Climate Change in the Piscataqua/Great Bay Region: Past, Present, and Future

Earth ’s climate changes. It always has and always will. However, an extensive body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities are now a significant force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of the Piscataqua/Great Bay region of coastal New Hampshire in the United States has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by human activities that are warming the planet. Overall, the region has been getting warmer and wetter over the last century, and the rate of change has increased over the last four decades. To generate future climate projections for the region, simulated temperature and precipitation from four general circulation models were fitted to local, long-term weather observations. Unknowns regarding future fossil fuel consumption were accounted for by using two future emissions scenarios. As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, temperatures will rise, extreme heat days are projected to occur more often and will be hotter, extreme cold temperatures are projected to occur less often, and cold days will be warmer.. Annual average precipitation is projected to increase 12 to 17% by end-of-century and the region can expect to see more extreme precipitation events in the future. Tidal gauge data indicates relative sea level at Portsmouth has risen 0.7 inches per decade over the past eight decades. Projected sea level rise of 1.7 to 6.3 feet will result in higher storm surges and more frequent flooding in coastal New Hampshire

Implantable Device for Wireless Regulation of the Bladder through Pelvic Nerve Stimulation

Urinary incontinence (UI) is the involuntarily urination that usually effects older people or is the result of an injury. UI affects more than eleven million people and the cost of incontinence management in the United States in 2000 was $19.5 billion. Where conventional physical therapies have failed, pelvic nerve stimulation is a promising form of regulating the bladder long term. Piezoresistive pressure sensors consist of two variable resistance values and two known resistance values that are represented on a daughterboard. This unknown resistance represents the change in pressure. The filling and voiding of the bladder was characterized through acute surgeries. It was found that the pressure sensor successfully detects changes in the bladder. Based on the collected data an implantable package can be assembled for chronic surgeries. The package consists of a bionode to record and stimulate the pelvic nerve, a powernode to apply a voltage, and a daughterboard. The next phase of the research is to thoroughly test the implantable package by placing the rat inside a cavity that will wirelessly power the device to regulate the bladder. Future applications of this will be long term use in humans with the ability to control the stimulus through a smart phone application. This research can improve the overall health and quality of life of patients by giving them back control of their bodies

Assessing the Impact of Retreat Mechanisms in a Simple Antarctic Ice Sheet Model Using Bayesian Calibration

The response of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) to changing climate forcings is an important driver of sea-level changes. Anthropogenic climate change may drive a sizeable AIS tipping point response with subsequent increases in coastal flooding risks. Many studies analyzing flood risks use simple models to project the future responses of AIS and its sea-level contributions. These analyses have provided important new insights, but they are often silent on the effects of potentially important processes such as Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) or Marine Ice Cliff Instability (MICI). These approximations can be well justified and result in more parsimonious and transparent model structures. This raises the question of how this approximation impacts hindcasts and projections. Here, we calibrate a previously published and relatively simple AIS model, which neglects the effects of MICI and regional characteristics, using a combination of observational constraints and a Bayesian inversion method. Specifically, we approximate the effects of missing MICI by comparing our results to those from expert assessments with more realistic models and quantify the bias during the last interglacial when MICI may have been triggered. Our results suggest that the model can approximate the process of MISI and reproduce the projected median melt from some previous expert assessments in the year 2100. Yet, our mean hindcast is roughly 3/4 of the observed data during the last interglacial period and our mean projection is roughly 1/6 and 1/10 of the mean from a model accounting for MICI in the year 2100. These results suggest that missing MICI and/or regional characteristics can lead to a low-bias during warming period AIS melting and hence a potential low-bias in projected sea levels and flood risks.Comment: v1: 16 pages, 4 figures, 7 supplementary files; v2: 15 pages, 4 figures, 7 supplementary files, corrected typos, revised title, updated according to revisions made through publication proces

THE EFFECT OF MUSCLE STRENGTH NORMALIZATION PROCEEDURES ON DECISIONS TO RETURN TO SPORT

The objective of this study was to evaluate different methods of normalizing and reporting muscle strength for making decisions about return to sport following an anterior cruciate ligament injury. 42 participants performed 5 isometric knee extensions on an isokinetic dynamometer. The peak force as well as the rate of torque development were determined and expressed either as the average of 4 trials or the peak value. In addition, the limb symmetry index was determined for each condition and compared. Using the peak method resulted in significantly higher values (

Naturopathic Physician Attitudes and Practices for Vaccination and Primary Care in the State of Vermont

Introduction: Recent increase in measles cases has sparked vaccination controversy. Naturopathic physicians (NDs) have been recognized as primary care providers by VT since 2012. It is not well understood how NDs address vaccination with patients. Our goal was to determine how Vermont NDs address vaccines and preventative care with their patients.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1234/thumbnail.jp

Identifying Agriculturists\u27 Online Communication Tool Training Needs

Online communication tools, specifically social media, have provided new ways for agriculturists to promote and advocate for agriculture. Although agricultural producers find value in using social media to communicate about agriculture, many are not comfortable using these tools. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize training needs of agriculturists regarding use of various online communication tools. The USDA’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program provided funding to develop workshops that would help agriculturists learn to use online communication tools effectively. Members of seven agricultural organizations in three states were sent a link to an online questionnaire, and 185 completed responses were analyzed for this study. Across all tasks, the highest means for perceived importance dealt with website tasks while Twitter and blogging tasks had the lowest means for perceived importance. Many of the tasks respondents were most competent completing were the beginning steps and they were least competent completing more complex uses of social media. Using the Borich needs assessment model, respondents indicated a greater need for training on topics related to websites, other online communication tasks, and Facebook. These results were used to develop a daylong online communications training workshop in each of the states

Agriculturists Personal and Business Use of Online Communication Tools

New programs and efforts are being promoted to help American farmers and ranchers succeed in their efforts, both in their daily operations and in their attempts to reach consumers. Online communication tools may be one way agriculturists can share their stories and market directly to these audience members, but much is unknown regarding the extent to which these tools are being implemented. The purpose of this study was to determine agriculturists’ current use of online communication tools for both personal and business purposes. The target population for this study was members of organizations that serve young and/or beginning farmers and ranchers in three states. An online survey was administered electronically to members of seven organizations, and 185 completed questionnaires were analyzed. The findings indicated websites and Facebook are the commonly used online communication tools for personal and business use. Many tools are not used at all for either purpose. A significant correlation was found between the use of online communication tools in personal and business settings. Additional research is needed to further explore agriculturalists’ use of these tools for both purposes

What Constitutes a Successful Result from a Patient Perspective? A Qualitative Analysis

Hypothesis: A patient will deem a surgery successful if they are capable of more mobility after the procedure