Digital Commons Network^™

Biological Treatment Of Monteverde Gray Water Using Effective Microorganisms And Mountain Microorganisms, December 2017, Sierra Raby

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

As in many rural or less structurally developed areas, homeowners and businesses in Monteverde, Costa Rica filter grey water through grease traps or biojardineras or release it directly into their yards. This study evaluates the efficacy of two concentrations of Effective Microorganisms (EM) and Mountain Microorganisms (MM) in improving local grey water. These solutions contain biologically beneficial bacteria, yeast, and fungi. I collected grey water from six residential and commercial sources, treated each source with EM and MM in different concentrations, and gathered water quality metrics from each group for seven days. The metrics included surface cover, sedimentation, layering, smell, …

Color Change In Dolabrifera Dolabrifera (Sea Hare) In Response To Substrate Change, December 2017, Jennay Argiris

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Dolabrifera dolabrifera is an Opisthobranch (sea slug) known for its cryptic coloration. This coloration is an important defense mechanism, but D. dolabrifera have never been studied to see if they change colors to increase their cryptic nature. After photographing 12 D. dolabrifera on different substrates, the color of the slugs and their substrate were determined. These colors were then depicted as hue values. Each D. dolabrifera was photographed three times, in different tide pools and over time. Every D. dolabrifera was graphed with the hue value found for the slug, substrate and reference for the three photographs taken. After analyzing …

Insect Communities Across Forest Fragments Of Different Sizes In Monteverde, December 2017, Jesse Laine

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Forest fragmentation creates numerous boundaries and microclimates that affect organisms of all taxa. I studied the composition of insect communities across two forest fragments of different sizes, as well as continuous forest and pasture. Pitfall traps and sweep netting techniques were used to sample 888 insects overall. The fragments had similar numbers of insects and morphospecies, regardless of size. The pasture had the most morphospecies present. In addition, Forest edges consistently showed higher abundance and diversity than forest cores. This indicates that reduction of habitable land does not always reduce the numbers of individuals and species, and in some cases …

Species Distribution Of The Rocky Intertidal Zone Organisms At La Islita In Cuajiniquil, Costa Rica, December 2017, John La Bonte

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

The rocky intertidal zone is an area of the seashore between the high and low tide marks with a hard substrate for organisms to move on. The organisms in this habitat face biotic and abiotic factors that determine their distribution and abundance through a biological mechanism called vertical zonation. I studied the rocky intertidal zone of La Islita near Cuajiniquil, Costa Rica in an effort to find the species that are present in this habitat and their relative abundance throughout the zone. I surveyed five transects that spanned the majority of La Islita to find where and in what abundance …

Diet Of Frugivorous Birds And Bats In Monteverde: Potential Seed Dispersal In Naturally Disrupted Areas, December 2017, Yibing Yu

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

After a natural disruption clears away the previous plant community, plants from the new vegetation succession will exploit the newly opened up spaces and start growing in this area. Seed dispersal by aerial animals is important in the new vegetation succession because it allows seeds from places relatively far away to access the area. In early October the storm Nate caused flash floods and landslildes, which disturbed many natural habitats in Monteverde. In this study I investigated plant species that naturally grow in disrupted areas by looking at what kind of seeds are dispersed by the frugivorous birds and bats …

Bright Futures; Teaching Parents The Importance Of Well Child Checkups, Estefania Lopez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Early Head Start has many children not following the schedule of the well-baby checkups. Out of a group of 30 children, 12 are missing components of the well-baby checkups. They are missing at least one of the requirements. Requirements include immunizations, dental exams, vision, or physical examination. This report describes an educational project in Monterey County Office of Education at the Early Head Start, to inform parents the importance to follow the schedule of the well-baby checkups. There are many reasons why children are not following their well-baby checkups, and it was important to teach the parents what causes, …

Almost Home: An Interim Solution To Homelessness, Daleen M. Pearse

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In 2015 there were 4,627 homeless individuals unsheltered in Santa Clara County (Home Not Found, 2015). With very few housing options available many homeless individuals are forced to camp illegally in conditions that are unsafe and inhumane. The Gilroy Compassion Center has addressed the need for an interim solution to homelessness with its Almost Home Camping Program. This program provides stability to individuals who participate by providing transitional housing in a campground setting as an alternative to camping illegally. Participants address their own personal barriers whether it is substance abuse, mental or physical health, as well as other barriers identified …

Friends Outside New Program Feasibility, Monica Miramontes-Valadez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Friends Outside is a nonprofit organization that primarily works with the incarcerated, newly released individuals, and probationers. Currently, female perpetrators of domestic violence who cannot afford the 52-week treatment program are being referred to Friends Outside to comply with probation terms, but they are not receiving any credit toward certification for completion, not is it being recognized by the California Courts. Presently, there is one program available in the entire Santa Cruz County, New View, which is only available in English and has limited time availability and prohibitive costs. The project focus was to examine whether Friends Outside should fill …

Get Out: Preparing Families For Emergencies, Megan Fletcher

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone project is on the effects of natural disasters on families and young children. This is an important issue because parents have to prepare to take care of themselves and their children if an emergency strikes. An argument is made that preparing children for emergencies can reduce the negative physical and emotional impact of the traumatic event. Considerations of the issue, should include the perspective of parents at Mimi’s Daycare in California because they are primary caregivers of young children. Three action options emerged from the data and explored as ways to address the issue presented: …

Play It Forward: Cooperative Learning And Structured Play, Mary Rossi, Tyler Elwin

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Cooperative learning and structured play (CLASP) are two things that have gone unappreciated in the modern educational setting. This is an important issue for many local low-income schools as the dropout rate is so high. CLASP ideals come with a wide array of positive outcomes that look to brighten the futures of affected youth. CLASP provides an incredible number of scholarly benefits: increased school involvement, higher grade point average,, improved interpersonal relationships, increased ability to work as a team, etc. This Capstone identifies these critical benefits and addresses the best way to properly utilize CLASP within the school setting. The …

The Utility Of Sonification, Colin St. John

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Sonification is the process of translating data sets into sound or music for artistic, scientific, or practical purposes. As a tool, sonification can facilitate the interpretation and comprehension of information by perceiving it in a traditionally unusual manner - aurally, through expressions and variations in volume, pitch, timbre, and more. However, each of these factors present their own limitations and strengths, due to their nature as well as due to human perception, which must be considered when creating an audio display. Through sonification, the line between artist and scientist is often blurred, as this field attracts a wide interdisciplinary following …

Parental Perceptions Of Stem Enrichment For Young Children, Juliana Tay, Alissa Salazar, Hyeseong Lee

Department of Education Studies Graduate Student Publications

Most pre-kindergarten and kindergarten curricula are challenging and engaging, but few are strongly grounded in STEM education. In this study, the authors examined parental perception (N=55) of the influences of a Saturday STEM enrichment program in one university center on pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students and their attitudes towards STEM learning. Using survey data collected from 2013 – 2016, the authors studied parental comments about benefits, drawbacks, and memorable moments they observed from their children’s experiences during the program. These comments were analyzed qualitatively using NVivo and three main themes were developed. The themes were children’s reactions to STEM …

Delayed Effects Of Sub-Lethal Lampricide, 3-Trifluoromethyl-4-Nitrophenol (Tfm), Exposure On The Metabolic Physiology Of Juvenile Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens), Matthew J. Symbal

All NMU Master's Theses

The lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) can be lethal to juvenile lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) at high concentrations used to control invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Little is known about how TFM would affect juvenile lake sturgeon (age-0) at the sub-lethal concentrations encountered during routine lampricide treatments; specifically, its effects on growth, stress response, and metabolism. Age-0 lake sturgeon were exposed to TFM concentrations at levels 0.0x, 0.5x, and 1.0x the minimum lethal concentration (mlc) of TFM required to kill 99.9% of sea lamprey larvae during a routine stream treatment. The mlc was estimated based on pH and alkalinity …

An Unstable Container, John Lapine

All NMU Master's Theses

An Unstable Container is a collection of short creative nonfiction essays and poetry, with influences from personal memoir, lyric essays, race and gender studies, and poetry. The work examines the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, and the ways in which language, society, and the human body contribute to the construction of one's sense of self. Through the lenses of language, modern technology, medicine, and genetics, An Unstable Container explores blackness, queerness, masculine identity, growing up in rural Michigan, and the dangers and pleasures of corporeality. The collection also interrogates the social institutions of marriage and religion, gender roles, and …

A Road Out Of Naknek Part One: The Tide Turns, Keith Wilson

All NMU Master's Theses

I make an annual summertime return to Naknek, a town on Bristol Bay where the salmon have made their own annual summertime return for thousands of years. My thesis is a series of nonfiction essays about my background there, both as a commercial fisherman and my upbringing. It is something I consider the “Part One” of a book still under the process of writing. It is a series of essays, alternating these two motifs of the salmon and of my experiences growing up somewhere like Naknek.

I constructed this thesis to read like the tide. Bristol Bay salmon go out …

Op Ed-Opinions And Editorials-Educators, Not Engineers, Should Lead The Fight Against Fake News, Adam Blackwell

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Questions And Answers-Copyright Column, Laura N. Gassaway

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Legally Speaking-Facing Up To Facebook, William Hannay, Bryan M. Carson, Jack Montgomery, Bruce Strauch

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Voiceless Victims In Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso, Henry James Morello

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Voiceless Victims in Sin tetas no hay paraíso" Henry James Morello discusses Gustavo Bolívar's Sin tetas no hay paraiso. The novel is, in Bolívar's words, his way of bringing attention to the problem of young women in Colombia using prostitution in order to pay for plastic surgery a very specific problem facing the youth of Colombia. However, at what price is the success of the novel? Or, rather, who is compromised as a result of this cultural phenomenon? The author may have intended to write a novel that called attention to the problems facing Colombian …

Wryly Noted-Books About Books, John D. Riley

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

The Plays Of Kalidasa: Treading The Line Between Constraint And Freedom, Sukanya Chakrabarti

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The world of Kalidasa is defined by transgression at many levels. The possibilities of his dramatic world are vast and each level interacts with the other only because of the transgressive power of love and memory, and sometimes,even of forgetfulness. I argue that Kalidasa’s plays transcend, rather than establish, the conflicts between love and duty. I establish that the diverse and, often disjunctive, worlds seem to be in conversation in Kalidasa’s unifying dramatic realm –in this realm, while everything seems possible, everything possible can be made impossible because of the disruptive power of memory or forgetfulness.

Pseudomyogenic Hemangioendothelioma: A Vascular Tumor Previously Undescribed In The Oral Cavity, Yeshwant B. Rawal, Kenneth M. Anderson, Thomas B. Dodson

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

The pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma (PMH) is a low-grade malignant vascular neoplasm of different tissue planes including skin and soft tissue. Primary tumors in the skeletal muscle and bone have also been diagnosed. The PMH was introduced into the WHO classification of tumors of soft tissue and bone in 2013. This is the first description of oral involvement. A 21-year-old female presented with a 2-month old swelling of her gingiva. The swelling appeared red in color and was soft in consistency. A clinical diagnosis of a pyogenic granuloma was made and an incisional biopsy was submitted for histopathological evaluation. The lesion consisted …

Divergent Schwannoma-Like Phenotype In A Pleomorphic Adenoma, Srinivasa R. Chandra, Farah Karim, Yeshwant B. Rawal

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

The schwannoma-like pleomorphic adenoma is a rare histopathological variant of the pleomorphic adenoma. Five previous reports with seven cases exist in English language literature. These tumors present in the parotid gland most commonly. Intraparotid schwannomas of the facial nerve and schwannomas with glandular differentiation have also been reported. A 60-year-old male presented with an asymptomatic swelling over the left angle of the mandible. The swelling had been present for about 12 years with a recent increase in size. CT imaging showed a hyperdense circumscribed mass of the superficial lobe of the parotid. The working diagnosis was that of a benign …

Pioneering Extension Nutrition Education With Ipad Apps: A Development Story, Sondra M. Parmer, Barb Struempler, Katie Funderburk, Greg Parmer

Journal of Extension

Technology can be an effective vehicle for Extension nutrition education. Body Quest: Food of the Warrior is a childhood obesity prevention initiative of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System that successfully incorporates technology in the classroom. With Body Quest, students learn about healthful eating through blended learning involving both classroom instruction and self-directed e-learning via apps. Seven iPad apps excite students and engage them in the learning process. Extension professionals can benefit from our lessons learned for creating a successful app.

Understanding Predictors Of Nutrient Management Practice Diversity In Midwestern Agriculture, Hanna Bates, J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr.

Journal of Extension

Agriculture's negative effect on water quality has become increasingly well documented. Farmers have a range of conservation practices available, yet rate of adoption is not optimal. Extension and other agricultural stakeholders play a key role in promotion of conservation practice adoption. We used survey data to examine relationships between farmers' integration in agricultural social networks and diversity of conservation practices used. Farmers who were more engaged in agricultural organizations and social networks tended to report greater diversity in nutrient best management practices. Conversely, less "connected" farmers reported less management practice diversity. Opportunities for Extension to engage with both groups exist.

Short-Term Effect Of Coconut Oil Supplementation On Meal Pattern In Crossbred Dairy Goats Fed Under Tropical Environment, Sumpun Thammacharoen, Thiet Nguyen, Somchai Chanpongsang, Narongsak Chaiyabutr

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Eating behavior is influenced by various external stimuli, including food and ambient temperature (Ta). In dairy animals, high ambient temperature (HTa) decreases eating and subsequently reduces milk production. Eight crossbred non-lactating Saanen goats in late pregnancy fed under HTa condition were used to investigate the normal eating behavior by comparing the short-term eating pattern of control with 2% coconut oil supplemented formulations. The goats were fed ad libitum twice daily a total mix ration with free access to water. The experiment lasted 17 days, 9 days for adaptation and 8 days for data collection. Meal patterns were determined on the …

Ostrich As A Possible Source Of Pathogenic Strains Of Clostridium Difficile, Seyed Mohsen Jafari, Gholamali Kalidari, Seyed Mostafa Peighambari, Jamshid Razmyar

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is known as the most important causative agent of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis in human. According to recent studies, food animals, especially poultry, are known as carriers for toxin harboring C. difficile. Since ostrich farming is a growing industry in Iran, the characterization and genotyping of C. difficile isolates in ostriches are very important for public health. A total of 100 fecal samples were collected from 10 ostrich farms located in the north-east of Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. The samples were cultured anaerobically. Multiplex PCR was applied in order to detect tcdB, tcdA, cdtA and cdtB genes …

Study Of Self-Similarity In Brain Data, Jennifer Holst

Student Theses

In the area of computer science, past research has found that the concept of self-similarity is present in local and Internet-based network traffic. This study considers the possibility that data traveling through the neuronal network in the human brain is also self-similar. By analyzing publicly available raw EEG data and estimating its Hurst parameter, we find indications that brain data traffic may in fact be self-similar.

Novel Duplication Mutation Of The Dysf Gene In A Pakistani Family With Miyoshi Myopathy, Muhammad I. Ullah, Arsalan Ahmad, Milena Žarković, Syed S. Shah, Abdul Nasir, Saqib Mahmood, Wasim Ahmad, Christian A. Hübner, Muhammad J. Hassan

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To identify the underlying gene mutation in a large consanguineous Pakistani family. Methods: This is an observational descriptive study carried out at the Department of Biochemistry, Shifa International Hospital, Quaid-i-Azam University, and Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan from 2013-2016. Genomic DNA of all recruited family members was extracted and the Trusight one sequencing panel was used to assess genes associated with a neuro-muscular phenotype. Comparative modeling of mutated and wild-type protein was carried out by PyMOL tool. Results: Clinical investigations of an affected individual showed typical features of Miyoshi myopathy (MM) …

Faith And Reason In The Pursuit Of Understanding, Emily Jarvis

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

No abstract provided.