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  Exploring the Relationship Between Accreditation and For-Profit Higher Education Institutions

  Parkman, Amanda Lee (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  This paper explores the relationship between for-profit higher education institutions and accreditation. Two sets of research questions are examined. The first set of research questions looks at the characteristics of for-profits regionally accredited versus nationally accredited. The second set of research questions looks at the characteristics of for-profits that keep accreditation versus those who lose accreditation. Analysis is conducted using panel longitudinal data that has been merged together from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the Office of Federal Student Aid, and the Postsecondary Education Participation System (PEPS). Both descriptive statistics and logistic regressions are used to explore the hypotheses in this paper. The findings contribute to the field’s understanding of for-profits and accreditation. This paper found in general for-profits are not losing accreditation. Regionally accreditors in particular are not revoking accreditation. Larger for-profits are more likely to be regionally accredited. Revenue, enrollment, and number of campuses, in particular seem to keep institutions from losing accreditation. Policy continues to be created (or reversed) to address concerns over for-profits but it has done so without enough statistical analysis to backup those decisions. The relationship between for-profits and accreditation is mutually beneficial and therefore needs to be further researched and addressed.
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  Might Recycled Water Inhibit Toxin-Producing Cyanobacteria?

  Lynch, Robert

  Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, is a phytoplankton phylum found in surface water bodies worldwide. For decades, blue-green algae has caused severe aesthetic water quality problems and induced water deoxygenation, leading to fish kills and other detrimental outcomes. Furthermore, some cyanobacterial genera, most notably several Microcystis species, are known to produce hepatotoxic peptides known as microcystins. Such toxin production is of critical and increasing public health concern, as hepatotoxic cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater lakes and streams have been implicated in human and animal sickness, and even death. Studies have correlated increased toxin production to enhanced temperature, nutrient concentrations, and light intensity, but research results examining microcystin toxin production in response to environmental stimuli have rarely been conclusive outside of the laboratory or over multiple seasons. Our research implemented advanced molecular techniques (real-time quantitative PCR) to detect and quantify cyanobacterial genes (CYAN) and toxin synthetase genes (mcyD) in water samples collected from a recycled water retention pond and a groundwater-filled pond. Water samples also underwent chemical and physical analyses to identify factors correlating to decreased toxin synthesis. Our results show similar concentrations of CYAN in both ponds but lower concentrations (sometimes below limits of detection) of mcyD levels in the recycled water retention pond. LC-MSMS showed average toxin concentrations of 6.702 ± 0.067 µg L-1 in the groundwater-filled pond while toxins were undetectable (detection limit ≥ 3 ppt) in the recycled water retention pond. Levels of mcyD in the groundwater pond were negatively correlated (p ≤ 0.05) with Cr52, a find that has been paralleled in previous research. Concentrations of Fe56 were significantly lower in the groundwater pond (p ≤ 0.05), suggesting iron-limitation may have been a contributing factor to microcystin-biosynthesis. Knowledge of the regulation of microcystin toxin biosynthesis may facilitate implementation of water management strategies to avoid environmental conditions that induce dangerous water quality conditions.
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  Novel Pad Conditioning and Slurry Dispense Methods in Chemical Mechanical Planarization

  Stuffle, Calliandra (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The first part of this study investigates the pad surface generated by conditioning with three different CVD-coated diamond discs and the corollary effect on polishing performance in copper CMP. The discs that were used had significantly different micro-structures with varying degrees of aggressiveness. Confocal microscopy was used to study the pad surface after the polishing experiments had been performed, where the contact area, contact density and surface topography were analyzed. The most aggressive disc generated a pad surface with the most contact area, contact density and the tallest asperities. These parameters decreased as the aggressiveness of the disc decreased. Thermal, tribological, and kinetic aspects of copper polishing were also investigated. The pad surface generated by the most aggressive disc produced the highest material removal rates. However, the pad surface generated by the least aggressive disc produced a slightly elevated coefficient of friction and mean pad temperature when compared to the other pad surfaces, most likely due to fluid suction caused by the glazed pad surface. Analysis of the chemical and mechanical rate constants indicated that this process was chemically limited for all P × V investigated. The second part of this study analyzed the thermal, tribological and kinetic aspects of the new and developing area of cobalt “buff step” CMP. A process-specific combination of consumables and polishing settings were used to investigate the removal of silicon dioxide in order to better characterize the second step of cobalt polishing in middle of the line (MOL) applications, where the overburden of deposited cobalt had already been polished away, and residual cobalt, along with the liner, needed to be completely removed. This was realized by polishing some of the surrounding dielectric in the “buff step”. Our study showed that the removal rate of the oxide and the mean pad temperature increased with increasing P × V, while the coefficient of friction remained relatively constant, indicating a “boundary lubrication” tribological mechanism. A well-established modified two-step Langmuir-Hinshelwood model was used, for the first time for this set of consumables, to simulate the removal rate data, which yielded chemical and mechanical rate constants. These results indicated that the process was mechanically limited for almost all polishing parameters investigated, except for the most elevated P × V. The final part of this study continued work on the cobalt “buff step” for MOL applications by investigating the use of a novel slurry injection system (SIS) developed by our research group. The tests compared the effect of using the SIS versus the point application (PA) method for three different slurry flow rates at constant pressure and velocity. Higher silicon dioxide removal rates were realized by using the SIS for each flow rate, in comparison to those generated by the PA method. For both methods, the removal rate and coefficient of friction increased with increasing flow rate, while the mean pad temperature remained relatively constant. Similar removal rates were measured for the SIS versus PA at different flow rates, indicating that a 25 to 33% reduction in slurry consumption could be realized by implementing the SIS. A subtle yet critical change was made to the two-step Langmuir-Hinshelwood to account for the chemical effects of fresh slurry dilution by residual rinse water and spent slurry. A nearly three-fold reduction in the root mean squared error between the experimental and simulated removal rates was achieved by addressing these chemical effects, while leaving all other optimized parameters constant from the successful simulation of the removal rate data from part two of this study which used the same set of consumables but one constant flow rate and PA method.
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  Causes of Organ Rejection in Kidney Transplantation and a New Proposed Strategy to Improve Survival of the Graft

  Abdelhabib, Mohamed (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The kidney is an essential organ that serves a crucial role in preserving homeostasis by filtering blood, regulating fluid levels and maintaining acid/base balance. Any extensive damage to the main unit of the kidney, the nephron, will cause several complications. There are multiple etiologies of kidney injury and they are classified as either acute or chronic. Acute causes are usually easier to treat and the damage resulting from it can be reversed. However, in chronic cases the injury to the kidney might be too severe to the point that renal replacement therapy is recommended. The two options of kidney replacement available are dialysis and kidney transplant. This review will focus on the complications of kidney transplant and ways to increase survival of the graft. The biggest concern with transplantation is rejection of the organ. Rejection usually happens due to immunological response against the graft. That is why pre-operative measures are taken to try to match the donor to the recipient as much as possible. The process involves matching major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and blood antigens. These two molecules are the most important in matching as they play a role in the immune response. The function of MHC in the immune system is to present self and foreign antigens to immune cells. Once immune cells are activated against antigens from the graft, rejection can occur.. Organ rejections involves both the innate and adaptive arms of immunity. Nonetheless, the involvement of adaptive immunity in transplant rejection is better understood. With the adaptive immunity, there are two pathways of rejection, direct and indirect. The direct pathway is where immune cells within the graft present antigens to the recipient’s immune cell to initiate the attack. On the other hand, the indirect pathway is where the recipient’s immune cells recognize antigens from the transplanted organs as foreign and activate the immune system to attack the transplanted organ. Since rejection is mostly an immunological process, the current drug therapies suppress the immune system to increase survival of the graft. These drugs target the activation of immune cells and their proliferation. The new strategy for treatment proposed here is to increase survival of the graft through blockade of MHC-I presentation. The proposed method is to target antigen presentation by MHC-I through a mechanism that is similar to the ICP-47 Herpes Simplex Virus protein that inhibits the function of TAP proteins in antigen presentation. Such a strategy would increase survival of the graft by reducing the effects of the direct pathway of rejection.
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  Sex Ratios in Haplodiploid Herbivores (Aleyrodidae and Thysanoptera): A Review and Tools for Study

  Bondy, Elizabeth Canlas (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Studies confirming adaptive sex allocation, or a flexible relative investment in males and females, have been extensive in Hymenoptera, and have been used to predict the quality of biological control agents, to theorize how eusociality is maintained, and to predict population dynamics. Most hymenopterans are haplodiploid, in which females are derived from fertilized eggs and males from unfertilized eggs, so haplodiploid mothers may have a greater ability to adaptively adjust sex allocation. Thysanoptera and Aleyrodidae are also haplodiploid organisms, many of them being important agricultural pests, but less comprehensive studies on sex allocation have been performed with these taxa. Both taxa are also mostly herbivorous, drawing in new elements that may affect sex allocation patterns. This review is a summary of all studies of Aleyrodidae and Thysanoptera sex ratios as affected by temperature, host plant and nutrition, conspecifics, competitors, bacterial and viral endosymbionts, predators, parasitoids and other pathogens. Sex ratio influences were found in studies testing effects of temperature, host plant, conspecifics, competitors, bacterial endosymbionts and a fungal pathogen. Viruses, predators and parasitoids were not found to affect sex ratios in Aleyrodidae and Thysanoptera, although not many studies have collected the data to assess these potential factors. Because sex ratio studies in Thysanoptera and Aleyrodidae have only recorded secondary, adult or operational sex ratios instead of primary sex ratios, differential developmental mortality is left as a confounding variable, and it is difficult to determine whether sex ratio changes are due to sex allocation. To conclude whether sex allocation of mothers is taking place, the primary sex ratios need to be recorded, so we have also included methods for tools, including cytogenetics and survival assays, to find primary sex ratios or confirm differential developmental mortality in these haplodiploid organisms. Future discoveries of sex allocation in Aleyrodidae and Thysanoptera may lead to better predictions of pest populations.
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  Arizona Agriculture Teachers’ Perceived Self-Efficacy to Teach Science Content

  Parker, Hannah Callahan (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between sources of science content knowledge and the perceived self-efficacy to teach science content among practicing Arizona agriculture teachers. Bandura’s (1977) theory of self-efficacy was the theoretical framework that guided this study. Sources of science content knowledge were derived from Rice and Kitchel’s (2015) conceptual framework. On average, agriculture teachers were somewhat confident to teach science. A moderate bivariate correlation was found between teachers’ high school agriculture program experience as a youth, current teaching experience, experiences with agriculture jobs and internships, and their self-efficacy to teach science content. A simultaneous multiple regression was implemented; explaining 29% of agriculture teachers’ self-efficacy to teach science content from six of the seven sources of content knowledge. Teaching experience, SBAE, internet and other media, professional development, agriculture related jobs and internships, and years spent teaching contribute to R2. Further research recommendations include applying qualitative methods to explore unexplained variance and identify additional sources of knowledge. Recommendations for practice include exploring content specific professional development opportunities, such as CASE, and encouraging teacher preparation programs to re-evaluate curricula to include science specific PCK to enhance the preparation of preservice teachers.
• Environmental Contamination from Glove Disposal Practices

  Munoz, Kimberley (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Purpose: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provides a barrier between health professionals and pathogens. Misconceptions related to PPE and its role in environmental contamination, may lead to risky behaviors and/or perceptions in healthcare professionals due to broken barriers of protection. Evidence suggests that doffing and disposal of used PPE can lead to environmental contamination. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the potential for environmental contamination when medical gloves are flung, tossed, or thrown; while using a harmless PR772 bacteriophage and fluorescent dye tracers. The objectives of this study were to 1) measure the overall spread of bacteriophage and fluorescent dye from glove disposal to the surrounding environment; 2) determine the contamination along the glove flight path and the distance from the health professional; and 3) compare the occurrence of bacteriophage and fluorescent dye in the vicinity of glove disposal. Methods: Fifteen Health Professionals flung, tossed, or threw PR772 and fluorescent dye contaminated gloves into a wastebasket, located 1.22 m away. Twenty designated sample areas were set up along the glove flight path, along a wall behind the wastebasket and outside the flight path that represented equipment within a patient room. Following each glove disposal trial, designated Sample Areas were: 1) visually inspected with a blacklight to quantify the fluorescent dye stains and 2) swabbed with a 3M Letheen Broth sponge to quantify PR772. Results: The mean of PR772 contamination from all sample areas was 4.22 log10 PFU/mL. The area closest to the participant (<0.30 m) had the highest PR772 concentrations (mean = 2.61 log10 PFU/mL; range -0.3 to 6.32 log10 PFU/mL). The sample areas within the first 0.61 m of the health professional were statistically higher (p< 0.05) than ≥0.61 m for PR772 and all sample areas, < 0.61 m, were positive for both tracers. Based on the fluorescent dye’s ability to predict the presence absence of viral tracers, it was found to be an appropriate surrogate when used as a teaching tool for PPE disposal scenarios. Conclusion: Among medical personnel, gloves are used every workday and have the potential to contaminate the surrounding surfaces during improper disposal practices. Therefore, proper disposal techniques are required to minimize pathogen transmission. Due to limited education/training, and non-compliance with glove disposal recommendations, health professionals flinging gloves into the wastebasket can contribute significant pathogen contamination within 0.61 m around themselves, with a possibility of contaminating up to 1.52 m. Establishing industry-wide policies, adequate training and education to health professionals on appropriate glove disposal can reduce the spread of microbial contaminants and reduce exposure risks to patients and personnel.
• Solar Power Utilization as an Alternative Energy Resource for Disaster Relief

  Manqerios, Wael (The University of Arizona., 2017)

  The world is facing a significant energy crisis, and it differs from one country to another. Many industries strive to achieve a better greener solution for energy production by using non-depleting sources like the Sun, the wind, hydroelectricity, and geothermal power plants. We find that the most common resource around the world is the sun. And the most common way to collect solar radiation is PV panels, as they are available around the world, relatively easy to install, and many people are already familiar with them. Global warming, ozone layer depletion, ocean acidification, droughts and heat waves are often associated with climate changing and temperature rising. All of which is playing a significant factor in the new danger we are facing, the natural disasters frequency occurrence hitting several areas simultaneously. The primary challenge happens after a disaster strike is losing electricity because of power lines cut. Loss of electricity leads to many needs going unmet. Can solar power, along with other environmental strategies, be utilized to replace the use of traditional generators in long-term disaster relief? This research looks at environmental strategies (passive & active) which can make a big difference in the long-term recovery process for people who lost their homes. The strategies that are discussed can be applied to many long-term structures to help reduce the energy needs in a green environmental way. Energy needs, conservation, and use are the primary focus here as we compare traditional approaches to available innovative environmental approaches in the disaster relief process, mainly in long-term housing. The ultimate goal is to meet people’s energy needs after a disaster without harming the environment.
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  A Baroque Denouement: The Direct Influence of Theatre on Bernini's Artistic Work

  Francesco, Amelia Rose (The University of Arizona., 2017)

  Gian Lorenzo Bernini is the most prominent architect of the High and Late Baroque periods and there is a vast amount of scholarship addressing his architectural, sculptural, and pictorial works. However, studies on the other aspects of his life and work are underdeveloped, especially that of his long and dedicated involvement with the theatre. As scholars Robert Fahrner and William Kleb note in a 1973 essay published in the Educational Theatre Journal, “Art historians seem interested in it [Bernini’s theatrical activity] only in general, as an ‘influence’ on Bernini’s more important (and tangible) sculptural and architectural achievements. Theatre historians seem to have ignored it almost entirely.” This vast oversight, caused by the arbitrary separation of the visual and performing arts, has greatly hindered any scholarly attempts at a fully realized understanding of the Baroque master. In this thesis, I discuss the traditions and styles in 17th century theatre of Italy and France as well as Bernini’s involvement in and use of theatrical conventions in his sculpture and architecture. By tracing both his theatrical activity and artistic career, the connections become extremely evident, shedding new light on Bernini’s life and legacy.
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  Alternative Illumination Beam Geometries in Fluorescence Microscopy for Clinical Prostate Pathology

  Chia, Jeffrey Tzu (The University of Arizona., 2017)

  Light sheet microscopy, with the technique developed nearly a century ago and the first application toward fluorescence microscopy of biological specimens occurring in the late twentieth century, has seen a resurgence for applications requiring rapid or 3D imaging of biological samples. Conventional light sheet microscopy uses Gaussian beams that are the standard output of laser systems, and can be turned into a light sheet utilizing a cylindrical lens. However, highly focused Gaussian beams used in microscopy spread out quickly, leaving only a small section that can be imaged, and are also vulnerable to beam propagation distortion and steering in a scattering medium. In order to overcome the depth-of-focus versus resolution tradeoff inherent to Gaussian beams, non-diffracting beams have been proposed as solutions in applications where cellular resolution is required over a larger field-of-view (FOV). These non-diffracting beams, such as Bessel or Airy beams, offer significant improvements in depth-of-focus, but come with disadvantages, such as out-of-focus excitations that degrade contrast and image quality in fluorescent microscopy. However, due the interest in achieving higher FOVs without sacrificing resolution, there is a great deal of ongoing research looking at side lobe suppression techniques with non-diffracting beams. In this thesis work we look at various methods of suppressing the side lobes of the Bessel beams and assess the contrast differences in comparison to a conventional Gaussian beam. Using a spatial light modulator and dual-axis microscope architecture, we create a test bed for beam shaping and comparing traits between the beam profiles. Differences in image contrast and signal-to-background ratio (SBR) are assessed when looking at fluorescent solutions, beads, and phantoms. In the final section, we look at preliminary experiments on using the sectioned Bessel beam with electronic confocal slit detection (eCSD) image processing and analyze the benefits, along with challenges faced when applying this technology to imaging cleared tissue specimens. Overall, the sectioned Bessel beam coupled with eCSD image processing allows us to achieve similar signal-to-background ratios (SBR) compared to a conventional Gaussian beam illumination scheme, while giving large improvements in depth-of-focus for a given resolution. Although we are unable to prove this in the current iteration of the microscope test bed, these properties are expected to be particularly useful in imaging cleared tissue samples.
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  Freeform Metrology Using 2D Contact Profilometry and Specialized Fixturing

  Scordato, Michael (The University of Arizona., 2018)

  Advancements in the design and fabrication of optics are pushing the limits of metrology. Freeform surfaces are becoming more common through the provision of non-symmetric corrections to a system’s wavefront. This may result in improved performance with less optical elements in a system’s design. Fabrication tools have been developed, yet the measurement techniques and drawing specifications of these surfaces are not well defined. There are several approaches to characterize a freeform lens. Profilometry is a common method to measure the profile of an optical surface by using a calibrated stylus. 2D profilometer instruments are popular due to their affordability and versatility. An investment is required to increase a contact profilometer’s capability for 3D aspheric surfaces. This paper will focus on expanding a 2D contact profilometer’s capability by using a specialized fixture with references to map multiple tracings in software. In addition, the fixture will also characterize the centration of the optic. This paper compares the results found with various metrology instruments. The specialized fixture was measured with a 2D contact profilometer to provide full surface characterization of the freeform optic. An advanced 3D profilometer was used to provide measurements for evaluation. Included will be a discussion comparing the freeform data gathered from the different instruments to expected performance using a spherical lens.
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  2017 Portfolio of Compositions

  Rice, Willie Aaron (The University of Arizona., 2017)

  The following collection represents the sum of works created by composer W. Aaron Rice during his Master's studies at The University of Arizona. This document provides programmatic introductions to each piece performed at the composer's Master's Recital, and the program from said recital is included at the end for archiving. The many separate pieces are introduced with details on compositional intent and brief analyses. In the pages following the introductions, full scores of each piece are included for detailed analysis.
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  Quantifying Biomass from Point Clouds by Connecting Representations of Ecosystem Structure

  Hendryx, Sean Michael (The University of Arizona., 2017)

  Quantifying terrestrial ecosystem biomass is an essential part of monitoring carbon stocks and fluxes within the global carbon cycle and optimizing natural resource management. Point cloud data such as from lidar and structure from motion can be effective for quantifying biomass over large areas, but significant challenges remain in developing effective models that allow for such predictions. Inference models that estimate biomass from point clouds are established in many environments, yet, are often scale-dependent, needing to be fitted and applied at the same spatial scale and grid size at which they were developed. Furthermore, training such models typically requires large in situ datasets that are often prohibitively costly or time-consuming to obtain. Here, we present a novel scale- and sensor-invariant framework for efficiently estimating biomass from point clouds. Central to this framework, we present a new algorithm, which we term Assign Points To Existing Clusters (APTEC), developed for finding matches between in situ data and clusters in remotely-sensed point clouds. This algorithm can be used for assessing canopy segmentation accuracy and for training and validating machine learning models for predicting biophysical variables. We demonstrate the algorithm's efficacy by using it to train a random forest model of aboveground biomass in a shrubland environment in Southern Arizona. We show that by learning a nonlinear function to estimate biomass from segmented canopy features, we can reduce error, especially in the presence of inaccurate clusterings, when compared to a traditional, deterministic technique to estimate biomass from remotely measured canopies. Importantly, our random forest on cluster features model extends established methods of training random forest regressions to predict biomass of subplots but requires significantly less training data and is scale invariant. This model reduced mean absolute error, when evaluated on all test data in leave-one-out cross-validation by 41% from deterministic mesquite allometry and 36.2% from the inferred ecosystem-state allometric function on terrestrial lidar data. Our best performing model reduced mean absolute error across all data sources by 22.5%. Our framework should allow for the inference of biomass more efficiently than common subplot methods and more accurately than individual tree segmentation methods in vegetated environments in which accurate segmentation of individual plants is difficult.
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  Application of Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment Tool to Watersheds in Arid Region

  Potucek, Michael Paul (The University of Arizona., 2017)

  This study applied the AGWA ArcGIS tool to the 3.7 hectare Lucky Hills watershed, and three large watersheds (Yuma Desert, Coyote Wash, and Mohawk Wash) in the Barry Marsh Goldwater Range (BMGR) in Arizona. The Kineros model was applied to Lucky Hills watershed to calibrate modeling parameters. Events were grouped by similar precipitation patterns, runoff hydrographs, and precipitation volumes to optimize four key parameters for infiltration and surface runoff. These parameters include the soil suction parameter (G), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), and Manning’s roughness for both the channels and planes. Model calibration was carried on event by event, with 10,000 simulations for each event. The set of parameters that yielded the minimum Root Mean Square Error was chosen as the best-fit parameters. Then, the SWAT and Kineros models were applied to three large watersheds in BMGR to determine possible causes of erosion in the range. Model calibration was attempted based on the observed bed elevation changes using the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) over a period of 13 years. Results for the Lucky Hills showed that grouping events based on precipitation volume yielded varying ranges of best-fit parameters. The six smallest volume precipitation events yielded parameter ranges for G, Ks, cn, and pn as 143.09-147.34 mm, 5.98-7.79 mm/hr, .03-.06, and .03-.04, for each parameter respectively. The six medium sized events yielded parameter ranges for G, Ks, cn, and pn as 145.61-147.34 mm, 5.98-11.32 mm/hr, .03, and .03-.06, for each parameter respectively. The six largest volume precipitation events yielded parameter ranges for G, Ks, cn, and pn as 143.09-236.77 mm, 5.98-14.65 mm/hr, .01-.03, and .03-.07 for each parameter set respectively. For SWAT error is significant in each watershed. For the Yuma Desert basin the minimum error found over 44 sub basins is 24.11%, with only this watershed having an error lower than 30 percent. Of 44 sub basins modelled, 34 under-predicted erosion. Based on the DEM subtraction 6 of the sub basins deposited sediment. For Mohawk Wash, the minimum error found over 33 sub basins was 79.72%. Nine of the sub basins deposited sediment, and 22 underpredicted erosion. For watershed Coyote Wash, of the 35 sub basins modelled the minimum error found was 26.84%. Thirteen sub basins deposited sediment, and 18 underpredicted erosion. Three of the sub basins had errors under 30%. In general, it is apparent that the BMGR range is an erosional environment. SWAT could not accurately predict results for any watershed. The lowest errors were slightly under 30 percent, and most sub basins significantly underpredicted erosion. Kineros results also were poor. To compare Kineros with SWAT results, the results of Kineros planes are added together to form the same grid code as SWAT. Results are shown in figure 5.4.4. Erosion is significantly underpredicted for the Kineros model. For the Yuma Desert basin, the minimum error found for all sub basins was 84.06%. For the Mohawk Wash basin, the minimum error was 90.68%. The minimum error found for Coyote Wash was 25.48%. This indicated that the observed erosion rate was poorly correlated with these selected characteristics of sub-basins. Excluding these parameters, other properties or unobserved hydrologic data, such as precipitation distributions, may contribute to the observed erosion rates.
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  Development of a Groundwater Flow Model for the Colorado River Delta, Mexico

  Feirstein, Eden Jael (The University of Arizona., 2007)

  The Colorado River Delta (CRD) is a large sedimentary complex located in a structurally controlled basin in an active tectonic region. The CRD lies across the U.S. Mexico international boundary and is traversed by the Colorado River on it's way to the Gulf of California. Multidisciplinary research addressing the impact of the hydrologic change in the CRD has been increasing since the 1980' s. To help expand the base of this know ledge, a groundwater model for the CRD within Mexico was developed. A conceptual model was constructed and transformed within the Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling Software (GMS) into a numerical model using the MODFLOW code made available by the U.S. Geological Survey. Model results indicates that large scale flood events on the Colorado River act as a recharge to the aquifer and show that the relationship between groundwater withdrawals and capture are evident on an seasonal scale.
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  WATER RESOURCE ADMINISTRATION OF LOWER CIENEGA CREEK NEAR TUCSON

  Matt, Clayton Edward (The University of Arizona., 1995)

  The goal of this thesis is to propose water resource management recommenda tions which can contribute to the long-term existence of the lower Cienega Creek riparian area. The objectives are to develop an understanding of the physical, legal, and institutional settings, and to show how those factors have contributed to its current condition. Recommendations are based on a long-term management goal to maintain the riparian area. Potential threats and impacts which would cause severe damage to the area are described. The research includes a combination of a literature search, a water resource and water rights data and records review and analysis, and personal interviews and historical research. The thesis concludes that the Cienega Creek watershed is relatively undeveloped with regard to water consumption. The current condition of the riparian area can be attributed principally to entrenchment and climate change and variation. However, groundwater use looms as a threat to the riparian area. Water management decisions that allow unregulated groundwater development and a high zoning density standard could combine to deplete water resources of the lower Cienega Creek riparian area.
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  IMAGININGS AT THE .JUDAS TREE: THE PARDON TALES OF "MISS MEXICO"

  Mericle, Michele Jeanine (The University of Arizona., 2003)

  Imaginings at the Judas Tree: The Pardon Tales of "Miss A1exico " details the life story of Maria Teresa de Landa, winner of the "Miss Mexico" pageant in 1928. Landa was to achieve yet greater notoriety when she was acquitted for the crime of killing her bigamous husband in a sensational jury trial held November, 1929. Using Natalie Zemon Davis's concept of the "pardon tale" as a window onto prevailing social mores, this study examines contestations regarding the feminine ideal; specifically, debates regarding the honor of "modem" women in 1920's Mexico City. The transitional nature of the legal system is also investigated. Throughout these investigations are woven themes of gender, modernity, tradition, law, and honor before the colorful and contentious backdrop of revolutionary Mexico City.
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  MAYA RESISTANCE DURING THE FORMATION OF THE STATE: A REGIONAL COMPARISON OF CHIAPAS, MEXICO AND WESTERN GUATEMALA 1870 TO 1945

  Huerta, Alan Castellanos (The University of Arizona., 2000)
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  THE ORIGINS, EVOLUTION, AND PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN

  Deppisch, Ludwig Michael (The University of Arizona., 2004)

  The medical care of incumbent presidents has evolved greatly during the two hundred years that have elapsed between the presidencies of George Washington and George W. Bush. The development into its present day organizational structure has not always been in a straight line, but its general direction has been from episodic to continuous, therapeutic to preventative, civilian to military, solo to bureaucratic, and disorganized to structured. The responsibilities of the White House Physicians have increased over time, most notably in recent years with the ratification of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution on presidential disability. Two troubling tendencies have disturbed the physician - presidential patient relationship from time to time: the intrusion of political considerations into medical decision making and intraprofessional squabbling between the president's civilian and military doctors.
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  A Chilean Free-Market Miracle? The Effects of Neoliberal Economic Changes on Small-Scale Fishermen on the island of Chiloe

  Daughters, Anton (The University of Arizona., 2003)

  How are culturally distinct regions affected by free-market forces? It is with this question in mind that I set out this past summer to study the impact of neoliberal economic strategies on the island of Chiloe in southern Chile. In particular, I looked at how Chile's thirty-year policy of export-oriented resource extraction has affected- and been perceived by workers and families involved in the fishing industry of Chiloe. Throughout my eight-week stay in the country I gathered enough preliminary data to suggest that Chile's economic policies have had mixed results for fishermen in Chiloe: while major national and international companies have flourished, small-scale independent fishermen have faced increasing restrictions on where, when, and how they can fish. Furthermore, many of the islanders I spoke to linked these changes to a broader, more fundamental impact on Chiloe's overall culture - a gradual but perceptible shift from collectivity to individualism.

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