Digital Commons Network^™

Pharmacogenetic Testing Implementation In A Rural Pediatric Psychiatric Hospital, Tianna Leitch, Shayna Killam, Kirk Katseanes, Karen Brown, Corbin Schwanke, Abdallah Elias, Susan Trinidad

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how patients’ genes may affect their response to certain medications. Pharmacogenetic testing enables clinical providers to individualize patient therapies and improve outcomes in clinical settings. Successful implementation strategies for pharmacogenetic testing, however, have been limited to major academic medical centers and large health care systems. By contrast, rural, community-based health systems, common in a state like Montana, have been slow to implement these advancements, threatening to exacerbate existing healthcare disparities. In the field of psychiatry, the effective management of patient medications is of the upmost concern, and pharmacogenetic testing may help clinicians to guide and …

Genetic And Seasonal Contributions To Variability In Vitamin D Levels Among American Indians, Jack W. Staples, Erica L. Woodahl, Erin E. Ellerbeck, Rachel Dalton, Kathleen M. George, Genevieve Krause, Tianna Leitch, Kenneth E. Thummel, Leeanna I. Muzquiz, Matthew G. Mcdonald, Deborah A. Nickerson

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Purpose: Vitamin D is an essential hormone in maintenance of calcium and phosphate homeostasis for adequate bone mineralization with roles in the immune system as well. Sources of vitamin D include natural synthesis in the skin upon ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, dietary intake from plant and animal sources, and supplementation. Vitamin D levels, measured by the primary circulating vitamin D metabolite, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), are variable across individuals due to latitude, season, diet, gender, disease states, medication use, and genetics. Populations living at northern latitudes (~40⁰N) such as American Indians of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) …

A Wolf In Fox’S Clothing? Using Stable Isotopes To Quantify Ecological Replacement, Tyler James Clark

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

During the Anthropocene, human-induced extinctions, especially of large predators and herbivores, have resulted in catastrophic ecosystem collapses. Recently, conservation tools such as rewilding (e.g., re-introducing a species to its native habitat) have been used to mitigate the effects of extinction. Another increasingly popular conservation tool, ecological replacement, proposes to introduce functionally similar, non-native species to fill the ecological roles of extinct, native species, thereby restoring ecosystems towards their pre-Anthropocene state. For example, the non-native Aldabra giant tortoise was introduced to the Mauritian island of Ile aux Aigrettes to replace the ecological role of extinct Cylindraspis giant tortoises. However, the …

Using Classification Trees To Identify Bumble Bees, Rebekah Brassfield, Janene Lichtenberg Mrs

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Identification of bumble bees is a time-consuming process that often involves lethal collections of specimens for microscopic identification. With declining bumble bee populations, new methods of identification are in demand. High resolution cameras have provided taxonomists with an alternative to lethal captures. High definition photographs provide a clear source of key identifying features, but still requires the evaluation of hundreds of combinations of features to correctly identify specimens.

Machine learning uses decision trees to classify large amounts of data in short periods of time. Much like taxonomists, the program learns to identify a specimen using combinations of characteristics. Two methods …

Relating Geodetic Deflection Under Hydrologic Loading To Stream Discharge Through Storage-Discharge Relationships, Noah B. Clayton

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Relating Geodetic Deflection Under Hydrologic Loading to Stream Discharge Through Storage-Discharge Relationships

Noah Clayton, MA Geosciences Candidate

Dr. W. Payton Gardner, University of Montana

Dr. Hilary Martens, University of Montana

Climate change impacts and increasing demands for water require better methods for estimating water resources at small to intermediate watershed scales (~ 1500 km²). In this study, we analyze relationships between GPS vertical deflection under hydrologic loading and stream discharge to investigate temporal changes in terrestrial water storage in watersheds with strong seasonal hydrologic events. Using publicly available GPS time series from UNAVCO and UNR and stream discharge …

Effect Of Home-Based Tai Chi, Yoga Or Conventional Balance Exercise On Functional Balance And Mobility Among Persons With Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease: An Experimental Study, Arva Mufaddal Gadly, Brammatha Pandian, Arul Selvan Dr.

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Background and Purpose: Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) invariably experience functional decline in a number of motor and non-motor domains affecting posture, balance and gait. Numerous clinical studies have examined effects of various types of exercise on motor and non-motor problems. But still much gap remains in our understanding of various therapies and its effect on delaying or slowing the dopamine neuron degeneration. Recently Tai Chi and Yoga both are gaining popularity as Complementary Therapies, since both have components for mind and body control. The aim of this study was to determine whether 8 weeks of home-based Tai Chi or …

Natal Stream Characteristics Associated With Migratory Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Troy W. Smith

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Natal Stream Characteristics Associated with Migratory Westslope Cutthroat Trout

Westslope Cutthroat Trout, hereafter cutthroat, are a native trout species of conservation concern in Montana that have historically exhibited a diversity of life histories within a population. This includes migratory individuals that move from larger rivers to their natal streams to spawn, as well as resident individuals that remain in natal streams for their lifetime. Due to habitat degradation and interbreeding (or hybridizing) with nonnative Rainbow Trout, cutthroats are becoming rare in large river systems and increasingly occur as isolated resident populations in headwater systems. This loss of migratory individuals can …

Developing Potential Land Surface Temperature As An Indicator Of Forest Regeneration Potential In The Western United States, Robin Rank

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Forests face accelerating threats due to increases in the severity and frequency of drought and heat stress associated with climate change. In particular, as rates of disturbance (e.g, wildfire) increase, and the climatological and hydrological suitability of landscapes for forest regeneration are diminished, vegetation shifts from forest to non-forest are expected to become more frequent and widespread. Most efforts at predicting these shifts have used correlative approaches which lack the ability to generalize to novel temporal or spatial conditions. To reduce uncertainty when predicting forest regeneration, researchers need mechanistic models and predictors of seedling mortality based on physiological processes and …

Physical Activity, Injury, And Burnout In Collegiate Esports Players, Hailee M. Eckman

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Purpose: Esports is the competitive application of various video games, where teams or individuals compete against one another with varying levels of skills. Esports play can emphasize professional or personal development in the individual player, and is gaining significant popularity around the world, with an estimated audience of 395 million in 2018(Nagorsky & Wiemeyer, 2020). With this increase in popularity, collegiate teams have been established to cultivate community and develop player skills in a parallel fashion to collegiate athletic teams. These esports players develop skills by training many hours a week in a similar manner to their traditional athletic counterparts, …

Quantifying The Effects Of Beaver Dam Analogs On Fish Habitat And Communities, Andrew B. Lahr

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Beaver-based restoration has shown to be an effective restoration strategy for turning incised streams into complex and dynamic systems. However, there are still uncertainties regarding the pros and cons of beaver and beaver dam analogs (BDAs) as it pertains to whole system effects. Concerns focus on whether these impoundments increase temperatures beyond thermal tolerances of cold-water species, reduce stream connectivity, and exacerbate negative effects of non-native species. In order to provide more context surrounding these concerns, we began a multiyear Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study on three pairs of streams (one restored with BDAs and one control) across Western Montana. In each …

Forest Resilience To Fire In The Western Us: A Test Case For Using Satellite Metrics To Assess Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Forest Recovery, Marie Johnson

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Fire and other climate driven disturbances are shaping the future of our forests. Given the vital ecosystem services provided by forests, it is crucial that we manage forests for their continued existence under changing climate conditions. This requires the immediate investigation of forest resilience, the ability of an ecosystem to withstand a disturbance by regaining its function, structure, and composition before a threshold is crossed and an ecosystem transitions to a new state. It has been widely recognized in ecology that resilience should be the primary goal of forest restoration and management, however, few studies have been designed to comprehensively …

Controls On The Magnitude Of Bedrock Recharge In Two Paired, Snow-Dominated Watersheds, Kimberly Bolhuis

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Controls on the magnitude of bedrock recharge in two paired, snow-dominated watersheds

Mountains in arid and semi-arid regions receive a disproportionately large amount of precipitation compared to their bounding valley aquifers due to orographic effects, but little is known about how precipitation is partitioned and transported within the mountain block. Recent research has illuminated dynamic interactions between soil and bedrock reservoirs, showing that bedrock permeability is potentially a major control on the volume of bedrock groundwater recharge. This study focuses on i) evaluating differences in bedrock effective porosity, and ii) estimating how recharge magnitude is influenced by bedrock effective porosity. …

Quantifying Subsurface Parameter Uncertainties With Surrogate Modeling And Environmental Tracers, Nicholas E. Thiros, Payton Gardner

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Identifying the uncertainty in predictions made by groundwater flow and transport numerical models is critical for effective water resource management and contaminated site remediation. In this work, we combine physics-based groundwater reactive transport modeling with data-driven machine learning techniques to quantify hydrogeologic model uncertainties for a site in Wyoming, USA. We train a deep artificial neural network (ANN) on a training dataset that consists of groundwater hydraulic head and environmental tracer concentration (³H, SF₆, and CFC-12) fields generated using a high-fidelity groundwater reactive transport model. Inputs of the training dataset and reactive transport model include variable …

Blocking A Specific Ion Channel Reduces Inflammation In Lung Cells, Becky Kendall

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Silicosis caused by exposure to silica dust is a serious occupational health threat in the United States and worldwide. For example, artificial stone workers are exposed to dust that has a higher percentage of silica than natural stone, creating a more significant exposure in a shorter period of time and placing these workers at an enhanced risk of developing silicosis. Silicosis is an incurable lung disease marked by chronic inflammation. When silica dust is inhaled, the cells responsible for clearing it out of the lungs, macrophages, become damaged and initiate a cycle of chronic inflammation that results in lung and …

Should We Use Climate Analogs To Predict Climate Impacts? A Contemporary Validation., Svetlana Yegorova, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Sean A. Parks

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

There is a need for location-specific, fine-grain, climate impact information to inform regional and local-level climate adaptation. However, such climate information is hard to obtain from the existing models either due to the lack of sufficient data or too coarse of a model output to be useful. Analog impact models (AIMs), provide an alternative approach. AIMs rely on climate analogs (locations in space and time that have similar climate) to forecast future climate impacts at a spatial grain as fine as a four kilometer pixel. Analog impact models assume that locations with equivalent climate (climate analogs) also share other important …

Aphasia Vr, Kristina D. Mahagamage

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Aphasia Intervention using Virtual Reality Technology

Kristina Mahagamage, MFA Graduate Candidate, Media Arts, University of Montana

Co-Authors/Editors :

Michael Musick Media Arts University of Montana

Jenna Griffin Speech, Language, Hearing and Occupational Sciences University of Montana

Introduction

Virtual Reality technology can help healthcare clinicians work with persons with Aphasia in therapeutic exercises that simulate real-world experiences. “Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write" (“Aphasia Definitions - National Aphasia Association”). Virtual Reality (VR) is a groundbreaking technology that allows people to interact with computer-generated (CG) simulations in real-time. …

Cough Desensitization Treatment: Randomized Control Trial Update, Jane Reynolds

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Cough Desensitization Treatment: Updates from a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Chronic cough is estimated to impact approximately 11% of Americans¹ and is one of the leading reasons that patients seek medical evaluation². For approximately 20% of patients, the typical treatments for medical causes of chronic cough fail and they are said to have refractory chronic cough (RCC)³. RCC has negative implications on a patient’s health-related quality of life⁴. Cough Desensitization Treatment (CDT) is a novel intervention for RCC that combines behavioral cough suppression therapy with systematic desensitization of the cough reflex using controlled …

A Hand-Held, Photogrammetric, Approach To Riparian And Stream Assessment And Monitoring, Joseph Dehnert

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Over 37,000 riparian restoration projects have been reported in the United States since 1980, but only 38% of those projects are currently being monitored; 70% of those being monitored reported that the restoration actions were not accomplishing their intended purposes. Because riparian zones serve as the connection between terrestrial and flowing freshwater ecosystems, it is important to identify and quantify their structural and functional roles in natural systems and monitor the restoration efforts being implemented. A rigorous understanding of the connection between riparian, geomorphic, and hydraulic processes provides a sound ecological foundation when identifying riparian management objectives and evaluating current, …

Developing The Label Avoidance Measure Of Stigma: A Preliminary Psychometric Review, Julia J. Cameron

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Stigma acts as a barrier to receiving treatment for mental health concerns. Label avoidance, one of several different aspects that compose the overarching concept of stigma, captures the stigma involved when individuals avoid social institutions that might confer a psychiatric diagnostic label and would mark them as an individual with a mental health problem. Label avoidance has been described as a key stigma construct in the literature but has been sparsely studied. Answering a call in the field for new, psychometrically sound stigma measures, we created a new measure of label avoidance and acquired initial validity and reliability evidence supporting …

Damming Celilo Falls: Mourning A Miracle, Farryl Elisa Hunt

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

ABSTRACT FOR MASTER’S THESIS

By Lisa Hunt

Devastation and Displacement: The Destruction of Native Communities as a Result of Specifically the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River in North Dakota and the Dalles Dams on the Columbia River in Oregon

The building of the Dalles Dam along the Columbia river, separating Oregon and Washington, inflicted severe losses over sovereignty rights for the surrounding Native communities. Long-lasting negative effects have occurred towards their means of support and led to the declining quality of life. The drowning of Celilo Falls by the building of the Dalles dam is a heartbreaking tale of …

Damming Paradise: The Struggle For Wild Rivers, Good Jobs, And Public Power In The Flathead Valley, Jacob T. Schmidt

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

This presentation will examine support of and opposition to the construction of several dams on the forks of the Flathead River in Western Montana between 1944 and 1968. Between the authorization of Hungry Horse Dam in 1944 and the passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968, the federal government proposed six dams in the Flathead valley. Among the proposed dams were Spruce Park Dam on the Middle Fork, Glacier View and Smoky Range Dam on the North Fork in Glacier National Park, Knowles and Paradise Dam on the Lower Flathead and Clark Fork, and a proposal to …

Supplemental Ascorbate Diminishes Dna Damage Yet Depletes Glutathione And Increases Acute Liver Failure In A Mouse Model Of Hepatic Antioxidant System Disruption, Colin G. Miller, Jean A. Kundert, Justin R. Prigge, Julie A. Amato, Allison E. Perez, Lucia Coppo, Gabrielle N. Rizzo, Michael P. Kavanaugh, David J. Orlicky, Colin T. Shearn, Edward E. Schmidt

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Cellular oxidants are primarily managed by the thioredoxin reductase-1 (TrxR1)- and glutathione reductase (Gsr)-driven antioxidant systems. In mice having hepatocyte-specific codisruption of TrxR1 and Gsr (TrxR1/Gsr-null livers), methionine catabolism sustains hepatic levels of reduced glutathione (GSH). Although most mice with TrxR1/Gsr-null livers exhibit long-term survival, ~25% die from spontaneous liver failure between 4- and 7-weeks of age. Here we tested whether liver failure was ameliorated by ascorbate supplementation. Following ascorbate, dehydroascorbate, or mock treatment, we assessed survival, liver histology, or hepatic redox markers including GSH and GSSG, redox enzyme activities, and oxidative damage markers. Unexpectedly, rather than providing protection, ascorbate …

Edu 407e.50: Ethics And Policy Issues, Erin A. O'Reilly

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2021-2025

No abstract provided.

February 2021 News Releases, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Montana Kaimin, January 20, 2021, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

Indigenous Culture-Based School Mathematics In Action: Part I: Professional Development For Creating Teaching Materials, Sharon Meyer, Glen Aikenhead

The Mathematics Enthusiast

This first of a pair of articles describes a professional development project that prepared four non-Indigenous mathematics teachers (Grades 5-12) to implement Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC, 2016) notion of reconciliation: cross-cultural respect through mutual understanding. The researchers collaboratively mentored the teachers to enhance their mathematics teaching with Indigenous mathematizing3. The teachers’ focus was on developing and revising lesson plans for other teachers to teach. This process explicitly and implicitly revealed precise supports that need to be in place for a teacher to succeed at innovating with this Indigenous culture-based school mathematics (ICBSM). Part I is a template for …

Communique, 2021, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Communique, 1953-2020

An annual publication of the University of Montana’s School of Journalism. This is volume 65.

I Just Want To Do My Job: The Experience Of Female Fighter Pilots In The United States Air Force, Alissa Christine Engel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Little is known about the female fighter pilot experience. As the Department of Defense recognizes the increased warfighting capability of a diverse force, it is important to understand the unique experiences of this rare group. This study uses a qualitative Phenomenology to investigate and describe the experiences of female fighter pilots in the United States Air Force. Several important findings emerged from the study including: the impact of the population’s minority status on their experience; the pervasiveness and impact of systemic sexism, institutional betrayal, sexual assault, ambivalent sexism, and pregnancy discrimination; details of utilized resiliency skills; the prevalence of burnout; …

Stellarator Optimization With Poloidal Field Coils, Haley Wilson, Andrew Ware, Aaron Bader, Chris Hegna

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Stellarators are devices that use magnetic fields to optimize the conditions needed for plasmas to undergo fusion. Unlike tokamaks, stellarators do not rely on a plasma current but can produce a helical magnetic field using only external coils. In a stellarator, the coils surrounding the plasma are called modular coils and those that follow the plasma are called poloidal field coils. Modular coils can be difficult to build if they are too complex. An effort is underway to develop coil conditions that meet both physics and engineering constraints. The FOCUS code was developed to flexibly optimize stellarator coil configurations [C. …

Decoupling Neoliberal Ideologies With American Governance And Civics, Henry J. Deluca

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Lasting neoliberal ideologies that emerged from the Reagan era have set a precedent for how American society is to understand itself in relation to American governance and economics. At its core, neoliberalism is rooted in the belief of free markets, laissez-faire economics, and federal deregulation. Using moral egoism as its grounding normative ethic and federal deregulation as its means of achieving its goal, this economic approach fails to account for our governments ability to protect the well being and needs of citizens. Furthermore, neoliberalism completely disregards the need for ecological health and stagnates our ability to mitigate the effects of …