Digital Commons Network^™

How Grants Improve Public Health In Sanger, California, Emily A. Rudger, Tabitha J. Tolsma, Jamie L. Mosler

City and Regional Planning

This report analyzes public health needs in Sanger, California. Gathering research from the community and generating a background using Healthy People 2020, the project outlines potential grants the community could benefit from, now and in the future. The grant chosen focuses on parks, as physical activity is an important factor and need for the community.

Availability Of Microtrash Materials And Selectivity By California Condors, Marie G. Solis

Biological Sciences

California condors consume non-food items, including anthropogenic waste, and provision it to their young. Consuming “microtrash” can cause mortality, especially in nestlings. There are several hypotheses explaining why condors might consume microtrash. These hypotheses assume condors exhibit a preference for the type of material. Therefore, we test the assumption that when California condors take microtrash, they display material selectivity. We did this by sampling microtrash from roadside pullouts in the Los Padres National Forest. Those samples were compared to condor necropsy and nest microtrash data, categorized by material type: glass, plastic, metal, and other. We find that in our analysis …

Effect Of Solder Joint Flux Residue On Medical Guide Wire Performance, Rebecca Lisberg, Enlly Bugarin Rodriguez

Materials Engineering

The effect of residual soldering flux on the mechanical properties of 304 stainless-steel core medical guide wires was analyzed. A soldering process joins the metallic components of the distal end of a medical guide wire product. Acidic soldering flux is used to prepare the surfaces of the metallic substrates. Manufacturing protocol utilizes an ultrasonic bath to remove excess flux from the soldered joints. Sample groups underwent different levels of cleaning: no cleaning, partial cleaning, and full ultrasonic bath cleaning to obtain varying residual flux levels. Experimental sample groups underwent corrosion acceleration in an environmental chamber at 37°C and 85% relative …

Making Sustainability Affordable In Parlier, Kyle Alexander Ferguson

City and Regional Planning

As climate change continues to threaten everyday life on Earth, humans from every corner of this planet struggle to keep up with changes due access, attitudes, and most importantly affordability. Over the past decade, governments around the world have invested billions into renewable power. Private investors followed, hoping to cash in on what looked like a transformational shift in the way the world produced electricity and lived sustainability. It felt as though it was a way to add jobs, manage fossil-fuel prices, and curb the impending affects of global warming. Unfortunately, a sustainable world will not happen overnight and requires …

Radish: A Cross Platform Meal Prepping App For Beginner Weightlifters, Spoorthy S. Vemula, Tanay Gottigundala, Cory Baxes

Computer Science and Software Engineering

With the increasing ease of access and decreasing price of most food, obesity rates in the developing world have risen dramatically in recent years. As of March 23rd, 2019, obesity rates had reached 39.6%, a 6% increase in just 8 years. Research has shown that people with obesity have a significantly increased risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, among other life-threatening diseases. In addition, 42% of people who begin weightlifting quit because it’s too difficult to follow a diet or workout regimen.

We created Radish in an attempt to tackle these problems. Radish makes it …

The Effects Of Agricultural Waste-Based Compost Amendments In Organic Pest Management, Gregg T. Stephenson

Master's Theses

Soil-borne pests and pathogens, such as Verticillium dahliae, can devastate a wide range of annual and perennial crops. Current management options for organic production are limited and sustainable management of pathogens, weeds, and arthropods is important for staying profitable and reducing the use of harmful chemicals. Organic soil amendments play an important role in supplying some of the nutritional needs of vegetable crops and improving soil structure, while also contributing to pest control. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of grape and olive-based composts on soil pathogen load, arthropod communities, and weed biomass and diversity. …

Strawberries And Gut Health In Postmenopausal Women, Morgan T. Macneill

Master's Theses

The gut microbiota has been implicated in both health and disease. As such, diet is a significant determinant of gut health, whereby diet induced dysbiosis is associated with cardiometabolic risk. Interestingly, a higher proportion of Firmicutes and a lower proportion of Bacteroidetes are implicated in obesity. Strawberry polyphenols have been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in addition to exhibiting prebiotic activity by increasing probiotic bacteria in the gut. Polyphenols have also been shown to reduce the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes. Therefore, dietary modifications such as strawberry consumption may help improve health outcomes through the gut. The objective of …

Saponin Removal From Quinoa By Abrasion Processing, Luke Lundberg

Master's Theses

Quinoa is coated with a thin layer of saponins, glycosylated triterpenoids, that produce a bitter flavor when consumed. The average saponin content in commercial varietals from Bolivia average around 2.7% saponins and organoleptic testing shows the threshold for noticing a bitter flavor is below 0.12% (Medina-Meza et al., 2016). Current industrial processing methods use a combination of abrasion and turbulent water flow to remove saponin. This study will address the following research question: How will grain-to-grain and grain-to-surface abrasion affect the processing time to remove saponin from quinoa? In particular, can effective saponin removal be achieved in less than 10 …

The Effects Of Providing Social And Nutritional Enrichment To Dairy Calves On Development, Behavior And Learning, Kendra Leigh Kutina

Master's Theses

The objective of this study was to measure the effects of both a nutritional (water nipple) and social (partner calf) enrichment on calf body weight, grain intake, water intake, behavior and learning. The enrichments included 1) water provided from a nipple vs. a bucket (nutritional) and 2) visual and tactile access to a partner vs. isolated rearing with no visual or tactile access to a partner calf (social). A total of 72 Holstein and Jersey dairy calves were pseudo-randomly distributed into 4 treatments at birth [Individual/Bucket (IB), Paired/Bucket (PB), Individual/Nipple (IN), Paired/Nipple (PN)]. Socially and nutritionally enriched calves drank more …

What Advantage Does Difference Make? Leveling The Imperial Playing Field, Daniel Heinz

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

In this article, I revisit the last ten years of international sport policies on gender testing in order to revise normative constructions of the athletes’ bodies. Specifically, I focus on the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) new regulation from 2018 governing the eligibility of certain female athletes with differences of sexual development accompanied by elevated levels of natural testosterone. I argue that the IAAF testosterone regulation is based on a colonial continuity of upholding gender norms and racial hierarchies.

Exploring Correlates Of Infant Clarity Of Cues During Early Feeding Interactions, Alison K. Ventura, Sierra Sheeper, Jordyn Levy

Kinesiology and Public Health

Background Recommendations aimed at reducing infants’ risk for rapid weight gain primarily focus on promoting caregivers’ use of responsive feeding practices and styles. These recommendations are grounded in the belief that infants will effectively signal hunger and satiation to their caregivers. To date, few studies have explored how variability in infants’ communication of hunger and satiation may contribute to feeding interactions.

Objective Our aim was to explore variability in, and correlates of, infant clarity of cues during feeding interactions.

Design This was a cross-sectional study.

Participants/setting Mother-infant dyads (n = 86) were video-recorded during a typical feeding interaction within laboratory-based …

Executive Committee - Agenda, 5/14/2019, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Academic Senate - Agenda, 4/16/2019, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Academic Senate - Agenda, 4/09/2019, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Fishy Reasoning And The Ethics Of Eating, Mylan Engel Jr.

Between the Species

Ethical vegetarians believe that it is morally wrong to eat meat. Yet, many self-ascribed “ethical vegetarians” continue to eat fish. The question I explore here is this: Can one coherently maintain that it is morally wrong to eat meat, but morally permissible to eat fish? I argue that it is morally inconsistent for ethical vegetarians to eat fish, not on the obvious yet superficial ground that fish flesh is meat, but on the morally substantive ground that fish are sentient intelligent beings capable of experiencing morally significant pain and thus deserve moral consideration equal to that owed birds and mammals.

A Vegan Exploration Of Social Movement Theory, Abby Ahlgrim

Paideia

This paper was written as a final project for POLS 419 Social Movements and Political Protests with Dr. Jean Williams in the Spring of 2018. This paper aims to explore veganism within the context of social movement theory, examine the ideological boundary found at the intersection of private action and movement participation, and look at the relationship between personal and collective identity and change. First, through defining Suzanne Stagenborg’s Theories of Social Movements and Collective Action, this paper establishes veganism within the context of existent social movement theories such as collective behavior, resource mobilization, political process, synthetic approach, and new …

The Effect Of Alcohol And Bitterness Levels On Brewing Yeast Viability, Nichole Elizabeth Bryant

Master's Theses

Two of the most popular beer styles within the craft brewing industry are India Pale Ales (IPA’s) and those with high alcohol by volume (ABV). Production of these styles requires high gravity fermentation and high amounts of bittering hops in order to reach the required values for ABV and International Bitterness units (IBU) respectively. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of high gravity fermentation and high IBU levels on yeast viability and repitching cycles.

An initial experiment on high gravity fermentations was done in order to assess the effects this variable had alone. Successive five day …

Feeling Green: The Benefits Of Green Space On Urbanites' Mental Health, Kathryn A. Hoagland

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

This investigation intends to determine the best methods for incorporating public green space into dense urban areas, for the betterment of residents' mental health. Data from studies showing differences in the prevalence of anxiety and depression in urban and rural areas are discussed alongside data from studies looking at the effect that certain types of green space might have on mental health. While there is no exact consensus on the extent to which nature has positive effects on mental health there is enough of a correlation to argue for the implementation of public green spaces in urban design, in order …

Foot Support Taping Device For Off-Loading Wounds, Andres Fojaco Gomez, Mikaela Williams, Josh Pelegrin

Biomedical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Academic Senate - Agenda, 2/12/2019, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Windrow Composting Methodology In Killing A Thermo-Tolerant Species Of Salmonella During Mortality Composting, Spencer Gabriel Myers

Master's Theses

In a large agricultural operation, such as the one at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, disposal of deceased animals is an immense issue. The cost of transporting and rendering every dead animal is inhibitory to the general function of the agricultural operations and their thin budget. Therefore, we propose that composting mortalities could be an economical alternative. Composting is a recognized method for taking animal waste products along with carbon waste and turning it into a pathogen-free, nutrient-rich topsoil. Carcass composting is in fact performed in other countries and states to varying degrees of success. However, the California EPA limits …

Academic Senate - Meeting Minutes, 1/22/2019, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Academic Senate - Agenda, 1/22/2019, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Connecting The Dots: Campus Form, Student Perceptions, And Academic Performance, Amir Hajrasouliha

Focus

The influence of the built environment on people's behavior and performance is a traditional study topic in urban design. In this article, Amir Hajrasouliha discusses the role of the campus physical environment in student perceptions and in their performance and graduation rates through an investigation of 23 CSU campuses and a survey of 446 students. The author demonstrates that both objective and perceived measures are significantly associated with student academic performance.

Executive Committee - Agenda, 01/08/2019, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

Engineering Injectable, Self-Assembling 3d Vasculature, Kendyl Cohn

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

Our laboratory (The Heylman Lab) is developing strategies for engineering tissue outside of the body. All tissues in the body receive nutrients and remove waste via an intricate network of blood vessels called the circulatory system. Like native tissues, all engineered tissues require this blood vessel transport system to properly mimic the in vivo tissue environment. Therefore, the aim of this project is to grow three-dimensional networks of blood vessels in vitro. These vessel networks will provide the foundation for tissue-on-a-chip systems when embedded in microfluidic chips being developed by other members of the lab. The scope of this project …

Effect Of Prolonged Probiotic Supplementation In A High-Fructose Diet In A Pig Model Of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Victoria Smith, Meghan Melnyk

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of pediatric chronic liver condition, caused by hepatic inflammation, insulin resistance and steatosis. We hypothesize that prolonged intake of diets rich in carbohydrates, specifically fructose, will induce NAFLD in infants, whereas probiotics may ameliorate the symptoms of the disease. To assess the effect of dietary fructose and probiotics in the pathology of the disease, 24 leptin resistant neonate pigs will be assigned to 1 of 4 treatment diets for 10 weeks: 1) control (CON), 2) high fructose (HF), 3) CON + probiotics, 4) HF + probiotics. Animals will be fed 40 …

Rethink Infrastructure, Khoa Le, Arielle Eleazar

Goals

In the Camp Fire, Paradise lost thousands of houses as well as stores, gas stations, and many other private commercial enterprises. But the town also lost many significant civic institutions. The projects on this poster show some of the individual projects intended to replace those institutions. These are ones that could provide renewed focus towards the community’s wellness, sustainability, governance, and education.

Predictors Of Resilience Among Infants At Risk For Rapid Weight Gain, Alison K. Ventura, Kristen Thompson

Kinesiology and Public Health

Objective: The study objective was to investigate factors associated with resilience to rapid weight gain (RWG) among predominantly bottle-fed infants.

Methods: Data came from 1,353 mothers who participated in the Infant Feeding Practices Study 2. Mothers completed a prenatal questionnaire and monthly surveys of infant feeding and growth between birth and 12 months. Infants were classified as resilient if they were predominantly bottle fed but did not exhibit RWG between birth and the latter half of infancy (≥ +0.67 change in weight-for-age z score).

Results: Thirty-five percent of the sample (n = 467) was predominantly bottle fed but did …

Fresh Squeezed Fitness: A Case Study On The Marketing Of Orangetheory Fitness, Emma Schmidt

Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration

The fitness industry has grown immensely in the past decade as a form of health management. The industry has expanded to offer niche fitness facilities that cater to individuals’ specific needs and motivations. The purpose of this study was to examine the best marketing and branding practices utilized by Orangetheory Fitness. The research for this study was collected using a case study matrix, developed by the researcher, to evaluate Orangetheory Fitness’ marketing strategies. The study resulted in findings indicating the importance of technology advancement and brand differentiation pertaining to the success of Orangetheory Fitness. It is crucial for Orangetheory Fitness …