Life Sciences Commons^™

Coupled Impacts Of Climate And Land Use Change Across A River-Lake Continuum: Insights From An Integrated Assessment Model Of Lake Champlain's Missisquoi Basin, 2000-2040, Asim Zia, Arne Bomblies, Andrew W. Schroth, Christopher Koliba, Peter D.F. Isles, Yushiou Tsai, Ibrahim N. Mohammed, Gabriela Bucini, Patrick J. Clemins, Scott Turnbull, Morgan Rodgers, Ahmed Hamed, Brian Beckage, Jonathan Winter

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Global climate change (GCC) is projected to bring higher-intensity precipitation and higher-variability temperature regimes to the Northeastern United States. The interactive effects of GCC with anthropogenic land use and land cover changes (LULCCs) are unknown for watershed level hydrological dynamics and nutrient fluxes to freshwater lakes. Increased nutrient fluxes can promote harmful algal blooms, also exacerbated by warmer water temperatures due to GCC. To address the complex interactions of climate, land and humans, we developed a cascading integrated assessment model to test the impacts of GCC and LULCC on the hydrological regime, water temperature, water quality, bloom duration and severity …

Pharmacology Of Cannabis, Mandakini Sadhir

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Cannabis has been used for recreational purposes around the world. It is derived from the plant cannabis sativa which has various other compounds known as cannabinoids. Most common form of cannabis used for recreational purpose is marijuana, which is prepared from dried flowering tops and leaves. The primary psychoactive component is delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (δ-9THC), which exerts its physiological and psychological effects through its interaction with CB1 and CB2 receptors. Smoking is the most commonly used method with onset of effects within minutes after inhalation. Oral ingestion of cannabis has varied absorption with delayed onset but longer duration of action. Urine …

Multi-Sector Analysis Of The Progress And Challenges Of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Eradication In Rural Udaipur, Jessica Ellis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

India is home to 240 million children currently at risk of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis, which is spread via unclean water, soil, and food, and causes acute pain and malnutrition. While acknowledging the research debates over WASH and mass drug administration, this study seeks to identify the systemic multidisciplinary issues affecting STH elimination efforts in rural Udaipur. Twenty-three interviews were conducted in villages, government departments, NGOs, and medical sectors to identify the challenges within each approach to deworming, and their experiences with multi-sectoral collaboration. The most recurring issues across disciplines were need for invested local leadership, increase in health literacy of adults, …

Sugar And Spice, Not Everything's Nice: Changing Dietary Habits In Bali, Harry Teplow

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this paper, I will explore the ways in which locals interact with new food options on the island of Bali. Specifically, I will explore dietary behaviors surrounding pre-­‐ packaged snacks and ‘fast-­‐food’ chains and determine whether the presence of these food options is affecting the Balinese’s relationship with more traditional cuisine. I will use everyday observations and conversations with locals to analyze dietary habits and the various food items that are being consumed while examining the potential dietary differentiation between two age groups. I will also consider health outcomes in Bali and discuss how changing dietary habits may be …

Multiple Post-Domestication Origins Of Kabuli Chickpea Through Allelic Variation In A Diversification-Associated Transcription Factor, R. Varma Penmetsa, Noelia Carrasquilla-Garcia, Emily M. Bergmann, Lisa Vance, Brenna Castro, Mulualem T. Kassa, Birinchi K. Sarma, Subhojit Datta, Andrew D. Farmer, Jong Min Baek, Clarice J. Coyne, Rajeev K. Varshney, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg, Douglas R. Cook

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is among the founder crops domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. One of two major forms of chickpea, the so-called kabuli type, has white flowers and light-colored seed coats, properties not known to exist in the wild progenitor. The origin of the kabuli form has been enigmatic. We genotyped a collection of wild and cultivated chickpea genotypes with 538 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and examined patterns of molecular diversity relative to geographical sources and market types. In addition, we examined sequence and expression variation in candidate anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway genes. A reduction in genetic diversity and extensive genetic …

Conjoint Analysis Of Farmers' Response To Conservation Incentives, David Conner, Jennifer Miller, Asim Zia, Qingbin Wang, Heather Darby

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Environmental degradation threatens the long term resiliency of the US food and farming system. While USDA has provided conservation incentives for the adoption of best management practices (BMPs), only a small percentage of farms have participated in such conservation programs. This study uses conjoint analysis to examine Vermont farmers' underlying preferences and willingness-to-accept (WTA) incentives for three common BMPs. Based on the results of this survey, we hypothesize that federal cost share programs' payments are below preferred incentive levels and that less familiar and more complex BMPs require a higher payment. Our implications focus on strategies to test these hypotheses …

Adgrl3 (Lphn3) Variants Are Associated With A Refined Phenotype Of Adhd In The Mta Study, Maria T. Acosta, James Swanson, Annamarie Stehli, Brooke Molina, The Mta Team

Neurology Faculty Publications

Background

ADHD is the most common neuropsychiatric condition affecting individuals of all ages. Long-term outcomes of affected individuals and association with severe comorbidities as SUD or conduct disorders are the main concern. Genetic associations have been extensively described. Multiple studies show that intronic variants harbored in the ADGRL3 (LPHN3) gene are associated with ADHD, especially associated with poor outcomes.

Methods

In this study, we evaluated this association in the Multimodal Treatment Study of children with ADHD (MTA), initiated as a 14-month randomized clinical trial of 579 children diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD-Combined Type (ADHD-C), that transitioned to a 16-year prospective observational …

Farmer Perceptions Of Climate Change: Associations With Observed Temperature And Precipitation Trends, Irrigation, And Climate Beliefs, Meredith T. Niles, Nathaniel D. Mueller

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

How individuals perceive climate change is linked to whether individuals support climate policies and whether they alter their own climate-related behaviors, yet climate perceptions may be influenced by many factors beyond local shifts in weather. Infrastructure designed to control or regulate natural resources may serve as an important lens through which people experience climate, and thus may influence perceptions. Likewise, perceptions may be influenced by personal beliefs about climate change and whether it is human-induced. Here we examine farmer perceptions of historical climate change, how perceptions are related to observed trends in regional climate, how perceptions are related to the …

Funciones Sensoriales En Niños Menores De 3 Años Diagnosticados Con Trastorno Del Espectro Autista (Tea) / Sensory Processing In Toddlers Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Juliana Gutiérrez, Megan Chang, Erna Imperatore Blanche

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Spanish: Las dificultades de procesamiento sensorial en niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) están ampliamente descritos en la literatura principalmente mediante el uso de encuestas a padres y observaciones. Con menor frecuencia se han descrito las dificultades de procesamiento sensorial en niños menores de 3 años de edad que han sido posteriormente diagnosticados con TEA. Este studio retrospectivo está basado en 84 niños (28 diagnosticados con TEA, 28 con retraso en el desarrollo, y 28 niños con desarrollo típico) entre 18 y 36 meses de edad que asistieron a un programa de intervención temprana y cuyos padres completaron el …

Are Electronic Cigarettes The Solution To Smoking Cessation?, Heather L. Walsh, Audrey L. Mcmurray

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2016 to 2019

Objectives: Little is known regarding the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as therapy to aid in smoking cessation. Many hypothesize that e-cigarettes are equally as effective or more effective than alternate smoking cessation therapies. The purpose of this review was to examine the evidence on effectiveness of e-cigarettes on smoking cessation and quitting behavior as compared to other smoking cessation therapies, or no therapy at all.

Methods: Searches were done in PubMed utilizing the terms “electronic cigarettes” and “smoking cessation” [MeSH terms]. In PubMed, the following filters limits were used: published in the last 5 years, human species, …

The Moral Basis For Conservation - Reflections On Dickman Et Al., Douglas Sheil, Jane Cohen, Carol J.Pierce Colfer, David Price, Rajindra Puri, Manuel Ruiz-Perez, Yulia Sugandi, Paul Vedeld, Eva Wollenberg, Yurdi Yasmi

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Role Of Pharmacogenetics In Improving The Safety Of Psychiatric Care By Predicting The Potential Risks Of Mania In Cyp2d6 Poor Metabolizers Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder., Santiago Sánchez-Iglesias, Virginia García-Solaesa, Belén García-Berrocal, Almudena Sanchez-Martín, Carolina Lorenzo-Romo, Tomás Martín-Pinto, Andrea Gaedigk, José Manuel González-Buitrago, María Isidoro-García

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

One of the main concerns in psychiatric care is safety related to drug management. Pharmacogenetics provides an important tool to assess causes that may have contributed the adverse events during psychiatric therapy. This study illustrates the potential of pharmacogenetics to identify those patients for which pharmacogenetic-guided therapy could be appropriate. It aimed to investigate CYP2D6 genotype in our psychiatric population to assess the value of introducing pharmacogenetics as a primary improvement for predicting side effects.A broad series of 224 psychiatric patients comprising psychotic disorders, depressive disturbances, bipolar disorders, and anxiety disorders was included. The patients were genotyped with the AmpliChip …

Better Cognitive Control Of Emotional Information Is Associated With Reduced Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Reactivity To Emotional Stress, Grant S. Shields, Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Sarah D. Pressman, Ken D. Sumida, George M. Slavich

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Stress is strongly associated with several mental and physical health problems that involve inflammation, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and depression. It has been hypothesized that better cognitive control of emotional information may lead to reduced inflammatory reactivity to stress and thus better health, but to date no studies have examined whether differences in cognitive control predict pro-inflammatory cytokine responses to stress. To address this issue, we conducted a laboratory-based experimental study in which we randomly assigned healthy young-adult females to either an acute emotional stress (emotionally evocative video) or no-stress (control video) condition. Salivary levels of …

Farmer Perceptions Of Climate Change Risk And Associated On-Farm Management Strategies In Vermont, Northeastern United States, Rachel E. Schattman, David Conner, V. Ernesto Méndez

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Little research has been conducted on how agricultural producers in the northeastern United States conceptualize climate-related risk and how these farmers address risk through on-farm management strategies. Two years following Tropical Storm Irene, our team interviewed 15 farmers in order to investigate their perceptions of climate-related risk and how their decision-making was influenced by these perceptions. Our results show that Vermont farmers are concerned with both ecological and economic risk. Subthemes that emerged included geographic, topographic, and hydrological characteristics of farm sites; stability of land tenure; hydrological erosion; pest and disease pressure; market access; household financial stability; and floods. Farmers …

The Cost Of Alcohol And Drug Abuse In Maine, 2015, Marcella H. Sorg, Jamie A. Wren

Health & Public Safety

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Access To Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy And Treatment In Primary Care Settings: Adapt-Pc., Hildi J Hagedorn, Randall Brown, Michael Dawes, Eric Dieperink, Donald Hugh Myrick, Elizabeth M Oliva, Todd H Wagner, Jennifer P. Wisdom, Alex H S Harris

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Only 7.8 % of individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) receive treatment in a given year. Most individuals with AUDs are identified in primary care (PC) settings and referred to substance use disorders (SUD) clinics; however, only a minority of those referred attend treatment services. Safe and effective pharmacological treatments for AUD exist, but they are rarely prescribed by PC providers. The objective of this study is to refine, implement, and evaluate an intervention to integrate pharmacological AUD treatment options into PC settings. This paper provides a detailed description of the intervention design and the evaluation …

Dogs: A Prescription For Health Issues?, Denise Magallon

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The human-­‐animal bond has been seen throughout many generations. Pet owners, especially those who own dogs, are known to live a different lifestyle than non-­‐pet owners. However, the individuals who can receive the most benefits from dogs are those with certain psychological and physical health issues. Humans who suffer from diseases find that owning a dog is very helpful and can even improve and/or treat their illness.

Although dogs are not one-­‐hundred percent effective in curing all health conditions, they are still very useful and can improve health even by the slightest result. There is much medical evidence that proves …

Design And Commissioning Of A Community Scale Solar Powered Membrane-Based Water Purification System In Haiti, Shavin Pinto, Yung Wong, Kyle Fennesy, Yan Tang, Marc Compere

Publications

This paper presents the design and commissioning of a solar powered water purification system at the Ryan Epps Home for Children (REHC) in Michaud, Haiti. This system supplies clean drinking water to the 200 children who live and go to school at REHC and also to the community in the form of a micro-business. This micro-business is the mechanism for income generation for sustainable system operation. The purifier uses a three stage filtration system with a disc-type sediment filter, a 0.1 micron ultrafiltration membrane, and an ultraviolet light for disinfection. The backwash cycle extends the life of the ultrafiltration membrane …

Hiv/Aids Care And Prevention Infrastructure In The U.S. Deep South, Susan S. Reif, Kristen Sullivan, Elena Wilson, Miriam Berger, Carolyn Mcallaster

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.