Phragmites Australis Haplotypes Present in Two Populations on San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Phragmites australis, common reed, is an invasive species present throughout North America. It is also found on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. The spread of Phragmites is a serious issue for the health and biodiversity of wetland habitats throughout the world, but invasive haplotypes are threatening such communities as they choke out other species, including native Phragmites. This study sought to discover the Phragmites australis haplotypes present on San Salvador Island, and consequently determine the risk of invasion for the island wetlands. Of the 10 samples from two separate sites that were taken, all were the Gulf Coast (I) haplotype, one that is likely native to the region. Therefore it is not likely that the Phragmites populations on San Salvador Island are currently under invasion by nonnative haplotypes

Coral Identification Guide NAFO Area

Accurate reporting of benthic corals is increasingly important for mapping distributions and for the continued development of sustainable fisheries under the ecosystem approach. This coral identification guide is intended to help those on-board commercial and research fishing vessels to identify and record the various species of coral likely to be commonly encountered in fishing trawls. The guide is clear and simple to use, and will provide names to the majority of these beautiful bottomdwelling animals. The photographs are typically of caught specimens taken on the deck, as this gives the best picture of what is actually seen. Sadly, we rarely personally see corals in their natural habitat, except by looking at films and photos taken by deep underwater cameras

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Human Commensal Neisseria Species

Pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea. N. gonorrhoeae has evolved high levels of antimicrobial resistance (AR) leading to therapeutic failures even in dual-therapy treatment with azithromycin and ceftriaxone. AR mechanisms can be acquired by genetic transfer from closely related species, such as naturally competent commensal Neisseria species. At present, little is known about the antimicrobial resistance profiles of commensal Neisseria. Here, we characterized the phenotypic resistance profile of four commensal Neisseria species (N. lactamica, N. cinerea, N. mucosa, and N. elongata) against 10 commonly used antibiotics, and compared their profiles to 4 N. gonorrhoeae strains, using disk diffusion and minimal inhibitory concentration assays. Overall, we observed that 3 of the 4 commensals were more resistant to several antibiotics than pathogenic N. gonorrhoeae strains. Next, we compared publicly available protein sequences of known AR genes, including penicillin-binding-protein 2 (PBP2) from commensals and N. gonorrhoeae strains. We found mutations in PBP2 known to confer resistance in N. gonorrhoeae also present in commensal Neisseria sequences. Our results suggest that commensal Neisseria have unexplored antibiotic resistance gene pools that may be exchanged with pathogenic N. gonorrhoeae, possibly impairing drug development and clinical treatment

Teaching high performance computing to undergraduate faculty and undergraduate students

A growing proportion of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) research is increasingly dependent on Cyberinfrastructure (CI). CI has experienced rapid progress in enabling technologies - hardware, storage, networking, middleware, tools, libraries - but much slower improvements in workforce development. Currently, CI consumers tend to lag substantially behind CI capabilities. This paper de-scribes a series of linked efforts to address the gap between the workforce and the technology. Copyright 2010 ACM

Neither fair nor speedy?: An evaluation of Indiana\u27s competency to stand trial process during Covid-19

The national increase of competency to stand trial (CST) referrals has contributed to delays in legal proceedings, hindrance of due process rights, and class action lawsuits. The state of Indiana previously did not have best practice standards regarding timeliness in completing CST evaluations. The current study used archival data from Odyssey Public Access to investigate Indiana court’s handling of the increasing demand for CST evaluations and the process of referral during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results of this study elucidate that the state of Indiana is not operating according to other states’ best practice standards. However, the current study concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic did not significantly increase the time to complete CST evaluations. This research sheds further light on the future of CST referrals and evaluations during an endemic

Homelessness and Competency to Stand Trial: Understanding the Intersections Between Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and Criminalization in Competency Outcomes.

Competency to stand trial (CST) is a due process right guaranteed by the 14th amendment. As a result of the Supreme Court Case Dusky v. United States (1960), CST is defined as a defendant’s abilities to rationally and factually understand trial proceedings, as well as consult with their attorney. Individuals who are mentally ill are more likely to be incompetent to stand trial and are more likely to be referred for evaluations to determine if they are competent or incompetent to stand trial. The escalating increase for referrals on competency to stand trial (CST) evaluations has impacted the process of legal proceedings and due process rights in many states, potentially including, potentially, Indiana. One hypothesized contributing factor to the national competency crisis is the association between homelessness and CST referrals. The relation of homelessness and competency could be attributed to a variety of factors include: substance abuse, mental illness, and criminalization of poverty. Our study aims to investigate the relationship between homelessness, CST referrals, and CST evaluation outcomes. Using the Odyssey Public System, we had a population of over 4000 CST evaluations. We sampled 150 of these evaluations for the current research question. Using mycase.in.gov, additional data about the case (including specific charges, whether the defendant was homelessness, and outcome of CST and those cases) was coded by student research assistants. This poster will review the background of this growing problem and identify how many (CST) evaluations in Indiana involve homeless individuals and the outcomes of those cases

Race and Gender Bias in Competency to Stand Trial Evaluations

Competency to stand trial (CST) is a due process right guaranteed by the 14th amendment. As a result of the Supreme Court Case Dusky v. United States (1960), CST is defined as a defendant’s abilities to rationally and factually understand trial proceedings, as well as consult with their attorney. Psycho-legal scholars suggest that the United States has entered a “competency crisis”—defined by increasing orders for CST evaluations, an increased finding of incompetency, and delays in CST evaluations and restoration services. The escalating increase for referrals on CST evaluations has impacted the process of legal proceedings and due process rights in many states, potentially including Indiana. CST has been the most common type of evaluation within forensic psychology, and there have been numerous articles investigating potential racial and gender bias in CST referrals, reports, and outcomes (Cooper & Zapf, 2003; Dirks-Linhorst, 2018; Judd & Parker, 2018; Kois, et al., 2012; MacCallum, et al., 2015, Paradis, et al., 2016; Pierelli, et al., 2011, among others). Previous research suggests that within CST cases in the U.S., race/ethnicity and gender did not predict CST referrals or outcomes. Utilizing archival data collection of over 4000 CST cases in a Midwestern state between 2018 and 2021, this study will attempt to replicate these prior findings, as well as, investigate whether an interaction effect exists between race or gender and offense type in CST outcomes, and identify whether racial minorities have experienced longer delays in CST evaluations than their white counterparts