McMinnville Habitat for Humanity: Homeownership and Resources Survey

This report outlines the overall satisfaction that homeowners feel in regards to their new homes provided through the Habitat for Humanity program. Details include the overall building experience for Habitat for Humanity homeowners, and the report also includes aspects of possible improvement in the Habitat for Humanity program

Polyfidelity and the Dynamics of Group Romantic Relationships

Monogamy is considered the romantic norm for establishing family and kinship. Alternative relationships such as polyfidelity, that is, a group romantic relationship, often face prejudice and social stigma resulting in a greater need for mental health counseling services compared to those who are not stigmatized. Yet counselors and counselor educators lack both understanding and cultural competency for serving this population. The purpose of this study was to better understand the dynamics of a polyfidelity relationship, as well as how a counselor might better serve the needs of individuals engaged in this type of relationship. In this study, 14 participants described what it was like to be in a polyfidelitous relationship. A combined theoretical framework-based on relational cultural theory, social constructionism, and queer theory was used to reveal the challenges, as well as the strengths, of such a relationship. It was discovered that there are an exponential number of relationship combinations when introducing an additional member into an existing 2-person relationship. As a result the relational component in counseling becomes compounded. For example, a 3-person relationship has 4 unique relationships, a 4-person relationship has 11 unique relationships, and a 5-person relationship has 26 unique relationship combinations. In addition, members of group relationships often use their group dynamics to check and balance one another, resolve conflict, and better express aspects of each partner\u27s personality. The implications for social change are multifold in both furthering mental health professional\u27s understanding of alternative families, as well as identifying the advantages and pitfalls of engaging in a polyfidelitous relationship

Petrology and Tectonic Setting of the Silver Pass Volcanics, Central Cascades, WA: Early Evidence of Farallon Slab Breakoff

In the Pacific Northwest, the middle Eocene (52-45 Ma) was characterized by widespread igneous activity related to the accretion of Siletzia and subsequent rollback and breakoff of the Farallon slab. This breakoff is record by a NNW trending belt of 51.6 – 48.1 Ma volcanic and plutonic rocks that extends for \u3e150 km in western Washington (Kant et al., 2018). The Silver Pass Volcanics (SPV) are some of the oldest rocks in this belt. Goals of this study are to: (1) characterize the petrology and geochemistry of the SPV, (2) compare the SPV with the adjacent and similarly-aged Taneum Formation (TF), and (3) use these data to gain insight into the early stages of slab breakoff. The SPV (51.3 Ma; Eddy et al., 2016) consist of ~3600 feet of subaerial lavas and tuffs now folded into a syncline (Lofgren, 1973). They include tholeiitic basaltic andesites and andesites (SiO2 = 52.8-63.7 wt.%, La/Yb = 2.3–7.4) and calc-alkaline basaltic andesites through rhyolites (SiO2 = 54.0-71.0, La/Yb = 4.4-7.2). Tholeiitic rocks occur mainly low in the section but some are interbedded with calc-alkaline rocks higher up. It has been suggested the SPV are correlative with the TF and the units are geochemically similar, but the SPV are on average more iron-rich (avg. Fe2O3 = 7.8 vs. 5.9 wt.%), have a weaker arc signature (avg Ba/Nb = 62 vs. 96), and lack adakites. Both the SPV and TF differ from other units in the breakoff belt in that they are not bimodal. The diversity of magma compositions present in the SPV and TF likely reflect both spatial and temporal changes during slab rupture. We suggest the early tholeiitic rocks formed when hot mantle rose through the tear in the slab and underwent decompression melting, whereas the calc-alkaline rocks originated within a mantle wedge affected by earlier subduction. TF adakites may represent melting at the edges of the slab tear

Conjugated linoleic acids alter body composition differently according to physiological age in Moulard ducks

Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) have been shown to have remarkable yet inconsistent metabolic effects in mice, rats, hamsters, chickens, cattle, and humans. In particular, effects on lipogenesis vary with tissue, physiological state and specie. In this study we tested the hypothesis that CLA would differentially affect ducks of the same genetic background but of differing age. Growing (7 wk) and maintenance (11 wk) Moulard ducks were grouped by age and fed a standard diet supplemented with either 5% soybean oil (control) or 5% CLA isomer mixture. Animals were harvested after 3 weeks or 6 weeks for assessment of body composition including adipose, liver, viscera, and empty carcass weight. Serum nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) and glucose concentrations were evaluated, and gene targets were cloned from the duck to use in quantifying mRNA abundance for genes involved in lipogenesis (fatty acid synthase, FAS; acetyl-CoA carboxylase, ACC) and lipid oxidation (carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1, CPT-1) in liver tissue from maintenance animals. After 3 weeks, the growing CLA group exhibited a 24% decrease in dissectible adipose tissue (P \u3c 0.05) while maintenance animals showed no significant diet effect. After 6 weeks, the growing CLA group exhibited a 20% increase in liver mass compared to the control (P \u3c 0.05), but no diet effect on adipose tissue. Maintenance animals receiving dietary CLA had a 42% decrease in adipose tissue mass after 6 weeks, increased serum NEFA, ACC and CPT-1 mRNA after 3 and 6 weeks (P \u3c 0.05), and increased FAS mRNA after 3 weeks of treatment (P \u3c 0.05). These data indicate that CLA have potent effects on lipid metabolism in ducks, but that these effects differ dependent on physiological age

Initial Findings on Visual Acuity Thresholds in an African Elephant (\u3cem\u3eLoxodonta africana\u3c/em\u3e)

There are only a few published examinations of elephant visual acuity. All involved Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and found visual acuity to be between 8′ and 11′ of arc for a stimulus near the tip of the trunk, equivalent to a 0.50 cm gap, at a distance of about 2 m from the eyes. We predicted that African elephants (Loxodonta africana) would have similarly high visual acuity, necessary to facilitate eye-trunk coordination for feeding, drinking and social interactions. When tested on a discrimination task using Landolt-C stimuli, one African elephant cow demonstrated a visual acuity of 48′ of arc. This represents the ability to discriminate a gap as small as 2.75 cm in a stimulus 196 cm from the eye. This single-subject study provides a preliminary estimate of the visual acuity of African elephants

A Japanese pitch accent practice program and L1 influence on pitch accent acquisition

Recent research has demonstrated that learners of Japanese struggle producing correct Japanese pitch accent. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect learners’ first language (L1) may have on accent acquisition following the introduction and use of a digital Japanese Pitch Accent Learning and Practice (PALP) program in two Japanese courses. The PALP program visually and aurally presents learners with pitch patterns and requires learners to select the correct pitch accent pattern for new vocabulary. Participants' pitch accent abilities were assessed at the beginning and end of their courses. A mixed design ANOVA was conducted to analyze the effect of learners' L1 on pitch accent acquisition. Results evince a significant interaction effect between participant group (treatment/control) and L1 (Chinese/English), F(1, 24) = 10.09, p < .01 (η2 = .30). Specifically, English L1 participants in the treatment group considerably outperformed the control group English L1 participants. However, the Chinese L1 participants in both groups performed at approximately equal levels. These results suggest the existence of an L1 influence on pitch accent acquisition

Commodity Trading Room Comes On-Line at UNL

Commodity markets are central to Nebraska抯 economy. The study of agricultural marketing concepts, tools and strategies as they relate to risk management for agricultural producers, commodity merchandisers, processors and other traders are essential for students seeking a career in the agribusiness industry