University of Nevada, Reno

About: University of Nevada, Reno is a education organization based out in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 13561 authors who have published 28217 publications receiving 882002 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Nevada & Nevada State University.

Synthesis of System Dynamics Tools for Holistic Conceptualization of Water Resources Problems

Abstract: Out-of-context analysis of water resources systems can result in unsustainable management strategies. To address this problem, systems thinking seeks to understand interactions among the subsystems driving a system’s overall behavior. System dynamics, a method for operationalizing systems thinking, facilitates holistic understanding of water resources systems, and strategic decision making. The approach also facilitates participatory modeling, and analysis of the system’s behavioral trends, essential to sustainable management. The field of water resources has not utilized the full capacity of system dynamics in the thinking phase of integrated water resources studies. We advocate that the thinking phase of modeling applications is critically important, and that system dynamics offers unique qualitative tools that improve understanding of complex problems. Thus, this paper describes the utility of system dynamics for holistic water resources planning and management by illustrating the fundamentals of the approach. Using tangible examples, we provide an overview of Causal Loop and Stock and Flow Diagrams, reference modes of dynamic behavior, and system archetypes to demonstrate the use of these qualitative tools for holistic conceptualization of water resources problems. Finally, we present a summary of the potential benefits as well as caveats of qualitative system dynamics for water resources decision making.

CircRNA accumulation in the aging mouse brain.

Abstract: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newly appreciated class of RNAs expressed across diverse phyla. These enigmatic transcripts are most commonly generated by back-splicing events from exons of protein-coding genes. This results in highly stable RNAs due to the lack of free 5' and 3' ends. CircRNAs are enriched in neural tissues, suggesting that they might have neural functions. Here, we sought to determine whether circRNA accumulation occurs during aging in mice. Total RNA-seq profiling of young (1 month old) and aged (22 month old) cortex, hippocampus and heart samples was performed. This led to the confident detection of 6,791 distinct circRNAs across these samples, including 675 novel circRNAs. Analysis uncovered a strong bias for circRNA upregulation during aging in neural tissues. These age-accumulation trends were verified for individual circRNAs by RT-qPCR and Northern analysis. In contrast, comparison of aged versus young hearts failed to reveal a global trend for circRNA upregulation. Age-accumulation of circRNAs in brain tissues was found to be largely independent from linear RNA expression of host genes. These findings suggest that circRNAs might play biological roles relevant to the aging nervous system.

Identification and Properties of the Photospheric Emission in GRB090902B

Abstract: The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observed the bright and long GRB090902B, lying at a redshift of z = 1822 Together the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) cover th

Paleoseismic evidence of great surface rupture earthquakes along the Indian Himalaya

Abstract: [1] Toward understanding the relationship between strain accumulation and strain release in the context of the mechanics of the earthquake and mountain building process and quantifying the seismic hazard associated with the globes largest continental thrust system, we describe the late Quaternary expression and paleoseismic evidence for great surface rupture earthquakes at six sites along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) system of India. Our observations span a distance of ∼250 km along strike of the HFT. Uplifted and truncated fluvial terrace deposits resulting from the Holocene displacements on the HFT are preserved along canyons of the Ghaggar, Markanda, Shajahanpur, and Kosi Rivers. Dividing the elevation of the bedrock straths at each site by their ages yields estimates of the vertical uplift rate of ∼4–6 mm/yr, which when assumed to be the result of slip on an underlying thrust dipping at ∼20°–45° are equivalent to fault slip rates of ∼6–18 mm/yr or shortening rates of ∼4–16 mm/yr. Trench exposures reveal the HFT to fold and break late Holocene surface sediments near the cities and villages of Chandigarh, Kala Amb, Rampur Ganda, Lal Dhang, and Ramnagar. Radiocarbon ages of samples obtained from the displaced sediments indicate surface rupture at each site took place after ∼A.D. 1200 and before ∼A.D. 1700. Uncertainties attendant to the radiocarbon dating currently do not allow an unambiguous definition of the capping bound on the age of the displacement at each site and hence whether or not the displacements at all sites were contemporaneous. Trench exposures and vertical separations measured across scarps at Rampur Ganda, Lal Dhang, and Ramnagar are interpreted to indicate single-event displacements of ∼11–38 m. Dividing the observed single-event vertical components of displacement by the estimated longer-term uplift rates indicates ∼1330–3250 or more years should be required to accumulate the slip sufficient to produce similar sized displacements. Surface rupture appears to not have occurred during the historical 1905 Kangra (Mw = 7.7), 1934 Bihar-Nepal (Mw = 8.1), and 1950 Assam (Mw = 8.4) earthquakes, which also occurred along the Himalayan front. Yet we observe clear evidence of fault scarps and displacements in young alluvium and progressive and continued offset of fluvial terrace deposits along the HFT. We suggest on this basis and the size and possible synchroneity of displacements recorded in the trenches that there exists the potential for earthquakes larger than recorded in the historical record and with the potential to rupture lengths of the HFT greater than the ∼250 km we have studied.

Evaluation of a Novel Point-of-Care Cryptococcal Antigen Test on Serum, Plasma, and Urine From Patients With HIV-Associated Cryptococcal Meningitis

Abstract: Background. Many deaths from cryptococcal meningitis (CM) may be preventable through early diagnosis and treatment. An inexpensive point-of-care (POC) assay for use with urine or a drop of blood would facilitate early diagnosis of cryptococcal infection in resource-limited settings. We compared cryptococcal antigen (CRAG) concentrations in plasma, serum, and urine from patients with CM, using an antigen-capture assay for glucuronoxylomannan (GXM) and a novel POC dipstick test. Methods. GXM concentrations were determined in paired serum, plasma, and urine from 62 patients with active or recent CM, using a quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A dipstick lateral-flow assay developed using the same monoclonal antibodies for the sandwich ELISA was tested in parallel. Correlation coefficients were calculated using Spearman rank test. Results. All patients had detectable GXM in serum, plasma, and urine using the quantitative ELISA. Comparison of paired serum and plasma showed identical results. There were strong correlations between GXM levels in serum/urine (rs = 0.86; P < .001) and plasma/urine (rs = 0.85; P < .001). Levels of GXM were 22-fold lower in urine than in serum/plasma. The dipstick test was positive in serum, plasma, and urine in 61 of 62 patients. Dipstick titers correlated strongly with ELISA. Correlations between the methods were 0.93 (P < .001) for serum, 0.94 (P < .001) for plasma, and 0.94 (P < .001) for urine. Conclusions. This novel dipstick test has the potential to markedly improve early diagnosis of CM in many settings, enabling testing of urine in patients presenting to health care facilities in which lumbar puncture, or even blood sampling, is not feasible.