Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane in Tres Rios Constructed Wetlands

Description

Methane (CH4) is a prominent greenhouse gas that contributes to the negative impacts of global warming and climate change, whose emissions have more than doubled since the Industrial Revolution primarily due to anthropogenic sources. The main pathways in which methane

Methane (CH4) is a prominent greenhouse gas that contributes to the negative impacts of global warming and climate change, whose emissions have more than doubled since the Industrial Revolution primarily due to anthropogenic sources. The main pathways in which methane moves through the environment are methanogenesis and methanotrophy. Methane is primarily generated by acetoclastic methanogenesis in wetlands while it can be oxidized both aerobically and anaerobically. Wetlands are important methane emission sources at 177 - 284 Tg CH4 year-1. The Tres Rios Wetland (TRW) is a constructed facility to complete nutrient removal of treated municipal wastewater, and has shown low emissions of methane. Whether such low emissions could be achieved through active anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is not known, and the main objective of this work is to evaluate the rates of AOM in TRW. In this study an isotopic method and a mass balance method were utilized to determine the rate of AOM from top sediments found at Tres Rios at various locations and in two sets of sampling. The results showed that evidence of AOM occurred in the sediments of both sampling events conducted. The first sampling set showed evidence of AOM at all locations along a transect, showing that oxidation of methane is indeed occurring in Tres Rios sediments. Evidence from both methodologies suggested that high methanogenesis rates occurred at the outside location closest to the water. The second sampling set showed that the highest rate of AOM occurred at the outlet location, with the lowest rate occurring in the middle location. DNA extractions and PCR images resulted in a poor DNA yield, and inability to extract DNA. It was determined that the isotopic approach was less accurate than the mass balance approach due to unexpected delta CH4 values. It was determined that dilutions of CH4 ppm lead to less accurate isotopic measurements needed to estimate AOM rates using a 13C pulse technique. Literature review suggests that factors including water presence, temperature, redox potential, and plant presence can be influential in the oxidation of methane. This AOM assay can be beneficial in better understanding how methane cycles at Tres Rios, and can provide opportunities for future research in determining which factors influence the oxidation of methane in different locations throughout wetlands.

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

Macy Young Honors Thesis Defense.pdf

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Fertility of Women in Reproductive Ages:
Cross-sectional Study

Description

Background: Recent studies have shown a decline in birth rates in large metropolitan areas (after accounting for population), which can be possibly explained by barriers to reproduction associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns. Objective: This study’s objective was

Background: Recent studies have shown a decline in birth rates in large metropolitan areas (after accounting for population), which can be possibly explained by barriers to reproduction associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns. Objective: This study’s objective was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns on the fertility rates of women in reproductive ages living in Greater Phoenix. Methods: The total number of inpatient births and people in both Maricopa and Pinal Counties during pre-COVID-19 years (2017-2019) were compared with those during the COVID-19 years (2021) among women in reproductive ages (15-49 years). To make age-specific comparisons, women in reproductive years were divided into eight distinct age group categories (15-17, 18-20, and then five year age group categories to age 49) from which age-specific, general, and total fertility rates were calculated. Results: Using a two-sample z-test for difference in proportions, findings revealed that the general fertility rate in Greater Phoenix had significantly declined from 48 to 46 per 1,000 population from the pre-COVID-19 period to COVID-19 period (P<0.001). Two sample z-tests were also used to compare age-specific fertility rates, which revealed a significant decline in the fertility rate in women ages 15-17 (from 8.0/1000 to 5.0/1000) (P<0.001), 18-20 (from 43.0/1000 to 35.0/1000) (P<0.001), and 21-24 (from 79.0/1000 to 68.0/1000) (P<0.001) from the pre-COVID-19 period to COVID-19 period, while no significant change was observed in the fertility rate in women ages 25-49. Conclusions: The observed general fertility decline in Greater Phoenix as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic poses significant implications for further research on barriers to reproduction brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown measures. Another direction for further research involves possibly continuing this study to include years 2022 and 2023 in the COVID-19 period, as well as calculating age-specific fertility rates by race.

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

ANALYSIS OF FIGHT OUTCOMES IN THE UFC AND THE EFFICACY
OF PREDICTING FIGHT OUTCOMES ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO SPORTS BETTING

Description
In this study, models will be introduced which are developed from historical UFC data and aim to predict the fight outcomes between mixed martial arts fighters within the UFC. The paper will explore multivariate linear probability regression analysis using variables

In this study, models will be introduced which are developed from historical UFC data and aim to predict the fight outcomes between mixed martial arts fighters within the UFC. The paper will explore multivariate linear probability regression analysis using variables which were provided and developed from a large dataset to effectively predict the probability of a fighter winning a given fight. It will analyze several multivariate regression models and compare, internally, the accuracy of each model and account for limitations within the models. Then, the model’s efficacy will be tested by recent UFC fights and adjusted to find a more accurate equation that maximizes profit in sports betting using implied probability from betting odds and comparing them to the model’s predicted probabilities.
Date Created
2022-12
Agent

The Hidden Price: Mapping Human Rights Abuses Within 21st-Century Armed Conflict

Description
The Hidden Price is a website made as a creative thesis project that archives 21st-Century occurrences of international human rights abuses caused by armed conflict. The Hidden Price is accessible at TheHiddenPrice.com and features an interactive map with markers that

The Hidden Price is a website made as a creative thesis project that archives 21st-Century occurrences of international human rights abuses caused by armed conflict. The Hidden Price is accessible at TheHiddenPrice.com and features an interactive map with markers that each represent an individual instance of a record in the archive. The Hidden Price also contains pages of different country maps, a search builder to analyze the events, an exploration tab to view every record as posts, forms for users to submit their own experiences, research, suggestions, and more. That is for you to find out, so go forth and discover your own hidden price.
Date Created
2022-12
Agent

A Not-So-Deserted Microbial World: The Microbiome of the Western Black Widow Spider (Latrodectus hesperus)

Description
With increasing urbanization, organisms face a myriad of novel ecological challenges. While the eco-evolutionary dynamics of urbanization are currently receiving a great deal of attention, the effect of urban disturbance on the microbiome of urban organisms is relatively unstudied. Indeed,

With increasing urbanization, organisms face a myriad of novel ecological challenges. While the eco-evolutionary dynamics of urbanization are currently receiving a great deal of attention, the effect of urban disturbance on the microbiome of urban organisms is relatively unstudied. Indeed, studies of the microbiome may illuminate the mechanisms by which some species thrive after urbanization (pest implications), while other species go locally extinct (biodiversity implications). We investigated the gut microbiome of the Western black widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus). L. hesperus is an ideal model system as they are a pest species of medical importance in urban ecosystems, often forming dense urban infestations relative to the sparse populations found in their native Sonoran Desert. To gain insight into the composition of the microbiome in L. hesperus and its potential function, we sampled 4 urban, 4 desert, and 2 laboratory-reared spiders, and high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region was used to investigate the diversity of gut microbiota. Dominant bacterial phyla across all samples were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. While desert widows showed more gut microbial diversity than urban widows, the difference was not statistically significant. The relative abundance of taxonomic classes Blastocatellia, Acidobacteriia, and Thermoleophilia detected in desert spiders was especially higher than those in urban and laboratory-reared spiders. However, urban spiders had a higher relative abundance of taxonomic class Actinomycetia. Differences in widow gut microbiome diversity improves our understanding of how features unique to a habitat, like prey diversity and soil microbes, may be shaping their microbiome. Additionally, this work further highlights the impact urbanization has on biodiversity loss, which indirectly develops a new biomarker for differentiating between urban and desert black widow spiders based on their gut microbiome.
Date Created
2022-12
Agent

Identifying Discrepancies Between Entry-Level Cybersecurity Industry Positions and Cybersecurity Bachelor's Degree Program Learning Objectives

Description

When one pursues a Bachelor's degree they are generally under the impression that the degree they are after will provide them with the necessary skills and knowledge to enter their career at entry-level. This is not the case for all

When one pursues a Bachelor's degree they are generally under the impression that the degree they are after will provide them with the necessary skills and knowledge to enter their career at entry-level. This is not the case for all students in every degree program. Many times Bachelor's degree holders find it difficult to enter the field. The goal of this paper is to identify gaps or discrepancies between Arizona State University's (ASU’s) Applied Computing (ACO) - Cybersecurity program's learning objectives and industry requirements for entry-level positions in the cybersecurity industry. The data used in this textual analysis were gathered from several popular employment websites and ACO course syllabi. Using this relatively small data pool several gaps were identified between the cybersecurity industry; the private and public sectors job listing requirements; and ASU's ACO course objectives. By analyzing the gaps found in the data, I have been able to provide many suggestions for ASU and some for the cybersecurity industry to implement to better prepare ACO students for entry-level cybersecurity industry positions.

Date Created
2022-12
Agent

The Instability of Life: Growing as a Philosopher, Scientist, and Woman

166216-Thumbnail Image.png
Description

Throughout the year I had the opportunity to work on a business venture that utilized dendrites as a unique identifier. Dendrites themselves are completely unique, random, branching structures that occur everywhere in nature. This creative project was inspired by the

Throughout the year I had the opportunity to work on a business venture that utilized dendrites as a unique identifier. Dendrites themselves are completely unique, random, branching structures that occur everywhere in nature. This creative project was inspired by the shape of the dendrite and I created a series of 12 paintings reflecting on my own unique college journey.

Date Created
2022-05
Agent

Analyzing the Biochemical Properties of Ancient Remedies and Their Uses
in Modern Wound Care

166189-Thumbnail Image.png
Description

Wounds are a routine, daily reality. It is a testament of the ingenuity of our ancestors to have survived minor or major wounds without the benefit of 21st century techniques or knowledge. They had to design innovative methods for treating

Wounds are a routine, daily reality. It is a testament of the ingenuity of our ancestors to have survived minor or major wounds without the benefit of 21st century techniques or knowledge. They had to design innovative methods for treating injuries through deadly trial and error as well as observation with which modern people must no longer concern themselves. Human beings have long survived without the help of modern, Western medicine through the use ancient remedies. Some of these methods included the use of honey, silver, and leeches. However, these ancient remedies were held in high esteem for good reasons, and in fact, some of these methods are still being used today due to their effectiveness. This thesis serves to inspect the historical background and current uses of these ancient remedies while also inspecting the biochemical properties that preserved their place in modern, Western medicine. Lastly, student experiments were designed based on this research to educate students on biochemical reactions that occur between these ancient remedies and the human body.

Date Created
2022-05
Agent