Digital Commons Network^™

Antidepressants Reduce Silica Caused Inflammation In Lung Macrophages, Becky Kendall

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Chronic respiratory disease remains a leading cause of death around the world, and recent events have only increased respiratory disease concerns. As such, there is a growing need for effective therapeutics to combat these and other chronic diseases. While the discovery and design of new pharmaceuticals can be a lengthy process there is an abundance of FDA approved drugs that can be repurposed for use in other than their originally intended uses. For example, the use of anti-depressants has been proposed as a potential therapy for COVID after a study showed that patients regularly taking anti-depressants had fewer COVID-caused hospitalizations …

Dams, Displaced Tribes, Salvage Archaeology, And Cultural Resource Management In The Missouri River Basin In North And South Dakota., Farryl Elisa Hunt

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The large mainstem dams constructed along the Missouri River from 1946 to 1966 caused the traumatic displacement of prominent Native populations in North and South Dakota. The lack of regard for human remains and sacred artifacts flooded during this time is an appalling episode in American history. Perceived failures with salvage archaeology methods to recover artifacts and data threatened by the construction of dams motivated Cultural Resource Management practices in the United States. Laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, and the Native …

Sex Determination Of Ritual Violence Victims At Paquimé In Chihuahua, Mexico, Lacy Hazelwood

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

At the prehistoric site of Paquimé in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, violence has been linked to the development and maintenance of ritual and social inequality through human sacrifice and performance violence. Across pre-colonial Mexico, human sacrifice coincided with the end or beginning of new seasons, maintenance of hierarchical structures, and offerings to the gods of rain, fertility, and agriculture. Research indicates that preferences for certain demographic variables such as age and sex may have played a significant role in the recruitment of sacrificial victims, and that these were often matched with the deities to whom they were offered. To aid in …

Effects Of Concussions On Balance: A Systematic Review, Jason R. Nielsen, Shane Murphy

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Purpose: Concussions can cause many disturbances and or issues to the body whether it be mental or physical. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to identify how balance can be disturbed during and throughout rehabilitation with people suffering from concussions via center of pressure measurements. Methods: Only one database was used in searching for articles related to this topic, which was PubMed published from 2013 to present. For studies to be eligible they were peer reviewed research on the use of center of pressure to measure differences in balance measurements between concussed and non-concussed. No restrictions for age, ethnicity, …

Community-Engaged Research To Promote Sars-Cov-2 Vaccine Uptake In Montana’S American Indian And Rural Communities., Kelley Jansen

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

This National Institute of Health (NIH) funded study is conducted through a collaboration between All Nations Health Center, an Urban Indian Health Center in Missoula, MT, and the University of Montana (UM) School of Public and Community Health Sciences. The purpose of this ongoing research project is to Identify causes of COVID-19 vaccine confidence and hesitancy among American Indian and rural adults in Montana.

Although COVID-19 vaccines became available a little over one year ago, vaccine hesitancy is still a main contributor to low vaccine uptake in Montana and the surround regions. This study is unique because most studies on …

Inclusion In Theatre: The Melting Of Design And Acceptance, Kylie Lynn Mcdonald

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The Inclusion in theatre is a research project I made in to expand the knowledge of relaxed shows within a performance art setting and how we can integrate relaxed shows in theatre for the inclusion of all.

Relaxed shows within theatre mean a performance that is sensory friendly performances, sometimes called relaxed performances alter the designs to be inclusive for all audience members including volume, lighting, and trigger warnings. Relaxed performances are needed within the theatre community to increase accessibility within performances and also within theatrical education settings as well.

The reason I wanted to make a research project, while …

Applying Counseling Theory In Arts Education, Jadd Davis

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

It is a lucky researcher indeed who has the opportunity to test out strategies in a fully-operational laboratory! I graduated from UM’s School of Theatre and Dance in 2021 with an MFA in Theatre – and subsequently enrolled in the School of Education’s MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. I have had the opportunity to apply the privileges of my terminal degree (as an instructor) while studying a new – albeit related – field. Specifically, I accepted a one-year contract as a full-time lecturer at Gonzaga University in the Theatre and Dance department – while taking University of Montana …

Under The Skin: Queer Trauma And The Medical Sphere, Gabriella Graceffo

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

For my third major artistic project focusing on abandoned human structures, Under the Skin is an interdisciplinary exploration of loss and trauma through silver gelatin photographs and a collection of original poems. I combine images of the decommissioned Air Force hospital in St. Marie, MT and free verse poems to explore how personal, intergenerational trauma lives within my queer body, and how my body is wrapped up in the medical sphere. This creative thesis compels the audience to consider the experiences we carry with us and how these ruptures and traumas can manifest in the body, particularly the queer body, …

Witch Pamphlets, Tsea M. Francisconi

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The witch hysteria that overtook Christian Europe during the Early Modern era inspired a mass paranoia over the conspiratorial belief that the Abrahamic religion’s personification of the world’s evils was attempting to rise up and harm Christian communities during this time period. It was believed that in order to achieve this goal the Christian version of the Devil had been recruiting humans within Christian communities and turning these chosen humans into witches in order to spread their destruction, murder, and terror amongst their own neighbors and families. Over the course of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England, the …

Comparing The Effectiveness Of Different Modalities For Myofascial Pain Relief: A Systematic Review, Sola Yeager, Tedijo Pederson, Dr. Shane Murphy

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Title: Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Modalities for Myofascial Pain Relief: A Systematic Review

Authors: TediJo Pederson, Sola Yeager, Dr. Shane Murphy

Purpose: Myofascial pain is a prevalent health problem faced by a large percentage of the general population. Prevalence of myofascial pain has been estimated to affect 46%-85% of the general population at some point during their lifetime. The objective of this systematic review was to compare the effectiveness of dry needling (DN), trigger point compression (TPC), and cupping at treating patients with myofascial pain.

Methods: In this systematic review, PubMed was used to search for literature pertaining to …

The Forgotten Epidemic: Identification Of Mtbc In The Neolithic Trypillia Of Verteba Cave, Ukraine, Tre Blohm

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Microorganisms have plagued humankind for millennia and frequently participate in an evolutionary arms race against their hosts. Diseases from various microorganisms have crippled entire countries or led to massive population declines in recent history. However, much is unknown about epidemiology in ancient times. My project will be the first comprehensive paleoepidemiological approach to understand disease across populations in Europe during the Neolithic era (7000-1700BC). The Neolithic was one of the most profound transformations in human history, both culturally and biologically. Massive migrations, formations of the earliest settlements in Europe, and introduction of agriculture and pastoralism led to new environments for …

Determining The Efficacy Of Manual Therapies For Treatment Of Headache And Dizziness: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Nicholas Verlanic, Shane Murphy

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Title: Determining the Efficacy of Manual Therapies for Treatment of Headache and Dizziness: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Purpose: Headache and Dizziness are two common symptoms in concussion patients. These two symptoms are often persistent and the limiting factors in return to play protocols. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of different manual therapy treatments as a method of treating headache and dizziness.

Methods: We selected to search the database PubMed in October 2021. Studies eligible for inclusion were peer-reviewed articles in which the authors collected either visual analog scale (VAS) or numeric …

Pharmacy-Based Immunization Laws And Adolescent Well-Child Checkup Tradeoffs: Results From The Nis-Teen, Teigan Avery

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Pharmacy-based immunization (PBI) has been heralded as a barrier-reducing way to immunize Americans and reach public health targets. PBI programs vary by state; some states prohibit child vaccination in pharmacies while others allow pharmacists to prescribe and administer immunizations to persons of any age. Pediatricians are concerned generous PBI programs may boost vaccination rates at the cost of well-child visits, an unacceptable tradeoff they argue. This is logical when considered in the lens of economic theory regarding health investments; parents may see PBI as an alternative to the doctor’s office rather than as a complement and choose to immunize their …

Assessing The Vulnerability Of At-Risk Amphibians To Regional Climate Change, Ross K. Hinderer

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Title: Assessing the Vulnerability of At-Risk Amphibians to Regional Climate Change

Purpose: Climate change threatens the persistence of many species worldwide. However, the effects of climate change on a particular species or in a particular location vary based on many factors. Some amphibians may benefit from climate changes while others will not, so understanding the factors associated with higher risks of detrimental effects will allow decision-makers to focus on protecting particularly vulnerable species and populations. Unfortunately, many amphibian species are not well-studied so ecologists are missing key details about their habitat use or life cycle making typical methods …

Measures Of Cardiovascular Risk In Wildland Firefighters (Wffs), Md Zahid Hasan

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Measures of cardiovascular risk in wildland firefighters (WFFs)

Purpose: As the population across the western United States grows, and as fires increase in size and intensity, an increasing number of wildland firefighter operations are needed to protect vulnerable communities. WFFs are involved directly or indirectly in fire suppression activities and have high exposure to smoke and other risk factors including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These exposures affect respiratory health, cardiovascular health, and oxygen-carrying capability. Notably, cardiovascular health is implicated in a huge percentage of sudden deaths of WFFs both on and off …

American Indian Traditional Ceremonial Practices As A Potential Community-Informed Intervention Against Problem Substance Use, D'Shane Barnett, Julie Cahoon, Jeffery Peterson

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The impacts of historical and intergenerational trauma on American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) are widely documented. While the rate of lifetime alcohol use for AIANs is lower than that of non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), AIAN individuals continue to report the highest rates of heavy alcohol and illicit drug use for any racial or ethnic group in the United States. In response to this trend, substance use programming for AIAN populations will often draw from evidence-based practices (EBP) developed for mostly non-AIAN populations. Sometimes, these EBPs are then adapted to integrate cultural approaches to decrease alcohol and illicit drug use in …

Health, Land, And Heritage: Understanding Montana Suicide Through Culture, Emory C. Padgett

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

From Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It (1976) to the popular series Yellowstone, stories loom large in Montana, and their use goes beyond entertainment. Stories about the state are informative in understanding Montana culture and heritage because the myths, perspectives, and truths revealed through literature, art, and television are closely intertwined with the memories and values of its people; in an ongoing feedback, stories simultaneously originate in lived experience and actively shape experiences. Grounded in this cultural significance, I use media as an ethnographic lens through which to study social change in rural Montana, which has faced economic …

A Novel Lens To Examine The American West, Megan Moore

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Collective memory is a useful lens to examine post-industrial communities in the American West as they face transitions. Collective memory is formed by individuals in groups or communities who have shared memories, which contribute to their identity. Collective memories can exist in various mediums, including but not limited to public symbols, conversations, traditions, rituals, or texts. Research has examined collective memory in post-industrial mining communities to elucidate how it impacts the desire to embrace change, the ability to envision a new future, or connections to the landscape. Anaconda is a rural town located in southwest Montana with a legacy of …

Perceived Efficacy Of School Violence Prevention Programs And School Climate In Rural Schools, Jennifer Rotzal

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

School violence has been of great concern to policy makers and school professionals for the past several decades. During the 2015-16 school year, 79 percent of public schools reported that one or more incidents of violence, theft, or other crimes had taken place on school grounds, amounting to 1.4 million crimes (Zhang et al., 2016). Schools have reported the most common form of violence being physical fights and threats, which accounted for over 50 percent of disciplinary violations (Cornell, 2017). There are numerous school violence prevention programs implemented across the nation; however, despite knowing how events of violence negatively affect …

Cfac Research Project: Expanding Double Snap Dollars Equitably, Andrew T. Besser

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC) is a local Missoula nonprofit that works to grow a healthy food community and make food accessible for all. CFAC coordinates Double SNAP Dollars (DSD), a program since 2015 that allows eligible Montanans to double their benefit dollars from SNAP to purchase fresh and local food. CFAC’s Equity and Growth Subcommittee is currently looking to expand the DSD program in Montana equitably after receiving a grant from the USDA. This report used data on counties within Montana to determine areas of priority for DSD expansion based on SNAP participation, percentage of population over …

The Influence Of Metal Contamination On The Fishery Of The Upper Clark Fork River, Montana, Usa, Taylor Gold Quiros

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Historical mining and mineral processing have led to heavy metal contamination in the flood-plain of the Upper Clark Fork River of western Montana. This contamination has acted as a long-term stressor on the river and its inhabitants, the effects of which can be seen in changes in fish populations along the river's gradient of decreasing metal concentration with distance from the mining source. Understanding the relationships between stressors and ecological responses is essential for management and restoration goals pertaining to ecosystems negatively affected by anthropogenic activities. This study analyzed population distribution of salmonid species based on long-term monitoring and recent …

Does Diversification In The Face Of Increased Climate Risks Depend On Individual Risk Preferences? Evidence From Rondônia, Brazil, Brenna Y. Swinger

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Risk exposure and risk management are inherent to smallholder farmers and their activities. One of the larger risks farmers are facing is climate change. Climate change decreases rainfall, increases frequency of drought, adds heat stress to crops from higher temperatures, and leads to higher variability in rainfall. The threat of rainfall variability causes higher production in some years and lower production in others. Even if the average income remains the same year to year, people that tend to be risk averse don’t like the uncertainty. This will be particularly true if they don’t have a safety net to help them …

President Lopez Obrador’S Response To Femicide, Paola Briones

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Femicide is defined as the specific targeting and assassination of women. While femicide exists worldwide, particularly in Latin America, Mexico has one of the highest reported rates of femicide. This paper will analyze the Lopez Obrador administration’s lack of response to rising femicide rates. The administration has not created a special prosecutor’s office to address the phenomenon; ninety-three percent of femicides remain unsolved. Previous research maintains several factors contribute to femicide including machismo, high national crime rates, and poverty. Although previous research explores causes of femicide, it neglects to provide concrete explanations for the intentional inaction of acting administrations. In …

“Two Weeks Away:” How Montana Farmers Adapt To Drought, Austin Schuver

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

In Montana, farmers may use phrases like “drought is always two weeks away” to describe the inevitable and uncertain impacts of weather and climate on their operations. Better understanding how farmers are affected by and can (or cannot) adapt to both present day and future impacts is a burgeoning area of social science research. One part of adaptation includes farmers’ material changes—the “things” that enable (or constrain) adaptation—including crop selection, machinery, and inputs. Another part is non-material factors—the “ideas” that enable (or constrain) adaptation—including farmers’ use of climate information, their ability to overcome barriers, and how they weigh the tradeoffs …

Q Methodology: An Underutilized And Powerful Approach To The Scientific Study Of Beliefs And Values, Adrienne Tauses

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Social scientists often utilize either qualitative or quantitative methodology to study the human experience through gathering information or data on human behavior. This leads to insights into how we view individuals, learn about relationships, ways people make decisions, and relationships between beliefs and behaviors. One overlooked and underused dynamic methodology is the Q method. Q methodology offers a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods that accurately provides a unique way of gathering, sorting, and studying the values and beliefs of participant (Watts, & Stenner, 2005). The following presentation overviews the purpose, history, and practical application of the Q methodology. Examples …

Ingredient Classification Using Food Ontology, Ricky Flores

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

A food label provides some of the most crucial information for a food product. The food label is a key resource for many health-conscious consumers for understanding ingredients. It is also vital for individuals to avoid food allergens or help patients follow dietary recommendations. While the food labels in the United States are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) many labels contain additional information or statements that are not regulated. Moreover, the food label may be complex or contain terminology that the layperson may not understand. Evidence has indicated that consumers often find nutrition labels confusing, especially when …

Conflict With Peers: Delegate Task Among Team Members, Margaret Bove, Caius Coretchi, Margo Mekjian, Austin Piontkowski, Shatha Wahbi, Ho Jun Yun

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Conflict With Administrators: Administrator Ignores Complaints From Staff, Emily Chow, Daniel Lenchner, Ellie Lewandowski, Ossama Mahmoud, Riaz Nabi, Ariel Walker

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Conflict With Administrators: Scheduling Error With Employee, Katherine Buhl, Connor Cook, Erin Greenberger, Peter Kamash, Morgan Mooty, Ryan Nolan

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.

Conflict With Administrators: Increased Employee Workload, Katerina Furman, Suraj Jaipalli, Sanika Kulkarni, Enxhi Lalo, Eliza Lewis, Rohan Thomas

Patient Education Projects

No abstract provided.