Quantifying Trends In our National Parks: A Landscape Level Analysis of Climate Change and Ecosystem Productivity

The U.S. National Parks are an integral part of our National Heritage. They are now, more than ever, experiencing threats from outside forces that are difficult to evaluate, such as climate change. The magnitude and direction of change will vary spatially across the landscape, making it difficult for park managers to adopt just one approach to managing for climate change. Therefore, there must be a systematic way to analyze climate trends and the subsequent effects on ecosystems, which is unbiased and useful in varying climates and landscapes. Through robust quantification of the rates of change for key climate variables (temperature, precipitation), and ecosystem health indicators (available water and net primary productivity; NPP) we identified the National Park System units that are rapidly changing with respect to climate and ecosystem productivity. Additionally, we compared the NPS units with the surrounding, protected area centered ecosystem (PACE), to identify which parks were undergoing different changes from their surroundings and vice versa. At these local scales, recent trends in NPP are being driven by land use change, disturbances or sever climate changes (drought) therefore the analysis of NPP trends can be used to monitor changes in disturbance patterns. This study provides key insight into relative rates and drivers of change for 60 national parks and their surrounding ecosystems

Health Privilege and the Invisible Elephants of Chronic Illness and Pain

Unlike other -isms and privileges, issues surrounding ableism and health privilege tend to draw less focus and thus are examined less in classrooms and clinical settings. Even when health privilege is the topic, less observable issues, such as chronic illness and chronic pain, tend to be omitted. This session intends to shed light on these hidden diversities, providing space for education, discussion, and reflection in an attempt to make the invisible visible

Point in Time the FitSTEPS for Life Exercise Program Improves Quality of Life for Persons witn Cancer

This poster was posted at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/student_posters/1017/thumbnail.jp

Clock monitoring is associated with age-related decline in time-based prospective memory

In laboratory time-based prospective memory tasks, older adults typically perform worse than younger adults do. It has been suggested that less frequent clock checking due to problems with executive functions may be responsible. We aimed to investigate the role of clock checking in older adults’ time-based prospective memory and to clarify whether executive functions would be associated with clock checking and consequently, with time-based prospective memory. We included 62 healthy older adults (62-85 years of age) and applied tasks of time-based prospective memory as well as of executive functions (i.e., inhibition, fluency, and working memory). We used mediation analysis to test whether time-based prospective memory declined with advancing age due to less frequent clock checking. In addition, we tested whether there would be an association between executive functions and clock checking or time-based prospective memory. Time-based prospective memory declined with advancing age due to less frequent clock checking within 30s prior to intention completion. We only found a link between executive functions and clock checking (or time-based prospective memory) when not controlling for age. Our results support the importance of clock checking for time-based prospective memory and add to the current literature that older adults’ prospective memory declines because they are less able to adapt their clock checking. Yet, the reason why older adults are less able to adapt their clock checking still remains open. Our results do not indicate that executive function deficits play a central role

A GIS Tool for Applying Habitat Suitability Models to Inform Management (Poster)

Habitat suitability models are used to guide habitat management for species of conservation concern. Models quantify relationships between known species locations and environmental attributes, which are used to identify and map areas most likely to support species of concern. Managers can then restrict human activities with negative impacts on habitat suitability in these areas. Application of habitat suitability models, however, typically requires technical expertise not available to most land managers. We developed a prototype GIS tool that facilitates application of habitat suitability models to guide management of habitat for woodpecker species of conservation concern. The tool operates within an ArcGIS environment, which is readily available to most managers, and will be capable of generating habitat suitability maps for several species of concern (i.e., Black-backed Woodpecker [Picoides arcticus], Three-toed Woodpecker [P. dorsalis], Lewis’s Woodpecker [Melanerpes lewis], and White-headed Woodpeckers [P. albolvartus]). The tool also automates much of the model application process, reducing requisite technical expertise, and making habitat suitability models widely available. The tool will be accompanied by a manual describing implementation and interpretation of resulting habitat suitability maps. The tool will be especially helpful for informing management of post-disturbance forests (i.e. after wildfire and beetle infestations) to identify suitable habitat for disturbance specialists (e.g., Black-backed, Three-toed, and Lewis’s Woodpeckers).  Identification of suitable habitat is necessary to effectively develop management plans that incorporate the needs of habitat specialists in post-disturbance landscapes. Our prototype is currently being tested by U.S. Forest Service biologists

Was ist Elite?

Was bedeutet wissenschaftliche »Exzellenz« an Universitäten in Deutschland? Wir nähern uns dieser Frage, indem wir anhand empirischer Daten untersuchen, wie Medien einerseits und Studierende andererseits die Zuerkennung wissenschaftlicher »Elite« und »Exzellenz« deuten. Dabei betrachten wir den Übergang zu einer Exzellenzuniversität als unprogrammierte »Statuspassage«. Da die Konzepte »Elite« und »Exzellenz« hinsichtlich ihrer Bedeutungen und Konsequenzen unterbestimmt sind, sind Akteure, die die Statuspassage zur »Exzellenz« betreten, entsprechend unsicher in der Deutung dieser Passage. Sie entwickeln heterogene Strategien, um mit dieser Unsicherheit umzugehen, gleichen sich jedoch dahingehend, dass sie außerwissenschaftliche Deutungsschemata mobilisieren, um wissenschaftliche »Exzellenz« erklärbar und einschätzbar zu machen. Während diese Deutungsmuster den Medien (und Universitätsrepräsentanten) dazu dienen, das Exzellenzetikett der Universität zu legitimieren – etwa mittels Mythologisierungen –, stehen studentische Deutungen der Statuspassage dazu in einem auffälligen Spannungsverhältnis: Ambivalenzen, Unwissenheit und Fatalisierungen kennzeichnen studentische Strategien der Identifizierung mit der neuerdings exzellenten Universität. What does scientific »excellence« mean at German universities? In this paper we analyze this question on the basis of empirical data and show how both the media and students interpret the nomination of »elite« universities. We regard the transition to an »elite« university as an unfamiliar »status passage«. The meanings and consequences of the terms »elite« and »excellence« are undefined so actors have problems and are uncertain when interpreting the new status passage. They develop heterogeneous strategies in order to cope with this uncertainty. Both actorgroups use non-scientific categories to explicate and assess scientific »excellence«. Whereas the media (and representatives of the university) use these categories to legitimize the new »elite« label – e.g., by converting it into a myth – students react very differently: Their coping strategies can be characterized as ambivalent, ignorant, and fatalistic

Increasing Number of Unusual Brain Abnormalities Seen in Rural West Virginia

The incidence rate of schizencephaly is 1.5 in 100,000 live births and the rate of holoprosencephaly is 1 in 16,000 live births. Both malformations are rare, but our institution has seen a dramatic increase in both malformations in recent years with no known cause. Schizencephaly is the most severe cortical malformation and holoprosencephaly is the most common defect in the prosencephalon during development however, it is still not very common to see a fetus with this defect live to delivery. Our institution seen four cases of schizencephaly and three cases of holoprosencephaly within two years. No two neonates seem to share a common factor. All had different co-morbidities and presentations, all mothers were different ages and showed few risk factors if any for these deformities. This paper is a report of the cases found of these rare birth defects seen at our institution in recent years

Toward Automation of the Supine Pressor Test for Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia leads to increased risk of morbidity and mortality for both mother and fetus. Most previous studies have largely neglected mechanical compression of the left renal vein by the gravid uterus as a potential mechanism. In this study, we first used a murine model to investigate the pathophysiology of left renal vein constriction. The results indicate that prolonged renal vein stenosis after 14 days can cause renal necrosis and an increase in blood pressure (BP) of roughly 30 mmHg. The second part of this study aimed to automate a diagnostic tool, known as the supine pressor test (SPT), to enable pregnant women to assess their preeclampsia development risk. A positive SPT has been previously defined as an increase of at least 20 mmHg in diastolic BP when switching between left lateral recumbent and supine positions. The results from this study established a baseline BP increase between the two body positions in nonpregnant women and demonstrated the feasibility of an autonomous SPT in pregnant women. Our results demonstrate that there is a baseline increase in BP of roughly 10-14 mmHg and that pregnant women can autonomously perform the SPT. Overall, this work in both rodents and humans suggests that (1) stenosis of the left renal vein in mice leads to elevation in BP and acute renal failure, (2) nonpregnant women experience a baseline increase in BP when they shift from left lateral recumbent to supine position, and (3) the SPT can be automated and used autonomously

Responses to the 2014 Police Shooting of Michael Brown: Cosmology Episodes and Enacted Environments

This is a consensual multi-dyadic exploration of the diverse perspectives of seven community subgroups’ perceptions of events before, during, and after the 2014 police-involved shooting death of Michael Brown, Jr. in Ferguson, Missouri. Recognizing an enacted environment in the complex history that preceded the uprising, findings were contextualized and framed through the cosmology episode trauma model. A multicultural and visibly diverse research team conducted 34 interviews with involved citizens (protesters), law enforcement, clergy, politicians, business owners, media personnel, and educators. A culturally diverse cross-analysis team triangulated social perspective through consensus coding and audit. Consensual multi-dyadic method preserved the unique characteristics of each subgroup’s phenomenology, to ensure culturally sensitive and decolonized research methods, enabling an in depth look at the factors necessary for conciliation. Insight into motivational factors, narrative meaning-making, and implications for intervention and treatment are discussed. View Full-Tex