Nicholls State University

About: Nicholls State University is a education organization based out in Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & The Internet. The organization has 456 authors who have published 795 publications receiving 20031 citations.

Wetland Plant Community Responses to the Interactive Effects of Simulated Nutrient and Sediment Loading: Implications for Coastal Restoration Using Mississippi River Diversions

Abstract: The Mississippi River Delta Complex (MRDC) has experienced extensive wetland loss in the last century due, in part, to flood control levees that have isolated the lower Mississippi River and its sediment resource from adjacent wetlands. Reconnecting the River to these wetlands through diversions is being used and proposed on a larger scale for the future, to reduce wetland loss rates. However, some currently operating diversions (e.g., Caernarvon and Davis Pond) have been implicated in causing negative impacts on wetland ecosystem structure and function due to increased nutrient loads in diverted Mississippi River water combined with insufficient sediment delivery. Initial assessments of these concerns were carried out in a greenhouse setting where six nutrient enrichment treatment levels (control, NO3, NH4, PO4, SO4, and Combo [NO3 + NH4 + PO4 + SO4]) were applied with and without sediment addition to 60 marsh sods from a Sagittaria lancifolia-dominated oligohaline wetland at rates simulating the Davis Pond Diversion of the Mississippi River. After 25 months, independent enrichment with N (regardless of form) and sediment was generally beneficial to wetland structure and function, while SO4 enrichment had the opposite effect, regardless of sediment addition. Simultaneous application of N and P (i.e., the Combo treatment level) ameliorated the negative impacts of SO4-loading, but the concurrent application of sediment did not, likely because the loading rate was based on a diversion that was designed to deliver water and not to maximize sediment input. Nonetheless, sediment input is critical to the sustainability of MRDC wetlands experiencing high rates of deterioration. Thus, optimizing future diversions to maximize sediment delivery, along with continued surveillance of negative nutrient effects, are recommended management decisions.

Cigarette smuggling mitigates the public health benefits of cigarette taxes

Abstract: Merriman (2002) argues that cigarette smuggling does not reduce the health benefits of cigarette taxation, because, in addition to the purchase price of smuggled cigarettes, those purchasing smuggled cigarettes have to pay a higher inconvenience price for their cigarettes, so that smuggled cigarettes no more than replace legal cigarettes. Here, it is argued that Merriman is incorrect, that while smuggled cigarettes have the same full cost as legal cigarettes at the margin, they have a lower inframarginal full price, which has the effect of increasing smoking behaviour.

The Evolution of My Rapport: One Professor's Journey to Building Successful Instructor/Student Relationships.

Abstract: Instructors often struggle to find the right balance of sternness and leniency with their students, especially in the beginning stages of their careers An instructor who is too casual risks being overrun by students who do not take him or her seriously The professor who is too strict might inadvertently thwart students’ creativity and stifle their potential success The following commentary reflects my own journey to a balanced rapport with students in a university classroom setting Over several years, my interactions with students have gone from overly formal to embarrassingly casual before finally settling somewhere in between My experiences serve to help both novice as well as experienced educators hone their rapport with students to create an enriching classroom environment Various studies have shown gains in student learning due to quality instructor/student relationships and the present commentary aims to aid instructors in finding a balanced and meaningful rapport with their students In my en

Manganese species migration in soil at the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana

Abstract: A modified sequential extraction procedure was employed to speciate the chemical forms of Mn in sediment using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Concentrations were determined in five different fractions for each sample (Mn in the exchangeable form, bound to carbonates, bound to Mn/Fe oxides, bound to organic matter and in the residual form). The determinations were made for sediments obtained from the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge while a marshland reclamation project was being conducted. Sediment samples were taken from Ship Channel dredge spoils (thought to be contaminated), an old reclamation site, a new reclamation site and a reference site. The results indicated that the Ship Channel sediments were not contaminated, but revealed an Mn “pumping” model, which proposes that additional Mn added to a similar site is concentrated near the surface soil layers by environmental conditions, which may be a cause of the observed slow recovery of vegetation at one of the more recently developed sites.