channels. To determine the vertical and lateral relationships of these channels within the Cedar Mountain and Dakota Sandstone formations, a 1:24,000 scale geologic map covering ~140 km2 was created showing the fluvial sandstones. In the study area the Cedar Mountain Formation consists, from bottom to top, of 2.5-10 m of Buckhorn Conglomerate Member equivalent units, ~80 m of the Ruby Ranch Member, and ~30 m of the Mussentuchit Member. The Dakota Sandstone consists of conglomeratic to sandy, meandering channel fills within the Mussentuchit Member. The Ruby Ranch-Mussentuchit member contact is diagnosed as the top of a laterally extensive, ~10 meter thick, maroon paleosol with calcrete horizons and root traces. When deeply weathered the contact is discernable as a shift from maroon mudstone to a pale green-white, silty mudstone. Like the balance of the Mussentuchit Member overbank deposits, the white-green mudstone is rich in smectitic clays. In the southern one-third of the mapped area, Ruby Ranch Member sandstones are thin, discontinuous channel segments surrounded by floodplain deposits. In the middle to northern area, point bar complexes dominate, some of which are laterally amalgamated. Flow direction data from four meander complexes and a low sinuosity channel indicate an average northeast flow. Dakota Sandstone channels all of which are within the Mussentuchit Member also flowed to the northeast but point bar complexes are both more numerous and more laterally continuous than in the Ruby Ranch Member, indicating deposition in an area with less accommodation space than during Ruby Ranch Member time. The data indicate the Dakota Sandstone consists exclusively of fluvial sandstones encased within the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation. Therefore, these units are coeval and simply different facies of the same depositional system. Consequently the Mussentuchit Member is considered a member facies of the Dakota Formation.

Pantosteus, a subgenus of Catostomus, includes the mountain sucker (Catostomus playthyrnchus), whose speculated older origins in the Miocene/Pliocene can provide insight into the ancient geographical events of western North America. We believe that major geologic events influencing the diversification of mountain suckers include the rise of the Colorado Plateau, the connections between the ancient Snake River system and the Lahontan system and subsequently the connection of the Snake River system to the Columbia Basin, dispersal of mountain suckers across the continental divide, as well as the Pleistocene Bonneville flood. If this is true, we should see evidence of geologic separation and timing through studying the phylogenetics of the mountain sucker. In order to clarify relationships of the mountain sucker with respect to other Pantosteus species, we examined cytochrome b (cyt b) sequences for 144 mountain suckers, 24 other Pantosteus species, and ten outgroup species. Phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes were constructed based on maximum likelihood and Bayesian criterion. In an effort to provide better resolution at some nodes, we also sequenced additional mitochondrial genes (ND1, ND2, ATPase, ND4L, ND4, ND5, ND6, and cyt b) for a subset of 44 individuals taken from the major clades obtained from the cyt b phylogentic analyses. Trees from this data set were also constructed under maximum likelihood and Bayesian criterion. All phylogenetic analysis revealed that mountain sucker are paraphyletic, with two major clades of mountain suckers separated by other members of the subgenus Pantosteus. One clade included two sub-clades, one from the upper Snake River drainage/northern Bonneville/Green River drainage Basins and the other from the southern Bonneville Basin. The other major clade included sub-clades from the Lahontan Basin, Columbia River Basin, and Upper Missouri River Basin. Molecular clock analysis revealed that Pantosteus likely split from Catostomus during the Miocene and that major speciation events within Pantosteus occurred during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Genetic structuring and gene flow estimates for mountain sucker populations, with groupings based on major drainage basins, were calculated with AMOVA and Fst estimates in Arlequin and revealed that most of the genetic structuring was explained by variation among drainage basins with limited gene flow occurring between drainage basins. Based on this study, the role of the Colorado Plateau's geologic history in the evolution of the mountain sucker remains unclear. However, all other geologic events as discussed in this study seem to have played a significant role in the evolution of the mountain sucker.

Moab, located in southeastern Utah, began as an agricultural village, in accordance with the economy of early Utah. However, Moab's growth was limited by a restricted physical site. The purpose of this study is to trace the development of the economic functions of Moab in relation to its resource base. Despite the physical limitations of the area, agriculture remained the chief economic activity up to the mid-twentieth century. Periodic booms in speculative mining were only temporary and not significant to the permant economy of the community.However, in the 1950s, a spectacular uranium boom brought unprecedented growth to the town. As the uranium boom slackened, economic and population decline threatened the town's new status. Potash production and tourist-service industries emerged to buoy up the sagging economy. Although the economy was aided by the addition of other activities, the sectors of the economy still remained disproportionately unbalanced in comparison to the norm. The future economic stability of the community remains questionable unless balance can be attained.

A method for tuning the spring rate and damping rate of a mountain bike suspension based on a data-driven procedure is presented. The design and development of a custom data acquisition system, known as the "MTB DAQ," capable of measuring acceleration data at the front and rear axles of a bike are discussed. These data are input into a model that is used to calculate the vertical acceleration and pitching angular acceleration response of the bike and rider. All geometric and dynamic properties of the bike and rider system are measured and built into the model. The model is tested and validated using image processing techniques. A genetic algorithm is implemented with the model and used to calculate the best spring rate and damping rate of the mountain bike suspension such that the vertical and pitching accelerations of the bike and rider are minimized for a given trail. Testing is done on a variety of different courses and the performance of the bike when tuned to the results of the genetic algorithm is discussed. While more fine tuning of the model is possible, the results show that the genetic algorithm and model accurately predict the best suspension settings for each course necessary to minimize the vertical and pitching accelerations of the bike and rider.

Uppsatsens syffte är att undersöka hur pandemin har påverkat utvecklingen av poppulära fjälorter, specifikt Åre och Funnäsfjällen, samt hur rörelse- och flyttmönster har sett ut på dessa orter till föld av pandemin.