Digital Commons Network^™

Out Of Sight, Marsha D. Broadway

Children's Book and Media Review

No abstract provided.

Epidemiological And Virological Characterization Of Influenza B Virus Infections, Sivan Sharabi, Yaron Drori, Michal Micheli, Nehemya Friedman, Aharona Glatman-Freedman, Michal Mandelboim

NYMC Faculty Publications

While influenza A viruses comprise a heterogeneous group of clinically relevant influenza viruses, influenza B viruses form a more homogeneous cluster, divided mainly into two lineages: Victoria and Yamagata. This divergence has complicated seasonal influenza vaccine design, which traditionally contained two seasonal influenza A virus strains and one influenza B virus strain. We examined the distribution of the two influenza B virus lineages in Israel, between 2011-2014, in hospitalized and in non-hospitalized (community) influenza B virus-infected patients. We showed that influenza B virus infections can lead to hospitalization and demonstrated that during some winter seasons, both influenza B virus lineages …

The Effect Of Prescribed Fires On Vernal Herbs, Janis Lemaster

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The effects of fire on vernal herbs are little known. David Kem attempted to assess the influences of spring and winter prescribed fires on vernal herbs by collecting abundance data on three sets of research plots located at the WKU Green River Preserve in Hart County, KY, on April 9-10, 2010. On April 10 he conducted spring burns, and on February 22, 2011, he conducted winter burns. He then collected post-fire data on the abundance of the herbs on the 12-19 of March, 2011. He found little influence of fire on overall species richness and the density of common species. …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Hugelkultur And Its Potential Application On Karst Rocky Desertified Areas In China, Megan Laffoon

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A type of environmental degradation, karst rocky desertification (KRD) refers to areas where the soil loss exposes the bedrock and reduces the land’s ability to sustain life and is particularly widespread through the vast karst area of rural southwest China. Hugelkultur is a permaculture method that harnesses the wood decomposition process by burying logs beneath soil. We proposed that hugel beds will demonstrate a higher water holding capacity and enhance soil development, in a way that may show promise as a potential method to help alleviate problems of KRD. Soil samples were taken from hugel plots, non-hugel plots, and KRD-like …

Menkes Disease: What A Multidisciplinary Approach Can Do, Rahul Ojha, Asuri N. Prasad

Paediatrics Publications

Disorders of copper homeostasis are currently recognized across the life span. Their recognition and links to human disease have spanned several decades, beginning with the recognition of a degenerative disorder in the offspring of sheep grazing in copper-deficient pastures, through to the description of infants suffering from a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by epileptic seizures, developmental regression, failure to thrive, and an unusual hair quality (giving the condition its distinctive label of “kinky hair disease”). In this review, we trace the historical background and describe the biochemistry and physiology of copper metabolism and transport, inheritance patterns, molecular genetics, and genotype–phenotype …

Decolonize Your Diet, Jasmine A. Deras

Master's Projects and Capstones

With the industrialization of the food system in past decades, convenience foods have become the cornerstone of the standard American diet. This spike in obesity rates has been more impactful for some populations than for others. In low-income communities of color, fast and processed foods are often the most accessible and affordable source of sustenance. Critical indicators of status and well-being, health disparities are one example of the social barriers faced by predominately low-income people of color.

The Decolonize Your Diet project channels principles of resistance into its mission to improve the health of people of color in Oakland, California. …

Resilience To Capitalism, Resilience Through Capitalism: Indigenous Communities, Industrialization, And Radical Resilience In Arctic Alaska, Kevin C. Hillmer-Pegram

Interdisciplinary Studies

A large and expanding body of scientific evidence shows that the Arctic is experiencing rapid social-ecological changes. Arctic stewardship is a framework for governance that is based on the principles of resilience thinking and is gaining prominence in both academic and political settings. However, critical scholars have indicted resilience thinking for failing to adequately comprehend the social dimensions of social-ecological systems. Resilience, therefore, remains a problematic theoretical foundation on which to base governance. The aim of this dissertation is to improve resilience thinking so that it can overcome its demonstrated shortcomings and thereby contribute to improved Arctic governance. I propose …

Tangled Roots, Bittersweet Exposure, Chase Clow

The Goose

Accompanied by tree portraits, this personal narrative reflects upon the intersecting histories between the indigenous peoples of Marin County (north of San Francisco, CA) and the author, who is Euro-American, while contemplating the changing relationship to their shared woodland, the effects of colonization, and possibilities for healing.

Structural Health Monitoring And Bridge Condition Assessment, Feng Xiao, N/A 肖枫

Engineering

This research is mainly in the field of structural identification and model calibration, optimal sensor placement, and structural health monitoring application for large-scale structures. The ultimate goal of this study is to identify the structure behavior and evaluate the health condition by using structural health monitoring system. To achieve this goal, this research firstly established two fiber optic structural health monitoring systems for a two-span truss bridge and a five-span steel girder bridge. Secondly, this research examined the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method’s application by using the portable accelerometer system for a long steel girder bridge, and identified the accelerometer …

Joint Stewardship Of The Barents Sea: Russian And Norwegian Policy Expectations For Preventing Offshore Oil Spills, Troy J. Bouffard

Arctic and Northern Studies

As Arctic environmental conditions fluctuate, ongoing economic-related agreements established for the Barents Region continue to support and attract Norwegian and Russian oil-producing expeditions within the shared maritime zone. Increased industrial activity throughout the Circumpolar North heightens the need to understand the factors that influence policies responsible for protecting the environment – in particular, preventive measures. Agency theory provides the framework for an analysis of various dynamics that influence the Norwegian and Russian governments (principals) as they develop and enforce rules that regulate petroleum industries (agents). The research question asks about differences between the prevention policies of the two nations even …

The Role Of Phenology In Invasive Plant Species Success In Temperate Forest Understories, Lindsay M. Dreiss

Doctoral Dissertations

Mechanisms underlying the ability of invasive exotic plant species (IES) to establish outside of their native ranges and outcompete native species (NS) are not yet fully understood, especially in low-resource environments. In deciduous forest understories, where light availability is low, but seasonally variable, one potential contributor to success of IES is extended leaf phenology, which may result from earlier leaf flush or later leaf abscission compared to that of NS. If either is the case, IES would tend to exploit a broader temporal niche for assimilating resources, which is particularly beneficial if it results in photosynthetic activity when the canopy …

Improving Data Collection To Reduce Maternal And Infant Mortality And Morbidity In Malawi: Evaluating Chimwemwe Mu'bereki, A Community Based Intervention, Alexandra E. H. Jones

Master's Projects and Capstones

Maternal and infant death rates in Malawi are among the highest in the world. Over 17 million people live in this small country in sub-Saharan Africa, where the country’s life expectancy is just 60.6 years (World Bank, 2015). These deaths can be attributed to many complex factors, including cultural practices, lack of adequate medical equipment, long travel distances to health facilities, low staffing at hospitals and clinics, extreme poverty, and malnutrition. Without government support and intervention, community groups must fill in the gaps to make needed improvements to maternal and infant health outcomes. African Mothers Health Initiative (AMHI) enrolls high …

Advancements In Aging Research Target Multiple Age-Related Diseases, Staff

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Wellness Through The Lens Of Gathering, Gardening, And Grocery, Shannon Busby

Natural Resources

The food environment in rural Alaska has undergone a rapid transition as communities have gone from subsistence to cash based economies. As this nutrition transition continues and is further impacted by climate change, rural Alaskans need diverse food sources to maintain health and improve resilience. The objective of this research was to assess the role cultivated and wild plants play in wellness, and to understand current perceptions of gardening as a source of vegetables and improved wellness in Barrow, Alaska. A mixed methods approach was used, the qualitative component consisting of seven focus groups, 60 minutes each, which were audio …

Not Just Small Potatoes: A Comparison Of Four Agricultural Education Models In Alaska, Annie Silverman

Communication

Agricultural education is a means of increasing food security, increasing willingness to try new fruits and vegetables, improving test scores, and increasing community resiliency. School gardens, which are one form of agricultural education, are the primary focus of this thesis. In order to identify barriers to maintaining school garden programs, semi-structured interviews were conducted at four school sites in the Fairbanks area. In order to compare emerging themes from the interview data in the Fairbanks area to school sites throughout the state, a survey was also administered through Survey Monkey to schools that received the Alaska state Farm to School …

Sex Estimation In Forensic Anthropology: A Test Of The Klales Et Al. (2012) Method With Implications Of Asymmetry, Sandra J. Call

Anthropology

A sample of 204 American individuals was examined to assess the accuracy and reliability of the three non-metric traits described by Phenice (1969) and revised by Klales et al. (2012) for assigning sex. In addition, the bilateral stability of the three non-metric traits was assessed to determine if asymmetrical expression of the traits compromises the classification accuracy of the revised method, since a prior study found that application of Phenice’s original technique yielded low classification accuracy when applied to the right innominate. Klales and colleagues claimed that expansion of the classification system from a dichotomous present/absent scale into five character …

Ancient Celts: Myth, Invention Or Reality? Dental Affinities Among Continental And Non- Continental Celtic Groups, Mallory J. Anctil

Anthropology

Dental anthropological study of the proto-Celts, and continental and non-continental Celtic tribes during the Iron Age, particularly its applicability in estimating biological affinities of these tribes, has been generally overlooked. The present study helps fill the gap in the current understanding of these groups in several ways. First, 36 morphological traits in 125 dentitions from four regional samples, representing the proto-Celts, the continental and non-continental Celts, along with a comparative European Iron Age sample, were recorded and analyzed. Frequencies of occurrence for each dental and osseous nonmetric trait were recorded for each sample. Second, the suite of traits was then …

Qualitative Analysis Of In-Depth Interviews With Nutrition Educators Identifies Challenges And Strategies For Serving Alaska Native Clients, Ronald Edward Standlee-Strom

Natural Resources

Alaska Native people experience disproportionate occurrence of diet and behavior related health disparities and have been recognized as a population in need of effective nutrition education. It is, however, unclear whether and to what extent nutrition education programs have been effective for improving the diets and health of Alaska Native People. The objective of this study is to understand nutrition educators’ perceptions of challenges and most effective strategies for improving diet quality and health of Alaska Native people to inform program development. Nutrition educators serving Alaska Native Clients (n=20) were asked: What are the challenges their clients face to improving …

Population Biology And Ecology Of The North Pacific Giant Octopus In The Eastern Bering Sea, Reid Brewer

Marine Biology

The North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is an important member of pan-Pacific coastal ecosystems and represents a large incidental catch in Alaska; however little is known about the biology and ecology of this species, which hinders management. To improve our understanding of E. dofleini biology, I conducted a multiyear tagging study in a 25 km2 study area in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS). I used Visible Implant Elastomers to determine growth and movement patterns for E. dofleini and sacrificed octopus were examined to determine seasonal and sex-specific reproductive characteristics. Using tagging data and Cormack-Jolly-Seber models, I estimated survival and …

Back To The Future: Pacific Walrus Stress Response And Reproductive Status In A Changing Arctic, Patrick Maron Charapata

Marine Biology

The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is an iconic Arctic marine mammal that Alaska Natives rely on as a subsistence, economic, and cultural resource. A decrease in critical sea ice habitat and uncertain population numbers have led to walruses being listed as a candidate for the Endangered Species Act. However, there is no clear understanding of how walruses might be affected by climate change. The first objective of this study was to describe how bone steroid hormone concentrations relate to commonly used blubber and serum steroid hormone concentrations (i.e., cortisol, estradiol, progesterone and testosterone), because steroid hormones have not been …

Tuning "The System": An Evaluation Or Restorative Practices In San Lorenzo School District, Amber White

Master's Projects and Capstones

In 2013, The Director of Student Support Services for the San Lorenzo Unified School District (SLZUSD) implemented a Restorative Practices program in an effort to improve relationships on campus and decrease suspension and expulsion rates in SLZUSD. The Directors push for RP was fueled by the passing of Assembly Bill 1729 (AB-1729), when the California Education Code changed to allow for alternative disciplinary actions. States nationwide have passed bills similar to AB-1729 and allowed schools to use alternative punitive practices. Despite good natured intentions there were many faculty members who did not respond with enthusiasm and there has since been …

An Embodied Agent Helps Anxious Students In Mathematics Learning, Yanghee Kim, Jeffrey L. Thayne, Quan Wei

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Mathematics anxiety is known to be detrimental to mathematics learning. This study explored if an embodied agent could be used to help alleviate student anxiety in classrooms. To examine this potential, agent-guided algebra lessons were developed, in which an animated agent was equipped with prescriptive instructional guidance and anxiety treating messages. The lessons were deployed in regular mathematics classrooms, one lesson per day over a week, with 138 boys and girls in the 9th grade in the United States. After taking the weeklong agent-based lessons, students decreased in their mathematics anxiety (p = .042) and increased in mathematics learning …

The Murray Ledger And Times, August 17, 2016, The Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

Moose (Alces Alces) Browse Availability And Use In Response To Post-Fire Succession On Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, Erin L. Julianus

Biological Sciences

I examined post-fire moose habitat dynamics on Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge in interior Alaska with the objective of increasing understanding of local moose habitat characteristics. I estimated browse density, biomass, and summer browse use in a 2005 burn, 1990 burn, 1972 burn, and an unburned area. I revisited each site the following spring to estimate browse availability and removal during winter. In addition to evaluating browse production and use, I estimated proportional habitat use of varying-aged burns by 51 VHF-collared moose. I found that summer browse production and winter browse availability were highest in the 1990 and 2005 burns. I …

Partnerships For Change: A Collaboration For Global Wellbeing, Ravneet Gill

Master's Projects and Capstones

Partnerships For change (PFC) consists of a team of social impact strategists and practitioners. The organization is dedicated to promote sustainable development through direct humanitarian action and transforming social and economic conditions of underserved communities around the globe. With the commitment to elevate and empower individuals to reach their ultimate potential, PFC partnered with Jaipur foot, world's largest organization for prosthetic devices, to network Jaipur Foot to innovators and funders. They have also started the building of a health clinic in Johnsonville, Liberia due to inadequate medical support for individuals living in the community. There are several steps in building …

Breast Cancer Fund: Power Mapping For Policy Change, Roxanna Firouzian

Master's Projects and Capstones

The following paper is a summary on a 300-hour fieldwork experience at the Breast Cancer Fund. The Breast Cancer Fund (BCF) is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, CA that partners with organizations across the nation to expand their reach and health education. BCF works to expose and eliminate toxic chemicals in the environment that are linked to breast cancer, immunotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental issues. BCF accomplishes these goals through public awareness and pushing for policy change. In April 2015, Senators Diane Feinstein and Susan Collins introduced the Personal Care Products Safety Act. This is the first bill …

Integrating Local And Traditional Knowledge And Historical Sources To Characterize Run Timing And Abundance Of Eulachon In The Chilkat And Chilkoot Rivers, Allyson Leigh Olds

Fisheries

Eulachon smelt Thaleichthys pacificus are anadromous forage fish of the North Pacific Ocean that annually spawn in coastal rivers of North America in late winter and early spring. These spawning runs range from northern California to southwestern Alaska and provide important resources to nearby communities, indigenous cultures, and wildlife predators. However, eulachon life history is not well understood or documented throughout their range. In recent years, concerns for eulachon population abundances in the southern portions of their range have led to federal protection. Though there are no federal listings in Alaska, there have been local concerns documented for eulachon runs …

Spatial Variability In Size At Maturity And Reproductive Timing Of Golden King Crab (Lithodes Aequispinus) In Southeast Alaska, Andrew P. Olson

Fisheries

Many crab fisheries around the world are managed by size, sex and season regulations, where male crabs are given at least one opportunity to reproduce before being harvested. Therefore, to set minimum legal size and fishing season for harvest, information on size at maturity and reproductive timing is needed. Lithodes aequispinus has supported a commercial fishery in Southeast Alaska since 1972, with an average annual harvest of 207 t. The current legal size and season for harvest are based L. aequispinus growth and maturity information from other parts of the range and limited information on reproduction. Additionally, evidence suggests that …

The Influence Of Glaciers On Coastal Marine Ecosystems In The Gulf Of Alaska, Mayumi L. Arimitsu

Fisheries

Glacier runoff (i.e., meltwater and rainwater discharged at the glacier terminus) provides about half of the freshwater discharge into coastal margins of the Gulf of Alaska, where contemporary glacier melting rates are among the highest in the world. Roughly 410 billion metric tons of glacier runoff enter the Gulf of Alaska each year. With freshwater discharge volumes of that magnitude, I hypothesized that glacier runoff has both direct and indirect effects on the receiving coastal marine ecosystems that support rich food webs, abundant and diverse marine communities, commercial fisheries and tourism industries. To examine the influence of glacier runoff on …

Alaskan Arctic Epibenthic Communities: Distribution Patterns, Links To The Environment, And Brittle Star Population Dynamics, Alexandra Mariela Ravelo

Marine Biology

The Arctic marine shelves are characterized by areas of high and low invertebrate standing stock and communities that vary spatially in patches. Large-scale environmental characteristics, such as the distribution of water masses, the fenology of sea ice cover, and variability of water depth define changes in epibenthic community structure throughout the Arctic shelves. The longevity and relatively low mobility of epibenthic invertebrates make them especially relevant as indicators of long-term environmental patterns. In terms of standing stock and biomass, the most representative group among Arctic epibenthic taxa are brittle stars. Large areas of the Arctic shelves have dense assemblages of …