Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Indigenous Involvement In The Fur Trade At The Bridge River Pithouse Village, British Columbia, Rebekah Jean Engelland

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Much research has been done on the Fur Trade period occupation of Housepit 54 at the Bridge River site. This thesis investigates the cause of resource intensification seen in the increase in projectile points, faunal remains, hide scrapers, and fire-cracked rock (FCR). In order to determine the impetus of this change, I compare the fracture patterns of FCR, the size of FCR, the densities of FCR, deer NISP, and slate scrapers, and the population estimate from the fur trade floor and roof to the last floor and roof of the previous occupation. This will determine whether the resource intensification was …

Extending Bootstrap Aggregation Of Neural Networks For Prediction With An Application To Covid-19 Forecasting, Mohsen Tabibian

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The aim of this study is to improve the forecasting accuracy of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and construct prediction bands for ANN models. The focus is on forecasting for epidemiological purposes, and in particular, the problem of predicting new case and death counts from seven to h days into the future for spatially contiguous regions. The task poses several challenges: datasets are quite small, and both spatially and temporally correlated. To overcome these, the methods attempt to exploit information induced by spatial and temporal dependencies. More importantly, we have developed a fusion of ANNs and bootstrap methods. Bootstrap aggregation (bagging) …

Mapping Ethnophysiographies: An Investigation Of Toponyms And Land Cover Of Missoula County, Montana, Emily L. Cahoon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis investigates the ethnophysiography of Missoula County, Montana via place names. Toponyms and landscape have been observed to have a relationship that can be studied through many lenses. Ethnophysiography, the study of how language and landscape relate to each other via human conceptualization, is a lens that was applied to this thesis because it recognizes the embodied information that toponyms carry and investigates landscape accordingly. Thus, the following research seeks to understand if ethnophysiographic diversity exists between toponyms in the Salish and English languages of Missoula County, Montana by analyzing place names and land cover in GIS and analyzing …

Protecting Life And Lung: Protected Areas Affect Fine Particulate Matter And Respiratory Hospitalizations In The Brazilian Amazon Biome., Derek Michael Sheehan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

I assessed the impacts of upwind protected area coverage on local respiratory health within the Brazilian Amazon. A hypothesized mechanism is the legal prohibition of human ignited fires within protected areas, reducing particulate matter pollution, impacting respiratory health downwind. The connection between fires and respiratory diseases in the Amazon is well established (Smith et al. 2014; Rangel and Vogl 2019; Rocha and Sant’anna 2020). What is not well understood is the potential that government policies aimed at preventing ecosystem loss may also promote health and wellbeing, combining the UN sustainable development goals 3 and 15. Protected areas currently dominate government …

The Impacts Of Integrating Interdisciplinary, Introductory Computer Science In High School Courses, Jan Roddy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Size Matters: Nanoparticles, Biological Sex, And Lung Disease, Jessica Lynn Ray

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The majority of lung diseases occur with a sex-bias is prevalence and/or severity. However, due to the historical disregard for sex as a biological variable in basic and clinical research, there is a fundamental lack of understanding on when and why respiratory inflammation preferentially affects males or females. The inhalation of engineered nanomaterials (ENM; intentionally produced by anthropogenic means and defined as having one dimension as < 100 nm) are of particular concern when considering emerging threats to lung health. Due to their extremely small size, these respirable particles are capable of reaching the functional gas exchange region of the lungs, where they cannot be easily cleared and subsequently lead to persistent inflammation, decreased lung function, and susceptibility to the development of other respiratory diseases. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) are an ENM of interest due to their widespread use in industrial, consumer, and medical applications, making them a potential hazard in both occupational and environmental settings. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are the resident immune cells within the lungs that are responsible for phagocytosing and clearing inhaled xenobiotics, including ENM. However, typical AM clearance mechanisms are ineffective at removing persistent and pathogenic ENM such as MWCNTs, leading to the production of inflammatory mediators and the recruitment of other inflammatory immune cells. AMs have the ability to adopt a wide spectrum of functional phenotypes dependent upon endogenous and exogenous signals; these phenotypes ensure that the appropriate immune response is initiated in response to a given xenobiotic. However, when dysregulated, these phenotypes are also associated with different disease states. Interestingly, there is emerging data that sex steroid hormones (estrogen, specifically) impact AM phenotype development and inflammatory signaling, which may be, in part, responsible for the reported sex-biases observed in human lung diseases. The present research identifies sex-differences in MWCNT-induced lung inflammation, AM phenotype development, and one mechanism by which sex hormones impact AM function and subsequent inflammation.

Sparse Forward-Backward Alignment For Sensitive Database Search With Small Memory And Time Requirements, David H. Rich

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sequence annotation is typically performed by aligning an unlabeled sequence to a collection of known sequences, with the aim of identifying non-random similarities. Given the broad diversity of new sequences and the considerable scale of modern sequence databases, there is significant tension between the competing needs for sensitivity and speed, with multiple tools displacing the venerable BLAST software suite on one axis or another. In recent years, alignment based on profile hidden Markov models (pHMMs) and associated probabilistic inference methods have demonstrated increased sensitivity due in part to consideration of the ensemble of all possible alignments between a query and …

Cop9 Signalosome Component Csn-5 Promotes Accumulation And Function Of Stem Cell Regulators Fbf-1 And Fbf-2, Emily Osterli

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

RNA-binding proteins FBF-1 and FBF-2 (FBFs) are required for stem cell maintenance in C. elegans, although the mechanisms by which FBFs protein levels are regulated remain unknown. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified an interaction between both FBFs and CSN-5, a component of the COP9 (constitutive photomorphogenesis 9) signalosome. This highly conserved COP9 complex can affect protein stability through a range of mechanisms including deneddylation, deubiquitination, and phosphorylation (Wolf et al., 2003). Mapping protein-protein interactions between FBFs and CSN-5 suggested that the MPN (Mpr1/Pad1 N-terminal) metalloprotease domain of CSN-5 interacts with the RNA-binding domain of FBFs at physiologically …

Nitrogen Dynamics And Transport Along Flowpaths In A Rural Wetland-Stream Complex, Colton Kyro

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Human activities have doubled the rate of nitrogen inputs onto the landscape resulting in elevated nitrogen concentrations in our streams. Anthropogenically applied nitrogen is largely transported to stream networks via groundwater movement. Groundwater discharge occurs in distinct points along a stream but whose influences can often persist far beyond that area due to insufficient biogeochemical removal of imported nitrogen potentially causing alterations in community structure and precipitating large algae blooms. To understand the factors governing nitrogen abundance in a historical polluted stream, I used a mass-balance approach to quantify groundwater-surface water interaction and the magnitude of groundwater nitrogen input and …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Transgender-Affirmative Care Training On Healthcare Workers’ And Trainees’ Attitudes Toward And Knowledge Of Routine Care And Transition Support For Transgender Individuals, Oakleigh Marshall Reed

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Objectives: Transgender individuals, often highly stigmatized and discriminated against, face challenging barriers regarding seeking routine- and transition-related physical and mental health care (James et al., 2016). What has been consistent throughout time is that contact as an intervention (i.e., personal contact, contact with educational materials, and/or contact with general media outlets) has been found to be associated with improved attitudes toward and knowledge of marginalized communities (Braun et al., 2017; Click et al., 2019; Reed, 2018; Stroumsa et al., 2019). The aim of the current study was to explore the impact contact with a transgender-affirmative care training may have on …

Ecotoxicological And Physiological Effects Of Salinity On Amphibians, Brian James Tornabene

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Salinity is a persistent anthropogenic contaminant that negatively effects freshwater species, communities, and ecosystems. High-salinity wastewaters from energy extraction (wastewaters) and road salts are major contributors to increased salinity (NaCl; sodium chloride), but most studies focus on effects of NaCl roads salts. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to contaminants such as increased salinity because of their porous skin, dependence on freshwater, and poor osmoregulatory capacity. We investigated the relative effects of wastewaters and NaCl on three species of larval amphibians with acute toxicity experiments (Chapter 1). Effects of wastewaters on larvae were predominantly due to high concentrations of NaCl and both …

Uncovering Cooperation In Housepit 54, Bridge River, British Columbia, Canada, Megan Denis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There is a significant amount of literature regarding the theory of cooperation, as well as ethnographies and data from modern populations that clearly show cooperation, yet it is difficult to tease that information out of the archaeological record. My thesis will focus on floors IIi to IIc of Bridge River’s Housepit 54 in British Columbia, Canada, which extends from the Bridge River 2 period to the Bridge River 3 period and includes two incidents of resource stress and one of resource plenty. These times of fluctuating resource availability should result in the population utilizing different approaches to social organization. By …

Social Connectedness, Community Participation, And Health, Ari B. Silverman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Persons with disabilities (PWD) experience social, economic, and environmental disadvantages which have contributed to marginalization, health disparities, and challenges with community participation. Various forms of social closeness appear to serve as protective factors against physical and mental health for the non-disabled population, but it is unclear whether social connectedness is associated with community participation and health for PWD. This within-subjects, correlational design study used survey and Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data from a sample of persons with mobility impairments (MI) to determine the direct and indirect effect of social connectedness and participation on health, the barriers and facilitators to participation …

Tropical Plant-Animal Interactions: Linking Defaunation With Seed Predation, And Resource-Dependent Co-Occurrence, Peter Jeffrey Williams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Plant-consumer interactions can be critical for regulating populations of both plants and animals. In the tropics, many trees rely on animals to disperse their seeds, but many of these dispersers are disappearing, with potentially disastrous consequences for tropical tree species and global carbon storage. Defaunation—the loss of large animals due to factors such as overhunting—can also affect seed fates, either by increasing or decreasing seed predation. We know that defaunation alters these plant-animal interactions, but we still do not know how these changes at early life stages will ultimately affect tropical tree populations. Furthermore, we do not understand how defaunation …

Concentration And Composition Of Nanoparticles And Colloidal Particles In A Mine-Waste Contaminated River, Kaitlin Rose Perkins

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Metals and metalloids (metal(loid)s) in aquatic ecosystems are often described through measures of their concentrations in whole and filtered waters. The filtered fraction is operationally defined as “dissolved,” and assumed to be primarily composed of free metal(loid) ions or of ions bound by low molecular weight organic matter. This definition ignores that the dissolved fraction also likely contains colloidal particles (1 to 1000 nm) that can pass through commonly used filters. This colloidal fraction can also be preferentially removed from the water column by algae and other aquatic organisms compared to free metal(loid) ions and organic bound metal(loid)s. Though they …

A Review And Evaluation Of Techniques For Improved Feature Detection In Mass Spectrometry Data, Annika R. Tostengard, Rob Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Mass spectrometry (MS) is used in analysis of chemical samples to identify the molecules present and their quantities. This analytical technique has applications in many fields, from pharmacology to space exploration. Its impacts on medicine are particularly significant, since MS aids in the identification of molecules associated with disease; for instance, in proteomics, MS allows researchers to identify proteins that are associated with autoimmune disorders, cancers, and other conditions. Since the applications are so wide-ranging and the tool is ubiquitous across so many fields, it is critical that the analytical methods used to collect data are sound.

Data analysis in …

Promoting Physical Activity Among American Indian Older Adults, Maja R. Pedersen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Physical activity (PA) promotion is acknowledged as a critical component to improve public health among the growing population of older adults in the U.S. American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) older adults experience disproportionately high rates of chronic disease and disability compared with non-Hispanic White peers, and demonstrate lower levels of PA, indicating a need for examination of unique factors influencing their PA behavior.

Purpose: This study revealed the current state of PA intervention research among AIAN older adults in the U.S. and utilized best practices to identify factors that can influence the development, adaptation, and implementation of PA …

Lifeglows Through The Anthropocene: Development Of The Radical Imagination And Response-Ability Within Superhero Comics, Reed G. Puc

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Scholars such as Amitav Ghosh, Timothy Clark, and Timothy Morton emphasize the importance of and challenge within the task of representing the power, scope, and scale of climate change in art and literature. These interrogations often emphasize the failures of extant works to animate their viewers towards action in a time of environmental crisis, but struggle to find any work that meets their expectations. This ‘game-over’ attitude, I argue, is the direct result of the cruel optimism present in the current scholarship’s attachment to ‘traditional’ forms of art and literature. By interrogating the conclusions Ghosh reaches about the novel’s function …

Investigating The Spatial Behavior And Habitat Use Of The Matschie’S Tree-Kangaroo (Dendrolagus Matschiei) Using Gps Collars And Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Uas), Jonathan B. Byers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding the movement patterns and habitat needs of the endangered Matschie’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) is important for their conservation and management. Endemic to the montane cloud forests of the Huon Peninsula in northeastern Papua New Guinea, these elusive arboreal marsupials are tremendously challenging to study using traditional observational methods.

This study is an assessment of novel techniques to overcome the significant challenges to in-situ data collection in remote and rugged tropical cloud forests. Animal locations are remotely tracked using purpose built altitude and motion logging GPS collars and habitat structure data is measured using photogrammetry from small Unmanned Aircraft …

The Effects Of Heavy Metal Contamination In Soil On Dna Degradation After Decomposition, Samantha Hofland

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The application of DNA is an ever-expanding field of research with many implications in the field of forensic investigation. Research into DNA obtained from soil is ongoing and suggests a new avenue in forensic investigation. This research seeks to understand the effects of heavy metal on the preservation of DNA within soil after decomposition of remains. Using pigs as a proxy for human remains, the effects of heavy metal contamination on the microbial environment and endogenous pig DNA was observed. This gave broad insight into the effect of surface burial and Western Montana; summer climate has on DNA degradation.

The Place Of Community Food Forests: A Review And Case Study Of Community Food Forests And Their Untapped Potential, Sarah Eiden

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As population grows, the borders of urban and peri-urban areas continue to expand. The UN projects that by 2050 more than 68% of the world population is expected to live in urban areas (UN, 2018). Presently, urban centers are heterotrophic, or highly consumptive of products produced elsewhere, making them one of the most pressing challenges to global sustainability (Wu, 2008). With an ever-increasing imperative for more sustainable food production, multi-use edible green landscapes and other autotrophic, or self-feeding urban agriculture initiatives, are gaining attention and creative practice to incorporate a diversity of ecosystem services (ES). Community food forests (CFF) are …

Modal Understanding Of Robustness Analysis, Grayson O'Reilly

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Aquatic Locomotion In Birds – Biomechanics, Morphometrics, And Evolution, Anthony Barrett Lapansky

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The entire diversity of life on earth exists in air or water. Whether an organism lives in air or water provides the most fundamental description of its physical world and establishes an organism’s ecological niche on the most essential level. Because these two fluids are vastly different from one another, they also dictate, via the process of natural selection, the morphology and physiology of the organisms which call them home. By studying how organisms interact with these fluids – to locomote or obtain food, for example – we have the ability to not only link organism form and function, but …

Large Carnivore Recolonization Reshapes Population And Community Dynamics In The Rocky Mountains: Implications For Harvest Management, Tyler James Clark

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large carnivores are re-colonizing their historical range globally, following decades of systematic eradication. The subsequent expansion of large carnivore populations is creating complex predator-prey interactions by trophically upgrading previously simpler food webs. Overlap between large carnivore and human range expansion is increasing human-carnivore conflicts, with many calling for large carnivore management to mitigate predation on harvested ungulates. However, the complexity of food web interactions in trophically upgraded systems coupled with independent management strategies for each species makes it difficult to determine what are optimal management strategies in these systems. These issues are further complicated by expectations of harvested ungulate densities …

Effects Of Wolf And Grizzly Bear Recovery On Cougars In A Multi-Use System, Jennifer A. Feltner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Hiding The Authentic Self: Concealment Of Gender And Sexual Identity And Its Consequences For Authenticity And Psychological Well-Being, James Michael Brennan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Concealment of gender and sexual identity is a reaction to societal stigma against gender and sexual minority (GSM) identities. Despite initially protecting against stigma, concealment has longterm psychological consequences. These consequences are potentially attributable to the psychological damage incurred from a reduced sense of authenticity among those who conceal their gender and sexual identity. Authenticity is compromised by concealment, serving to disrupt a person’s self-concept, as external behavior and an innate sense of self diverge. On top of that, an individual’s mental and emotional states may be impacted by these discrepancies. Additionally, concealment undermines the pursuit of intrinsically-motivated, goal-directed …

Gender And Sexuality Alliance Advisors' Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy And Social Emotional Competency: An Exploratory Study, Kelly Marie Davis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Literature consistently demonstrates mental health disparities among sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth due to their unique experiences of discrimination, victimization, and rejection on the basis of their sexual and/or gender identity. Findings from the resilience literature highlight the importance of emotion regulation skills, supportive communities, and a relationship with at least one supportive, stable adult in mitigating risk and thriving despite adversity. Relationships with adults confer tremendous benefit for youth and provide opportunities for youth to learn important social and emotional skills. However, due to the rates of family and school rejection that SGM youth often experience, they …

The Influence Of Ancestry, Sex, And Age On The Morphology Of The Frontal Sinus In Black And White Individuals, Hope Annelise Vance

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The frontal sinus is a cavity located in the frontal bone and is completely unique to every individual. The morphology is influenced by a number of factors, such as environment, genetics, and perimortem injury. This study focuses on the role that ancestry, sex, and age play in the appearance of this feature; the morphology and shape of an individual’s frontal sinus is influenced by their sex and ancestry to some degree. The following analysis observes the relationship between the maximum width (MW), maximum depth (MD), degree of asymmetry (DOA), and maximum height (MH) of the frontal sinus and the individual’s …

2020 Lgbtq Specific Substance Use Service Survey: A Study On The Availability And Perceived Helpfulness Of Treatment Programs, Chonghui (Gabriella) Ji

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Health disparities researchers have identified elevated rates of difficulties among gender and sexual minorities (GSM). In addition to a higher rate of general mental health issues, there is also a higher prevalence rate of substance misuse among GSM individuals when compared to the general population. Specific issues, such as stigma and oppression faced by GSMs, might have a direct linkage with the higher prevalence rate and might also impact treatment outcomes. To understand the specific factors that lead to substance misuse, as well as to understand the unique patterns of treatment-seeking and adherence among GSM clients, the development and dissemination …

Ungulates Search For The Ideal Home: How Predation And Forage Differentially Affect Males And Females In A Partially Migratory Population, Hans William Martin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Migration is a strategy used across taxa to access resources in temporally heterogenous landscapes. Migratory species can attain higher abundances because access to higher quality resources, and/or reduction in predation risk. However, most migratory species occur in partially migratory populations, a mix of migratory and non-migratory, resident individuals. I first investigate the potential mechanisms maintaining partial migration in a partially migratory elk (Cervus canadensis) population. I test whether the theory of Ideal Free Distribution (IFD) can explain the coexistence of different migratory tactics in a partially migratory population. IFD predicts that individuals exhibit density-dependent vital rates and should select different …