The processes and interactions that determine the width of a river channel remain a fundamental area of investigation in geomorphology. An increasing appreciation of the capacity of riparian vegetation to alter fluvial processes, and thus influence channel form, has highlighted the need to include vegetation in these analyses. However, a disconnect exists between the small spatial and temporal scales over which the linkages among flow patterns, sediment, and plants are evaluated and the larger spatial and temporal scales in which river systems operate. In this dissertation, I strove to identify some of the key mechanisms by which vegetation affects channel width. I worked to reconcile the issue of scale by developing a novel tool that resolves patch-scale (sub-meter) patterns of hydraulic roughness over the reach scale. While the approach can be generalized to evaluate any vegetated floodplain, the multi-scalar model was specifically applied to stands dominated by the non-native riparian shrub, tamarisk, that invaded the riparian corridor of southwestern US rivers during the past century. I focused my analyses on the lower Yampa River in western Colorado. Tamarisk colonized the Yampa in the absence of other environmental perturbations. As a result, adjustments to channel form may be linked to an altered vegetation community. From a careful geomorphic and vegetation reconstruction of the Yampa, I determined that tamarisk was the driving force in channel narrowing. Application of the multi-scalar model of vegetation resistance to the Yampa enabled me to reconstruct the changing hydraulic conditions as tamarisk established and the channel narrowed over time. This hydraulic reconstruction furthered our understanding of the interactions among vegetation recruitment patterns, the increased hydraulic resistance, and the changing flow and sediment transport field. Positive feedbacks between vegetation and geomorphic change created additional areas within the channel where tamarisk could establish, and thus accelerated the rate of channel narrowing. However, these feedbacks also changed the importance of common and large floods for vegetation establishment and sediment transport. Application of this process-based understanding to future flow regimes will help managers anticipate locations along the channel that are susceptible to vegetation encroachment and changes to channel width.

Corn (Zea mays L.) hectarage has increased rapidly in Utah and Idaho in recent years due to expansion of the dairy industry, but little is known about corn production practices that optimize yield and quality of silage corn in semi-arid irrigated cropping systems. The objective of this study was to determine the dry matter yield and quality effects of corn hybrids grown in different plant densities and row widths in the Intermountain West. Field experiments were conducted under irrigation in 2015 and 2016 at locations near North Logan, Utah and Jerome, Idaho. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in a split-split plot arrangement with four replications. The whole plot treatment was hybrid (DKC 49-29, DKC 56-54, and DKC 61-88), the sub-plot treatment was row width (76 and 51-cm), and the sub-sub plot treatment was plant density (61,776 to 123,552 plants ha-1 at intervals of 12,355 plants ha-1). The 51-cm row width resulted in forage dry matter yield increases of 4-7% over corn in 76-cm rows. Hybrids differed in response to row width, with no difference detected for the 99-RM hybrid but a significant yield increase for the 106- and 111-RM hybrids by planting in narrow rows. Yield increased quadratically as plant population increased from 61,776 to 123,552 plants ha-1 for all hybrids. The only forage nutritive value that was influenced by row spacing was crude protein (CP), where the 76-cm row spacing showed a 4.5% advantage over the 51-cm row width. Starch increased approximately 3% from the lowest to highest plant densities tested. Net returns showed possible positive increases when comparing row width adjustments. Silage corn yield and quality in the Intermountain West appears to be optimized in 51-cm rows at a plant population between 86,487 and 98,842 plants ha-1.

Glomerular derangement is the major feature of a diverse array of kidney disorders that lead to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Podocyte dysfunction is central to the underlying pathophysiology of many common glomerular diseases, including diabetic nephropathy (DN), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), minimal change disease (MCD), and genetic forms of nephrotic syndrome, and is associated with heavy proteinuria. Loss of podocyte foot process structure, or effacement, is the key feature of podocyte injury in these proteinuric glomerular disorders, also called "podocytopathies". However, the degree of effacement can vary: For instance, it is very disseminated (diffuse) in minimal change disease, but more variable (segmental) in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Recent work has shown that nephrin, ROBO2, and SLIT2 are proteins implicated in these podocyte foot process effacement and podocytopathy. We sought to evaluate changes in the expression of these proteins using immunofluorescence microscopy, and the degree of foot process effacement in podocytopathies using ultrastructural morphometry. In podocytopathies, we saw increased expression of ROBO2 and decreased expression of nephrin indicating that, upregulation of ROBO2 may lead to podocyte injury and podocyte injury may result in loss of nephrin. In addition, SLIT2, which binds ROBO2, was found in tubules and in glomeruli. A higher degree of geometric mean foot process width was vii observed in podocytopathies as compared to normal kidney. These findings can be used in the clinical setting to diagnose and monitor disease treatment. / 2024-02-07T00:00:00Z

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No description available.

Compared to other instruments for chemical analyses, electrochemical analyzers are relatively simple, inexpensive, easy to miniaturize and require little-to-no maintenance. However, like all commercially available instruments, commercial electrochemical analyzers like potentiostats primarily operate as black boxes with manufacturers providing little or no information about internal circuitry and programming. This practice can limit a researcher’s ability to develop new techniques or adapt an instrument for applications outside its typical use. In contrast, creators of open-source instruments release all the necessary information for reproduction of the hardware and software – minimizing such barriers to innovation in chemical analyses. Here, we report a low-cost, compact potentiostat based on an open-source Arduino microcontroller capable of performing electrochemical analyses such as cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry with an operating range of ± 208 𝜇A and ± 2.5 V. Performance of the potentiostat is investigated with low-cost pencil graphite electrodes and compared to a commercial potentiostat.

Introduction: Orthodontic and orthopedic expansion is necessary to create space to resolve crowding due to arch deficiency or tooth size discrepancy. The Invisalign First clear aligner appliance as a modality for early interceptive orthodontic treatment has become incorporated into orthodontic practices in very recent years. The present study aims to investigate the magnitude of expansion of the Invisalign First clear aligner appliance compared to a Schwartz removable expander in patients with mixed dentition. Additionally, the study aims to compare the efficacy and predictability of Invisalign First clear aligners in this population. Materials & Methods: In this retrospective study, a sample was collected from a single orthodontist practitioner. The sample consisted of 34 patients, 16 patients treated with Invisalign First clear aligners only (Group1) and 19 patients treated with a Schwartz removable appliance and Invisalign First clear aligners (Group 2). Intraoral scans of four timepoints, initial (T1), post-expansion for Group 2 only (T1Exp), first refinement (T2), and final (T3), and planned Clincheck goal (P) model from Clincheck software were imported to Align Technology’s digital measure program (Quantify©). Arch widths and molar inclinations were measured at each timepoint and the changes between timepoints were calculated. Predictability of arch expansion was calculated as T13 (change between initial and final) divided by the Planned dimension multiplied by one hundred. A two sample t-test was used to assess differences in the changes in arch widths and predictability of expansion between two groups. Results: There were statistically significant differences found in the magnitude of expansion and predictability of arch expansion between two groups. Group 2 showed a greater amount of expansion and predictability. Group 1 showed about 50-60% of the planned expansion at the end of treatment. In regards to magnitude of expansion when comparing the two groups, the efficacy predictability of transverse dimensional changes were significantly greater in the Group 2 compared to Group 1, 83% vs 56% (p = 0.001), respectively. The changes in inclination were similar in both groups, with no statistically significant differences.Conclusions: There is a significantly greater amount of expansion and greater predictability with the Schwartz removable appliance compared to the Invisalign First clear aligner appliance in the mixed dentition. The predictability of Invisalign First was 56% and indicates a significant overcorrection of arch expansion is required at the virtual treatment planning stage in Clincheck in order to obtain the arch expansion that was planned

Cycling contributes to public health because it requires physical effort [1] and offers economic and environmental advantages over motorized transport [2]. However, 41,000 cyclists die every year in traffic crashes, 3% of the total worldwide [3]. Most fatal bicycle crashes are collisions with motor vehicles. Severe injuries among cyclists, however, are mostly due to single bicycle crashes and their numbers are increasing [4, 5]. An international review showed that the share of hospitalised casualties due to single-bicycle crashes varied from 3% to 41 % of the total number of hospitalised casualties [ 6]. ... The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between cycle track width and lateral position. We conducted an experiment in which the cycle track width was manipulated to determine its effect on lateral position. The results have been compared with previous findings from literature. [From: Introduction]

In an average year more than 1.7 million people will experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the United States. It is known that atrophy occurs across a spectrum for TBI patients, ranging from mild to severe. Current conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods are inconsistent in detecting this atrophy on the milder end of the spectrum. Also more contemporary imaging tools, although efficient, are too time consuming for clinical applicability. It is for these reasons that a quick and efficient measurement for detecting this atrophy is needed by clinicians. The measuring of third ventricle width had the potential to be this measurement, since it is known that ventricular dilation is an indirect measure of brain atrophy. This study used two different data sets acquired at multiple sites. A total of 152 TBI patients' MRI scans were analyzed with diagnosis ranging from mild to severe. They have been age matched with 97 orthopedic injury controls. All scans were analyzed using Freesurfer® auto-segmentation software to acquire cortical, subcortical, and ventricular volumes. These metrics were then used as a standard of efficacy which we tested the new third ventricle width protocol against. There was no statistically significant difference between the overall TBI group and OI group (Welch's F(1,238.435) = 1.091, p= .267). The complicated mild injury subgroup was significantly increased from the mild subgroup (p= .001, d= .87). The grand average third ventricle width measurement was the best prognosticator of all measures analyzed despite only predicting 35.1% of cases correctly. The findings suggest that the third ventricle width measurement is insensitive to atrophy between all groups as hypothesized.

Every year there are numerous cases of individuals becoming lost in remote wilderness environments. Principles of search theory have become a foundation for developing more efficient and successful search and rescue methods. Measurements can be taken that describe how easily a search object is to detect. These estimates allow the calculation of the probability of detection—the probability that an object would have been detected if in the area. This value only provides information about the search area as a whole; it does not provide details about which portions were searched more thoroughly than others. Ground searchers often carry portable GPS devices and their resulting GPS track logs have recently been used to fill in part of this knowledge gap. We created a system that provides a detection likelihood map that estimates the probability that each point in a search area was seen well enough to detect the search object if it was there. This map will be used to aid ground searchers as they search an assigned area, providing real time feedback of what has been "seen." The maps will also assist incident commanders as they assess previous searches and plan future ones by providing more detail than is available by viewing GPS track logs.