The Effectiveness of Long-distance Translocation of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Adamanteus)

Translocations have the potential to aim conservation efforts as well as to reduce mortality caused by human activities. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus, EDB) have a limited ability to adapt to habitat loss and fragmentation due to the species’ slow life history and minimal dispersal ability. Because they are a venomous species, they are viewed as nuisance animals and are often killed on sight. We translocated a cohort of EDBs to investigate the potential of using translocations as a conservation and mitigation tool for this species. In July 2018, we translocated twelve adult eastern diamondback rattlesnakes from Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot to an inland wildlife management area. We radio-located the rattlesnakes approximately three times weekly during the active season and once per week during the inactive season both pre-and post-translocation. We used these radio telemetry data to examine the effects translocation had on home-range size and average daily movement. We also used know-rate models to examine adult survival post-translocation. The post-translocation home ranges were larger than the pre-translocation home ranges and the snakes moved more on average per day post-translocation. We failed to detect an effect of translocation on two-year survival probability. We suspect that large post-translocation home ranges and average daily movements reflect the need to find suitable ambush and hibernacula sites, as well as the difference in coastal and inland woodland habitats. In order for translocations to be a viable conservation strategy for EDBs, more research is needed to determine the long-term viability of translocated populations

The Influence of Environmental Toxicity, Inequity and Capitalism on Reproductive Health

Our health and environment are deeply interconnected. The exploitation of people, animals and nature drives the environmental crises we face today and damages the health of the most marginalized people. Reproductive health, specifically, is affected by poor environmental quality, making it difficult for parents to have healthy pregnancies and raise their children in safe and healthy communities. Improving environmental conditions results in positive public health outcomes and is imperative for reproductive justice.Many invisible environmental threats — such as toxic chemicals in the air and water and extreme temperatures — impede reproductive justice and cause harm to pregnant people, fetuses, infants and children. This report seeks to help people understand these links more clearly. It also explores the role capitalist systems play in harming reproductive and environmental health. By exposing the connections between fossil fuel extraction, plastic products, industrial agriculture, climate change, and negative reproductive health outcomes, we hope to increase awareness of these invisible threats, illuminate the role of capitalist growth models in causing these harms, and propose solutions for mitigating the ongoing reproductive injustice caused by environmental crises. Case studies within the report highlight Cancer Alley, the connection between plastic phthalates and endometriosis, agricultural toxics pollution in Indigenous communities, and redlining's effect on extreme heat exposure.While all individuals are affected by the environmental effects of capitalism, low-wealth communities and people of color are experiencing drastically poorer reproductive health outcomes and higher rates of harm. This disparity is exacerbated by systemic inequalities that often prevent less privileged communities from accessing safer resources like organic foods, air conditioning, and comprehensive healthcare. Solutions to these problems must include social, economic, and environmental policy that regulates the wide range of factors blocking reproductive justice in the United States

EXTREMAL ABSORBING SETS IN LOW-DENSITY PARITY-CHECK CODES

Absorbing sets are combinatorial structures in the Tanner graphs of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes that have been shown to inhibit the high signal-to-noise ratio performance of iterative decoders over many communication channels. Absorbing sets of minimum size are the most likely to cause errors, and thus have been the focus of much research. In this paper, we determine the sizes of absorbing sets that can occur in general and left-regular LDPC code graphs, with emphasis on the range of b for a given a for which an (a, b)-absorbing set may exist. We identify certain cases of extremal absorbing sets that are elementary, a particularly harmful class of absorbing sets, and also introduce the notion of minimal absorbing sets which will help in designing absorbing set removal algorithms

You Are What You Eat: Food-Drug Interaction in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

The research featured in this poster examined how phytochemicals in nectar and pollen (quercetin and p-coumaric acid), which are known to upregulate cytochrome P450 detoxification enzymes, affect honey bee survival in combination with the pesticides propiconazole, a fungicide, and chlorantraniliprole, an insecticide. While consuming either phytochemical in the absence of pesticides can prolong longevity, consumption of pesticides reduced bee lifespan significantly with or without phytochemicals present

Reflective learning cycle of new teachers who are teaching ESL via desktop videoconferencing

The purpose of the thesis research was to understand and describe new teachers’ experiences teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) via desktop videoconferencing (DVC) by applying a conceptual model of the reflective learning cycle based on the work o f David Kolb (1984) and Donald Schon (1983, 1987). This model consists of four sequential stages; concrete experience/reflection in action; observation and reflection/reflection on action 1; forming abstract concepts/reflection in action 2; testing in new situations/reflection in action. I used interviews, field notes, journal entries, and videotapes to collect data about the experience o f five teachers who volunteered to teach ESL conversation lessons via DVC. Results suggested that the teachers could reflect on their ESL interaction only after they accepted and adapted to technical problems with DVC. Results also suggested that teachers’ reflection evolved from being self-centred to student-centred. I then adapted the conceptual model of the reflective cycle to better represent how teachers implement reflective learning in the combined ESL and DVC environment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Psychosocial factors of caregiver burden in child caregivers: results from the new national study of caregiving

Background Over 50 million informal caregivers in the United States provide care to an aging adult, saving the economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually from costly hospitalization or institutionalization. Despite the benefits associated with caregiving, caregiver stress can lead to negative physical and mental health consequences, or “caregiver burden”. Given these potential negative consequences of caregiver burden, it is important not only to understand the multidimensional components of burden but to also understand the experience from the perspective of the caregiver themselves. Therefore, the objectives of our study are to use exploratory factor analysis to obtain a set of latent factors among a subset of caregiver burden questions identified in previous studies and assess their reliability. Methods All data was obtained from the 2011 National Study of Caregiving (NSOC). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to identify a set of latent factors assessing four domains of caregiver burden in “child caregivers”: those informal caregivers who provide care to a parent or stepparent. Sensitivity analysis was also conducted by repeating the EFA on demographic subsets of caregivers. Results After multiple factor analyses, four consistent caregiver burden factors emerged from the 23 questions analyzed: Negative emotional, positive emotional, social, and financial. Reliability of each factor varied, and was strongest for the positive emotional domain for caregiver burden. These domains were generally consistent across demographic subsets of informal caregivers. Conclusion These results provide researchers a more comprehensive understanding of caregiver burden to target interventions to protect caregiver health and maintain this vital component of the US health care system

Exploring the Age Gap: Nontraditional Age Students at Parkland

This podcast is the result of an ethnography assignment for Anthropology 103. Students interviewed three women who were attending or have attended Parkland College in Champaign, IL, as nontraditional aged students. The three were interviewed, and their answers led the students to conclude that nontraditional aged students attend for diverse reasons and therefore not to be placed in a single category