Investigating How Secondary Metabolites Change During Interactions Among Fungi and Bacteria

Sagebrush leaves host microbial communities that produce secondary metabolites likely to be important for plant health and function. Previous research demonstrated the antagonistic properties of B. amyloliquefaciens against fungal microbes, possibly attributable to its secretion of secondary metabolites. This study investigates the chemistry of three sagebrush-associated microbes—C. hebarum, A. pullulans, and B. amyloliquefaciens—during their interactions. Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis confirmed differential metabolite profiles among monocultures and co-cultures. Additionally, the widespread distribution of B. amyloliquefaciens in various environments underscores its importance. The objective of this research was to investigate the chemistry of three sagebrush-associated microbes, and how it changed during their interactions with each other. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) revealed unique chemical patterns, indicating interspecies differences and interactive effects. We hypothesized that PCA and NMDS analyses would reveal distinct differences in the chemistry of our focal species, with clustering of replicates and separation among different species. Our results show replicate clustering to suggest consistent chemistry within groups, with notable differences observed across mono and co-cultures. Specifically, PCA highlighted the similarity between the BC co-culture and B. amyloliquefaciens, while NMDS exhibited greater distinction. Future analyses will elucidate underlying mechanisms and specific chemicals driving these differences

Soil Pollution at a Local Firing Range

Contamination of firing range soils due to bullets is an extremely prevalent issue throughout the world. Past research on soil contamination at firing ranges has shown that the weathering of bullets can pose severe contamination risks for the metals found within bullets, such as lead and antimony. This causes immediate health concerns due to the possibility of lead and antimony from the bullets reaching groundwater and potentially threatening drinking water. The objective of this study was to determine the degree of soil contamination from bullets at the Mountain Cove police shooting range in Boise, Idaho. This was accomplished by collecting soil samples from the site using a composite sampling method, then determining the composition of these samples using ICP-MS. It was determined that there are significantly elevated concentrations of lead and antimony within the berm soil, which suggests that further remediation at the site may be necessary in order to mitigate the risks of this pollution

Piute Ground Squirrel Population Emergence Patterns Affected by Habitat Types

To conserve species, it’s important to understand their habitats, population dynamics, and predator-prey relationships. Different species interact with their habitats in various ways. Many animals hibernate through colder months to conserve energy with the lack of resources that winter brings. The Piute ground squirrels (Urocitellus mollis) are small mammals commonly located in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA). The NCA has two different habitats: open, with low vegetation and less shade, and closed, with more vegetation and shade. If Piute ground squirrels’ emergence patterns in the spring are influenced by habitat types, we predict that squirrels in open habitats with earlier snowmelt have sooner emergence dates compared to those in a closed habitat. Earlier snowmelt provides more foraging opportunities since vegetation grows earlier. We set up motion-activated trail cameras in both open and closed habitats in the NCA near visible burrows, recording squirrel activity for 23 days in March. We can expect that open habitats influence Piute ground squirrels to emerge sooner due to increased sun exposure and therefore earlier snowmelt. These results may reveal how changing climates impact keystone species such as Piute ground squirrels by influencing the dynamics of their habitat types

Combining Self-Talk and Attentional Focus: An Investigation of the Optimal Implementation of Self-Talk in Sports

Self-talk is a psychological technique where people say statements to themselves silently or aloud to motivate or goal-direct movement. The latter, called instructional self-talk, consists of cue word strings that athletes use to guide performance (e.g., “bend-shoot” in basketball), which has been shown to enhance performance. Depending on the type of cue words used during self-talk, athletes can shift their attention to their own body (internal focus) or to the outcome of the movement (external focus). However, studies in motor learning have shown that an internal focus of attention negatively impacts performance. Thus, this study investigated whether the type of self-talk cue used affects performance in a golf-putting task. We predicted that participants would show better performance when using external-focus cues. In this experiment, participants performed a golf-putting task while implementing self-talk. After completing a familiarization phase and self-talk training, participants completed 80 trials using internal-focus cues in half of them and external-focus cues in the other half. Based on preliminary results, the type of instructional self-talk cue did not significantly affect performance (p \u3e 0.05). The lack of difference between conditions suggests that athletes might be able to use internal- or external-focus cues without any performance detriments

The Threshold of Rural Placement Frequency and Duration: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study Examining Rural Career Aspirations Among Student Nurses

Aim: This study aimed to explore what changes rural placement had on the perceptions of nursing students and the impact of placement frequency and duration on student considerations for rural practice. Background: A strong rural healthcare workforce is a global concern and has led countries to look for creative ways to address this challenge. One approach is to train more health professionals, however, nursing students who grew up or lived in metropolitan or urbanised areas are suggested to be less inclined to pursue a rural career. As such it is posited that recurrent exposure to rural settings may exert a positive impact on future intention for rural practice. However, there is a need to explore the specific thresholds related to both the frequency and duration of rural placement exposure, as well as the cumulative impact multiple rural placements may have on the intention to engage in rural practice. Design: A repeated cross-sectional design. Methods: All nursing students from an Australian regional university were invited to complete an online questionnaire between 2019 and 2023. Demographic and placement specific questions were included. A modified version of the Nursing Community Apgar tool also measured the importance of key variables in rural career decision-making. Data were analysed using independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVAs. Significance was determined at two-tailed p≤.05. Results: Among the 835 respondents (response rate 15.4%), the average number and duration of rural placements was 2.45 placements and 3.01 weeks respectively. Rural placements did not have an impact on students who resided rurally or regionally. However, among metropolitan students who had experienced more than three rural placements, or more than sixteen cumulative weeks of placement, were significantly more likely to consider rural employment. Greater number of rural placements and longer cumulative duration had the greatest impact. Conclusion: Issues related to the nursing rural workforce are dynamic and complex. Understanding the unique drivers that improve the rural experiences among students, particularly metropolitan students, can have an impact on decision-making to pursue employment in rural environments. Importantly, whilst professional and clinical motivation and experiences are influential factors, the socialisation, environment and community features are essential elements that influence students’ decisions to pursue a career in rural practice. Undertaking a nuanced approach that facilitates rural practice understanding among students may help shape future employment decision-making

Structural Design Against Brittle Fracture: Optimizing Energy Release Rate and Experiment

Despite substantial advancements in optimizing structural designs for stiffness, the field of design against fracture is still in its early stages. This paper introduces a fundamental and standardized paradigm for structural design against brittle fracture, achieved through the minimization of the energy release rate G within the framework of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). By leveraging the Griffith criterion expression and the total potential energy in LEFM, we propose an efficient approach for structural optimization that enhances the toughness of architected materials. The energy release rate G is evaluated a synergistic application of finite element analysis and finite difference methods, yielding a precision of 0.6% compared to benchmarks in published handbooks. We demonstrate significantly reduced G values compared to standard stiffness and stress-oriented topology optimization, which directly contributes to increased toughness. To comprehensively analyze the fracture process encompassing damage, crack initiation, propagation, and failure, we employ post-processing phase field fracture modeling on the optimally designed architected materials. By performing multi-objective optimization of the stiffness and energy release rate G, the toughness and extreme load-bearing capacity can be simultaneously improved. The resulting perforated architecture effectively outperforms homogeneous structures in both toughness and peak load. Additionally, we extend our analysis to various configurations, such as non-center cracks, pure shear loading, and adherence to the standard 3D compact tension ASTM E-399-72. The designed structures are additively manufactured and experimentally validated, demonstrating a toughness increase of over 10 times compared to stress-based design. These contributions offer promising prospects for advancing the design of future engineering structures and materials with a favorable balance of critical fracture resistance characteristics

Weekly Wellness Program

My capstone project brings to light some reasons why employees do not participate in in-house wellness programs which can worsen the feelings of burnout and isolation at work. A weekly wellness program, consisting of short and fun wellness activities, will help people be resilient physically and mentally

Methodology and Characterization Techniques of a Scanning Electron Microscope

The properties of a metal alloy are determined by the microscale features within the material. Advanced characterization tools with high resolution are required to observe and distinguish composition and structural features at this scale. This work focuses on describing the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for materials characterization, the different modes of operation, and step-by-step methodology that was used to investigate a new aluminum alloy, Al6061 RAM2, that is specially formulated for powder-bed 3D printing. Conventional Al6061 is a common structural material but is not able to be 3D printed. This new alloy has added ceramic particles dispersed throughout that improve the printability while still retaining typical properties of Al6061. The SEM and different modes of operation were used to investigate as-printed bars of Al6061 RAM2 to understand how the ceramic particles influence the microscale structure and composition

The Role of Circadian Signaling in Astronaut Tendon Strength

While many studies focus on how reduced gravity impacts the musculoskeletal system, no work has investigated how circadian rhythm disruption during long-term spaceflight contributes to musculoskeletal tissue abnormalities. My hypothesis is that circadian rhythm disruption compounds the effects of microgravity in disrupting normal tendon maintenance and healing centered around the BMAL1-CLOCK dimer. To test this hypothesis I will simulate the disrupted circadian rhythm with melatonin and oxidative stressors in simulated microgravity, using a normal gravity control. Cells will be monitored for specific epigenetic changes in the BMAL1-CLOCK dimer to discern how the treatment affects the cell environment and to further analyze the degree of circadian disruption present in the cells. Treated cells will be grown into 3D silk constructs and tensile tested to compare the tensile and yield strength of the two groups. Overall, this research aims to evaluate if and how the strength of astronaut’s tendons are affected by alterations of the circadian rhythm in space flight

Investigating The Epistemology of Ignorance in Higher Education

Existing literature on color blindness and anti-Black racism talks about how whites appear unsympathetic about racial issues. However, in my findings, many white students showed “sympathy” by stating they were not “the right person” to talk about race. This form of “sympathy” appears to complicate previous literature, but I explain how it is another/ new way that colorblind racism manifests. I argue that white students engage in the epistemology of ignorance to avoid their responsibility to social justice with phrases like “I’m not the person to talk about this.” I use literature such as Mill’s “Epistemology of Ignorance,” particularly the component of Historical Amnesia, and Dancy II et al.’s concept of Plantation Politics in American higher education to show how anti-racism for racial/ ethnic equity is then thrust upon the BIPOC community, whose activism is a fight for survival. Interviews were conducted with undergraduate students at a predominately white institution. In these interviews, Students were asked about their motivation to attend a predominantly white institution and their race and class influence in their academic pursuits. My preliminary findings indicate a profoundly entrenched and internalized ideology of colorblindness, a problem whose consequences seem to cement racism steeper in the neo-liberal higher education institution. As a solution, drawing from Dancy et al.’s theory of the “New Plantation,” I argue for a Black-centered curriculum to allow non-white students to be able to see themselves finally reflected in the education system