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Genetic Diversity And Gene Flow Among Populations Of Witheringia Solanacea, Crystiana Tsujiura May 2014

Genetic Diversity And Gene Flow Among Populations Of Witheringia Solanacea, Crystiana Tsujiura

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

To evaluate fitness consequences of population structure in the Costa Rican plant Witheringia solanacea, we have genotyped individuals from different populations of Witheringia solanacea to examine inbreeding within populations and gene flow between populations at different altitudes. We predict that plants at high elevations will have a higher frequency of inbreeding because high elevation populations tend to consist of fewer plants and there tend to be fewer pollinators at higher altitudes.

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Do Public Libraries Reduce Crime Rate Among Juveniles?, Chen Li, Jingyan Guo, Jozef Moffat May 2014

Do Public Libraries Reduce Crime Rate Among Juveniles?, Chen Li, Jingyan Guo, Jozef Moffat

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Juvenile arrest rates have been at their lowest since 1980 in the United States after peaking around 1994. There are many factors that affect the juvenile crime rate and our aim is to determine the impact of those factors on the crime rate. For example, the environment that the juveniles live in and the income of their parents could influence their behavioral patterns. Cities build libraries to provide recreational services to the public, especially the youth, where they can spend their spare time usefully, in hope that they could avoid delinquent activities.

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Psychrobacter Arcticus Cold Shock Protein Expression In Escherichia Coli Increases Cold Resistance, Daniel Sunderland May 2014

Psychrobacter Arcticus Cold Shock Protein Expression In Escherichia Coli Increases Cold Resistance, Daniel Sunderland

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Psychrophilic (cold-loving) microorganisms live in some of the most inhospitable environments in the world. The newly-sequenced genome of the psychrophile Psychrobacter arcticus presents the opportunity to study the molecular mechanisms by which it is possible for this organism to thrive in extremely cold environments such as the permafrost of Antarctica. The cold presents challenges such as decreased membrane fluidity, slower reaction rates, and conformational changes in proteins and nucleic acids. Putative genes for cold-shock proteins (csps) were identified within the sequenced genome that could play an important role in facilitating the psychrophilic lifestyle. This study sought to analyze the function …

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Economic Analysis: Sustainable Seafood Choice Experiment, Dylan Cowley, Jesse Coulon May 2014

Economic Analysis: Sustainable Seafood Choice Experiment, Dylan Cowley, Jesse Coulon

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The sustainable seafood choice experiment is a co-discipline study run by Tierney Dodge (Environmental Studies), along with Jesse Coulon and Dylan Cowly (Economics). The purpose of the study is to better understand how sustainable seafood labeling is correlated with accepting higher prices at restaurants. Specifically, we are looking at how much people are willing to pay for dishes that have certified seafood labeling, such as Marine Stewardship Counsel Certified, compared to the simple label of sustainable seafood, which is a more arbitrary term with no outside body of regulation. We will then focus our study to see how these results …

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Impacts Of Marine Plastics On Seabirds, Sea Turtles, And Whales, Elizabeth Mccormack, Sergei Poljak, Michelle Burt May 2014

Impacts Of Marine Plastics On Seabirds, Sea Turtles, And Whales, Elizabeth Mccormack, Sergei Poljak, Michelle Burt

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Plastics are durable, cheap, and have high tensile strength resulting in their ubiquitous incorporation into society. There has been a rapid increase in plastic production worldwide. A significant amount of plastic waste, like other garbage, inevitably ends up in the worlds oceans. Marine species can be impacted by plastics by ingestion, entanglement, bioaccumulation, and even incorporation as a nesting material. This study aims to determine the effect of plastic on marine megafauna - namely seabirds, sea turtles and whales - using a variety of case studies worldwide. The percent of animals impacted by plastics was recorded from each case study. …

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Discovering Maine's Own Freshwater Snail, Emma Donohoe, Alice Hotopp May 2014

Discovering Maine's Own Freshwater Snail, Emma Donohoe, Alice Hotopp

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Maine has several freshwater snails but one is found only within the state, a type of pond snail called Stagnicola mighelsi. Previous work shows that it has been lost at half of the lakes in its Fish River Lakes stronghold, and that it survives only in very big and remote lakes. However, there are 100 year-old reports from other watersheds, and possibly undiscovered populations. Learning about this snail and the other snails we will identify can help us protect a special part of Maines wildlife, and learn about the health of our lakes and rivers. Few people know or care …

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Does Fertilization Influence Herbivory During Tropical Forest Restoration?, Emma Rosenfield, Arianna Porter, Julia Rogers, Lauren Bizzari May 2014

Does Fertilization Influence Herbivory During Tropical Forest Restoration?, Emma Rosenfield, Arianna Porter, Julia Rogers, Lauren Bizzari

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Tropical deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate throughout our world today. It is critical that we actively try to restore these landscapes because rainforests provide us with important resources and services. However, it can be difficult to set appropriate goals for restoration. Under which conditions is a landscape the healthiest? For example, fertilizer is often used to increase growth and survivorship of tree seedlings; however, adding fertilizer may alter other aspects of the community, such as herbivory. In the context of a tropical forest restoration experiment, we asked 1) does fertilization influence herbivory; 2) does fertilization alter leaf tissue …

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Ecological Role Of Anadromous Salmon In Aquatic Ecosystems, Janice Liang May 2014

Ecological Role Of Anadromous Salmon In Aquatic Ecosystems, Janice Liang

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

As the economic, cultural, and ecological concerns grow for decreasing salmon populations, scientists and resource managers have been expanding our understanding of the ecological role of salmon and other anadromous fishes, which return from the sea to spawn in fresh water. Spawning salmon not only serve as a food source for species like bears and seals, but when they die after spawning (as all Pacific species and most Atlantic species do), their remains provide nutrients to freshwater systems, having significant impacts on the communities in the ecosystem. Given the heterogeneity in habitats, the ecological impact of nutrient inputs varies among …

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Purification Of Gst::Taabf1 Fusion Protein In Order To Assess Its Phosphorylation By Endosperm Proteins, Jessica Moore May 2014

Purification Of Gst::Taabf1 Fusion Protein In Order To Assess Its Phosphorylation By Endosperm Proteins, Jessica Moore

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Transcription factor TaABF1, a member of the ABA response element binding factor family, has been shown to have an important role in the signaling pathways of gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) in cereal grains. TaABF1 has also been found phosphorylated in vivo in aleurone cells and is possibly regulated by phosphatases. In order to investigate whether TaABF1 can be phosphorylated by proteins in wheat grains and which regions of the protein are phosphorylated, the GST::TaABF1 fusion protein was purified by a glutathione affinity column and a phosphorylation assay with wheat endosperm proteins was performed. Then, the possibly phosphorylated GST::TaABF1 …

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The Presence Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Found In Cosmetics And Personal Care Products For Children, Molly Nash, Marie Abrahams May 2014

The Presence Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Found In Cosmetics And Personal Care Products For Children, Molly Nash, Marie Abrahams

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Endocrine disrupting chemicals including parabens, triclosan, and phthalates are commonly found in popular personal care products. Research shows that children are especially vulnerable to the negative health impacts of these chemicals and face increased risk of chronic diseases and developmental deficiencies. Due to minimal governmental regulation, endocrine disrupting chemicals are commonly found in cosmetics intended for children. Previous literature indicates that early exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals can cause cognitive defects, early puberty, reproductive birth defects in males, fertility problems in females, obesity, diabetes, and increased risk of cancer and other diseases later in life. Although the regulation of cosmetic …

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Shellfish Closure Trends Near Mt. Desert Island, Maine, Marianne Ferguson May 2014

Shellfish Closure Trends Near Mt. Desert Island, Maine, Marianne Ferguson

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Shellfish are a popular commercial fishery harvest in Maine. However, they are susceptible to biotoxins transmitted by toxic phytoplankton, which can lead to paralytic or amnesic shellfish poisoning of the humans that consume them. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has a phytoplankton monitoring program in place to detect such biotoxins and to close areas of shellfish harvesting if need be. Since 2001, they have archived the data from every closure. One of Maines shellfish species, the Blue Mussel, is sensitive to environmental changes and is known as a bio-monitor of pollution. Therefore, a method will be developed to analyze …

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The Neurotoxic Effects Of Mercury Vapor Exposure From Artisanal Gold Mining, Mackenzie Kennedy May 2014

The Neurotoxic Effects Of Mercury Vapor Exposure From Artisanal Gold Mining, Mackenzie Kennedy

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining is the worlds second largest source of atmospheric mercury pollution behind coal combustion (United Nations Environment Program 2012). It is estimated that 10 to 15 million people in 70 countries work in the ASGM trade and are exposed to toxic effects of mercury from an inexpensive yet effective gold processing technique. Adult mercury exposure produces localized damage to the cerebellum, visual cortex, and motor strip, leading to visuospatial problems and effects on executive functioning, mood, and memory. Early life exposure, however, is most harmful because increased exposure can damage the whole brain. In its organic …

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Does Air Pollution Lead To Increased Incidence Of Breast Cancer?, Naomi Schmidt May 2014

Does Air Pollution Lead To Increased Incidence Of Breast Cancer?, Naomi Schmidt

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This project will be examining what kinds of chemicals are released into the environment and how those chemicals affect human health in terms of cancer, specifically lung cancer. This will include looking at chemistry to look at the health effects, to see if theoretically common chemicals that are in air pollution, such as NO2 and PM, affect the likelihood of getting cancer. It will also involve looking at empirical data to see if there are more incidences of lung cancer in places with more air pollution. If there is a disconnect between theoretical expectations and reality, I will attempt to …

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Vegetation Change Surrounding Parks And Reserves In Costa Rica From 1990-2000, Olivia Collins May 2014

Vegetation Change Surrounding Parks And Reserves In Costa Rica From 1990-2000, Olivia Collins

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The objective of this project was to analyze vegetation changes around and within the borders of national parks in Costa Rica over the time period from 1990 to 2014. Edge effects are a common occurrence where two different habitats or ecological communities border one another. The majority of the national parks and reserves in Costa Rica have been placed under protection during the last 35 years. During this time period, tourism in the country has increased as conservation efforts have strengthened. The goal of this analysis is to use Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to determine if conservation of protected …

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Mamb And Mamm: Genes Involved In Magnetotaxis, Rachel Bolender May 2014

Mamb And Mamm: Genes Involved In Magnetotaxis, Rachel Bolender

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of bacteria that synthesize magnetosomes, magnetic crystals of magnetite (Fe304) or greigite (FeS4), which allow MTB to travel along the earths geomagnetic fields. In addition, MTB have been shown to be promising agents for bioremediation through their ability to absorb heavy metals, such as gold. Little is known of the genetic elements that allow for the biosynthesis of magnetic particles in MTB. In this study, genes MamB and MamM, genes known to be involved in magnetosome formation but whose functions are not known, were studied using the magnetotactic bacteria Magnetospirillum magneticum. Genomic DNA was …

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Listeriosis: A Case Study, Tara Tischio May 2014

Listeriosis: A Case Study, Tara Tischio

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

In large animal veterinary medicine, a minor infection in one animal can easily cripple the success of a farm. Listeria, a bacterial infection caused by the ingestion of contaminated silage, can spread rapidly throughout a farm inflicting serious damage to the central nervous system and killing the infected animals within weeks or even days. By following the case study of a pregnant, listeria-positive cow, this study aims to provide an overview of this disease in order to further educate the public on the human implications.

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Identifying The Role Of Bacterio-Opsin Associated Protein Gene In Bacteriorhodopsin Production In The Halophilic Archaeon Halobacterium Salinarum, Tarini S. Hardikar May 2014

Identifying The Role Of Bacterio-Opsin Associated Protein Gene In Bacteriorhodopsin Production In The Halophilic Archaeon Halobacterium Salinarum, Tarini S. Hardikar

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The halophilic archaeon Halobacterium salinarum survives in low-oxygen conditions by producing a light-driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin (BR). BR is formed by a retinal cofactor covalently bound to the protein bacterioopsin (BO). In reduced oxygen conditions, H. salinarum synthesizes BR, which requires production of both BO and the retinal cofactor. The gene that encodes for BO is called bacterio-opsin protein gene (bop). In several organisms, it has been observed that another gene, bacterio-opsin associated protein gene (bap) is located next to the bop gene. However, the function of bap is unknown. To identify whether the bap gene has any role in …

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Wind Energy Choice Experiment, William Scott, Carlton Reed May 2014

Wind Energy Choice Experiment, William Scott, Carlton Reed

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Many surveys have shown that public acceptance of wind energy is high in general; however there always seems to be concerns at the local level during the siting and permitting process. This shows that people understand that clean wind energy is an essential need, however people do not normally want to have turbines in their own community. The goal of this choice experiment is to see which benefits people prefer and which trade-offs people are willing to make in order to host a wind farm in their community.We will analyze the effectiveness of several attributes, and their ability to rid …

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Roles Of Community Engagement And Church Leadership In Participatory Forest Management: A Case Study Of Woji Church Forest In Northern Ethiopia, Grey Benjamin May 2014

Roles Of Community Engagement And Church Leadership In Participatory Forest Management: A Case Study Of Woji Church Forest In Northern Ethiopia, Grey Benjamin

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Research on participatory forest management (PFM) typically involves the study of ownership-use relationships among local communities and state or federal governments. This study examines the management of natural resources by a religious institution--the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC)--whose followers protect thousands of small fragments of indigenous Afromontane forest scattered all across Northern Ethiopia. Using social surveys, group discussions, and community mapping we identify differences in norms and forest management activities of three distinct groups--priests, farmers, and women--living in and around Woji Church Forest in Northern Ethiopia. Community members offered a first-hand look into how their religious beliefs and leadership affect …

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Does Bisphenol-A Cause Obesity In Humans?, Xuan Du, Lidia Henderson May 2014

Does Bisphenol-A Cause Obesity In Humans?, Xuan Du, Lidia Henderson

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This project will analyze the link between bisphenol-A and obesity in humans using epidemiological and toxicological research.

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How Effectively Do Law Enforcement And Socioeconomic Improvements Aid To Deter Violent Crimes And Property Crimes In The Usa?, Papa Loum, Chowdhury Farabee May 2014

How Effectively Do Law Enforcement And Socioeconomic Improvements Aid To Deter Violent Crimes And Property Crimes In The Usa?, Papa Loum, Chowdhury Farabee

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

According to a government survey released in October 2013, violent crime in the United States increased by 15 percent last year, and property crime was up by 12 percent. If violent crime keeps increasing at this rate, it will approximately double in just six years. To effectively allocate resources (money, police, courts, prisons), specialists in the economics of crime should fully understand the most pivotal determinants of each type of crime. Our study finds the extent to which some socioeconomic factors and regulatory measures (high school dropout rate, median income, unemployment rates, imprisonment rate, number of police officers, and the …

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Assessing And Aligning Learning Outcomes From Mission To Individual Assignments, Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Juliette Shelley, Morenga Hunt May 2014

Assessing And Aligning Learning Outcomes From Mission To Individual Assignments, Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Juliette Shelley, Morenga Hunt

College of Visual and Performing Arts Faculty Publications

Explanation of the alignment of a degree program's curriculum with program goals and SLOs for assessment purposes.

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Honor The Molst, Teresa Guarino May 2014

Honor The Molst, Teresa Guarino

Senior Honors Projects

End of life is a topic many people would rather avoid discussing. Even many healthcare providers are uncomfortable with the topic, and they are at the front line in terms of providing information to patients about their care options. Nevertheless, it is a topic of utmost importance. Regardless of what one values and what choices have been made, preferences and desires at the end of life should be honored. This was the aim of documents such as advanced directives, living wills, and durable power of attorneys for healthcare, but they have been found to not be consistently honored. Seeing this …

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Teaching Information Synthesis, Anne R. Diekama, Kacy Lundstrom, Connie Woxland May 2014

Teaching Information Synthesis, Anne R. Diekama, Kacy Lundstrom, Connie Woxland

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

No abstract provided.

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Promoting Social And Academic Attainment Through Emotional And Social Skills Development, Aiden Carthy, Sinead Mcgilloway May 2014

Promoting Social And Academic Attainment Through Emotional And Social Skills Development, Aiden Carthy, Sinead Mcgilloway

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

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E-Volving Information Literacy Tutorials With E-Maginative And E-Ngaging Design, Damecia Donahue, Axa Liauw, Rebeca Peacock, Jill Wurm May 2014

E-Volving Information Literacy Tutorials With E-Maginative And E-Ngaging Design, Damecia Donahue, Axa Liauw, Rebeca Peacock, Jill Wurm

Library Scholarly Publications

Presentation on May 22nd, 2014, at The Workshop for Instruction in Library Use (WILU), at Western University, Ontario, Canada.

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Teaching Information Synthesis, Anne R. Diekama, Kacy Lundstrom, Connie Woxland May 2014

Teaching Information Synthesis, Anne R. Diekama, Kacy Lundstrom, Connie Woxland

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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University Students’ Lyme Disease Knowledge And Protective Behaviors Pre-Versus Post-Intervention, Karen Gilbert Apr 2014

University Students’ Lyme Disease Knowledge And Protective Behaviors Pre-Versus Post-Intervention, Karen Gilbert

University Presentation Showcase Event

Lyme disease, a bacterial disease caused by the tick-borne organism Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common (over 90%) vector-borne disease in North America (Radolf, Caimano, Stevenson, & Hu, 2012). B. burdgorferi is carried by the Black-Legged Tick, Ixodes scapularis (also known as the “deer tick”).

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Does Child Abuse Positively Correlate With Borderline Personality Disorder?, Stevy L. Jones Apr 2014

Does Child Abuse Positively Correlate With Borderline Personality Disorder?, Stevy L. Jones

University Presentation Showcase Event

Abuse of any kind is a horrible event. Individuals are left with physical and emotional scars that can last a lifetime. Abuse during childhood can be detrimental to a person's psychological adjustment during adolescence and adulthood. We sought out to answer the research question, "Does child abuse positively correlate with borderline personality disorder?" We analyzed 12 studies that compared different types of child abuse and the effects it has on borderline personality disorder (BPD). For these 12 studies the average effect size was (r=.22). Emotional abuse had the highest correlation (r=.26) and then sexual abuse with (r=.22). The moderator variables …

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Effect Of Incubation And Mind Wandering On Creative Problem Solving, Joshua Back Apr 2014

Effect Of Incubation And Mind Wandering On Creative Problem Solving, Joshua Back

University Presentation Showcase Event

An incubation effect refers to improvements in problem solving after an individual takes a break from working on a problem. Previous research suggests several explanations for incubation effects. For example, some research has shown that subjects benefit most from a break when they are given an undemanding task rather than a demanding task during the break (incubation period) (Baird, Smallwood, Mrazek, Franklin, & Schooler, 2012). The undemanding task allows mind wandering, which is believed to create the opportunity for new insights into previously attempted problems. Other research has shown that a break allows subjects to overcome fixation on overly narrow …

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