Digital Commons Network^™

Empire Builder, Jade Taylor

The Oval

No abstract provided.

The Oval, 2023 - Staff Issue

The Oval

No abstract provided.

How Things Die In A Pasture, Kristen Baier

The Oval

No abstract provided.

May 2023 News Releases, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Montana Kaimin, April 13, 2023, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

Putting Math In Its Place A Review Of Cathy O’Neil’S Weapons Of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality And Threatens Democracy, Nathalie Sinclair

The Mathematics Enthusiast

With its bright yellow cover and its ominous title, this book attracts attention. The subtitle, “How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy” signals very strongly that the “math” in question in the title is primarily that which relates to the statistical and computational means of collecting, analysing and using data. For some readers, the title might be surprising, because it challenges the typical understanding of mathematics as an objective and value-neutral discipline. Worse, it claims that mathematics is significantly involved in creating inequality and compromising democracy. If it is true, then the answer to the perennial student question, “when …

Studying Flourishing And Non-Flourishing In Mathematics A Review Of Francis Su’S Mathematics For Human Flourishing With Reflections By Christopher Jackson, Ryan Banow, Nat Banting, Egan Chernoff

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Dr. Francis Su uses an autobiography (or a dual autobiography) to discuss an issue in mathematics: it is often non-flourishing. When crafting this Euler Book Prize winner, Su and his co-author, Christopher Jackson, drew on their own personal experiences to educate and inspire readers to want to do (and teach) mathematics.

Zero To Infinity A Review Of Charles Seife’S Zero: The Biography Of A Dangerous Idea, Douglas Mcdougall

The Mathematics Enthusiast

“Nil”, “Nunca”, “Nada”, “Nil”, “Nothing”, “Zero”. Sounds of a multilingual class of mathematics, perhaps. No, it is the sounds around the family table card game as we all declare the number of tricks that we would like to take in a card game called Wizard. The speaker is telling the scorekeeper that they would not like to take any tricks. They would like to take “zero” tricks as if they could gather the zero cards. We all know that we do not want any tricks and we do our best not to take any if we declare that we want …

Department Of Mathematical Sciences Newsletter, Spring 2023, University Of Montana--Missoula. Department Of Mathematical Sciences

Newsletters from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at UM

Nontraditional Math Majors / Elizabeth Gillaspy -- From Crayons to Co-Degree / Cory Palmer -- George F. Votruba 1934 - 2023 -- Notes from the Chair / John Bardsley -- GOALS 2022 at UM: Report on an International Workshop for Graduate Students / Patrick Kreitzberg -- Gloria Hewitt Featured on EvenQuads Card -- Jon Graham’s Other Job: Mathcounts Coach & Mentor / Matt Roscoe -- Would you like to try a Mathcounts Problem? -- Update on the Honor Roll of Donors -- Degree Recipients 2022-2023 -- Spring 2023 Scholarships & Awards -- Diana M. Thomas, BA '91, Wins Math Research …

Thinking Essays A Review Of Daniel Tammet’S Thinking In Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, And Math, Ann Arden

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Daniel Tammet’s Thinking in Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math (2012) is composed of 25 essays that share his views and experiences of mathematics, connections he makes between mathematics and poetry, and biographical stories. He is a writer, a linguist and a tutor who was born in London, England and lives in Paris, France.

A Math Ed Take On Humble Humour A Review Of Matt Parker’S Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong In The Real World, Alayne Armstrong

The Mathematics Enthusiast

If anything, it was a few years of teaching grade eight home economics classes that made the situation very clear to me. There were the spectacular cooking disasters, like the group that while making a chocolate cake from scratch somehow switched the measurements for the salt and the sugar. Not only did they end up with a product that even a growing grade eight boy wouldn’t eat, but the cake actually erupted in the oven while it was baking. But there were also the smaller, more telling moments. I’d see a group from across the room that had come to …

The Siren Call Of Calculus A Review Of Steven Strogatz’S Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals The Secrets Of The Universe, Wes Maciejewski

The Mathematics Enthusiast

I hate calculus. Which is a lie: I secretly love it. I enjoy teaching it, drawing intricate diagrams of where the definition of the derivative comes from, stumping my students on convoluted trigonometric integrals with solutions dependent on partial fractions, hammering mnemonics for the derivative rules—all the joys of teaching calculus. And I enjoyed learning it, too. Well, not failing it the first time, but after that. I long for my undergraduate time spent in the reading room of Rutherford South re-arranging integrals à la Fubini’s Theorem, the massive lecture halls of anxious engineering students copying every stroke of chalk …

Strategies For Combatting The Climate Crisis: Policy, Organizing, And Community Resilience, Shannon F. James

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio synthesizes work I have done throughout graduate school through research and experience. I have had the opportunity to focus the majority of my work on the climate crisis and be involved in work to address this wicked problem. Though detrimental impacts are already being felt, the IPCC reports that humans can still prevent the worst effects of climate change. This is a problem that needs to be addressed on a variety of fronts. My portfolio discusses combating climate change at a federal, state, and community level. It highlights different strategies that will need to be utilized, including policy …

Applications Of Travel And Tourism Research - 2023 Montana Governor's Conference, Melissa Weddell, Jim Auer, Matthew Pettigrew, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

2023 Montana Governor's Conference on Tourism and Recreation jointly presented session, with ITRR and MT Department of Commerce staff.

A. Introduction To The Collection, Robert W. Lankston

Mining the Internet for Metadata

A description of the internet sources of information that are used in research to complete or improve metadata fields for images in the Montana Memory Project (the Montana History Portal after 2022).

Montana Kaimin, March 30, 2023, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

Montana Kaimin, March 2, 2023, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

March 2023 News Releases, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Medial Tibial Sesamoid Bone Fracture Of The Foot In A Collegiate Football Player: A Case Study, Chalynne M. Wisniewski

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Background: The foot contains two sesamoid bones including a medial tibial sesamoid and lateral fibular sesamoid bone, in which both are embedded in the plantar ligament beneath the first metatarsal head. Medial sesamoid fractures are rare and are often misdiagnosed. Radiographs may be inconclusive because a bipartite sesamoid may be present (sesamoid bone is naturally divided into two segments). Sesamoid fractures usually occur due to forced hyperextension of the great toe and metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint. Sesamoid fractures are often missed on initial diagnosis because the clinical presentation is similar to a turf toe injury. Pain in the ball of …

Comparing Computational Design Methods For A Type 2 Diabetes Medication, Andrew Voss

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a promising target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes because activating this receptor improves insulin sensitivity and helps manage glucose levels in patients. However, currently approved drugs that activate this receptor have side effects, such as weight gain, weakening of bones, and cardiac failure, which have limited or halted their use. The goal of my study is to compare computational methods that estimate the binding affinity of compounds to PPARγ. To achieve this, I will estimate the binding affinities of compounds that have published experimental binding affinities to determine if the estimated binding …

Microseismic Mapping Of The Aftershock Sequences Following The Magnitude 5.8 Lincoln, Mt Earthquake, Brett A. Steck, Reyer Fenoff

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Regional seismic stations are distributed sparsely throughout Montana. The thin dispersion of stations inhibits the evaluation of aftershock evolutions following a larger earthquake, as well as hinders the ability to record low magnitude events. To account for these limitations, a dense concentration of seismic stations from the University of Montana, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the USGS were specifically deployed around the area of the 2017 Lincoln, MT earthquake. With a magnitude of 5.8, this event was one of the largest earthquakes in Montana’s history. In years following the mainshock, a sequence of aftershocks have occurred along adjacent …

Chiral Nanoparticles For Analysis Using Capillary Electrophoresis, Sierra M. Paske

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

This project will develop and introduce novel methods for the separation and analysis of enantiomers. Chiral separation of enantiomers is crucial in the area of drug development where two enantiomers of a compound can have varying effects as pharmaceuticals. Many pharmaceutical compounds or targets are chiral, with each enantiomer producing different biological responses in humans. For this reason, the Food and Drug Administration requires that each enantiomer of a chiral pharmaceutical be isolated and analyzed. Analytical and preparative scale chiral separations are thus critically important.

Chiral compounds have virtually identical chemical and physical properties, meaning separating their enantiomers for analysis …

Methods For Extracting Wildfire Specific Pm2.5 For The Western United States, Ava Orr

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Air pollution and PM_2.5 from wildfire smoke have steadily increased over the last decade despite decreasing anthropogenic emissions. The increase in wildfires in the western US has highlighted the need to understand better how wildfire-specific PM_2.5 affects human health. To support health risk assessment studies from wildfire smoke inhalation, differentiating between wildfire-specific PM_2.5 and non-wildfire-specific PM_2.5 is essential. We used PM_2.5 data developed by Swanson et al. and three different methods to isolate wildfire-specific PM_2.5. The PM_2.5 data uses air quality station observations, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, aerosol optical thickness data, and …

Inverting For Earth Structure Using Ocean Tides Loading The Surface, Eleanor Serviss

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The fundamental question of geophysics is simple: What is inside the Earth? Because we cannot physically travel there, we rely on indirect methods such as mapping the strength of Earth’s gravity or studying how fast earthquakes travel through Earth’s layers. Most of our knowledge of Earth structure comes measuring the two earthquake velocity, the pressure-wave velocity and shear-wave velocity. In order to turn these two velocities into material parameters such as density, shear modulus, and modulus, we need to make assumptions about Earth structure. These assumptions come in the form of scaling and combining the velocities to recover the elastic …

Cervical Disk Rupture In A Collegiate Football Player: A Case Study, Hannah Kuracina Mx., Karl Reisig Dr., Benjamin Smith Do.

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Background: Cervical disc herniations (CDH) commonly occur between the ages of 51 and 60. Research suggests that less than 2% of patients with CDH were male and between the age of 20-29. The NFL reported 9 cases of CDH, from a singular traumatic event between 2001 and 2011. This case study examines a collegiate-aged male, a demographic not commonly associated with CDH. The typical presentation of CDH includes neck pain with unilateral numbness and tingling. CDH in young healthy adults is unusual and the clinical presentation, in this case, differs from what is commonly reported. This patient had no neurological …

“I Give The Kids My Warty Gourd Story”: A Qualitative Study On Public Health Nurses’ Experiences With Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccination In Montana, Juthika Jayendra Thaker

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Approximately 35,000 HPV-attributable cancers are diagnosed in the United States annually. Rural communities face a higher burden of HPV-attributed infections and cancers compared to urban areas due to lower vaccination coverage. The CDC recommends a 2-dose or a 3-dose HPV vaccine series depending on the age of the initial vaccination. Only 53% of eligible adolescents in Montana had completed the HPV vaccine series. While research on vaccine delivery systems has focused mainly on private clinics, rural adolescents rely on public health facilities for their immunization needs. A thorough understanding of public health nurses’ role in improving community vaccination rates will …

Childhood Vaccination Practices And Parental Hesitancy Barriers In Rural And Urban Primary Care Settings, Alexandria N. Albers Mph, Ms, Emma Wright Md, Juthika Thaker Mha, Kathrene Conway Bs, Matthew F. Daley Md

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Nationally and in Montana, children living in rural areas have unique barriers to vaccine access and lower vaccination rates compared to children in urban areas. However, there has been minimal prior research on rural-focused strategies for increasing vaccination rates. Our objective was to compare rural and urban Montana primary care providers’ (PCPs’) practices in promoting childhood vaccination and their perceptions regarding barriers to and strategies for promoting vaccination.

We conducted a mail and online survey of rural and urban Montana PCPs. In October-December 2021, the survey was pilot tested by PCPs across Montana. In January-April 2022, we sent out four …

Prophages Encode And Disseminate Bacterial Immune Systems, Amelia K. Schmidt

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Bacteria are under constant threat of infection by viruses called bacteriophages (phages).

As a result, bacteria have evolved diverse phage defense systems; however, these defenses are very specific and effectively defend against a narrow range of phages. I have discovered that the filamentous Pf phages which chronically infect the formidable bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa encode diverse phage defense systems. Infection by a competing phage mobilizes these systems, allowing defense systems to fluctuate in dominance in response to the ever-changing pressure of phage predation.

Parasitic Infection In A Social Carnivore: T. Gondii Exposure Increases Risky Decision Making In Gray Wolves, Connor J. Meyer, Kira A. Cassidy, Erin Stahler, Ellen Brandell, Colby B. Anton, Daniel Stahler, Douglas W. Smith

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite capable of infecting any warm-blooded species yet, requires a feline definitive host to sexually reproduce. Experimental studies indicate that T. gondii infection increases an individual’s risky decision-making but, due to the intensive data collection and large samples sizes necessary, T. gondii’s role in ecosystem processes is understudied.

We sought to understand the role in which T. gondii exposure affects gray wolf decision-making in Yellowstone National Park. To achieve this, we used 25 years of wolf serological and behavioral data to build generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to test for a change in behavior of …

An Rna Vaccine Protects Against Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Infection In Mice, Shanna S. Leventhal, Kimberly Meade-White, Deepashri Rao, Elaine Haddock, Jesse Erasmus, David W. Hawman

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) is commonly transmitted by ticks and has a wide geographic distribution, being endemic throughout southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Due to climate change, this range is even expanding northward. CCHFV causes a hemorrhagic disease characterized by initial non-specific illness (fever, muscle pains, nausea) followed by severe internal and external bleeding with a case fatality rate of 5-60%. As there is no licensed therapeutics or vaccines, there is great need for highly effective countermeasures. Recently, we have developed a self-replicating RNA-based vaccine which expresses two of the viral proteins: the CCHFV …