Green Home Montana: Eco-friendly Housing and Living Practices

While the green building movement is common practice in the commercial realm, it is not yet widely popular with residential buildings. We considered the question “How can residents of western Montana adopt eco-friendly housing practices that are locally appropriate and relevant?” There is an opportunity to increase green living practices among renters and homeowners in western Montana through retrofitting, gardening, composting, and similar behaviors. By considering climatic factors relevant to the region, suggestions for relevant eco-friendly practices can be made available to homeowners and renters alike. We will research green living practices used in other countries with similar climatic factors as western Montana. We will then make a website to help streamline locally relevant information catered to help residents take action towards their sustainability goals. We will survey a sample of residents throughout western Montana to inform the materials provided on the website. For example, these materials may include, but are not limited to, sustainability project demonstration videos, links to local builders, history, blogs, global initiatives, and links to other resources. We expect this website to be relevant and increase accessibility to western Montanan renters and homeowners

Implementing Eco-Friendly Housing Techniques in Western Montana: Green Home Montana: Eco-friendly Housing and Living Practices - Final Capstone Portfolio

While the green building movement is common practice in the commercial realm, it is not yet widely popular with residential buildings. We considered the question “How can residents of western Montana adopt eco-friendly housing practices that are locally appropriate and relevant?” There is an opportunity to increase green living practices among renters and homeowners in western Montana through retrofitting, gardening, composting, and similar behaviors. By considering climatic factors relevant to the region, suggestions for relevant eco-friendly practices can be made available to homeowners and renters alike. We will research green living practices used in other countries with similar climatic factors as western Montana. We will then make a website to help streamline locally relevant information catered to help residents take action towards their sustainability goals. We will survey a sample of residents throughout western Montana to inform the materials provided on the website. For example, these materials may include, but are not limited to, sustainability project demonstration videos, links to local builders, history, blogs, global initiatives, and links to other resources. We expect this website to be relevant and increase accessibility to western Montana renters and homeowners

Saginaw Valley State University & City of Saginaw: Forming New Ties for the Future

Institutions of higher learning (IHLs) are usually perceived as places for students and faculty to advance their understanding of curricula. Universities and colleges have also often been thought of as places that can assist in community development. The objective of this paper is to study community service outreach centers / programs by institutions of higher learning (IHLs) in the communities of Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids, Michigan; and examine the feasibility of a community service outreach center in Saginaw, Michigan. The study will outline current programs sponsored by Saginaw Valley State University, and Saginaw-based community organizations that would benefit from a community service outreach center. The study will finally identify the needs, and best practices for creating a center in Saginaw, Michigan

Constitutive spectral EEG peaks in the gamma range: suppressed by sleep, reduced by mental activity and resistant to sensory stimulation

This Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. it is reproduced with permission. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Objective: In a systematic study of gamma activity in neuro-psychiatric disease, we unexpectedly observed distinctive, apparently persistent, electroencephalogram (EEG) spectral peaks in the gamma range (25–100 Hz). Our objective, therefore, was to examine the incidence, distribution and some of the characteristics of these peaks. Methods: High sample-rate, 128-channel, EEG was recorded in 603 volunteers (510 with neuropsychiatric disorders, 93 controls), whilst performing cognitive tasks, and converted to power spectra. Peaks of spectral power, including in the gamma range, were determined algorithmically for all electrodes. To determine if peaks were stable, 24-h ambulatory recordings were obtained from 16 subjects with peaks. In 10 subjects, steady-state responses to stimuli at peak frequency were compared with off-peak-frequency stimulation to determine if peaks were a feature of underlying network resonances and peaks were evaluated with easy and hard versions of oddball tasks to determine if peaks might be influenced by mental effort. Results: 57% of 603 subjects exhibited peaks >2 dB above trough power at or above 25 Hz. Larger peaks (>5 dB) were present in 13% of subjects. Peaks were distributed widely over the scalp, more frequent centrally. Peaks were present through the day and were suppressed by slow-wave-sleep. Steady-state responses were the same with on- or off-peak sensory stimulation. In contrast, mental effort resulted in reductions in power and frequency of gamma peaks, although the suppression did not correlate with level of effort. Conclusions: Gamma EEG can be expressed constitutively as concentrations of power in narrow or wide frequency bands that play an, as yet, unknown role in cognitive activity. Significance: These findings expand the described range of rhythmic EEG phenomena. In particular, in addition to evoked, induced and sustained gamma band activity, gamma activity can be present constitutively in spectral peaks

Visual Experiences during Paralysis

Rationale: Paralyzed human volunteers (n = 6) participated in several studies the primary one of which required full neuromuscular paralysis while awake. After the primary experiment, while still paralyzed and awake, subjects undertook studies of humor and of attempted eye-movement. The attempted eye-movements tested a central, intentional component to one’s internal visual model and are the subject of this report. Methods: Subjects reclined in a supportive chair and were ventilated after paralysis (cisatracurium, 20 mg intravenously). In illumination, subjects were requested to focus alternately on the faces of investigators standing on the left and the right within peripheral vision. In darkness, subjects were instructed to look away from a point source of light. Subjects were to report their experiences after reversal of paralysis. Results: During attempted eye-movement in illumination, one subject had an illusion of environmental movement but four subjects perceived faces as clearly as if they were in central vision. In darkness, four subjects reported movement of the target light in the direction of attempted eye-movements and three could control the movement of the light at will. Conclusion: The hypothesis that internal visual models receive intended ocular-movement-information directly from oculomotor centers is strengthened by this evidence

Visual Experiences during Paralysis

Rationale: Paralyzed human volunteers (n = 6) participated in several studies the primary one of which required full neuromuscular paralysis while awake. After the primary experiment, while still paralyzed and awake, subjects undertook studies of humor and of attempted eye-movement. The attempted eye-movements tested a central, intentional component to one’s internal visual model and are the subject of this report. Methods: Subjects reclined in a supportive chair and were ventilated after paralysis (cisatracurium, 20 mg intravenously). In illumination, subjects were requested to focus alternately on the faces of investigators standing on the left and the right within peripheral vision. In darkness, subjects were instructed to look away from a point source of light. Subjects were to report their experiences after reversal of paralysis. Results: During attempted eye-movement in illumination, one subject had an illusion of environmental movement but four subjects perceived faces as clearly as if they were in central vision. In darkness, four subjects reported movement of the target light in the direction of attempted eye-movements and three could control the movement of the light at will. Conclusion: The hypothesis that internal visual models receive intended ocular-movement-information directly from oculomotor centers is strengthened by this evidence

Green Home Montana: Eco-friendly Housing and Living Practices - Artifacts

While the green building movement is common practice in the commercial realm, it is not yet widely popular with residential buildings. We considered the question “How can residents of western Montana adopt eco-friendly housing practices that are locally appropriate and relevant?” There is an opportunity to increase green living practices among renters and homeowners in western Montana through retrofitting, gardening, composting, and similar behaviors. By considering climatic factors relevant to the region, suggestions for relevant eco-friendly practices can be made available to homeowners and renters alike. We will research green living practices used in other countries with similar climatic factors as western Montana. We will then make a website to help streamline locally relevant information catered to help residents take action towards their sustainability goals. We will survey a sample of residents throughout western Montana to inform the materials provided on the website. For example, these materials may include, but are not limited to, sustainability project demonstration videos, links to local builders, history, blogs, global initiatives, and links to other resources. We expect this website to be relevant and increase accessibility to western Montana renters and homeowners

Effects of macro- and micronutrients on exercise-induced hepcidin response in highly trained endurance athletes.

Iron deficiency has ergolytic effects on athletic performance. Exercise-induced inflammation impedes iron absorption in the digestive tract by upregulating the expression of the iron regulatory protein, hepcidin. Limited research indicates the potential of specific macro- and micronutrients on blunting exercise-induced hepcidin. Therefore, we investigated the effects of postexercise supplementation with protein and carbohydrate (CHO) and vitamins

Conspecific disturbance contributes to altered hibernation patterns in bats with white-nose syndrome

The emerging wildlife disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) affects both physiology and behaviour of hibernating bats. Infection with the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the first pathogen known to target torpid animals, causes an increase in arousal frequency during hibernation, and therefore premature depletion of energy stores. Infected bats also show a dramatic decrease in clustering behaviour over the winter. To investigate the interaction between disease progression and torpor expression we quantified physiological (i.e., timing of arousal, rewarming rate) and behavioural (i.e., arousal synchronisation, clustering) aspects of rewarming events over four months in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) experimentally inoculated with Pd. We tested two competing hypotheses: 1) Bats adjust arousal physiology adaptively to help compensate for an increase in energetically expensive arousals. This hypothesis predicts that infected bats should increase synchronisation of arousals with colony mates to benefit from social thermoregulation and/or that solitary bats will exhibit faster rewarming rates than clustered individuals because rewarming costs fall as rewarming rate increases. 2) As for the increase in arousal frequency, changes in arousal physiology and clustering behaviour are maladaptive consequences of infection. This hypothesis predicts no effect of infection or clustering behaviour on rewarming rate and that disturbance by normothermic bats contributes to the overall increase in arousal frequency. We found that arousals of infected bats became more synchronised than those of controls as hibernation progressed but the pattern was not consistent with social thermoregulation. When a bat rewarmed from torpor, it was often followed in sequence by up to seven other bats in an arousal “cascade”. Moreover, rewarming rate did not differ between infected and uninfected bats, was not affected by clustering and did not change over time. Our results support our second hypothesis and suggest that disturban

Effects of Macro- and Micro- Nutrients on Exercise Induced Hepcidin Response in Highly-Trained Endurance Athletes

Iron deficiency (ID) has ergolytic effects on athletic performance. Exercise induced inflammation impedes iron absorption in the digestive tract by up-regulating the expression of the iron regulatory protein, hepcidin. Limited research indicates the potential of specific macro- and micro- nutrients on blunting exercise induced hepcidin. Therefore, we investigated the effects of post-exercise supplementation with protein and carbohydrate (CHO) and vitamins D3 and K2 on the post-exercise hepcidin response. Ten highly-trained male cyclists (age: 26.9±6.4 years; VO2max: 67.4±4.4 ml/kg/min) completed four cycling sessions in a randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blinded triple crossover study. Experimental days consisted of an 8-min warm-up at 50% power output at VO2max (pVO2max), followed by 8x3 min intervals at 85% pVO2max with 1.5 min at 60% pVO2max between each interval. Blood samples were collected pre- and post- exercise, and 3-hr post-exercise. Three different drinks consisting of CHO (75g) and protein (25g) with (VPRO) or without (PRO) vitamins D3 (5,000 IU) and K2 (1,000 mcg), or a zero-calorie control drink (PLA) were consumed immediately after the post-exercise blood sample. Results showed that the post-exercise drinks had no significant (p ≥ 0.05) effect on any biomarker measured. There was a significant (pThe accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author