Wilbur, Russell

Russell Wilbur grew up in Waterville Maine. At the age of fifteen he dropped out of school and began working at a chicken plant and shining shoes. Russell faced a lot of hard times with his family for his mother was mentally ill, physically and mentally abusive and his siblings were all very homophobic. With a difficult childhood and unsupportive family Russel began to drink to cover up the pain of his childhood. During this time Russell began to sell drugs which resulted in him going to prison for a year. In 1975 Russel became clean and sober and began to go to AA. Russell left AA after he came out to the group and was told that they don’t want his kind there. To escape his reputation Russell moved from Waterville to Portland Maine, where he began to live as himself, an out gay man. When he left for Portland, he cut all ties with his family. While beginning his new life in Portland Russell had two major relationships. Russell was fascinated by the education he never had and felt dumb for never getting his GED. Russell was a very hard worker and both of his relationships exploited him financially. Once Russell broke it off with both of those individuals, he gained empowerment from being single and has continued to be single for the last twenty years. Once Russell was single, he began his own cleaning company known as “Sparkle”. As time went on Russell developed many health problems which has resulted in him being disabled for the last ten years. During these hard times Russell found peace in painting frames of pictures. With painting frames came, Russell’s joy of gender bending every year in the Portland Pride Parade. This is the one day of year Russell always looks forward to enjoying with the LGBTQ+ community. Russell has a fascinating story filled many ups and downs but prides himself on keeping a sense of humor and a positive attitude throughout it all. Please cite as: Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ Collection, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries. For more information about the Querying the Past: Maine LGBTQ Oral History Project, please contact Dr. Wendy Chapkis.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/1080/thumbnail.jp

Utilizing Counseling Skills in the Classroom to Promote Student Well-Being and Success

The success of institutions of higher education is dependent upon student academic success. Current research with students in higher education links academic success with student well-being. Members of the faculty are in critical positions to ensure student success and thus, the institution, but may be unsure how to promote well-being in the classroom setting. This article examines challenges professors face and shares a professional performance review process. Strategies and skills used by professional counselors that university faculty can implement to foster a sense of student well-being and establish supportive relationships through an integration of Miller’s Relational Cultural Theory and Social Cognitive Theory from Bandura are provided. Some of these counseling skills include rapport building, validation, empathy, grounding techniques, and mindfulness

The Status of Fishes in the Missouri River, Nebraska: Lake Sturgeon \u3ci\u3e(Acipenser fulvescens)\u3c/i\u3e

Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) occurrences in the Missouri River along Nebraska’s eastern border are historically sporadic and rare. Presently, the wild Lake Sturgeon population in this river reach may be extirpated. A Recovery Program initiated by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has stocked almost 150,000 hatchery-reared Lake Sturgeon into the lower Missouri River at several sites in Missouri. As a result, the number of Lake Sturgeon collected has increased. Since monitoring began in 2003, no Lake Sturgeon have been collected above Gavins Point Dam while 40 fish were collected downstream of Gavins Point Dam. The majority of captures occurred in the lower channelized reach downstream of the confluence of the Platte and Missouri rivers. All fish collected are assumed to be progeny of MDC’s Recovery Program as either they were hatchery marked or their size (mean fork length = 764 mm, range = 602–997 mm) correlated with the expected growth rates. At present, their rarity warrants continued listing as a state threated species

The Status of Fishes in the Missouri River, Nebraska: Lake Sturgeon \u3ci\u3e(Acipenser fulvescens)\u3c/i\u3e

Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) occurrences in the Missouri River along Nebraska’s eastern border are historically sporadic and rare. Presently, the wild Lake Sturgeon population in this river reach may be extirpated. A Recovery Program initiated by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has stocked almost 150,000 hatchery-reared Lake Sturgeon into the lower Missouri River at several sites in Missouri. As a result, the number of Lake Sturgeon collected has increased. Since monitoring began in 2003, no Lake Sturgeon have been collected above Gavins Point Dam while 40 fish were collected downstream of Gavins Point Dam. The majority of captures occurred in the lower channelized reach downstream of the confluence of the Platte and Missouri rivers. All fish collected are assumed to be progeny of MDC’s Recovery Program as either they were hatchery marked or their size (mean fork length = 764 mm, range = 602–997 mm) correlated with the expected growth rates. At present, their rarity warrants continued listing as a state threated species

Serum profiling and biomarker discovery of rat mammary tumors using mass-coded abundance tags (MCAT)

Advances in Mass-spectrometry techniques allow for the rapid processing and evaluation of complex biological mixtures such as blood/serum. These samples represent a protein rich environment as well as a sentinel monitoring system of the entire organism. The central tenet of these studies is that changes in the microenvironment of a tissue, brought about by a disease process, will lead to sufficient changes in the protein and peptide pattern of the serum, such that the differences can be accurately detected and correctly associated with a particular disease state. Using mass-spectrometry approaches we have developed techniques that allow us to compare samples from tumor-free and tumor present serum samples simultaneously to find biomarkers that indicate the presence of cancer. To examine potentially important but less abundant proteins, ultrafiltration (UF) was used to eliminate the more abundant proteins and combine this with the non-isotopic peptide tags (S-methylthioacetimidate and S-methyl thiopropionimidate) described by Beardsley and Reilley (J. Proteome Res. 2: 15-21, 2003) to differentiate our samples. Use of these mass-coded abundance tags (MCAT) allows for simultaneous evaluation of serum samples from tumor present, and tumor free animals. Using an oa time-of-flight mass-spectrometer (Q-tof) with electrospray ionization we produce high quality spectrums to screen for peptides that have only one tag. Specificity of tagging increases the likelihood that the peptide resulted from a protein unique to either the control or conditioned state. Using the ms/ms function of the Q-tof we sequence the peptide and identify the parent protein. Specifically, our lab is using UF, MCAT and the Q-tof to evaluate rat models of chemically-induced tumors. By using animal models we overcome much of the variability that may exist in human serum samples due to differences in gender, diet and cancer initiation. We have shown that these systems allow for the identification of both small molecules such as Alpha S1 casein precursor (24 kDa) as well as proteins greater than the MCO such as Fibrinogen alpha/alpha E precursor and Coagulation factor 2 (86 and 70 kDa, respectively). With positive sequence identification we can now evaluate the tumors themselves to determine if the proteins are over-expressed in the tumor vs. normal tissues. Using this method of “bottom-up” analysis provides information on the nature and composition of our samples to more rapidly identify those proteins that are unique to the tumor state of the animals

Reserves and resources for CO2 storage in Europe: the CO2 StoP project

Th e challenge of climate change demands reduction in global CO 2 emissions. In order to fi ght global warming many coun- tries are looking at technological solutions to keep the release of CO 2 into the atmosphere under control. One of the most promising techniques is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), also known as CO 2 geological storage. CCS can re- duce the world’s total CO 2 release by about one quarter by 2050 (IEA 2008, 2013; Metz et al. 2005). CCS usually in- volves a series of steps: (1) separation of the CO 2 from the gases produced by large power plants or other point sources, (2) compression of the CO 2 into supercritical fl uid, (3) trans- portation to a storage location and (4) injecting it into deep underground geological formations. CO 2 StoP is an acronym for the CO 2 Storage Potential in Europe project. Th e CO 2 StoP project which started in Janu- ary 2012 and ended in October 2014 included data from 27 countries (Fig. 1). Th e data necessary to assess potential loca- tions of CO 2 storage resources are found in a database set up in the project. A data analysis system was developed to analyse the com- plex data in the database, as well as a geographical informa- tion system (GIS) that can display the location of potential geological storage formations, individual units of assessment within the formations and any further subdivisions (daugh- ter units, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs or potential struc- tural traps in saline aquifers). Finally, formulae have been developed to calculate the storage resources. Th e database is housed at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commis- sion in Petten, the Netherlands. Background and methods CO 2 storage resource assessment A resource can be defi ned as anything potentially available and useful to man. Th e pore space in deeply buried reservoir rocks that can trap CO 2 is a resource that can be used for CO 2 storage. It is of utmost importance to be aware that the mere presence of a resource does not indicate that any part of it can be economically exploited, now or in the futur

Reserves and resources for CO2 storage in Europe: the CO2StoP project

The challenge of climate change demands reduction in global CO2 emissions. In order to fight global warming many countries are looking at technological solutions to keep the release of CO2 into the atmosphere under control. One of the most promising techniques is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), also known as CO2 geological storage. CCS can reduce the world’s total CO2 release by about one quarter by 2050 (IEA 2008, 2013; Metz et al. 2005). CCS usually involves a series of steps: (1) separation of the CO2 from the gases produced by large power plants or other point sources, (2) compression of the CO2 into supercritical fluid, (3) transportation to a storage location and (4) injecting it into deep underground geological formations. CO2StoP is an acronym for the CO2 Storage Potential in Europe project. The CO2StoP project which started in January 2012 and ended in October 2014 included data from 27 countries (Fig. 1). The data necessary to assess potential locations of CO2 storage resources are found in a database set up in the project. A data analysis system was developed to analyse the complex data in the database, as well as a geographical information system (GIS) that can display the location of potential geological storage formations, individual units of assessment within the formations and any further subdivisions (daughter units, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs or potential structural traps in saline aquifers). Finally, formulae have been developed to calculate the storage resources. The database is housed at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission in Petten, the Netherlands.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

Food and nutrition labelling in Thailand: a long march from subsistence producers to international traders

AbstractThis paper reviews the evolution of Thai food and nutrition label policies and Thailand’s international role relating to food product safety and standards. The historical record has been interpreted to identify future trends and challenges related to food labelling. These challenges are arising in Thailand and many similar emerging economies.Thailand has a good reputation in world food markets and is now becoming a global leader in food production and export. It has become deeply involved with regulations and standards applied by World Trade Organization and Codex Alimentarius while serving its own population with a safe and secure food supply. For consumers considering Thai food products, food labels can provide useful nutrition information and help build trust.Thais began a century ago with policies and laws to enhance food safety and to protect Thai consumers. During the lengthy journey from national to global standards Thai food labels have evolved and now contribute to international food labelling policies. This contribution comes from the perspective of a leading middle income south-east Asian food producer now trading with high income countries around the world. The story of that journey – a case study for many other countries in a similar situation – has not previously been told.This article provides information for policy makers dealing with food labelling, embedding trends and tensions for one middle income food exporter in a long history. Information captured here should be helpful for other middle income countries, especially those with limited records. This strategic knowledge will enable better decisions for future policies

Multimodal active speaker detection and virtual cinematography for video conferencing

Active speaker detection (ASD) and virtual cinematography (VC) can significantly improve the remote user experience of a video conference by automatically panning, tilting and zooming of a video conferencing camera: users subjectively rate an expert video cinematographer's video significantly higher than unedited video. We describe a new automated ASD and VC that performs within 0.3 MOS of an expert cinematographer based on subjective ratings with a 1-5 scale. This system uses a 4K wide-FOV camera, a depth camera, and a microphone array; it extracts features from each modality and trains an ASD using an AdaBoost machine learning system that is very efficient and runs in real-time. A VC is similarly trained using machine learning to optimize the subjective quality of the overall experience. To avoid distracting the room participants and reduce switching latency the system has no moving parts -- the VC works by cropping and zooming the 4K wide-FOV video stream. The system was tuned and evaluated using extensive crowdsourcing techniques and evaluated on a dataset with N=100 meetings, each 2-5 minutes in length