Articles and Scholarly Works
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Open access articles authored by members of the University of Minnesota community. For more information, see the University of Minnesota Open Access Policy for Scholarly Articles that went into effect January 2015.
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Browsing Articles and Scholarly Works by Type "Report"
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Item 2021-2022 Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem wolf pack and population size report(2022) Gable, Thomas D; Homkes, Austin T; Bump, Joseph KThis report presents and discusses data on wolf population metrics collected during 2021-2022 in the Greater Voyageur Ecosystem, Minnesota. In 2021-2022, we estimated the area of 9 wolf pack home ranges/territories, determined the size of 14 wolf packs, and obtained 7.3 independent observations of the same size for each pack. The survey effort in 2021-2022 was the same as 2020-2021 and represents the most intensive survey effort, in terms of number of packs and territories studied, to date in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem. We estimate that wolf population density in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem in 2021-2022 was 63.2 wolves/1000 km2 (95% confidence interval: 50.3-83.8 wolves/1000 km2). This density represents a 16% increase in population density from 2020-2021 and a 48% increase from the recent population low in 2019-2020 of 42.7 wolves/1000 km2. The increase in population density is largely attributable to increased pup survival, which likely increased pack size. We compared current wolf population density and population metrics to historical wolf density and population metrics in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem. This assessment suggests that wolf density in the GVE has changed little since the late 1980's, and that the GVE has sustained a high-density wolf population for decades.Item 2022 Fruit and Vegetable Strategic Planning Retreat(2022-11) Hoidal, Natalie; Klodd, Annie; Schuh, Marissa; Hultberg, AnnalisaOrganizations serving fruit and vegetable growers throughout Minnesota with training and production related technical assistance gathered on April 7, 2022 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The purpose of the gathering was to reconnect, map current work, and explore future collaborations. This report highlights current projects, planned projects, and goals for five main topic areas: soil health and nutrient management, season extension, pest management, accessing markets, and food safety.Item 2022 Midwest broccoli trial results(2023-01-26) Hoidal, Natalie; Rohwer, Charlie; Enjalbert, NicoDisease pressure and climate change pose significant challenges to growing broccoli in the Midwest. Since around 2018, the pathogens black rot (Xanthamonas campestris pv. campestris) and Alternaria (Alternaria spp.) have become common on farms and in gardens, with some growers reporting 80-100% yield losses. Especially for organic growers, varietal tolerance can be a powerful tool for disease management. We conducted replicated broccoli trials at the Southern Research and Outreach Center (SROC) in Waseca, Minnesota, where we inoculated plots with black rot (Xanthamonas campestris pv. campestris). We also partnered with 88 farmers and gardeners to conduct mini trials at their farms and gardens. Our goal was to screen for varieties of broccoli with tolerance to the pathogens black rot and Alternaria, as well as environmental challenges like warm fall nights and high heat in the summer. This report outlines the results of the 2022 trial with overall takeaways and variety recommendations from both 2021 and 2022.Item 2022-2023 Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem Wolf Population Report(2023) Gable, Thomas D; Homkes, Austin T; Bump, Joseph KDuring April 2022-April 2023, we studied the wolf population in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem (GVE), Minnesota in an effort to understand wolf population dynamics and how changes in population dynamics are connected to or influence predation behavior, wolf pup survival, and changes in prey density. We estimated the area of 8 wolf pack home ranges/territories and estimated the size of 20 wolf packs based on an average of 11.7 independent observations of each pack at the estimated size (i.e., the number of wolves we determined were in a given pack). In total, we recorded 606 observations of 2 or more wolves traveling together during the winter survey period. The 2022-2023 survey effort was the most intensive survey effort to date in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, Minnesota. We estimate that wolf population density in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem in 2022-2023 was 65.2 wolves/1000 km^2 (95% confidence interval: 53.7-87.8 wolves/1000 km^2), indicating that wolf density remained unchanged from 2021-2022 (65.7 wolves/1000 km^2). Although wolf density has varied annually in the GVE since 2015, there is no indication that wolf density has increased or decreased with time. In other words, the population has remained relatively stable and current population density (65.2 wolves/1000 km^2) is close to the average population density (60.4 wolves/1000 km^2) over the past 9 years (2015-2023) in the GVE.Item 2023 Crookston Business Market Area Profile(University of Minnesota Extension, 2023-04) Bhattacharyya, RaniDuring spring 2023, University of Minnesota Extension conducted a Crookston downtown business survey at the request of the City of Crookston and the Downtown Crookston Development Partnership. Of the 80 surveys distributed, Extension received 19 responses. Surveys were sent to Crookston businesses located along the corridors of North Broadway and South Main Streets in Ward 4. As the majority of these businesses have operated for 20 or more years, findings reflect the experience of established businesses rather than new ones. Supplemental business demographics (Appendix A) and consumer market information regarding the lifestyle profiles of Crookston residents (Appendix B) are included at the end of this report.Item Biocompatibility of OMRI listed insecticides on green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea) larval mortality: implications for greenhouse vegetable production(2023-03) Worth, Leah; Rogers, Mary; Reardon, AmandaItem A Case of Pancreatic Arteriovenous Malformation Presenting with Abdominal Pain(2017-03-15) KC, Mandip; Trikudanathan, GuruItem Choosing a high tunnel for your farm(2023-11-17) Hoidal, Natalie; Hanson-Pierre, Andrew; Heimark, Erik; Miller, Lindsey; Barthelemy, MattHigh tunnels have become increasingly important for Minnesota specialty crop growers as they work to extend the growing season and provide protection from unpredictable climate conditions.However, there is no single “standard” high tunnel. This guide will help you determine which high tunnel is right for your farm, and how to customize it to meet your needs.Item City of Minnetonka Wood Utilization Program(2023-05)This report serves as research and recommendations for the City of Minnetonka’s wood utilization program. The report consists of market research conducted to identify the most viable and highest-value wood products that could be produced from Minnetonka's wood utilization program. Wood processing equipment pricing was also analyzed to provide accurate cost estimates for establishing a wood utilization program. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of the industry and current landscape, interviews were conducted with a diverse group of stakeholders, including industry experts, forestry specialists, and professionals involved in wood utilization. Their insights were used to develop multiple scenarios for the program, which were developed through interviews with city staff, industry professionals, and cities with successful wood utilization practices. These scenarios were analyzed against criteria that included the city of Minnetonka's Strategic Priorities, ensuring that the final recommendations were well-informed, practical, and consistent with the city's long-term goals.Item Climate change projections for improved management of infrastructure, industry, and water resources in Minnesota(2019-09-15) Noe, Ryan R; Keeler, Bonnie L; Twine, Tracy E; Brauman, Kate A; Mayer, Terin; Rogers, MaggieItem Cloth Face Masks Worn in the Community Setting: Plain Language Summary and Disease-Oriented Evidence(2020) Newcome, Elle MaureenCloth Mask Use in Community Setting May be Effective in Reducing the Spread of COVID-19: Disease-Oriented Evidence. In situations where there are limited supplies, homemade face masks should be considered to block droplet transmission from infected individuals, as they function better than no mask at all. A systematic review of non-peer reviewed research supports this conclusion; however, the data is not yet validated by experts and therefore cannot yet be used to support public health recommendations. Cloth Face Masks Worn by Healthy People in the Community Setting: Plain Language Summary. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people wear cloth masks in public. Through research, people can learn if cloth masks are good at protecting people from disease. A lot of research is needed to see if cloth masks should be worn by healthy people in the community. This poster focuses on information that scientists do know and information that is still being researched.Item A Comparison of Mental Health in the United States and Morocco: A Literature Review and Summary of Responses by Students(2021-05) Adamek, Andrew JThis review article is based on a partnership between the University of Minnesota and the Hassan II University Hospital Center in a virtual internship. I have compiled my experiences, the experiences of a surgeon in Morocco, studies on mental health in both countries, and two questionnaires that were completed by students in both countries into a report of the differences and similarities in mental health in the two countries and recommendations for improvement for each. We have found that, there is a similar rate of burnout of physicians in the two countries, around 40%, the rate of mental health conditions is higher in Morocco, at 48.9%, than the United States, at 20.6%, and that there are more barriers to accessing mental health care in Morocco for many complex reasons, for example less funding for psychological units and a culture of mental health stigmatization. Based on these results, we recommend that for Morocco, it is essential to create a strong and national system to combat the stigma of mental health conditions and increase access to mental health resources, which may lead to more psychological units for students in schools and more psychologists in hospitals on-site for psychological assessments on demand that will be needed when the stigma around mental health is reduced. For the United States, we recommend that even more resources are necessary for mental health, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, when safe, for students to return to in-person classes, as students indicate many difficulties with online learning during COVID-19.Item Creating a Reader on Intelligence Ethics, 2008 for INS(Intelligence and National Security (a journal), 2008) Andregg, Michael M.The information age is burying everyone in noise. Globalization increases stress. Then the poorly named Global War on Terror drove some leaders to suspend, or at least radically rethink, ethical constraints that had been settled two generations past, like the unequivocal ban on torture in the Geneva Conventions and many subsequent laws and treaties. This was the context in which we set out to create a reader on intelligence ethics that would, a) actually be read by busy professionals buried in urgent texts, and b) make a real difference in a profession better known for breaking rules. All involved recognized the “oxymoron problem.” All know that while most of our colleagues are moral people trying to do legitimate work to protect their peoples and governments, there are some who certainly think that ethics for spies is the dumbest idea ever. To them we say that intelligence ethics is actually a force multiplier, and dramatic deviations like officially sanctioned torture are force degraders. So 26 intelligence professionals from seven countries collaborated to create a reader designed to be 50 pages maximum, an hour’s read for busy people who recognize why ethics matter, even for spies and the many other intelligence professionals of the modern age. They gathered knowing only half would make the quality cut, and struggled to compress lifetimes of experience into extremely short forms. Each had specific reasons, but the overarching recognition was that national power declines when “all gloves off” immorality prevails. We are engaged in a very “Long War” that is basically between barbarism and civilized ways of life and conflict. There are always tactical voices who seek a quick victory by any means necessary. And real terrorism frightens all thoughtful people, so the danger of becoming that which you oppose has never been greater. This is a story about how that reader was created, with summaries of the 13 essays selected for publication. First, a professor at the National Military Intelligence College (then JMIC) Dr. Jan Goldman, collaborated with a philosopher of ethics with national security background Dr. Jean Maria Arrigo and about six others to create a new “International Intelligence Ethics Association” branching off of the long-running JSCOPE conferences (Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics). They held their first meetings on January 27 and 28 of 2006, which made the front page of the New York Times precisely because the novelty of ethics for spies was, well, news. Their association can be found at: http://www.intelligence-ethics.org/ and their fourth conference will be at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, February 20-21 of 2009. Inspired by them, I went to the intelligence studies section of the International Studies Association seeking permission to do this project. They concurred, and let me fill one-fourth of their next year’s panels with papers on intelligence ethics of various kinds. Those engaged 18 participants, but some solicited could not come and others were advisors to international leaders who could not participate publicly. From those, 8 other papers were procured. A panel of judges was created. Two were editors of major intelligence publications, one was a former Chancellor of America’s National Intelligence University system, and one was an operator near the end of his career. Their task was to review all submissions and to pick the best half. The authors’ task was to compress what they thought essential into 4 double-spaced manuscript pages. All judges were invited to submit forwards to the final piece, recognizing that most could not. The one who did was INS senior editor Loch Johnson, whose forward will be reprinted here next.Item Creating Sustainable Foundations for Rhizomes of Mexican American Art Since 1848(2021-07) Davalos, Karen Mary; Cortez, ConstanceItem Creating System Change: How Government Builds Trust with Community-Based Organizations Serving BIPOC Communities(CURA Reporter, 2023) Cheng, Yuan (Daniel)Item Crookston Downtown Business Market Area Profile 2023(University of Minnesota Extension, 2023-04) Bhattacharyya, Rani A.During spring 2023, University of Minnesota Extension conducted a Crookston downtown business survey at the request of the City of Crookston and the Downtown Crookston Development Partnership. Of the 80 surveys distributed, Extension received 19 responses. Surveys were sent to Crookston businesses located along the corridors of North Broadway and South Main Streets in Ward 4. As the majority of these businesses have operated for 20 or more years, findings reflect the experience of established businesses rather than new ones. Supplemental business demographics (Appendix A) and consumer market information regarding the lifestyle profiles of Crookston residents (Appendix B) are included at the end of this report.Item Determining the Effect of Cell Culture Methods on the Polarization and Phenotype of Macrophages(2024) Lambrecht, Daniel; Chiu, Maggie; Provenzano, Paolo P.Macrophages play an important role in the regulation of cancer tumor microenvironments (TME). The specific role they play depends on their polarization, which is divided into two general phenotypes: M1, a pro-inflammatory phenotype, and M2, an anti-inflammatory phenotype known to support tumor growth. As the field of cancer research develops, there is an increased focus on understanding the role of the macrophage in the TME and how it can be manipulated to limit the growth of the tumor. Thus, it is important for researchers who are studying the macrophage’s role in the TME to know the phenotype of the macrophages that they are culturing in their research. The goal of this study was to observe the differentiation and polarization of macrophages during the standard cell culture protocol. We expected the macrophages to be fully differentiated after 7 days of culture with M-CSF and that cell passaging would result in a higher abundance of M1 polarized macrophages in culture. However, we found that macrophages are fully polarized after only 5 days of exposure to M-CSF and that passaging has no significant effect on macrophage polarization. This implies that macrophage differentiation protocols can be shortened with no loss in macrophage yield and that passaging is a suitable cell culture method for macrophages.Item Do vector plane waves form complete basis of solutions to Maxwell's equations? Introduction to Generalized Plane Wave Solutions(2018-04-27) Aryan, SauravAs the title says, this article questions the well established belief that the vector plane waves form a complete basis of solutions to Maxwell's equations. Vector solutions to Maxwell's equations are presented here, which have planar wave-fronts and transverse electric and magnetic fields but spatially varying polarization. They form a one-parameter family specified by integer $n$, and are termed as \textit{generalized vector plane waves}. The known vector plane wave solution with spatially uniform polarization, referred to as \textit{conventional vector plane waves} in this article, is a subset of this family obtained for $n = 0$. In contradiction to the established belief, it is shown that these \textit{generalized vector plane waves} with spatially varying polarization (for $n \neq 0$) cannot be expressed as superposition of conventional vector plane waves. The family of solutions also includes the interesting cases of radially and azimuthally polarized plane waves for $n=1$.Item Economic impact of SNAP benefits Crookston farmers market(Univeristy of Minnesota , College of Extension, Department of Community Development, 2022-12-15) Tuck , Brigid; Bhattacharyya, RaniThe Headstart Program of Crookston, MN wanted to articulate to the community the benefits that the farmers market brought to them with the addition of SNAP, Market Bucks, and Produce Bucks that help low to moderate income families access fresh food products.Item Ecotourism Assessment Alignment and Coordination Tool(2014) Butler, Megan; Elizabeth, Gering; Moua, Chou; Werden, KristinaTourism can stimulate economies, promote cultural preservation, and incentivize environmental conservation. The tourism assessment and planning process is a tool for facilitating tourism development at the community level by helping entrepreneurs to: • Assess the products and services they currently offer • Align their current tourism products with best practices for improving their business’ sustainability. • Coordinate efforts to harness the full benefits of sustainable nature-based tourism or ecotourism. Extension educators can use this tool to educate, coordinate and encourage tourism entrepreneurs to adopt practices that maximize the cultural, social, economic, and environmental benefits of local tourism by minimizing potential negative impacts.
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