BYU Rocketry

BYU Rocketry competed in the 2019 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition at the 3rd Annual Spaceport America Cup in Las Cruces, NM by building an 8-foot High Power rocket to send an 8.8 lb. CubeSat payload 10,000 ft. above ground level. Over 100 collegiate teams from around the world will competed

Characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models: a systematic scoping review

Published online: 25 January 2018Background: Indigenous populations have poorer health outcomes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. The evolution of Indigenous primary health care services arose from mainstream health services being unable to adequately meet the needs of Indigenous communities and Indigenous peoples often being excluded and marginalised from mainstream health services. Part of the solution has been to establish Indigenous specific primary health care services, for and managed by Indigenous peoples. There are a number of reasons why Indigenous primary health care services are more likely than mainstream services to improve the health of Indigenous communities. Their success is partly due to the fact that they often provide comprehensive programs that incorporate treatment and management, prevention and health promotion, as well as addressing the social determinants of health. However, there are gaps in the evidence base including the characteristics that contribute to the success of Indigenous primary health care services in providing comprehensive primary health care. This systematic scoping review aims to identify the characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models. Method: This systematic scoping review was led by an Aboriginal researcher, using the Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review Methodology. All published peer-reviewed and grey literature indexed in PubMed, EBSCO CINAHL, Embase, Informit, Mednar, and Trove databases from September 1978 to May 2015 were reviewed for inclusion. Studies were included if they describe the characteristics of service delivery models implemented within an Indigenous primary health care service. Sixty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and then thematically analysed to identify the characteristics of Indigenous PHC service delivery models. Results: Culture was the most prominent characteristic underpinning all of the other seven characteristics which were identified – accessible health services, community participation, continuous quality improvement, culturally appropriate and skilled workforce, flexible approach to care, holistic health care, and self-determination and empowerment. Conclusion: While the eight characteristics were clearly distinguishable within the review, the interdependence between each characteristic was also evident. These findings were used to develop a new Indigenous PHC Service Delivery Model, which clearly demonstrates some of the unique characteristics of Indigenous specific models.Stephen G. Harfield, Carol Davy, Alexa McArthur, Zachary Munn, Alex Brown and Ngiare Brow

Organ-Chips Enhance the Maturation of Human iPSC-Derived Dopamine Neurons

While cells in the human body function in an environment where the blood supply constantly delivers nutrients and removes waste, cells in conventional tissue culture well platforms are grown with a static pool of media above them and often lack maturity, limiting their utility to study cell biology in health and disease. In contrast, organ-chip microfluidic systems allow the growth of cells under constant flow, more akin to the in vivo situation. Here, we differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells into dopamine neurons and assessed cellular properties in conventional multi-well cultures and organ-chips. We show that organ-chip cultures, compared to multi-well cultures, provide an overall greater proportion and homogeneity of dopaminergic neurons as well as increased levels of maturation markers. These organ-chips are an ideal platform to study mature dopamine neurons to better understand their biology in health and ultimately in neurological disorders

Habitat Restoration & GIS Analysis of a Salmon Stream: Soda Fork Creek, South Santiam Basin, Linn County, Oregon

The Soda Fork Creek project was designed by the Willamette National Forest Sweet Home Ranger District and the South Santiam Watershed Council to improve spawning habitat and stream complexity in Soda Fork Creek. The project involved pulling 34 large, live, stream-adjacent trees with root wads attached, into the stream channel. The total cost was $128,000, which included a large skidder outfitted with a 40,000 pound winch that pulled the trees into the water. Soda Fork Creek provides important spawning habitat for native fish species, such as the threatened winter steelhead. The habitat in the creek has been impacted by land use practices such as timber harvesting, road building, and active removal of large wood from the stream channel. The removal of large wood allowed the gravels to be washed away, leaving no spawning habitat. Threatened winter steelhead have not spawned in this stream for decades. This research looks at how dropping trees into the Soda Creek System changed stream conditions and whether these changes improved habit for native fish species.●Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board & Oregon Community Fund ● Springfield Utility Board & Eugene Water and Electric Board ● Sweet Home Ranger District, U.S. Forest Service ● Thurston High School and the Springfield, Oregon School District ● UO STEM CORE & University of Oregon Librarie