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Animal Dispersal Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius L.), Amy M. Hruska Aug 2014

Animal Dispersal Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius L.), Amy M. Hruska

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) is a long-lived forest herb found throughout Appalachia, well-known for its reputation as a medicinal plant species. Harvest of ginseng for the international medicinal plant trade has been a significant contributor to population decline of the species. As a declining species with life-history traits similar to many other herbaceous perennials and both cultural and economic value, American ginseng has become a focal species for many demographic and conservation based studies. Seed dispersal is a critical component of ginseng demography lacking empirical evidence for potential dispersal mechanisms. To date, gravity is considered to be the primary …

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Does Cultural Self-Awareness Alter Instructional Design Decisions?, Antoinette Hando Aug 2014

Does Cultural Self-Awareness Alter Instructional Design Decisions?, Antoinette Hando

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project looks at the influence background culture has on instructional designers. Current research supports the hypothesis that background culture affects learning preferences. This study approaches cultural background from the instructional designers' point of view. Using Hofstede's Model of Cultural Dimensions as a tool for understanding how culture influences our expectations in a classroom setting a survey was sent to subjects from various cultures to see if their design style correlated to the ranking given by Hofstede. The results were that background culture influenced the experiences of the participants and could be related to Hofstede's Model of Cultural Dimensions.

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Number And Size Of Paddocks In A Grazing System, Edward Barrow Rayburn Aug 2014

Number And Size Of Paddocks In A Grazing System, Edward Barrow Rayburn

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

WVU-Extension fact sheet

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Principles Of Grazing Management, Edward Barrow Rayburn Aug 2014

Principles Of Grazing Management, Edward Barrow Rayburn

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

WVU-Extension fact sheet

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The Current Status Of Meat Processing Facilities In Agricultural Education Programs In West Virginia, Eleanor Nicole Porter Aug 2014

The Current Status Of Meat Processing Facilities In Agricultural Education Programs In West Virginia, Eleanor Nicole Porter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

West Virginia has become a model for the local food movement. With a push for more locally grown food, there is a need for more people to provide local agricultural services. A number of agricultural education programs in West Virginia are providing students with hands on training in the meat processing field. Currently there is little information on the knowledge and skill level of instructors operating high school meats processing facilities. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the expertise of the instructors and to determine the training needs of these individuals in the area of meat processing. The purpose …

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Post-Translational Modifications Of The Paired Box Transcription Factor 7 (Pax7) In Satellite Cells During The Repair Of Injured Skeletal Muscle, Justin E. Sperringer Aug 2014

Post-Translational Modifications Of The Paired Box Transcription Factor 7 (Pax7) In Satellite Cells During The Repair Of Injured Skeletal Muscle, Justin E. Sperringer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Satellite cells are normally a quiescent skeletal muscle stem cell pool that upon activation rapidly proliferate and differentiate to repair damaged muscle fibers. The paired box transcription factor 7 (Pax7) is the canonical biomarker for quiescent, activated, and proliferating satellite cells and is rapidly down-regulated upon differentiation into myofibers. However, the factors that regulate the modulation of Pax7 are largely unknown. Post-translational modifications to Pax7 provide a viable means to activate or deactivate this transcription factor through the signaling cascade of skeletal muscle repair and regeneration. The sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) protein, a histone deacetylase, has been shown to be involved …

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Development Of A Remote Laboratory With The Integration Of Cloud Applications, Jeremy Thompson Aug 2014

Development Of A Remote Laboratory With The Integration Of Cloud Applications, Jeremy Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Distance learning has been a mode of education since its inception at Pennsylvania State University in 1892. What started as a simple correspondence course has blossomed into a globally accepted method of education. The need for remote laboratories is growing as more lab-intensive programs of study are searching for a distance learning alternative. The goal of this research is to establish the foundation of a remote laboratory in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at West Virginia University. The main objectives are to develop simple, easy-to-use graphical user interfaces to enhance the understanding of several concepts presented in the MAE …

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Effects Of Lipopolysaccharide Induced Inflammatory Response On Early Embryo Survival In Ewes, Megan Renee Graham Aug 2014

Effects Of Lipopolysaccharide Induced Inflammatory Response On Early Embryo Survival In Ewes, Megan Renee Graham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Early pregnant ewes, 5 or 6 day post coitus (dpc) were used as a model to study early embryonic loss via gram-negative bacterial infections, such as mastitis. Ewes 5/6 dpc were injected with a gram-negative bacteria cell wall component, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-&agr;), to induce an innate immune system acute phase response (APR). The induction of the APR and its reactant molecules, such as TNF-&agr; and acute phase proteins (APP), haptoglobin (Hp) and serum amyloid A (SAA), were initiated to study their effects on embryonic loss. In addition, ewes were also injected with LPS plus dexamethasone (Dex) …

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Comparing Flexural Strength Of Acrylic Processed By Three Different Techniques, Ankit Patel Aug 2014

Comparing Flexural Strength Of Acrylic Processed By Three Different Techniques, Ankit Patel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Statement of problem: Acrylic resin removable dentures are susceptible to fracture after periods of clinical use. There are many predisposing clinical factors for these denture fractures. Specifically, acrylic resin fractures due to poor flexural strength has historical been a problem with complete denture.;Objective: The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure and compare the flexural strength of denture base acrylic resin processed by three different techniques: Conventional Pressure-Pack (compression molded) method, Injection molded (SR-Ivocap), and Computer Aided Design - Computer Assisted Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) (AvaDent(TM) Digital Dentures).;Methods: A total of 45 specimens (64 mm X 10 mm X varying …

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A Poultry Litter Marker Gene Correlates With Pathogen And Indicator Bacteria Deposition On, Growth In And Transport From Poultry Bedding, Kameswari Sirisha Mantha Aug 2014

A Poultry Litter Marker Gene Correlates With Pathogen And Indicator Bacteria Deposition On, Growth In And Transport From Poultry Bedding, Kameswari Sirisha Mantha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Poultry is one of the major contributors of inputs to U.S. environmental waters due to the large number of poultry grown per year in the U.S. and litter disposal practices. Two studies were conducted during this research: (1) to determine the temporal rate of deposition and growth or decay of microorganisms in poultry litter originating from poultry feces and (2) the release and transport of poultry litter associated microorganisms from soiled poultry litter applied as fertilizer through soil columns under simulated rainfall. First, deposition studies were conducted to evaluate the deposition rate of microorganisms on poultry bedding during the growth …

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Experimental And Theoretical Studies Of Kinetics And Quality Parameters To Determine Spontaneous Combustion Propensity Of U.S. Coals, Xinyang Wang Aug 2014

Experimental And Theoretical Studies Of Kinetics And Quality Parameters To Determine Spontaneous Combustion Propensity Of U.S. Coals, Xinyang Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Spontaneous combustion is one of the most serious problems to mine safety and production in the global coal industry. It is considered to be the trigger for fires and explosions in underground coal mines especially for gassy mines. Such thermal events are not easily detectable since they normally occur in inaccessible gob and sealed area. It is also difficult to find the most likely hot point accurately. Admittedly, determination of the propensity for spontaneous combustion before mining activity should be a necessary step in the design of a mine and ventilation plan. However, due to the complexity of the chemical …

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The Effects Of Chronic Stress And Exercise On Mouse Pancreatic Islet Of Langerhans Morphology And Muscle Atrophy Gene Expression, Travis Parkulo Aug 2014

The Effects Of Chronic Stress And Exercise On Mouse Pancreatic Islet Of Langerhans Morphology And Muscle Atrophy Gene Expression, Travis Parkulo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Chronic stress has been implicated as a possible contributing factor to the onset of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus through its negative effects on peripheral insulin sensitivity and the insulin producing beta cells of the pancreas. Exercise could serve as a possible countermeasure to the damaging effects of chronic stress due to its proven ability to increase insulin sensitivity at the level of the muscle and improve or maintain beta cell function and mass. To date, no published research has examined the effects of chronic stress in combination with voluntary wheel running on murine islet morphology and skeletal muscle atrophy. The …

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Serotonin (5-Ht) Increases Olfactory Responsiveness In The Tobacco Hawkmoth Manduca Sexta, Samantha Lynn Jusino Aug 2014

Serotonin (5-Ht) Increases Olfactory Responsiveness In The Tobacco Hawkmoth Manduca Sexta, Samantha Lynn Jusino

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Behavioral states of animals change throughout the day and the brain has developed several mechanisms in order for neural circuits to modify network function in order to produce these states. Neuromodulation allows the animal to alter neural circuits to make them more or less responsive to a given input. Little research has been conducted to understand the functional role of serotonin (5-HT), a neuromodulator,on olfactory behavioral responses. In this study, we aimed to identify the functional role of 5-HT in Manduca sexta olfactory function. Using a Pavlovian-Conditioning Paradigm, we conditioned moths to 2-hexanone and tested them using two different assays, …

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Bubble Size Effects In Coal Flotation And Phosphate Reverse Flotation Using A Pico-Nano Bubble Generator, Yu Xiong Aug 2014

Bubble Size Effects In Coal Flotation And Phosphate Reverse Flotation Using A Pico-Nano Bubble Generator, Yu Xiong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Froth flotation is widely used in minerals industry. However, it is effective in a narrow size range, nominally 45--250 mum for coal and 10--150 mum for minerals. And the flotation performance of coal and minerals beyond this size range is not quite satisfactory. It is now recognized that the low-flotation efficiency of ultrafine particles is mainly due to the low probability of bubble-particle collision while the main reason for poor flotation recovery of coarse particles is the high probability of detachment of particles from the bubble surface.;Pico-nano bubbles refer to tiny bubbles smaller than 0.5 mum, which can be produced …

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Conceptual Learning: Enhancing Student Understanding Of Physiology, Micah J. Waltz Aug 2014

Conceptual Learning: Enhancing Student Understanding Of Physiology, Micah J. Waltz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Students are leaving undergraduate science programs without the knowledge and skills they are expected to have. This is apparent in professional programs, such as medical and veterinary school, where students do not possess the critical thinking skills necessary to be successful. Physiology is a required discipline for these professional programs and often before, as a pre-requisite. Physiology classrooms are an excellent place to teach critical thinking skills because the content consists of integrated processes. Therefore, in one study, it was investigated whether focusing on physiological concepts improved student understanding of physiology in both a non-physiological science course, Invertebrate Zoology, and …

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Functional Characterization Of Phosphodiesterase-4a In Behavior And Obesity, Rolf T. Hansen Iii Aug 2014

Functional Characterization Of Phosphodiesterase-4a In Behavior And Obesity, Rolf T. Hansen Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cognitive disorders such as depression, anxiety, and senescent-induced memory loss are a growing pandemic in the world. Anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder in America, affecting upwards of 50 million people a year; depression has a lifetime prevalence of 20% of the population, and it's predicted pathological memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) will reach exponential levels by the year 2050. While there are treatments for anxiety and depression, far less success has been reached with therapeutics for AD. Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) may be a potential novel target for future therapeutics aimed at combatting these psychiatric illnesses and neurodegenerative …

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Effects Of Dietary Immunomodulation On Parasite Load In Commercial Crossbred Lambs, Rebecca Christine Price Aug 2014

Effects Of Dietary Immunomodulation On Parasite Load In Commercial Crossbred Lambs, Rebecca Christine Price

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Multidrug resistant gastrointestinal nematodes have left sheep producers with little options to control the detrimental effects of parasitism on their flocks. Immunomodulation has been used in many autoimmune diseases in an effort to downregulate the immune system and alleviate pathology. However, upregulation of immune responses by use of dietary immunosaccharides may allow parasite susceptible sheep to clear a Haemonchus contortus infection. To test this hypothesis, Dorset-Texel lambs were fed a ration including CelmanaxRTM at 1g/hd/day for one week prior to receiving an experimental infection of 10,000 L3 stage H. contortus larvae; which continued until the completion of the study. Increases …

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The Influence Of 4-H Judging Team Participation On Career Life Skills Development, Evan H. Anderson Aug 2014

The Influence Of 4-H Judging Team Participation On Career Life Skills Development, Evan H. Anderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of the study was to determine whether participation in WV 4-H agricultural judging teams impacted life skills development. This study measured the current life skill abilities of past 4-H state judging team winners from 1995 to 2006, determined their perception of the influence involvement on a judging team had on that ability, and compared that with the importance of the various life skills in participants' current jobs. A descriptive survey was sent to the target population, who were winners of West Virginia state 4-H agricultural judging team competitions between the years of 1995 and 2006 and competed in …

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Grazing Systems, Edward Barrow Rayburn Aug 2014

Grazing Systems, Edward Barrow Rayburn

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

WVU-Extension fact sheet

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Why Use Management-Intense Grazing-Mig, Edward Barrow Rayburn Aug 2014

Why Use Management-Intense Grazing-Mig, Edward Barrow Rayburn

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

WVU-Extension fact sheet

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Motivational Factors Contributing To The Choice Of Agriculturally Related Careers, Lacey J. Sims Aug 2014

Motivational Factors Contributing To The Choice Of Agriculturally Related Careers, Lacey J. Sims

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examined the motivational factors of college students who have chosen to study in an agriculturally related field. A descriptive research design using an online questionnaire was used for this study to determine factors which influenced career choice. Likert scale items were used to determine how motivating certain factors were for respondents in influencing their decision to study in an agriculturally related field. The Likert items were divided into five constructs: family influence, self-motivation, experience, use of skills, and career opportunities. Items within the five constructs were further analyzed to discover the top five motivational factors identified in each …

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Tides And Air, Kristine R. Synowka Aug 2014

Tides And Air, Kristine R. Synowka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis discusses the intermedia and sculptural artwork for Kristine R. Synowka's exhibition, Tides and Air. Through a wide variety of different media, both traditional and electronic, a hypothetical world split between terrestrial plants and weeds and ocean environments is explored within the space of the gallery. Echoing the movement of the viewer through the gallery space, the imagery switches focus from the familiar backyard plants to an oceanic realm based off the kinds of environments that we mostly know from theory. A possible new mythology relating to animals is subtly hinted at through encounters with artwork portraying animals from …

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Vying For Relevancy In Stockholm: American Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations And The 1972 Un Conference On The Human Environment, Andrew Brown Aug 2014

Vying For Relevancy In Stockholm: American Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations And The 1972 Un Conference On The Human Environment, Andrew Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis examines the roles, ideologies, strategies, and behavior of American environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) during the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. This conference was the first major international conference to address environmental issues. The Stockholm Conference was a meeting for delegates representing national governments to dictate the direction of international environmental regulation. The conference focused on the participation of nations but ENGOs found venues through which to participate in the discussion on the human environment. In this thesis, I argue that even though the official conference limited the participation of ENGOs, these groups functioned as informal …

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Changes In Body Condition From Prepartum To Postpartum On Health And Reproduction In Dairy Cattle, Keli Ann Akers Aug 2014

Changes In Body Condition From Prepartum To Postpartum On Health And Reproduction In Dairy Cattle, Keli Ann Akers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The aim of this study were to body condition score, 72 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows at prepartum, compare lean, moderate, and over-conditioned categories, and relate any changes associated with the various time points with reproductive success by measuring body condition score, hematocrit, total white blood cell (WBC) differential, haptoglobin (Hp) concentrations, milk yield and monitoring health status. The body condition score changed significantly with time with the greatest unit loss being in the over-conditioned cattle from d -30 to d 35 postpartum. The BCS losses for each category did not have a significant effect on reproductive success at any time. Health …

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Human And Animal Behavior Understanding, Wenbin Chen Aug 2014

Human And Animal Behavior Understanding, Wenbin Chen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Human and animal behavior understanding is an important yet challenging task in computer vision. It has a variety of real-world applications including human computer interaction (HCI), video surveillance, pharmacology, genetics, etc. We first present an evaluation of spatiotemporal interest point features (STIPs) for depth-based human action recognition, and then propose a framework call TriViews for 3D human action recognition with RGB-D data. Finally, we investigate a new approach for animal behavior recognition based on tracking, video content extraction and data fusion.;STIPs features are widely used with good performance for action recognition using the visible light videos. Recently, with the advance …

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The Evaluation Of Emotion Regulation In Caregivers Referred To A Parent-Training Program, Nancy M. Wallace Aug 2014

The Evaluation Of Emotion Regulation In Caregivers Referred To A Parent-Training Program, Nancy M. Wallace

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, emotion regulation has become a topic of particular interest to both clinicians and researchers and has been shown to play a significant role in a variety of behavioral and psychological difficulties in both adults and children (Gratz & Tull, in press). However, parents of children referred for parent training may experience significant difficulty regulating their emotions as they attempt to cope with and control their children's misbehavior. The present study explored the role of caregiver emotion regulation in parent training by attempting to understand if (1) parents and children who are referred for parent training have difficulty …

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Inorganic Nanoparticle Nucleation On Polymer Matrices, Adrian John Kosteleski Aug 2014

Inorganic Nanoparticle Nucleation On Polymer Matrices, Adrian John Kosteleski

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The introduction of inorganic nanoparticles into organic materials enhances both the mechanical and chemical properties of the material. Metallic nanoparticles, like silver and gold, have been introduced into polymers for use as antimicrobial coatings or dielectric materials, respectively. The challenge in creating these materials currently is the difficulty to homogeneously disperse the particles throughout the polymer matrix. The uneven dispersion of nanoparticles can lead to less than optimal quality and undesired properties. By creating a polymer nanocomposite material with well-controlled size inorganic materials that are evenly dispersed throughout the polymer matrix; we can improve the materials performance and properties. The …

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Saints, Sinners, And Socialists On The Southside: Polish Catholic Immigrant Workers, Politics, And Culture In Wheeling, West Virginia, 1890-1930, William Hal Gorby Aug 2014

Saints, Sinners, And Socialists On The Southside: Polish Catholic Immigrant Workers, Politics, And Culture In Wheeling, West Virginia, 1890-1930, William Hal Gorby

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the years after the Civil War, Wheeling, West Virginia developed into a major manufacturing center in the Northern Panhandle. Until 1885, Wheeling was the state capital of West Virginia and was the center of cut nail production in America. The city already possessed a large population of Irish and German immigrants. However, with the decline of the nail industry and the transition to steel manufacturing in the Upper Ohio Valley, by the 1890's, Wheeling attracted many immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. These immigrants took their places at the bottom of the industrial hierarchy and were relegated to the …

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Visualization And Analysis Tools For Neuronal Tissue, Michael Morehead Aug 2014

Visualization And Analysis Tools For Neuronal Tissue, Michael Morehead

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The complex nature of neuronal cellular and circuit structure poses challenges for understanding tissue organization. New techniques in electron microscopy allow for large datasets to be acquired from serial sections of neuronal tissue. These techniques reveal all cells in an unbiased fashion, so their segmentation produces complex structures that must be inspected and analyzed. Although several software packages provide 3D representations of these structures, they are limited to monoscopic projection, and are tailored to the visualization of generic 3D data. On the other hand, stereoscopic display has been shown to improve the immersive experience, with significant gains in understanding spatial …

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Watershed - A Transdisciplinary Social Design Process Applied To An Environmental Issue, Forrest Thomas Conroy Aug 2014

Watershed - A Transdisciplinary Social Design Process Applied To An Environmental Issue, Forrest Thomas Conroy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Wicked problems are often vast, complex, and difficult to navigate. Often used in dealing with social design issues, the term "wicked" is intended to connote a problem that is difficult to define and solve rather than its moral implications.1 These problems, like watershed maintenance and pollution mitigation, involve an entwined community of diverse players, intricate systems, and ever-changing terrain. Because of their pluralistic nature, these problems can seem impossible to solve and even impossible to understand. This requires a collective approach and new ways of thinking to create better understanding and solutions. Important changes occur when citizens are knowledgeable, see …

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