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Assessing Horseshoe Crab (Limulus Polyphemus) Population Structure Within Southern New England, Natalie Ameral

Open Access Master's Theses

The Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is a commercially, ecologically, and economically important species. Current management practices of this species may not be well informed enough to avoid jeopardizing the future health of these animals. This thesis argues that population differences, as defined by morphometrics, behavior, and genomics, may be visible over smaller geographic scales than current fisheries management observes. Specifically, this work focuses on three states in southern New England: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Ten sampling locations were observed over two years, 2020-2021, from which over 500 crabs were sampled. Width and weight data were collected to assess …

Control Of Varroa Destructor Using Powdered Sugar And Heat, Casey L. Johnson

Open Access Master's Theses

The parasitic varroa mite, Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman), is a global threat to honey bee health and the leading cause of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony mortality. In the constant battle against varroa, many apiarists turn to chemicals, such as formic acid, oxalic acid, or synthetic compounds, to control mite populations and save their colonies. However, each chemical treatment option exhibits certain shortcomings and the development of new varroa mite controls is key to combating varroa resistance and increasing safety to beekeepers and bees. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two organic methods …

Deciphering Biogenic Silica Production Trends In Picoplankton Of The Subarctic North Pacific Using Novel Dna Barcoding Methods, Andrew Presley

Open Access Master's Theses

The Silica cycle and the biological pump in our global oceans are intimately related. As a part of the NASA Export Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) our work aims to explore the community composition of picoplankton in the 0.2-5µm size fraction and their contributions to the silica cycle using next generation MiSeq sequencing and analysis. Recently published data from collaborators within the EXPORTS project have observed high biogenic silica production in the picoplankton, indicating that organisms in this size fraction are contributing notably to the silica cycle in the North Pacific, though it remains unclear exactly what …

Bulk Recycling: Density Separation Models For Mixed Plastic Waste, Megan Lee St. Hilaire

Open Access Master's Theses

Microplastic pollution is now everywhere, from the highest elevation of Mount Everest to the deepest dives of the Mariana Trench. The use of synthetic polymers has contributed to the transformation of our modern world. Nonetheless, the growing presence of plastics in the natural environment constitutes a sense of urgency to develop sustainable solutions to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Approximately 80 percent of all the plastics ever produced have been discarded. Our relationship with plastic needs rethinking.

Achieving a circular economy requires a holistic approach to redesign the systems that make, use and reuse plastics. Evaluating the life cycle …

Distribution Of Wood Turtle (Glyptemys Insculpta) Populations In Rhode Island, Chloe Nicole Johnson

Open Access Master's Theses

Wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) populations are declining throughout their geographic range and the species is listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Population declines have resulted from habitat loss, road mortality, land use practices, and many other detrimental anthropogenic factors. This species has been studied in several parts of its geographic range, but its distribution in Rhode Island, a rapidly urbanizing state, is poorly understood. In 2021 and 2022, we surveyed 24 stream segments five times each to determine occupancy and detection probability for wood turtles in Rhode Island, USA. Visual surveys were conducted in …

Association Between Household Insecticide Exposure (Indoor Risidual Spray For Malaria Control) And Child Cognitive Development: An Assessment Of Cross-Sectional Surveys, Megan A. Wilkens

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

Melodic Memories: Music Therapy As An Accessible Intervention For Alzheimer's Disease, Michaela Martin

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

Adventures Of A Black Cowboy: Masculinity And Race In The Life And Adventures Of Nat Love, Kianna Shakir

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

Predicting Anxiety In Young Autistic People: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Restricted And Repetitive Behaviors, Aparajita Rao

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

Sprinting A Marathon: Next Steps For Gender Equity In Criminal Law Employment, Maryam Ahranjani

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Distal Urogenital Anatomy In The Male Wood Frog, Lithobates Sylvaticus (Anura: Ranidae), Stanley E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I investigated the microanatomy of the distal urogenital system of the male Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) from a small sample (n = 6) collected in northern Arkansas in February 2020. Specifically, my primary objectives were as follows: 1) to focus on the histology of the paired Wolffian (urogenital) ducts caudally from the kidneys to their merging with the urodeum of the cloaca, 2) to reveal the structure of the paired seminal vesicles (sperm storage structures), and 3) to compare epithelial morphologies between the distal urogenital tract and its neighboring distal alimentary tract. This information will promote a clearer …

A Study Of Dental Pathology In River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) In Arkansas, C. Renn Tumlison, Jimmie Harper, Karson Grant

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

River otters (Lontra canadensis) consume a variety of foods, including mussels, fishes, and crayfishes. These foods have hard body parts that cause wear of the teeth as the predator ages and incurs more damaging feeding experiences. This can lead to exposure of the pulp cavity and possible abscess and resorption of bone around the alveolus. Further, strong bites against harder parts of prey sometimes results in mechanical breakage, which can lead to pulpitis and severe pathology leading to tooth loss. We investigated the frequency of different forms of dental issues in a sample of 178 skulls of river …

Energy Content Of Seeds Of Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum) In The Diet Of Mourning Doves (Zenaida Macroura) In Southeastern New Mexico, John L. Hunt, Matthew E. Grilliot, Troy L. Best, Faith A. Johnson, Tyneshia L. Kilgore, Cade M. Wilkerson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a common forage plant that grows over much of the United States. It has drawn interest as a possible feedstock for biofuels, is used as forage for livestock, is planted for soil conservation, and is a component of the diet of some species of wildlife. We analyzed the energy content of seeds of switchgrass obtained from the crops of mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) collected from plains-mesa sand-scrub in Lea and Eddy counties, New Mexico. Seeds were removed from crops and dried for 48 hours at 60°C to remove moisture and standardize masses. …

Instructions To Authors, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Spanish Conquest Of The Americas Was Not Inevitable: Marronage As Resistance In Hispaniola, Devon Drabick

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

The Correlation Between Staffing Hours And Nursing Home Resident Fall Rate, Nduka Ikpo Eke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractHealthcare administrators and researchers have had the burden of determining best practice protocols that minimize falls among older adults living in nursing homes for several years. Several studies have investigated, and identified intrinsic and extrinsic factors that lead to falls among other adults and made recommendations along the lines of their findings. However, researchers are yet to establish the impact of staffing hours on nursing home resident fall rate. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation if any, between nursing home residents fall rate and the staffing hours they receive daily from certified nursing assistants (CNAs), licensed …

Effects Of Indoor Air Pollutants On Childhood Asthma: African American Parents’ Perspective, Marcia Maureen Haughton Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIndoor air pollution has been implicated in many chronic health conditions, including childhood asthma, which is more prevalent among African American children. Children are more susceptible than adults to the effects of exposure to indoor air pollution; however, many parents may not be aware of the polluting impacts of products in their homes and are inadvertently placing their families at risk for adverse health outcomes. Understanding parents’ perceptions and experiences is essential for planning and developing educational programs and interventions for improving indoor environment management as part of asthma management in children. This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to explore parents’ …

Vision 2022

Vision

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of Repatriation Of Native American Artifacts And Human Remains Laws In Montana, Usa And Alberta Canada, Helen Cryer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT: Native American and Indigenous communities across the United States and Canada have lost an extensive amount of human remains and sacred artifacts to non-Native people exhuming Native American and Indigenous burial sites that may have been dug up for personal gain, stolen, placed in museums, or left in the hands of non-Native collectors. The repatriation of human remains and sacred artifacts to Native nations can be a lengthy, political, and challenging process yet it is worth the effort for Native people. Native American advocacy and evolving public sentiment toward Native people have led to legislative advancements in the United …

Significance Of Autumn And Winter Food Consumption For Reproduction By Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears, Ursus Maritimus, Blaine D. Griffen, John P. Whiteman, Sariah Pullan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the southern Beaufort Sea experience long annual periods when preferred seal prey are scarce or are unavailable. Consumption of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) carcasses from native Alaskan subsistence hunting is increasingly common for onshore polar bears, yet the energetic consequences of this consumption remain unclear. We use data on bears captured repeatedly over periods that encompassed autumn and winter, combined with calculations, to show that adult female bears likely consume an average of at least 4 seal equivalents during both autumn and winter periods and that considerable variation in energy intake …

Threat Imminence Reveals Links Among Unfolding Of Anticipatory Physiological Response, Cortical-Subcortical Intrinsic Functional Connectivity, And Anxiety, Rany Abend, Sonia G. Ruiz, Mira A. Bajaj, Anita Harrewijn, Julia O. Linke, Lauren Y. Atlas, Anderson M. Winkler, Daniel S. Pine

School of Medicine Publications

Excessive expression of fear responses in anticipation of threat occurs in anxiety, but understanding of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is limited. Animal research indicates that threat-anticipatory defensive responses are dynamically organized by threat imminence and rely on conserved circuitry. Insight from basic neuroscience research in animals on threat imminence could guide mechanistic research in humans mapping abnormal function in this circuitry to aberrant defensive responses in pathological anxiety.

50 pediatric anxiety patients and healthy-comparisons (33 females) completed an instructed threat-anticipation task whereby cues signaled delivery of painful (threat) or non-painful (safety) thermal stimulation. Temporal changes in skin-conductance indexed anxiety effects on …

Omega-6 And Omega-3 Fatty Acid-Derived Oxylipins From The Lipoxygenase Pathway In Maternal And Umbilical Cord Plasma At Delivery And Their Relationship With Infant Growth, Maranda Thompson, Arzu Ulu, Ana G. Yuil-Valdes, Maheswari Mukherjee, Melissa K. Thoene, Matthew Van Ormer, Rebecca Slotkowski, Elizabeth Lyden, Ann Anderson-Berry, Corrine K. Hanson, Tara M. Nordgren, Sathish Kumar Natarajan

Journal Articles: Pediatrics

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are important for neonatal development and health. One mechanism by which omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids exert their effects is through their metabolism into oxylipins and specialized pro-resolving mediators. However, the influence of oxylipins on fetal growth is not well understood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify oxylipins present in maternal and umbilical cord plasma and investigate their relationship with infant growth. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify oxylipin levels in plasma collected at the time of delivery. Spearman's correlations highlighted significant correlations between metabolite levels and infant growth. They …

Living Mysteries: Embodiment Of Divine Knowledge In Jewish Apocalypticism, Andrei Orlov

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

The study explores the early Jewish understanding of divine knowledge as divine presence, which is embodied in major biblical exemplars, such as Adam, Enoch, Jacob, and Moses. It demonstrates that the personification of divine knowledge in early Judaism and, especially, in the Jewish pseudepigrapha reveals a distinct “cultic” way of mediating the divine presence and, consequentially, the divine knowledge that can be designated as the “divine presence’s epistemology.”

Activity Patterns Of The Del Norte Salamander (Plethodon Elongatus): Monitoring Plethodontid Behavior Using Pit Tag Surveys, Sabrina Horrack

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Semi-fossorial plethodontid salamanders exhibit behavioral plasticity to avoid desiccation, retreating underground to shelter from adverse conditions such as low precipitation and high temperatures. In this study, I used passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag surveys to monitor this behavior in the Del Norte salamander (Plethodon elongatus), a small plethodontid native to northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Within its range, a climatic gradient exists in which coastal areas experience milder temperatures and high precipitation, while inland areas tend to have colder winters, hotter summers, and lower precipitation. By monitoring the activity patterns of this species in inland and coastal areas, …

Characterizing The Relationship Of Lgl1 And Akt In Migration Of Murine Neural Stem And Progenitor Cells, Natalie Pedicino

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Asymmetric cell division and migration are critical for neural stem cell differentiation and brain development. When these processes are dysregulated in neural progenitor cells (NPCs), developmental defects and diseases like glioma can result. Lgl1 is a tumor suppressor gene that was first characterized in Drosophila neuroblasts (Strand et al., 1994). It is best known for its regulation of asymmetric cell division through its association with the Par complex. The PI3K/AKT signaling cascade is involved in cellular migration and is also regulated by Par signaling. Unpublished data from the Sprowles laboratory suggests a potential role of Lgl1 in migration and other …

Expanding American Indian Land Stewardship: An Environmental Solution For A Country In Crisis, Haley Edmonds

Law Student Publications

Land is the central foundation around which all life is formed. Therefore, societies must have a stable connection with the land in order to be structurally sound. If this connection is weak or inflexible, every building-block of civilization laid on top of it will inevitably crumble. Some societies have established stable relationships with the land by working around and responding to nature’s rhythms in order to satisfy their needs. Whereas other societies have ignored nature’s intricacies and instead have tried to strong-arm nature into yielding to their whims. These two diametrically opposed approaches to conceiving of humans’ relationship with the …

Do Steller’S Jays Respond To Human Providers?, Jessica E. Guenther

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

For millennia, humans and wildlife coevolved in a myriad of landscapes influencing each other through social interactions. Humans may be providing non-verbal signals in their facial features with gaze and head orientation that are perceived by non-human animals. The ability to follow human eye gaze and head orientation could enable non-human animals to access valuable resources, for example, birds provided with supplemental food. Few studies have quantified how closely birds in the wild watch and respond to ‘familiar’ humans who regularly provide food. From 2015-2019, Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) in Arcata, California were fed shelled peanuts and observed …

Temporal Buffer Zones: The Constitutional Case For Regulating Political Speech Immediately Prior To Elections, Kiel Brennan-Marquez, Douglas M. Spencer

Publications

The First Amendment forbids most limits on political speech, but it permits buffer zones around polling stations on Election Day. This exception to the deregulatory thrust of election speech doctrine is striking, and strikingly under-theorized. In what follows, we excavate the core principle that underpins the buffer zone exception-decisional solemnity-and we argue that, properly understood, the same principle justifies the use of temporal buffer zones: stricter-than-normal regulations on certain types of political speech in the immediate vicinity of an election. Voting, we argue, is an act different in kind from the deliberation that precedes it. Accordingly, governmental efforts to ensure …

Consequences Of Thermal Plasticity For Hypoxic Performance In Coastal Amphipods, Michael Collins, Manuela Truebano, John I. Spicer

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Deep Learning Inspired Feature Engineering For Classifying Tremor Severity, Ahmed Al Taee, Seyedehmarzieh Hosseini, Rami N. Khushaba, Tanveer Zia, Chin-Teng Lin, Adel Al-Jumaily

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Bio-signals pattern recognition systems can be impacted by several factors with a potential to limit their associated performance and clinical translation. Among these factors, selecting the optimum feature extraction method, that can effectively exploit the interaction between the temporal and spatial information, is the most prominent. Despite the potential of deep learning (DL) models for extracting temporal, spatial, or temporal-spatial information, they are typically restricted by their need for a large amount of training data. The deep wavelet scattering transform (WST) is a relatively recent advancement within the DL literature to replace expensive convolution neural networks models with computationally less …