EXTENDED EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATION IN A SEMESTER-LONG OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM

While many adventure programs offer opportunities to develop technical and outdoor skills such as orienteering, rope management, and backpacking skills (Shooter, Sibthorp, & Paisley, 2009) research has demonstrated that participating in an adventure program often results in the development of interpersonal skills such as communication, decision-making, and problem solving (McKenzie, 2003; Raiola, 2003; Sibthorp, Paisley, & Gookin, 2007). Interpersonal skills are beneficial to both personal and professional development and can translate into success in the classroom and the workplace (Gass, Garvey, & Sugerman, 2003; Shooter, Sibthorp, & Paisley, 2009). However, the long-term retention of technical and interpersonal skills as a result of participating in an adventure program has received limited research attention. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of participation in the CORE program at IU through a longitudinal analysis. Specifically, the aim of this study was to analyze the retention of technical and interpersonal skills, and attitudes of past CORE program participants and identify the impact these skills have on areas such as personal and professional development. The CORE Program is a unique outdoor adventure and education program that blends classroom learning and fieldwork to provide its participants with a broad range of experiential learning opportunities. The past research done on the CORE program has typically examined the effects of the program immediately after its conclusion. This study adopted a self-administered retrospective pre-post questionnaire that asked CORE alumni to reflect and rate their skill level on a 5-point Likert scale on three time points: before participation in CORE, right after completion of the CORE program and their current level of skills. Skills examined included technical skills such as knots, climbing, and orienteering and interpersonal skills such as problem solving, group management, and decision-making. The results of this study contributed to a better understanding the impacts and outcomes of the CORE program.Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Recreation in the School of Public Health, Indiana University June 201

Detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) from Arizona

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the link in this record.In 1994, an endemic poultry pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum (Mg), was identified as the causative agent of a novel disease in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus). Following an initial outbreak in Maryland, Mg spread rapidly throughout eastern North American house finches. Subsequently, Mg spread slowly through the northern interior of North America and then into the Pacific Northwest, finally reaching California in 2006. Through 2009, there were no reports of Mg in the southwestern United States east of California. In August 2011, following reports of house finches displaying conjunctivitis characteristic of Mg infection in Arizona, we trapped house finches at bird feeders in central Arizona (Tempe) and southern Arizona (Tucson and Green Valley) to assay for Mg infection. Upon capture, we noted whether birds exhibited conjunctivitis and collected choanal swabs to test for the presence of Mg DNA using PCR. We detected Mg in finches captured from Green Valley (in ~12% of birds captured) but not from Tucson or Tempe. Based on resampling of house finches at these sites in July 2014, central Arizona finches likely remain unexposed to Mg. We suggest that low urban connectivity between arid habitats of southern and central Arizona or a reduction in the prevalence of Mg following its initial arrival in Arizona may be limiting the spread of Mg from south to north in Arizona. We further suggest that the observed conjunctivitis-like signs in house finches that were negative for Mg by PCR may be caused primarily by avian poxvirus

Genomic Sequence and Phylogenetic Analysis of Culex Flavivirus, an Insect-Specific Flavivirus, Isolated From Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) in Iowa

Adult mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) were collected in 2007 and tested for specific viruses, including West Nile virus, as part of the ongoing arbovirus surveillance efforts in the state of Iowa. A subset of these mosquitoes (6,061 individuals in 340 pools) was further tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using flavivirus universal primers. Of the 211 pools of Culex pipiens (L.) tested, 50 were positive. One of 51 pools of Culex tarsalis Coquillet was also positive. The flavivirus minimum infection rates (expressed as the number of positive mosquito pools per 1,000 mosquitoes tested) for Cx. pipiens and Cx. tarsalis were 10.3 and 1.2, respectively. Flavivirus RNA was not detected in Aedes triseriatus (Say) (52 pools), Culex erraticus (Dyar & Knab) (25 pools), or Culex territans Walker (one pool). Sequence analysis of all RT-PCR products revealed that the mosquitoes had been infected with Culex flavivirus (CxFV), an insect-specific virus previously isolated in Japan, Indonesia, Texas, Mexico, Guatemala and Trinidad. The complete genome of one isolate was sequenced, as were the envelope protein genes of eight other isolates. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CxFV isolates from the United States (Iowa and Texas) are more closely related to CxFV isolates from Asia than those from Mexico, Guatemala, and Trinidad

Universal primers for the amplification and sequence analysis pf actin-1 from diverse mosquito species

We report the development of universal primers for the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification and nucleotide sequence analysis of actin cDNAs from taxonomically diverse mosquito species. Primers specific to conserved regions of the invertebrate actin-1 gene were designed after actin cDNA sequences of Anopheles gambiae, Bombyx mori, Drosophila melanogaster, and Caenorhabditis elegans. The efficacy of these primers was determined by RT-PCR with the use of total RNA from mosquitoes belonging to 30 species and 8 genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Culex, Deinocerites, Mansonia, Psorophora, Toxorhynchites, and Wyeomyia). The RT-PCR products were sequenced, and sequence data were used to design additional primers. One primer pair, denoted as Act-2F (5′-ATGGTCGGYATGGGNCAGAAGGACTC-3′) and Act-8R (5′-GATTCCATACCCAGGAAG-GADGG-3′), successfully amplified an RT-PCR product of the expected size (683-nt) in all mosquito spp. tested. We propose that this primer pair can be used as an internal control to test the quality of RNA from mosquitoes collected in vector surveillance studies. These primers can also be used in molecular experiments in which the detection, amplification or silencing of a ubiquitously expressed mosquito housekeeping gene is necessary. Sequence and phylogenetic data are also presented in this report

The Benefits of an HPV Vaccination Education Program on Improving HPV Vaccination Rates

In adolescents ages 9-18 what is the effect of an HPV vaccination education program on improving HPV vaccine series completion rate compared to those who do not receive the education? The purpose of this research is to prove that an increase in HPV knowledge will lead to an increase in HPV vaccination completion rates.Nursing, College o

Plasma Testosterone Concentrations in Adult Tree Swallows During the Breeding Season

We studied seasonal profiles of circulating testosterone concentrations among male and female adult Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) breeding in nest-box colonies near Ames, Iowa, USA. Mean plasma testosterone in males was elevated during nest establishment (0.63 ± 0.86 ng/ml) and incubation stages (0.28 ± 0.26 ng/ml), and was significantly lower after hatching (0.03 ± 0.05 ng/ml) when males began provisioning nestlings. Male swallows do not incubate and high testosterone during the incubation stage may facilitate pursuit of extra-pair matings. Female testosterone concentrations were an order of magnitude lower than those of males (nest establishment, mean  =  0.06 ± 0.09 ng/ml) and did not change significantly over the breeding season. These testosterone profiles support the hypothesis that elevated testosterone in males is associated with defense behaviors and obtaining additional mating opportunities during the first part of the breeding season, but is incompatible with parental care once the eggs have hatched.This article is from The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123 (2011); 608, doi: 10.1676/10-142.1. Posted with permission.</p

Detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) from Arizona

In 1994, an endemic poultry pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), was identified as the causative agent of a novel disease in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus). After an initial outbreak in Maryland, MG spread rapidly throughout eastern North American populations of house finches. Subsequently, MG spread slowly through the northern interior of North America and then into the Pacific Northwest, finally reaching California in 2006. Until 2009, there were no reports of MG in the southwestern United States east of California. In August 2011, after reports of house finches displaying conjunctivitis characteristic of MG infection in Arizona, we trapped house finches at bird feeders in central Arizona (Tempe) and southern Arizona (Tucson and Green Valley) to assay for MG infection. Upon capture, we noted whether birds exhibited conjunctivitis, and we collected choanal swabs to test for the presence of MG DNA using PCR. We detected MG in finches captured from Green Valley (in ∼12% of birds captured), but not in finches from Tucson or Tempe. Based on resampling of house finches at these sites in July 2014, we suggest that central Arizona finches likely remain unexposed to MG. We also suggest that low urban connectivity between arid habitats of southern and central Arizona or a reduction in the prevalence of MG after its initial arrival in Arizona may be limiting the spread of MG from south to north in Arizona. In addition, the observed conjunctivitis-like signs in house finches that were negative for MG by PCR may be caused primarily by avian pox virus.This article is published as Staley, M., C. Bonneaud, K. McGraw, C.M. Vleck, and G.E. Hill, 2018. Detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) from Arizona. Avian Diseases 62(1) 14-17. doi: 10.1637/11610-021317-Reg.1. Posted with permission.</p

Data from: Rapid antagonistic coevolution in an emerging pathogen and its vertebrate host

Host-pathogen coevolution is assumed to play a key role in eco-evolutionary processes, including epidemiological dynamics and the evolution of sexual reproduction [1-4]. Despite this, direct evidence for host-pathogen coevolution is exceptional [5-7], particularly in vertebrate hosts. Indeed, although vertebrate hosts have been shown to evolve in response to pathogens or vice versa [8-12], there is little evidence for the necessary reciprocal changes in the success of both antagonists over time [13]. Here, we generate a time-shift experiment to demonstrate adaptive, reciprocal changes in North American house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) and their bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum [14-16]. Our experimental design is made possible by the existence of disease-exposed and unexposed finch populations, which were known to exhibit equivalent responses to experimental inoculation until the recent spread of genetic resistance in the former [14, 17]. While inoculation with pathogen isolates from epidemic outbreak caused comparable sub-lethal eye-swelling in hosts from exposed (hereafter adapted) and unexposed (hereafter ancestral) populations, inoculation with isolates sampled after the spread of resistance were threefold more likely to cause lethal symptoms in hosts from ancestral populations. Similarly, the probability that pathogens successfully established an infection in the primary host and, before inducing death, transmitted to an uninfected sentinel was highest when recent isolates were inoculated in hosts from ancestral populations and lowest when early isolates were inoculated in hosts from adapted populations. Our results demonstrate antagonistic host-pathogen coevolution, with hosts and pathogens displaying increased resistance and virulence in response to each other over time