The Impact of Community Involvement on Student Development in the Center

Community involvement in the Speaking Center provides students with invaluable experiences for personal and professional development. The particular partnership with Peacehaven Community Farm has provided student staff at the University Speaking Center with opportunities to gain experience working with intellectually and developmentally individuals. Through community partnerships, student staff are provided with opportunities for learning that they may not otherwise have

An Avian Biological Gradient Across Tropical Dry Lowland Local Habitats at Playa Venao, Los Santos Province, Panama

There are a myriad of forest types within Panama, varying by elevation, precipitation and other abiotic factors, which hosts a wide variety of native and migratory species in uniquely-structured avian communities. Panama has been well assessed for presence and distribution of its 987 collective avian species (Angehr, 2014). However most studies in Panama have been broad in scope, overlooking the highly specified habitats that are uniquely structured to host a certain range of avifauna communities. The distinctions in community structure of avifauna along a coastal to inland gradient were assessed among three specialized habitats: the Central Pacific coast, partially deforested tropical dry lowland forest edge and the forest on a roadside. All avifauna were identified using systematic radial point counts in six locations within 100m from each other, totaling 120 observation events over a ten day period. It was investigated whether there were significant differences in diversity (Shannon-Wiener Index, Dh), richness (rh) and community composition (Beta diversity, βa) among the three habitats. Diversity was slightly higher among the Pacific coast (Dc= 2.35, p=0.96) and scattered tropical dry lowland forest (Df=2.38, p=0.94) than the roadside location (Dr=2.04, p=0.81). Abundance was comparatively lowest at the Pacific Coast (at=519, p=0.03), higher at the roadside habitat (at=572, p=0.95), and highest at the tropical dry lowland forest edge (at=628, p=0.02). The species exclusivity ratio was notably highest at the Pacific coast (xc=0.29) when compared to the roadside and forest locations (xr=0.18, xf=0.10). Beta diversity by average abundance indicated that there were three distinct communities within the region of study (βa= N = 3.0). Chi square statistical probabilities determined that species richness and diversity were not statistically variable, therefore the null hypothesis was not rejected. These results convey the relevance of localized habitat areas as separate and distinct, in which an immense array of endemic, residential and migratory species occupy a variety of highly specified niches. Recognition of the presence of specialized habitats demonstrates importance of such coastlines and tropical dry lowland forests as a golden zone for high diversity and endemism

Spillovers from immigrant diversity in cities

Using comprehensive longitudinal matched employer-employee data for the U.S., this paper provides new evidence on the relationship between productivity and immigration-spawned urban diversity. Existing empirical work has uncovered a robust positive correlation between productivity and immigrant diversity, supporting theory suggesting that diversity acts as a local public good that makes workers more productive by enlarging the pool of knowledge available to them, as well as by fostering opportunities for them to recombine ideas to generate novelty. This paper makes several empirical and conceptual contributions. First, it improves on existing empirical work by addressing various sources of potential bias, especially from unobserved heterogeneity among individuals, work establishments, and cities. Second, it augments identification by using longitudinal data that permits examination of how diversity and productivity co-move. Third, the paper seeks to reveal whether diversity acts upon productivity chiefly at the scale of the city or the workplace. Findings confirm that urban immigrant diversity produces positive and nontrivial spillovers for U.S. workers. This social return represents a distinct channel through which immigration generates broad-based economic benefits

Population Dynamics of Waterfowl Wintering in the Mid-Atlantic Region, USA

A recent study (Rosenberg et al. 2019) has shown that bird populations in North America are experiencing major declines except for a few groups including waterfowl. However, this study focused only on the summer breeding populations and did not focus on regional dynamics. We utilized data from 62 Christmas Bird Count (CBC) count circles to evaluate population dynamics of common wintering waterfowl in the coastal Mid-Atlantic region (Delaware=7, Maryland=16, Virginia=18, North Carolina=21) since 1950. We found a 36% decline of wintering waterfowl relative abundance compared to 1950s. American wigeon and Canada goose had major population decreases while Snow goose had a major population increase. Species wintering in marsh habitats decreased while cavity nesters had an increase. Additionally, omnivore and granivore species had significant declines with no apparent effects on other feeding guilds. Our work suggests significant population declines of many wintering waterfowl species in the Mid-Atlantic region (N = 11; 38% of species studied) despite the continental-scale recovery of waterfowl

Grit and Perceived Stressors as Predictors of Academic Success in First and Second Year Doctor of Physical Therapy Students

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this longitudinal study was to identify any correlations between grit scores, perceived stress levels, academic success (GPA), and demographics (age) among doctor of physical therapy (DPT) students at the University of North Dakota (UND). Grit was assessed using the 12 item Grit scale (Grit-O) from Angela Duckworth. Perceived stress was assessed using the IO item perceived stress scale (PSS). Methods: The Grit-O and PSS scales were distributed to first year DPT students at UND by the primary investigator. 154 students consented to participate in the study, 102 first year students and 52 second year students. A non-blinded faculty member pulled and coded demographic data, Grit-O and PSS scales for each student. The data was put into a spreadsheet that student researchers used to score the scales. Results: Following SPSS data analysis, there were no significant findings when comparing overall grit score, age, and various GPA scores of year-one and year-two DPT students. Significant correlation was found between first year students\u27 overall stress score and cumulative GPA after their first year of being in the DPT program. Discussion: There was a significant relationship between stress and academic success but due to the overall low PSS scores of PT students and conflicting results in other studies, the meaning of the relationship is unclear. There was no significant relationship between grit and academic success. There were limitations with using the Grit-O scale and PSS and concerns about using Duckworth\u27 s grit scale as a predictor of academic succes

Asparagine promotes cancer cell proliferation through use as an amino acid exchange factor.

Cellular amino acid uptake is critical for mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) activation and cell proliferation. However, the regulation of amino acid uptake is not well-understood. Here we describe a role for asparagine as an amino acid exchange factor: intracellular asparagine exchanges with extracellular amino acids. Through asparagine synthetase knockdown and altering of media asparagine concentrations, we show that intracellular asparagine levels regulate uptake of amino acids, especially serine, arginine and histidine. Through its exchange factor role, asparagine regulates mTORC1 activity and protein synthesis. In addition, we show that asparagine regulation of serine uptake influences serine metabolism and nucleotide synthesis, suggesting that asparagine is involved in coordinating protein and nucleotide synthesis. Finally, we show that maintenance of intracellular asparagine levels is critical for cancer cell growth. Collectively, our results indicate that asparagine is an important regulator of cancer cell amino acid homeostasis, anabolic metabolism and proliferation

Potential Role of p53 in Huchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Undergraduate Theoretica