The Impact of HIV/AIDS in the Context of Socioeconomic Stressors: an Evidence-Driven Approach

In this paper, we present an agent-based simulation model of the social impacts of HIV/AIDS in villages in the Sekhukhune district of the Limpopo province in South Africa. AIDS is a major concern in South Africa, not just in terms of disease spread but also in term of its impact on society and economic development. The impact of the disease cannot however be considered in isolation from other stresses, such as food insecurity, high climate variability, market fluctuations and variations in support from government and non-government sources. The model described in this paper focuses on decisions made at the individual and household level, based upon evidence from detailed case studies, and the different types of networks between these players that influence their decision making. Key to the model is that these networks are dynamic and co-evolving, something that has rarely been considered in social network analysis. The results presented here demonstrate how this type of simulation can aid better understanding of this complex interplay of issues. In turn, we hope that this will prove to be a powerful tool for policy development.Agent-Based Social Simulation, Evidence-Driven Modeling, Socioeconomic Stressors, HIV/AIDS Impact

Modelling spatial patterns in host-associated microbial communities

Microbial communities exhibit spatial structure at different scales, due to constant interactions with their environment and dispersal limitation. While this spatial structure is often considered in studies focusing on free-living environmental communities, it has received less attention in the context of host-associated microbial communities or microbiota. The wider adoption of methods accounting for spatial variation in these communities will help to address open questions in basic microbial ecology as well as realize the full potential of microbiome-aided medicine. Here, we first overview known factors affecting the composition of microbiota across diverse host types and at different scales, with a focus on the human gut as one of the most actively studied microbiota. We outline a number of topical open questions in the field related to spatial variation and patterns. We then review the existing methodology for the spatial modelling of microbiota. We suggest that methodology from related fields, such as systems biology and macro-organismal ecology, could be adapted to obtain more accurate models of spatial structure. We further posit that methodological developments in the spatial modelling and analysis of microbiota could in turn broadly benefit theoretical and applied ecology and contribute to the development of novel industrial and clinical applications.Peer reviewe

Bringing Down the Banhammer: Understanding the Impact of Competitive Players on Moderation Tactics in Overwatch

This thesis investigates how the need for player moderation tactics in Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment, 2016) has shifted following the introduction of competitive and professional matches. With a player’s season rank heightening stakes when playing competitively, so too does the need to avoid toxic players impacting their win rates. Alongside this, the analysis of forums and developer updates examines what values (Flanagan and Nissenbaum, 2014) are embedded in the implemented moderation tactics, and players are responding to the tactics in community forums. This will provide a clearer insight on what data Blizzard developers are using to inform the design choices behind their moderation tactics

The Relationship Between Land Use Change and Disease Prevalence

Zoonotic disease outbreaks are becoming more novel and are increasing in frequency. This increase can be partially attributed to land use changes including deforestation, urbanization, and cultivation. Land use change alters disease prevalence by causing an increase in contact rates between disease hosts and humans. Land use changes also alter species compositions in the area to contain more competent disease hosts. Each pathogen can react to these changes in different ways. The specific reactions that each pathogen has to land use changes should be further researched so proper mitigation steps can be taken. Once the effects of land use change are fully understood then land conversion can occur in a manner that prevents increases in disease prevalence

MONITORING MAMMAL COMMUNITY SHIFTS ACROSS SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS UTILIZING CAMERA TRAPS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INVERTEBRATE- DERIVED DNA IN HARDWOOD FORESTS OF NORTH AMERICA

Mammal distribution and diversity is quickly changing as humans modify the landscape. In particular, silviculture, which is the practice of controlling the growth, structure, and quality of forests to meet the needs of society and the landowner, influences the habitat usage of mammals. Utilizing camera traps, I monitored shifts in mammal communities across different silviculture treatments in the northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes region in North America. I assessed the community composition across six canopy treatments and three understory treatments with a total of 2,018 active camera trap nights with 3,321 detections over the course of 147 days. For canopy treatments, high canopy cover shelterwood had the largest positive influence of mammal detection while clearcut showed a negative influence of mammal detection. For understory treatments, artificial tip-up and scarification had higher mammal detection compared to control. Within areas with a history of disturbance it may be beneficial to the mammal communities to include small disturbances, such as those created by silviculture treatments, as local species are likely disturbance-adapted. Camera traps alone may miss part of the mammal community. To monitor a full community, other techniques need to be considered, such as invertebrate derived DNA (iDNA). iDNA, is emerging as a novel tool which utilizes genomic technologies to monitor and assess mammal communities. Some invertebrates ingest their host’s DNA as they feed, which then allows researchers to extract the host’s DNA and sequence it. By doing so, the researchers can then create a more complete image of mammal community compositions. This technique has been widely used in tropical zones to monitor mammal community compositions; however, it can be adapted to be used in temperate zones by utilizing ticks and mosquitoes. To adapt this technique, one must understand the environmental influences on invertebrate collection. I investigated the environmental influences on mosquito collection success by running linear regression models. Through running the linear regression models, I found that the canopy cover and time of the month had the largest influence on the collection of female mosquitoes, while tick collection was possibly influenced by the harshness of the winter before

Celebration of Learning 2015: Full Program

Full program of the 2015 Celebration of Learning at Augustana College

Speaking Stata: Graphing categorical and compositional data

A variety of graphs have been devised for categorical and compositional data, ranging from widely familiar to more unusual displays. Both official Stata commands and user-written programs are available. After a stacking trick for binary responses is explained, bar charts and related displays for cross-tabulations are discussed in detail. Tips and tricks are introduced for plotting cumulative distributions of graded (ordinal) data. Triangular plots are explained for threeway compositions, such as three proportions or percentages. Copyright 2004 by StataCorp LP.graphics, categorical data, binary data, nominal data, ordinal data, grades, compositional data, cross-tabulations, bar charts, cumulative distributions, logit scale, catplot, tabplot, tableplot, distplot, mylabels, triplot

Considering Vermont\u27s Future in a Changing Climate: The First Vermont Climate Assessment

The Vermont Climate Assessment (VCA) paints a vivid picture of a changing climate in Vermont and calls for immediate strategic planning to sustain the social, economic and environmental fabric of our state. The VCA is the first state-scale climate assessment in the country and speaks directly to the impacts of climate change as they pertain to our rural towns, cities and communities, including impacts on Vermont tourism and recreation, agriculture, natural resources and energy

Washington University Senior Undergraduate Research Digest (WUURD), Spring 2018

From the Washington University Office of Undergraduate Research Digest (WUURD), Vol. 13, 05-01-2018. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Joy Zalis Kiefer, Director of Undergraduate Research and Associate Dean in the College of Arts & Scien