CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROSATELLITE LOCI AND PILOT POPULATION GENETIC ANALYSIS IN HICKORY SHAD, ALOSA MEDIOCRIS

The hickory shad (Alosa mediocris) is a relatively understudied species of the anadromous fish sub-family Alosinae. This study, the first population genetic analysis of this species, employed 12 neutral microsatellite loci to estimate genetic diversity and population structure in tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia including James River and its tributaries (Appomattox and Chickahominy Rivers), Rappahannock River, and Pamunkey River. Genetic variation was extremely low. Estimates of observed heterozygosity were lower than expected heterozygosity. Significant population structure was detected among the six samples (FST = 0.093, p = 0.01). Effective population sizes were low (Ne ranged from 2 to 134). The lack of genetic diversity, especially compared to that of the American shad, was striking and could be the result of a bottleneck that took place more than thirty years ago which may plausibly account for the low genetic variation observed across all populations

Enhancing Critical Awareness of Health Information from Wearable Devices

Faculty mentor: Sara Anne HookWith the advent of wearable health and fitness tracking devices, the way health care will be delivered will change because of the opportunity for people and providers to more easily track and respond to even small changes in a person’s heath status. Wearable devices perceive and record health information about users continuously and discreetly. One question is whether there is a distinction between information that may be less sensitive, such as how many steps someone walks, and more sensitive medical information, such as someone’s blood sugar or heart rate. The awareness of people about the distinction between non-sensitive versus sensitive information has to be analyzed, which will address how comfortable people are in sharing this information when they know the risks involved. Unfortunately, health information is not considered protected health information unless it is shared with doctors, hospitals or any third-party vendors (Business Associates) of these entities. These devices are not covered under the Health Care Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and thus there can be little expectation of privacy or security as provided for under this legislation. Although not required, at least one major vendor for wearable devices has indicated that its devices are compliant with HIPAA, which results in questions about why this vendor chose to comply with HIPAA and why other vendors are not yet following suit. My research explores the perception of people with respect to how the information gathered from wearable and fitness tracking devices is used and shared by vendors and third parties and what options might need to be provided to users by vendors or mandated by law to increase the security and privacy of this information. As part of my research, I have reviewed the terms of service and other information for a selected number of devices. References 1. Meingast, M., Roosta, T., & Sastry, S. (2006). Security and privacy issues with health care information technology. In Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2006. EMBS'06. 28th Annual International Conference of the IEEE (pp. 5453-5458). IEEE. 2. Motti, V. G., & Caine, K. (2015). Users’ Privacy Concerns About Wearables. In Financial Cryptography and Data Security (pp. 231-244). Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Caged Animals: The Reproduction of Social and Educational Inequalities in Indian Secondary Schools

There is a continued crisis in public schooling in India’s low-income and socially disadvantaged communities. Schools are supposed to provide a safe and healthy environment conducive to learning that ultimately helps to disrupt the transmission of intergenerational poverty and leads to social and economic mobility among low-income and socially disadvantaged students. In practice, however, schools have served to disproportionately exclude marginalized populations from attaining quality education. Previous research has revealed that less affluent students attend under-resourced schools in buildings with poor infrastructural facilities and fewer or unqualified teachers (India Infrastructure Report, 2012), where they face hidden normative barriers that negatively affect their schooling experiences and result in their exclusion (Kabeer, 2000; Sayed et al., 2007). In this study, I examine the role of schooling practices and processes in reproducing social and educational inequalities in Indian secondary schools. Through an ethnographic study of two secondary schools in Sitapur district, I reveal the factors that shape students’ everyday classroom experiences in their schools. I examine the interplay between teacher-student interactions, peer interactions, student engagement, students’ perceptions of self, and sense of school belonging. I employed multiple methods of data collection – self-administered surveys, participant observations, in-depth interviews with students and teachers, and informal discussions with students and teachers. Evidence from this study suggests that several factors define students’ experiences in their schools, including the dilapidated and under-resourced physical infrastructure with inadequate facilities, teachers’ deficit views of students from low-income and lower caste backgrounds, and caste-based discrimination by both teachers and peers. Findings also suggest the persistent use of violent disciplinary practices by teachers to punish and reprimand poor and lower caste students. Furthermore, the study’s results indicate that students exercise their agency in response to violent discipline and resist harsh, toxic, and humiliating experiences at school. Students skip school and disengage from school to avoid violence and humiliation and to save face and preserve their dignity, which ultimately contributes to their exclusion from access to education. In conclusion, teachers’ lack of care and deficit thinking creates an exclusionary cycle of learning and inadvertently pushes students out of school, and perpetuates the long-standing social and educational inequalities creating an inequitable school system. This dissertation contributes to the research literature on the “black box” of secondary schooling by gathering detailed insights into marginalized students’ schooling experiences of social discrimination in large-scale research, whose voices are rarely heard. It supports the need for a bottom-up approach to policymaking, and through an examination of students’ classroom experiences in the two different schools provides a grounded picture of educational processes and practices in secondary schools – in fact, it exposes the disconnect between policy and practice. The findings suggest the need for concepts of self-reflexivity, culturally responsive practices, and Human Rights Education (HRE) to be introduced in teacher training to counter the deficit views and stereotype threats teachers hold and for teacher transformation. Once teacher transformation occurs, several benefits follow, as teachers now become allies to the students and try to focus on the root of the problem rather than using corporal punishment when students make mistakes. In doing so, this study responds to the crucial need to dismantle the systemic inequalities that emerge from unequal access to the good quality education provided in Indian schools

Audibility, Cost-Acceptibility and Cosmetic Appearance of IQBuds BOOST in Adults Over the Age of 50

Background: Hearing loss affects 48 million Americans and up to 86% of all adults with hearing loss may not wear hearing aids. Untreated hearing loss is associated with social withdrawal, depression, stress, loss of income, and dementia. Even so, people still tend not to buy or wear hearing aids for a variety of reasons. One recently suggested solution to this problem is low-cost, over the counter (OTC) hearing aids, nicknamed “hearables” This study evaluated the audibility, cost-acceptability and cosmetic appearance of one OTC, IQBuds BOOST. Methods: Fourteen men and 12 women over 50 years with a hearing loss participated in the study. Word recognition testing was conducted by presenting words embedded with a phrase at 40 dBHL through the loudspeakers in four conditions. The participants completed a Visual Analogue Survey, which included listening and non-listening items, once regarding their aided experience and once regarding their everyday listening experience. Analyses: Speech perception was scored using both the phoneme scoring and word scoring methods. Mixed ANOVAs were performed on the % correct phoneme scores and word scores. The t-test was performed on the average scores of the first 12 items of the Visual Analogue scale. Descriptive statistics were used to report data on the questions related to cost and acceptability of the hearable device. Results: For both aided and unaided conditions the word and phoneme recognition scores in noise were significantly poorer than those in quiet. The hearable did not improve the word recognition in quiet or noisy backgrounds. Similarly, there were no significant differences in average listening VAS scores with and without the hearable. On a scale of 1 to 100, participants gave higher than 60 scores for questions regarding the comfort, fit and insertion of the hearable. However, the average scores related to willingness to use, cost, and cosmetic appearance were less than 50. Conclusions: This study suggests that older participants with mild to moderate hearing loss may not benefit from the hearable used in the current study and the appearance of the device may have to be improved

Physico-Chemical analysis of Gandharvahasta Taila - A Polyherbal formulation

Sneha Kalpana, a group of medicated Taila and Ghrita is an important dosage form described in Ayurveda. It is the only dosage form that can be administered conveniently both internally and externally depending on the diseased conditions. Among these, Taila Kalpana is considered as the drug of choice for Vatavikaras. Gandharvahasta Taila is mentioned in Ashtanga Sangraha in the context of Vidradhivrudhi Chikitsa indicated in Vidradhi, Pleeha, Vata disorders, etc. Aim: The aim of the study was to prepare and analyze the physicochemical parameters of Gandharvahastadi Taila. Materials and Methods: Gandharvahasta Taila was prepared as per the reference in Ashtanga Sangraha. The obtained product was subjected to organoleptic and physicochemical analysis. Results: Physicochemical parameters obtained are refractive index at 25°C - 1.463, saponification value - 190 mg/g, unsaponifiable matter - 1.4%, specific gravity at 30°C - 0.9201, and viscosity at 30°C - 880cp. Conclusion: The values obtained after analysis were found to be within the permissible limits of API

Latinos in Massachusetts: Revere

As the second largest city in Suffolk County, Revere’s population in the 2015-2019 American Community Survey is 53,692. The city is home to an estimated 18,042 Latinos, who are the second largest ethno-racial group and make up 34% of the city’s population. Whites are the largest population (53%), and the city has smaller Black (5.0%), Asian (4.9%), and Other (3%) populations