Regulatory mechanisms of protein trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are critical to

understand since neurodegenerative diseases involve defects in this process leading to chronic

ER stress and cell death. This study aimed to better understand the calcium regulatory mechanisms of ER-to-Golgi body complex trafficking in hybrid neuroglioblastoma cells (NG108). Specifically, we asked whether proteosomal degradation of transport machinery was involved in the previously demonstrated upregulation of ER-to-Golgi transport evoked by calcium signaling. This was accomplished by NG108 transfection with a fluorescent cargo protein engineered to allow inducible, synchronous trafficking from the ER. Cargo transport was completed for a fixed time and the cells were subsequently fixed and immunolabeled for detection of the Golgi complex. Cells were imaged on a widefield microscope and the images were analyzed using ImageJ software to quantitate the transport index, a measure of the speed of cargo transport. Prior to transport cells were treated with a calcium agonist and/or the proteasome inhibitor mg132. Results indicated that Ca2+ signaling caused an increase in cargo transport, as expected. Importantly, inhibition of the proteasome caused a decrease in cargo transport, but treatment with both a Ca2+ agonist and the proteasome inhibitor caused an increase compared to treatment with just the proteasome inhibitor. Based upon previous literature, we believe that the Ca2+ induced increase in transport is due to the activation of the Ca2+ sensitive regulatory protein apoptosis linked gene 2 (ALG-2) and its interactions with the inhibitory regulatory protein peflin. A potential mechanism is that after Ca2+ induced ALG-2 dissociation from peflin, peflin is degraded by the proteasome and the removal of its inhibitory effects cause the increase in transport. Our new results show that proteasomal activity is required for optimum transport but is not involved in the calcium stimulation of transport per se. This suggests that other, yet unknown mechanisms drive the Ca2+ and ALG-2-mediated regulation of transport.

Abstract

This study analyzed the benefits and drawbacks of outdoor education on elementary-aged children. The educational environment a child experiences is critical to their experience for their entire academic careers. Outdoor education has been in existence since the 1940s. Six schools and institutions that provide outdoor education within their curriculum were selected to be a part of this study. Outdoor education school administrators were interviewed and asked a series of questions regarding the implementation of outdoor education within their institution. The interviews detailed how outdoor education impacted students and their future education experiences within the education they received at that academic institution. Since this is a relatively new field of study, this research will provide further information regarding this curriculum and its impact on students within these programs.

Keywords: academic instruction, outdoor education, elementary education, instructional styles

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is an important technique for the separation and analysis of mixtures of nonvolatile compounds such as proteins, peptides, and pharmaceuticals. Stainless steel tubes (“columns”) uniformly packed with chemically modified small-diameter spherical porous silica particles are essential to the method. As part of the “Halogen Bonding Liquid Chromatography” laboratory research with Dr. Christopher Palmer and Dr. Orion Berryman, silica particles are modified with unique chemistries to further develop HPLC separation capabilities. These particles, generated in relatively small quantities, must be packed into columns to allow evaluation of their performance. The halogen bonding modified silica project aims to pack columns with 200-300mg of modified silica.

Although thousands of commercial HPLC columns are packed and sold yearly, effective packing techniques and methods are generally proprietary. Published studies (Wahab 2017) suggest using a silica slurry that is 5 to 8% silica concentration to produce quality HPLC columns. In the current study, we have developed and optimized methods utilizing minimum quantities of silica, either through lower slurry concentrations or reduced slurry volumes, to pack high-performance columns.

Unmodified spherical silica was used to develop an effective column-packing method utilizing minimum quantities of silica. A series of columns were packed at different silica concentrations and under different packing conditions. Various techniques were investigated to enable a higher-quality column using low slurry concentrations. The packing pressure and solvent used during the packing process are two characteristics of column packing that are optimized for a low silica concentration column to be packed correctly. Being packed properly ensures that silica is packed uniformly throughout the column without any spaces or bubbles in the column itself. The quality of each column is evaluated through specific HPLC methods to measure peak width, shape, and retention time, with optimally packed columns producing narrow and symmetrical peaks. The method's flow rate, oven temperature, and injection volume are varied to allow for the best performance. The final step is to show the method's reproducibility by repacking and testing under the same conditions.

Producing an efficient low silica concentration HPLC column is crucial to the research team's success and will allow a halogen-boding liquid chromatography column to be constructed and commercialized.

Citations

1. Wahab, M. F., Patel, D. C., Wimalasinghe, R. M., & Armstrong, D. W. (2017). Fundamental and practical insights on the packing of modern high-efficiency analytical and capillary columns. Analytical Chemistry, 89(16), 8177–8191. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.7b00931

As the field of computational genomics continues to expand in both potential and application, it is imperative now than ever to ensure that massive genetic sequencing datasets are properly stored in an accessible manner. This project sought to establish a practical, user-friendly, secure full-stack system for a genomics research lab (the Good Lab; thegoodlab.org) at the University of Montana. A MySQL database and connected web application was ruled the best configuration to maximize utility and accessibility for the lab’s researchers. Building the logical framework for the database, creating the server, and sourcing data occurred over several months. The data ranged from experimental details of sequencing (experiment dates, sequencing platform and provider) to metadata of the samples (specific biological specimen information, molecular protocols). A combination of lab notebooks and a master excel spreadsheet yielded over 3,500 individual sequencing experiments that spanned terabytes of archived data. These data represent over 10 years of lab sequencing efforts, with numerous examples of incomplete or non-standardized documentation. Once the database was seeded with these data, efforts transitioned to the front end. The goal was to create a web application that allowed efficient execution of basic functions (insertions, selective deletions, updates, and queries) for individuals without a MySQL background. Ultimately, the fundamental goal was accomplished: to create a clear, organized system for sequencing data with a structure and function that will permit many years of continued data collection and recall in a manner befitting the importance of the data being collected. Areas for future improvement and development for the stack were also identified.

Abstract

Culturally competent health services for physician assistants (PA), are critical for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) communities given the common disparities in healthcare. In addressing the multifaceted nature of disparities, the purpose of this literature review is to examine the role and responsibilities of PAs to be culturally competent. Culture is an omnipresent and dynamic process that influences every aspect of how we perceive and interact with others; therefore, it is important to recognize the diverse behaviors and beliefs of patients within respective contexts, rather than solely through the lens of a single culture. Cultural competence encompasses cultural skills, knowledge, awareness, which promotes healthcare equity, fostering communication and trust between the practitioner, healthcare system, and patient. PAs hold a unique position to bridge health disparities and promote equitable healthcare delivery, particularly for intersectional identities, such as CLD populations within rural communities. It is known that a higher percentatge of PAs practice in rural settings compared to physicians. The aim of this review is to examine the barriers that hinder the application of cultural competence in practice, offering insight into areas for improvement and contributing to the ongoing efforts to ensure equitable healthcare for all.

Background: Bilinguals process and acquire language differently than their monolingual counterparts and have been shown to do better on tasks that involve cognitive control. High definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS), is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that is used to affect certain parts or processes of the brain by administering electrical currents.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to investigate the impact that HD-tDCS has on the learning of complex language processes including syntax in people who are learning a new language. HD-tDCS stimulation is hypothesized to result in increased accuracy and reduced reaction time while learning Afrikaans, compared to their counterparts without HD-tDCS stimulation, therefore having a positive influence on bilingual language acquisition and processing.

Methods: Participants will include individuals who are over the age of 18 with no previous or current traumatic brain injuries and who have no previous interaction with, or exposure to, the Afrikaans language. During this project, participants will be learning complex language components in Afrikaans through exposure to cognates and non-cognates. HD-tDCS will be used to influence the stimulated participant's brain to affect language acquisition and processing while learning Afrikaans. Stimuli will include verbs, nouns, and pronouns, accompanied by pictures, audio, and text. These stimuli will be presented while the participant is stimulated by HD-TDCS. After the learning phase, participants will be tested on their knowledge of the newly learned language using a Grammaticality Judgement Test (GJT). The GJT requires participants to indicate whether or not they think that the sentence presented is grammatically correct.

Significance: HD-tDCS has the potential to improve language acquisition and processing for people learning new languages. HD-tDCS also has the potential to improve language function for people who have language impairments following brain injury or stroke.

Internalized weight bias (IWB) is characterized as the extent to which someone holds stigmatizing attitudes about themselves based on social stereotypes and their perceived weight status. IWB is positively associated with increased disordered eating and adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Moreover, those with eating disorders (EDs) often experience elevated levels of IWB due to societal weight stigma and subsequent preoccupations with body and shape. While the relationship between IWB and eating pathology is relevant across ED diagnoses, and across the weight spectrum, its specific influence on the development and maintenance of an eating disorder is understudied. Current eating disorder treatments do not include explicit interventions that directly target IWB. With this discrepancy in mind, this study aims to examine whether the treatment as usual for individuals with EDs has any impact on endorsed levels of IWB.

Two groups of participants completed the Weight Bias Internalization Scale – modified (WBIS-M), a measure that assesses internalized weight attitudes: women with EDs and college students. After data collection, comparison groups were made to include participants with no history of ED treatment, participants with past ED treatment, and those who were actively receiving treatment. It is hypothesized that individuals who received ED treatment in the past will report decreased IWB compared to those actively receiving ED treatment, but these groups will have elevated IWB compared to those having never received ED treatment. Studying the current landscape of ED treatment lays the groundwork for developing interventions that address IWB across populations. These interventions could have a beneficial effect not only in limiting ED symptomatology, but also in decreasing weight stigma and anti-fat biases.

INTRODUCTION: The Pison Neural Monitor is a wrist worn biosensor that detects neuromuscular signals in the forearm. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of temperature on the accuracy and false positive rate (FPR) on the neural monitor. METHODS: Participants (n=6, 28.3±8.9 years, 179.3±9.6 cm, 80.7±15.5 kg, 17.0±2.0 cm wrist circumference) were assigned to either hot (2 males, 1 female) or cold (2 males, 1 female) and completed 6 trials at each temperature in a randomized and counterbalanced repeated measures design. Participants rested in a seated position at three different temperatures in either the heat (35°C, 42.5°C and 50°C with 40% relative humidity) or in the cold (-10°C, -2.5°C and 5°C with 40% relative humidity) with 15-minute recovery between exposures at room temperature (22°C with 35% relative humidity). Accuracy was defined as the ratio of correctly identified gestures while FPR was defined as the ratio of incorrectly classified gestures. Several gestures were performed prior to the first exposure, and after each 15-minute rest in each temperature. RESULTS: Accuracy in the cold was lower at -2.5°C (77.0±27.4%, p=0.011) and -10°C (79.7±16.6%, p=0.042), but not at 5°C (85.3±17.9%, p=0.371) than at room temperature (93.7±11.1%). The same pattern was observed for FPR in the cold where a FPR was higher at -2.5°C (0.127±0.166, p=0.011) and -10°C (0.143 ± 0.156, p=0.042), but not different at 5°C (0.117±0.142, p=0.371) than at room temperature (0.034±0.103). Accuracy in the Heat was lower at 50°C (73.9±21.1) than at 20°C (85.3±15.6, p=0.013) and 35°C (84.2±15.1, p=0.030), but not different than at 42.5°C (81.7±12.5, p=0.148). FPR was not different between temperatures in the heat (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Caution may be warranted when using Pison Neural Monitor in extreme hot and cold conditions if stakes are high and optimal accuracy is needed.

Estimating the probability of habitat use for a particular species is crucial to the direct management and conservation of that species. Without knowledge of habitat preferences, managers cannot effectively focus efforts on vital resources or landscape types. However, modelling probability of habitat use can be done in several ways which leaves room for variation and uncertainty in the estimates produced by each method. This study is an examination of the variation between two estimates of probability of habitat use while focusing on a particular subspecies of elk that inhabits a unique ecosystem relative to other common elk habitats. I will model elk resource selection using both an occupancy framework and a generalized linear model. Both models will be built with the same data and any variation between probability of use estimates will be indicative of the difference in the theory behind each approach. Occupancy modelling accounts for the imperfect detection of a species during sampling to prevent the model from being strongly influenced by detection bias. Whereas a generalized linear model is a purely statistical approach that determines the relationship between the number of sightings at particular survey sites and habitat variables. Identification of potential variation between probability of use estimates will provide additional information to researchers who are trying to determine which approach to use for their specific study. A clear understanding of the benefits and limitations of each may sway a researcher to pick one over the other for a particular application.

Introduction: The extensive literature documenting human movement patterns has been used in support of numerous basic science, clinical, and engineering applications for decades. In clinical settings both quantitative and qualitative assessment of human movement continues to be used in the diagnosis of injury and pathology and throughout the rehabilitation of these conditions. The advent of both wearable devices and advanced image analysis have the capability to provide real-time assessments of movement in an array of new settings. These advances provide the potential for clinicians to instantly access laboratory grade measurement without the typically laborious analysis. Purpose: Here, we evaluated the accuracy of 1) an immersive virtual reality based platform designed to allow quantification of movement during remote physical therapy sessions and 2) a simple 3 camera system that performs markerless joint tracking. Methods: Subjects (n= 25, currently m=4, f=5, age = 20.9 ± 0.9) free of injury, completed 20-minutes of scripted physical activity movements which included; lunges, squats, toe touching, simple balance tests, and joint ranges of motion. Participants followed the movements illustrated in 3 video segments displayed in a virtual reality system (Meta Quest3, sampling rate = 72 Hz) that permits developers to access positional data obtained from the instrumented hand controllers and headset. The markerless tracking system (Microsoft; FPS = 30 Hz) and a 10 camera laboratory grade motion capture system (Optitrack; sampling rate = 120 Hz) were synchronized with the headset and recorded movement trajectories throughout. Joint ranges of motion and limb segment velocities obtained from the Headset and markerless tracking system were compared to similar measures from the research grade motion capture system. Significance: The accuracy and computational capacity of contemporary immersive virtual reality platforms provide the capacity for clinicians to offer tele-health services and objectively and instantly document progress remotely with high accuracy.

The formation of friendships has been studied in a variety of contexts, notably among adolescents and young adults. Friendships can influence one’s economic status, romantic relationships, and quality of life. Several studies have found proximity to be a key factor in friendship formation. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many school systems were required to switch to online platforms and practice social distancing. The current study analyzed college students’ feelings of connectedness to friends made before college and friends made during college, and whether those who entered college during the height of the pandemic in 2020 experienced lower friendship quality outcomes with their college friends. An online survey was distributed to college students, mainly on the University of Montana campus. The survey asked students to fill out a friendship quality measurement for their closest childhood or high school friend and their closest friend made during college. The results indicate that overall, college students feel significantly more connected to their college friends compared to their childhood/high school friends. Students who entered college in 2020 do not appear to be significantly closer to their childhood/high school friends. Further research is needed to understand why students may feel more closely connected to their college friends.

Aphasia, which is the loss of language commonly caused by stroke, can have several implications on grammar production. Significant research has been conducted on ways in which grammar is affected by aphasia, however, little is known about what these deficits look like for bilinguals with aphasia (BWA). This study examines the similarity of grammar deficits between languages by having Spanish-English BWA participate in a picture identification task. This research aims to explore whether deficits in one language influence performance on the other, as well as identify any patterns of cross-linguistic (i.e., the relation between two languages) influence on grammar processing. Additionally, two theoretical bases of agrammatical deficits will be investigated: representational theory, which believes atypical grammar structures to be most vulnerable, and usage-based theory, which believes grammar structures that are used infrequently and rely more on working memory to be most vulnerable in aphasia. To determine if participants make similar, consistent grammatical errors in both languages, participants will produce a sentence that corresponds to the images, in the order that pictures are provided. Using cognates (i.e., words that share meanings and pronunciations in more than one language), cross-linguistic influences on grammar processing deficits will be identified, shedding light on theoretical bases for agrammatism in BWA. The theories will be tested using typical and atypical sentence structures. Results will be analyzed for errors in verbs, sentence structure and agreement. This task contributes to our understanding of how multiple languages interact in the brains of BWA, filling a critical gap in current research. Results will provide valuable information on the nature of deficits unique to bilingual agrammatism that can be used to develop normative diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols.

The frequency, distribution and intensity of drought is expected to increase with climate change. Drought decreases water availability and the production of carbohydrates, both of which reduce growth. Reduced growth is an indicator of future tree death. However, the relative impacts of carbohydrate limitation versus water stress on tree growth is poorly understood. As part of a broader project in the Sala lab, I examined how reduced water and carbohydrate availability individually and in combination affect ponderosa pine growth during and after a stress event. In the summer of 2022, we subjected ponderosa pine to drought to reduce water and carbohydrate availability. We also subjected saplings to shade to test carbohydrate limitation individually. In the fall of 2023, I explored treatment effects on growth. The drought treatment consisted of drought (D) and Ambient (A); The shade treatment consisted of shade (S) and a no shade control (C), resulting in four treatment combinations with five replicates each: (1) Drought-No shade (DC), (2) Drought-Shade (DS), (3) No drought-No shade (AC), (4) No drought-Shade (AS). To test growth effects, I sampled three branches per tree. On each branch I measured three years of growth: before treatment (2021, as a reference), during treatment (2022), and after treatment (2023). For each year of growth, I measured wood radial growth, needle biomass, and shoot length. I found that drought has a very strong negative effect on growth and that this effect carries over subsequent years. Carbohydrate limitation alone (shade) has mild impacts on growth, and they do not carry over. The addition of further carbohydrate limitation to drought only mildly worsens the negative effects of water limitation on growth. This shows that water limitation is a much stronger stressor than carbohydrate limitation. These results highlight the danger that increased drought frequency and intensity pose to ponderosa pine forests.

Humor's subjectivity poses a challenge to understanding its widespread appeal, yet phenomena like the success of "Cards Against Humanity" suggest patterns worth exploring. This project aims to elucidate the nuances of humor through the development and promotion of an online application modeled after the game. The platform will facilitate gameplay similar to "Cards Against Humanity," allowing users to engage in prompt and response exchanges while also encouraging them to submit their own card ideas.

Central to the project's approach is the collection and analysis of data regarding card popularity and user demographics. By tracking interactions such as card selections and votes, as well as soliciting feedback on submitted cards, the project will employ statistical analysis techniques to discern patterns in humor preferences. Additionally, qualitative insights will be gathered through surveys or interviews to provide deeper understanding into the underlying reasons behind humor preferences.

The findings from this research will offer valuable insights into the dynamics of humor and its appeal across different audience segments. Specifically, the project aims to develop algorithms or predictive models that can recommend card combinations likely to resonate with users based on their preferences. These insights will not only benefit game developers but also marketers, content creators, and advertisers seeking to leverage humor effectively in their endeavors.

Moreover, the project's data-driven approach has broader implications for understanding humor theory and psychology. By providing empirical evidence of humor preferences and trends in a digital context, this research contributes to the academic discourse surrounding humor and its societal impact.

In summary, this project bridges the gap between subjectivity and empirical analysis, offering a data-based framework for understanding humor's mass appeal and providing practical insights for its application in various domains.

2,5-Dimethylfuran (DMF) is a proposed biofuel with low solubility in water and high miscibility with gasoline and diesel oil. DMF can be synthesized from cellulose found in dry plant matter, such as agricultural residues, energy crops, forestry residues, and yard trimmings. Furthermore, it is also found in tobacco smoke, roasted coffee aroma, and biomass burning smoke through combustion processes. When compared to leading industry renewable biofuels like ethanol it has a higher energy density, lower volatility, and a higher-octane level. Many studies have been conducted on DMF’s performance as a biofuel, when added to or compared to current leading fuels like ethanol and gasoline. However, fewer studies have been conducted on its toxicity and environmental impact due to the lack of analytical skills and methods.

My project aims to identify and quantify DMF in ambient air, by developing and refining the analytical technique using proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). I will examine the ion chemistry, fragmentation, sensitivity, and humidity dependence of DMF measurements in PTR-MS. I first developed a liquid DMF standard to examine the detected masses for fragmentation, and then performed a series of stepwise standard additions using a 10-microliter syringe pump to gain instrument sensitivities. The calibrations can also be carried out at different humidity levels to examine if the presence of more water clusters affected the ion chemistry of the PTR-MS for DMF measurements. Based on these experiments, I will make recommendations for optimal instrument conditions to measure DMF in ambient air at the part per billion level.

Animals often behave in ways that align with the underlying social structure of their species. Existing lower in the social hierarchy can have negative consequences for health and well-being, including changes in appetite and depression-like symptoms (Becker et al., 2008). In Drosophila melanogaster, the male social hierarchy is determined by aggressive encounters in which one fly becomes a dominant winner and one becomes a submissive loser. Interestingly, flies that have previously lost a fight are more likely to lose the next one (Yurkovic et al., 2006). This adoption of a “loser” phenotype in turn affects other behaviors such as courtship and is associated with neuronal signaling changes in the brain (Kim et al., 2018). Due to the reported changes in appetite following stressful social interactions, the focus of our project is to determine how losing fights may lead to adverse changes in the gut. In recent years, a growing consensus of the importance of the gut-brain axis on influencing decision-making and behavior has emerged. In our system we can ask, how does gene expression and function of the gastrointestinal (GI) system change when a male loses consecutive fights? To investigate this question, we will induce the loser phenotype by fighting pairs of naive Drosophila males and then analyzing changes in feeding behavior, intestinal stem cell (ISC) composition, and gene expression within the gut. Marked males were subject to a fighting assay consisting of three 20-minute fights to produce losers. Feeding assays will be conducted to measure differences in food intake between losers and controls. Loser and control guts will be dissected within 20-24 hours post fighting assay. Immunohistochemistry experiments to identify stem cell proliferation changes will be performed as well as RNA-seq analysis, which provides a readout of gene expression changes by quantifying RNA transcripts. We hypothesize that the loser male will eat less due to a reduced appetite, and this will be reflected in a reduction of transcript levels in genes related to satiety signaling. We also predict that losing will alter the number of ISCs in the posterior midgut. A greater understanding of how social stress-induced pathological behavior changes manifest at the cellular level will help in identifying therapeutic targets capable of mitigating these behaviors.

References

Becker, C., Zeau, B., Rivat, C. et al. (2008). Repeated social defeat-induced depression-like behavioral and biological alterations in rats: involvement of cholecystokinin. Mol. Psychiatry. 13, 1079–1092. doi: 10.1038/sj.mp.4002097

Kim, Y. K., Saver, M., Simon, J., Kent, C. F., Shao, L., Eddison, M., Agrawal, P., Texada, M., Truman, J. W., and Heberlein, U. (2018). Repetitive aggressive encounters generate a long- lasting internal state in Drosophila melanogaster males. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 115(5), 1099–1104. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1716612115

Yurkovic, A., Wang, O., Basu, A. C., and Kravitz, E. A. (2006). Learning and memory associated with aggression in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 103, 17519–17524. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0608211103

Climate change poses numerous, urgent threats to human existence, yet policy for climate action has occurred at an alarmingly slow rate. In the US, governing bodies have failed to engage in climate action. From withdrawal of the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, to exponentially high greenhouse gas emissions, climate change has been portrayed as a partisan issue — or not an issue at all. Researchers have identified political polarization as one barrier to climate action (Doell et al., 2021). However, other research has demonstrated that the vast majority of individuals agree that climate change is caused by human action, regardless of political party (Van Boven et al., 2018). In the current study, we aim to explore beliefs of personal responsibility toward combating climate change in association with political identity. 250 participants, identifying as either republican, democrat, or independent, were included in the study. We plan to conduct ANOVA analyses to investigate differences between political identity and feelings of personal responsibility to address climate change. Findings from this study may have implications for potential barriers to the adoption of climate policy.

Calcium signaling is vital for the development of the nervous system. Calcium acts as an essential second messenger under the control of regulatory mechanisms such as calcium stores, membrane channels, pumps, and intracellular calcium-binding proteins. Its signaling pathways mediate stem cell division, differentiation, and identity. Calcium homeostatic disruptions are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders from hypocalcemia and autism spectrum disorder to schizophrenia. Calcium regulation is widely studied regarding its impact on cell signaling and function, but little is known about its effects on cell fate in neural progenitor cells. Neural progenitor cells give rise to the entire nervous system, and defects in their proliferation and differentiation have been linked to deficits in neonatal development and eventual cognitive dysfunction (Martina). Previous work in our lab found that reduced Sarcoendoplasmic Reticulum Calcium ATPase (SERCA) expression disrupted calcium levels, changed neural stem cell identity, and affected proliferation. To fully explore the role of calcium homeostasis in neural development, I manipulated the expression of calcium-binding protein, Calmodulin (CaM), and the sodium-calcium exchange channel (NCX). Downregulating cam and ncx may interfere with the controlled regulation of calcium in neural development. Downregulating calcium-signaling regulators with RNAi will contribute to a better understanding of the role of calcium-signaling regulators in stem cell identity and proliferation. Analyzing cell type-specific markers will reveal the calcium’s role in cell identity. By measuring stem cell size, count, and mitotic markers, I propose to identify cam and ncx will contribute to the growth and division of type II neural stem cell lineages in Drosophila Melanogaster. By better understanding the cooperative regulation of calcium and its significance to stem cell development, future research can pinpoint genetic regulators of calcium signaling molecules to treat mutations caused by calcium dysregulation in neural progenitor cells. This analysis of neural progenitor cells may provide insight into neurodevelopmental deficits. The better we understand neurodevelopment, the better the onset of these diseases can be identified, and the prognosis and treatment improved.

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are responsible for converting extracellular messenger signals (ligands) to activation of metabolic pathways intracellularly. These signals are transduced using guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins) that exchange GDP for GTP. G proteins are heterotrimers consisting of alpha (𝜶), beta (β), and gamma (γ) subunits. We have designed two nanobodies (NB), or antibody fragments, with high affinity for the G𝜶i subunit. Our research features two such nanobodies; NB9155 and NB9156, with the goal of understanding how G𝜶i:NB complex formation will affect protein stability and structure. As NB9155 and NB9156 have different binding sites for G𝜶i, we also investigate nanobody effects on guanine nucleotide exchange rates and potential chaperone activity. Our data will include confirmation of molecular weights using the Multi-Angle Light Scattering technique, monitoring nucleotide exchange rates using a Fluorescence Spectrometer, and comparison of crystal structures, determined by X-ray diffraction, for the G𝜶i:NB9155 and the G𝜶i:NB9156 crystal structures.

Background: Aphasia is a disorder of language and communication resulting from brain injury. Secondary implications for persons with aphasia (PWA) include depression and social isolation. To help mitigate the linguistic and psychosocial effects of aphasia, PWA may participate in Aphasia Community Groups (ACGs). These are defined as regularly meeting groups composed of PWA who interact and participate in communication activities.

Purpose: The purpose of this prospective study is to determine what PWA desire to gain from Aphasia Community Groups.

Methods: As the initial step of a larger five-year study, clinicians and researchers at the University of Montana (UMT) will develop a patient-reported measure for PWA to be given monthly at the beginning of ACG sessions. This measure will require PWA to rank categories of desired ACG outcomes in order of individual importance. These four categories previously established in the aphasia literature base include improved: (1) well-being, (2) communication, (3) community engagement/participation, and (4) friendship/belonging/support. During the spring 2024 semester, the developed measure will be administered to members of the UMT ACG (n = ~ 8 PWA). Results will include descriptive statistics including the mean rank of each category from participating PWA.

Significance: The need for this study is highlighted by the lack of research on what PWA are motivated to gain from these sessions. Several studies have shown how ACGs are beneficial, but none have directly explored individual perspectives of PWA to identify their most motivating outcomes. Additionally, this study will provide a foundation by which to track changes in desired outcomes of PWA throughout the duration of services and draw conclusions from this data. These findings will help clinicians and researchers improve effective and personalized care to PWA and monitor their progress throughout their time in an ACG.

In this research, we are testing the overlap of bilingual processing using French and English cognates. Bilinguals have acquired two or more languages. Cognates, words of similar or the same definition, are a way to categorize distinct groups of words in the mind of a bilingual, more specifically located in the lexicon. The mental lexicon stores all the words a person knows, connecting the different words for different languages. Cognates have been recognized by bilinguals a significant amount faster than other lexical items. Because of the similarity of cognates in different languages, the processing time of cognates is inherently quicker, making a great testing model for the processing of words used by bilinguals. We will test to see how similarities or differences in the grammar of verbs (the type of object they take) will affect their processing if they’re cognates. The participants will be given three tasks: language identification (ID), self-paced listening (SPL), and sentence completion task (SCT). The study participants will be expected to use auditory (hearing) and visual (sight) tasks in French and English to show processing and distinguishing times. This data will show us how subtypes of cognates are organized in the lexicon. I expect to find data showing different processing times for different subtypes of cognates, and it is different in diverse groups of bilinguals. The data I have collected will help establish how lexical items interact with cognates and if other lexical items help increase or decrease the processing time for a bilingual.

As our planet undergoes unprecedented climatic shifts, we are beginning to see profound impacts on ecological processes. For example, in western Montana, we expect warming temperatures, altered precipitation, and increasing drought. Both warmer and drier conditions can affect phenology, or the timing of biological events (e.g., flowering). Indeed, earlier flowering is a well-documented consequence of warming temperatures. However, evidence for phenological shifts in response to changing precipitation remains scarce. Using a 29-year dataset on flowering time in a wildflower community on Mt. Jumbo, Missoula, MT, we examined the impacts of warming temperatures and drought conditions on flowering time in species that bloom earlier vs. later in the spring. We sorted 73 wildflower species into early-, mid-, and late-bloomers. We estimated changes in recorded date of first flower in response to growing season temperature (℃) and precipitation (mm). While each group flowers earlier in response to warmer growing season temperatures, the late-bloomers show the steepest response. Additionally, the late-bloomers (but not early- or mid-bloomers) flower earlier when growing season conditions are drier. These results indicate that late-bloomers may advance their flowering time as way to avoid the drier conditions of late summer. This research helps further our limited understanding of flowering responses to drought, which potentially affects plant population health. Our results may serve as a foundation for conservationists, policymakers, and land managers looking to make more informed decisions about managing wildflower communities’ resilience to drought.

Alpine ecosystems, a high-elevation habitat found above treeline, are experiencing rapid rates of climate change. Climate change results in warmer, drier conditions and increasingly early snowmelt. However, we have a limited understanding of how climate change affects alpine plant population dynamics, including flower, fruit, and seed production. Recent evidence suggests that seed production declines as snow melt occurs earlier. In summer 2023, we monitored populations of three alpine plants, Minuartia obtusiloba, Phlox condensata, and Silene acaulis. These three species are long-lived, low-growing cushion plants commonly found in alpine habitats across the globe. We quantified fruit production of these species at five sites at Niwot Ridge LTER, Colorado, that vary in their timing of snowmelt. On average, fruit production was lower at sites that experienced earlier snowmelt. This indicates that earlier snowmelt negatively impacts plant reproduction, potentially threatening these species’ persistence under future climate change.

Timber harvest is a global practice that provides jobs, industry materials, energy, and more, and contributes billions to the global economy. However, it can have long-lasting effects on the ecosystems being harvested. Where most work has focused on the responses of trees, the understanding of post-timber harvest effects on the understory community is an area with much opportunity for understanding how these communities shift over time. The majority of knowledge on how understory vegetation responds and changes post-harvest extends to only a decade or two. In order to paint a better picture of how understory species and communities change after timber harvest, we have utilized a dataset of over 200 vegetation transects in the Northwestern Montana area ranging across a timeline of 1-year post-harvest to over 40-years post-harvest. Within this framework, we examined three primary topics: 1.) how understory species richness and dominance will change over time, 2.) how functional groups will change over time, and 3.) how these shifts in the communities differ between mesic and xeric forests. To achieve this, we used randomly generated transects ranging in forest type and time since harvest. Each transect ran 40 meters parallel with the topography of the location and included five 1m² plots. For each plot, all understory vegetation was identified to the species level, received an estimated percent of cover, and was classified as one of three functional groups: grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Utilizing the data collected from these plots, we can build on our understanding of understory dynamics across a 40 year, or greater, timeline. This time series study allows for the substitution of time with space, allowing for a more comprehensive study on the long-lasting effects of a disturbance like timber harvest to be quantified. The results will illustrate important community shifts that occur over a timeline that would typically require an entire career.

Temperature is one of the most important factors that affect the growth and activity of organisms. Temperatures of coastal marine environments, in particular, vary greatly based on latitude and the local environment (i.e., bays, estuaries, water depth). The Chlorophyll d-producing cyanobacterium, Acaryochloris marina, is widely distributed in shallow, intertidal marine environments enriched in far-red light, but our understanding of its temperature preferences is limited. In this study, we investigated how different temperatures affect the growth of nine A. marina laboratory strains that were isolated from locations that experience distinct differences in mean sea surface temperature. We hypothesized that the optimal growth temperatures of strains would reflect the mean sea surface temperatures of their original sampling location. Growth rate and pigment production were measured at different temperature intervals ranging from 17-37 °C. As predicted, strain optimal temperature closely matched the average surface water temperatures of the sampling location. However, some strains tolerated a wider range of temperatures than others, suggesting the possible influence of other factors such as seasonal temperature variation or proximity to estuarine environments. Ultimately, our results resolve the differences in optimal growth temperatures of A. marina strains and provide insights into how A. marina has locally adapted to a wide range of temperatures as it has dispersed across the globe.

Kindergartners learn much differently than high schoolers or college students. Yet, when it comes to foreign language (FL) instruction, adult learners are often back at square one, like kindergarteners. Though learning capacity and maturity differ greatly between kindergarten and college, are there any common threads in the method of instruction across all these levels? This project was carried out by observing foreign language classrooms from kindergarten to college, identifying the main means of instruction in each class, and analyzing whether any commonalities exist between all the levels. Language is universal, and in an increasingly global world, contact with other languages inevitable. The need to learn foreign languages is great and the need to teach them effectively is greater. Being a foreign language student and linguist myself, I have experienced various approaches to foreign language instruction and am curious whether there are common threads between all foreign language classes. Identifying commonalities across language learning levels will highlight shared characteristics of successful language instruction. I believe analyzing these methods of FL instruction from kindergarten to college will reveal the main keys to successful language learning and how success is supported through teaching methodology.

This research investigates people who are proficient in two languages (bilinguals) and the speeds at which they process cognates (words with comparable meaning and pronunciation across languages). Previous research has not examined the effects of cognate grammar on processing speeds. We compared processing speeds of cognates with and without grammar differences in 25 Spanish-English bilingual participants. We found that grammar differences do not impact processing speeds when words are isolated, but that grammar differences facilitate processing speeds when words are placed in sentences. These findings suggest that meaning and form should be prioritized above grammar instruction in second-language education.

To offset sleep disturbances at terrestrial altitude during acclimatization, those at high elevations occasionally use nocturnal oxygen enrichment. However, deliberately dampening the hypoxic stimulus may limit acclimatization. PURPOSE: Determine the impact of nocturnal oxygen enrichment on altitude acclimatization. METHODS: 22 males were assigned to sleep with (O₂+, 32.3±2.5% O₂) or without (O₂-, 20.8±0.1% O₂) nocturnal oxygen enrichment. An 8-day acclimatization protocol occurred at a field-based research site with access to sea level (0m), sleeping dormitories (2800m), and a hikeable route to 4200m. Participants were housed at 2800m and completed 5 daily hikes of 10.4±1.2 km with 1371.5±145.1 m of gain. To assess acclimatization, testing occurred on Day 0 at 0m and Days 1, 4, and 7 at 2800m to evaluate vastus lateralis muscle oxygenation (oxygenated hemoglobin, O₂Hb; deoxygenated hemoglobin, HHb), arterial oxygen saturation (SPO₂), heart rate (HR), and expired gases at rest and during a 5-min cycling bout (1.75 W·kg^-1). RESULTS: Total sleep was longer in the O₂+ (452±63 min) than the O₂- group (427±63, p=0.028). Accordingly, the O₂+ group had higher overnight SPO₂ (96±1, 91±2%, p-1, p2- group. However, no other group differences were noted at rest, while cycling, or during acclimatization. ∆O₂Hb did not differ between the O₂+ (-2.2±2.4 A.U.) and O₂- groups (-1.6±2.6 A.U., p=0.426). ∆HHb did not differ between the O₂+ (4.2±4.8 A.U.) and O₂- groups (3.4±3.8 A.U., p=0.643). SPO₂ did not differ between the O₂+ (91±5%) and O₂- groups (91±5%, p=0.416). HR did not differ between the O₂+ (86±29 beats·min^-1) and O₂- groups (91±31 beats·min^-1, p=0.744). Respiratory exchange ratio did not differ between the O₂+ (0.74±0.27) and O₂- groups (0.84±0.08, p=0.360). CONCLUSION: Nocturnal oxygen enrichment during altitude acclimatization promoted longer total sleep but did not hinder short-term acclimatization when partaking in daily prolonged exercise.

Capsaicin, a chili pepper extract, can stimulate increased skin blood flow (SkBF) with a perceived warming sensation on application areas. Larger surface area application may exert a more systemic thermoregulatory response. Capsaicin could assist with maintaining heat transport to the distal extremities, minimizing cold weather injury risk. However, the thermoregulatory and perceptual impact of topical capsaicin cream application prior to exercise in the cold is unknown. METHODS: Following application of either a 0.1% capsaicin or control cream to the upper and lower extremities (10 g total, 40-50% body surface area), 11 participants in shorts and a t-shirt were exposed to 30 min of cold (0°C, 40% relative humidity). Exposures comprised of 5 min seated rest, 20 min walking (1.6 m·s^-1, 5% grade), and 5 min seated rest. Temperature (skin, core), SkBF, skin conductivity, heart rate, thermal sensation, and thermal comfort were measured throughout. RESULTS: The capsaicin treatment did not differ from the control treatment in skin temperature (treatment mean: 30.0±2.5, 30.1±2.4°C, respectively, p=0.655), core temperature (treatment mean: 37.3±0.5, 37.4±0.4°C, respectively, p=0.113), SkBF (treatment mean: -8.4±10.0, -11.1±10.7 A.U., respectively, p=0.492), skin conductivity (treatment mean: -0.7±5.1, 0.4±6.4 µS, respectively, p=0.651), or heart rate (treatment mean: 83±29, 85±28 beats·minute^-1, respectively, p=0.234). The capsaicin and control treatments also did not differ in thermal sensation (p=0.521) and thermal comfort (p=0.982), with perceptual outcomes corresponding with feeling “cool” and “just uncomfortable”, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: 0.1% topical capsaicin application to exposed limbs prior to walking in a cold environment does not alter whole-body thermoregulation or thermal perception.

Despite long-lasting attempts to erase biases between people, this is still an issue that exists, even if subconsciously. The purpose of this research project is to investigate the presence and impact of implicit bias on assessment and treatment of speech disorders among multilingual individuals. This will be done with a specific methodology, called a Matched-Guise Test (MGT). MGT is a survey technique created to unveil covert attitudes toward linguistic varieties, including accents, dialects, and languages. In order to measure this bias, we will hire voice actors who are native English speakers and non-native speakers, to record voice samples that resemble disordered speech and non-disordered speech. These recordings will be paired to pictures of individuals who identify as white and non-white. We will match the same voice samples to more than one picture so that we can manipulate the racial presentation of the speaker. Not only can this allow us to assess current SLP’s ability to distinguish dialect from disorder, it will also give us insight on the impact of racial bias on diagnosis accuracy, as well. It is expected to see bias in areas of disordered speech with a dialect, based on prior research This survey will be distributed among practicing speech-language pathologists across the United States. We seek to quantify the extent to which these biases impact the quality of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for multilingual individuals. Our research findings aim to shed light on the presence and impact of racial biases and linguistic biases within the field of speech pathology, ultimately contributing to efforts to promote equitable and unbiased care for multilingual individuals. The results can also allow us to better inform diversity, equity, and inclusion training, in order to train more culturally competent clinicians and educators.

What are the outcomes of using standardized patients in SLP education?

Communication Sciences

As the need for speech therapists increases, so does the need for adapting and adopting different methods for instructing graduate students in clinical education. The nursing field has used clinical simulations such as having actors portray patients with various medical problems. Research and evidence have shown this type of training to be an effective way to instruct nursing students. Could the same results be replicated for those in the Speech-Language Pathology field? The methods used to determine the effectiveness of clinical simulations in future SLP training have been obtained by gathering qualitative data from graduate students who previously participated in clinical educational experiences. This was accomplished through standardized patient simulations where actors portrayed clients with Speech-Language disorders. As the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders progresses, it will be necessary to explore other approaches to training and preparing future clinicians for the field where they will be assessing, diagnosing, and treating different disorders.

I am writing a Scoping Review on Bilingual Aphasia Assessments, which is a piece of literature that showcases any other pieces of literature or resources that exist regarding a specific topic. In this case, the topic is bilingual aphasia assessments. Aphasia is a speech & language disorder, resulting from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or another type of brain injury or lesion. This scoping review paper is meant to serve as a resource for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) to use when evaluating an aphasia patient speaking a less common language. With 7,000 languages spoken around the world, many SLPs need aphasia assessments in a variety of languages. This comprehensive list is compiled of standardized and non-standardized assessments, along with those that have been normed and bilingually normed. If an assessment is normed, then it has been measured so that the client's score can be compared to other clients to help measure the severity of their condition. Bilingually normed assessments are normed in language pairs to help show how these two languages measure among one another for particular populations. It is important to include all assessments and resources of all norming statuses because SLPs need all assessment options for their bilingual aphasia clients. The present project has gathered a broad list of all the existing assessments, which is what SLPs need. This research was initially done through hand-searching journals, and the next step will be searching library databases for any information that has been missed. With all of the information and data obtained, it is currently being compiled into an Excel sheet, split up and alphabetized by language. This scoping review will ultimately be accessible to all people who are working with bilingual aphasia patients and need assistance in finding resources and assessments to determine the functioning level of their patient’s language.

Purpose: Simple syntactic structures are often difficult to produce correctly for people with aphasia (PWA). There has been variability in the literature about how lexical syntax (i.e., ‘parts of speech’) correlates to production of grammatical errors. We aimed to assess verb and object pronoun errors in English-speaking PWA while reducing working memory demands, using a modified replication of Rossi et. al. (2013).

Methods: We used a scripted dialogue paradigm to assess how (a) declarative (“the man wants to eat the cookies”) and imperative (“eat the cookies”) sentence structures, (b) verbs, and (c) object pronouns differentially affected accuracy of sentence completion. The paradigm provides a sentence fragment to prime the sentence structure, then asks participants to complete the sentence. Sixteen verbs were tested, each presented in dialogue scripts twice. Verb-object pairs were counterbalanced for number (singular vs. plural). Physical props aided object recall, while proctors acted out verbs.

Results: Data collection is ongoing, but 9 participants’ errors have been coded. Participants varied greatly in overall accuracy (M=71%; min=24%; max=100%) with less errors in verb accuracy than pronoun accuracy approaching significance (min=56%; max=87%; t(16)=-1.87, p=.080). Although overall verb errors were low, there was some variability in individual verb accuracy (max accuracy: 92%, min accuracy 77%). There were no significant differences in pronoun number (i.e., singular vs. plural; t(16)=.50, p=.626) nor sentence structure (i.e., declarative versus imperative; t(16)=-.03, p=.977).

Significance: Though participants varied in the structures they had difficulty with as well as the types of errors, only differences between verb and pronoun production accuracy were significant. Interestingly, verb and pronoun productions have similar grammatical complexity, but only pronoun production was significantly impaired. This difference could be due to differential working memory requirements. Future directions include lesion-symptom mapping and cross-language comparisons.

Climate change is a global phenomenon that poses an existential threat to individuals worldwide. Research has shown that climate change can negatively impact mental health. However, it is unclear if, and how, mental health providers are engaging with this unique stressor, how much of a personal and professional responsibility they feel regarding the impacts of climate change, and how relevant they feel it is to their profession. 150 mental health professionals across the United States completed a measure of nature connectedness (NR-6), a measure of professional identity (PISC), and several questions assessing their sense of personal and professional responsibility to address the impacts of climate change, and perceived relevance of climate change to the mental health care profession. Correlation analyses suggested that a greater sense of nature connectedness is associated with a stronger notion of personal responsibility (r (148) = .35, p < .001) and professional responsibility (r (148) = .339, p < .001). Additionally, a stronger sense of nature connectedness correlated with beliefs of the professional relevance of pro-environmental attitudes (r (148) = .286, p < .001). There was no significant correlation between professional identity and perceived responsibility to help climate change efforts or relevance of climate change action to their profession. Given the increasing prevalence of climate-related distress, understanding how mental health care providers perceive their role in addressing this crisis and the factors that influence their perspectives is imperative for addressing the mental health impacts of this ongoing crisis.

Bromus tectorum (Cheatgrass) is an invasive winter annual grass from Eurasia that heavily impacts the intermountain west of North America. B. tectorum invades and changes the fire cycle by making it more intense and frequent by adding continuous fuels to the landscape. This study explores how heat from seasonal fire paired with extreme cold temperatures impacts B. tectorum germination. The hypothesis is that extreme cold temperatures and temperatures simulating grassland fires will impact B. tectorum seeds by decreasing the germination rate and ultimately affecting abundance. When seeds experience cold and heat treatments independently, a lower germination rate is expected relative to the control, but not as low as the two treatment combinations, which is hypothesized to reduce germination further due to increased seed stress and potential mortality. Four different treatments were tested in addition to a control treatment. These treatments were heat exposure (80℃) for 30 minutes, cold exposure (-20℃) for one week, heat then cold exposure (80℃ for 30 min, then -20℃ for one week), and cold then heat exposure (-20℃ for one week then 80℃ for 30 minutes). Each treatment was replicated ten times in a greenhouse setting and monitored regularly to quantify germination. This study is important because we can use this information to better our restoration practices on B. tectorum impacted ecosystems. We can alter management practices if we understand how these hot and cold temperatures affect B. tectorum. Theoretically, if weather and fire patterns continue on current trajectories, this data can aid in making educated guesses on their germination rates. Using this information to understand what influences germination and abundance on the landscape, we can better manage B. tectorum in North American ecosystems.

My research study examines the relationship between mental health and a person’s success in probation. I used secondary data that was sourced by the Criminology research group at UM that collected probation data from the Feder Probation District in Montana during 2022. I wanted to specifically understand whether probationers that were receiving mental health treatment were more likely to recidivate while in the probation program. In this study, recidivism refers to an instance in which a probationer violated a condition of their release and was sent back to prison. From the binary logistic regression analyses I estimated, I discovered that those receiving outpatient mental health care had a 243% greater chance of reoffending.

This study implicates the imperativeness of recognizing that those with mental health disorders often struggle to manage their lives effectively enough to keep up with conditions parole officers set for them. Offering additional resources such as trauma-informed responses and policies, service collaborations, and training probation officers to use proper techniques and tools for appropriately working with people with mental health issues would all be great steps to addressing this. Preventing more people from going to prison could serve to help both public safety and those under probation supervision.

The pharmacist’s role in an outpatient setting is expanding from one focused solely on dispensing medications to one that collaborates with other healthcare professionals to offer clinical services. Pharmacists are professionally equipped to offer consultations regarding reproductive health services, as they are experts in medication therapy management and are easily accessible in community settings. Twenty states in the U.S. currently have laws permitting pharmacists to consult with patients and prescribe birth control, and several other states have similar legislation in progress. In rural states, pharmacists can bridge the gap many patients face in accessing quality reproductive care through this advancement in policy.

Three pillars comprise universal healthcare access: physical accessibility, financial affordability, and acceptability. Pharmacists can improve physical accessibility in rural areas with few nearby medical clinics by offering pharmacy-based services and can increase affordability by implementing low-cost fees for clinical assessment. However, less is known about the acceptability of reproductive health services in rural community pharmacy settings.

Patients hold various perspectives regarding a pharmacy’s place in their healthcare experience. Pharmacists are often regarded as highly skilled health professionals; however, patients’ willingness to seek reproductive care at pharmacies may be influenced by past experiences.

This research aims to explore both physical accessibility and acceptability of pharmacy-based services for reproductive care in Montana through a mixed-methods approach. Physical access to reproductive care will be explored by geospatial mapping and characterization of community pharmacy locations across Montana to examine the opportunities to enhance rural healthcare access. A qualitative analysis of interviews of rural Montanans will provide additional information about patients’ experiences when seeking reproductive health-related products and services from pharmacies to better understand patient perceptions of pharmacy-based care. These data will be combined to provide a better understanding of the current challenges and opportunities for pharmacists across Montana to improve reproductive care.

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO EXERCISE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH AND WITHOUT HISTORY OF BREAST CANCER

PURPOSE: Compare the cardiovascular response to acute aerobic exercise in healthy postmenopausal women (HPM) and postmenopausal (PM) women after chemotherapeutic treatment from breast cancer (BPM).

METHODS: 5 PM women with a history of breast cancer and 7 apparently healthy PM women completed two visits to the lab. The first visit consisted of a DEXA scan to measure bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition, and a maximal aerobic capacity test (VO_2max) to establish workload. The second visit measured baseline nude body weight (NBW), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, and blood samples for hematocrit (Hct). Subjects then completed a 30-min steady state exercise bout at 70% of VO_2max where measures of VO₂, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and heart rate (HR) were taken every 10 min. Water was prescribed at 3 ml· kg of fat free mass^-1·30 min^-1. Postexercise, BP was repeated, followed by a 60-min rest. After rest, BP, Hct and NBW were repeated.

SIGNIFICANCE: PM women who have undergone treatment for breast cancer are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease due to declines in estrogen levels and vascular toxicity from anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapies. While there is some evidence of the impact of aerobic exercise on vascular function and inflammation in HPM women, there is a paucity of research on the interaction of BC treatment and these physiological responses to exercise. Therefore, the data we obtain from this study will help give a better understanding of this interaction. The results showed no significant differences in age, height, weight, VO_2max, body fat, fat free mass, or BMD. HPM demonstrated greater estimated visceral adipose tissue than BPM. Main effect of time was present for RPE, SBP, RER, and NBW. HPM relied more heavily on carbohydrate oxidation than BPM. These early pilot data suggest that despite the toxicity of chemotherapy, there are no significant differences in the cardiovascular responses to acute aerobic exercise between HPM women and BPM. Additionally, BPM had lower visceral fat than the HPM, which has positive cardiometabolic associations. Finally, BPM showed a healthy response to exercise by having a drop in SBP post exercise.

University student governments have been around since the late nineteenth century and have played a myriad of key roles in shaping the collegiate political landscapes in the United States. In each of the post World War eras the fear of communism was on the rise, it was up to students to take the lead and organize. Again, in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights Era university student governance was seen as a key organizing tool for student protest and social justice. This project aims to delve into the interplay between justice and fairness as vital themes associated with student government. I will evaluate historical and contemporary examples of how different organizational structures utilize various processes to administer fairness and just best practice. In accordance with my proximity as a student at the University of Montana, this project will reference the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM) as a case study. This paper evaluates a few specific questions: how generally have principles of justice and fairness historically driven student engagement; how have specific just practices and processes been ingrained into contemporary student governance; how does ASUM currently adjudicate disputes and carry out their mission; and, finally, how could ASUM be better served by establishing a Judicial Branch in their constitution. ASUM plays a pivotal role in the implementation of justice through its funding practices, student services, advocacy efforts, and civic engagement. Some of the resources that will be analyzed are the Montana Kaimin (student newspaper) and ASUM Scholarworks archives, Harry McKown’s Student Council, Earl McGrath’s paper: Should Students Share the Power, and various other academic works. This analysis is important to the longevity of ASUM as many students view its processes as unfair or unjust. In all, this capstone project identifies pillars in my academic studies and demonstrates the critical thinking and problem solving skills I have developed in my time at the University of Montana. The main artifact components will be the following analysis and research, appendices of ASUM Constitutional language along with procedural info-graphics, and finally a poster presentation of this project at the University of Montana Undergraduate Conference of Research (UMCUR).

The purpose of this project is to explore whether citizen science can fill important prescribed burn research gaps as well as helping local communities better understand prescribed burning in general. The project proposes looking at the Youth Forest Monitoring Program (YFMP)—a high school citizen science program out of the Helena Lewis and Clark National Forest—and the data that has been collected on prescribed burn impacts by the program as a case study. The YFMP provides learning experiences to high school students in ecological data collection through commonly applied methods outlined in the Rapid Forest Assessment (RFA). RFA is a relatively quick field assessment of forest stand health that looks specifically at trees (species present, age class, and size class), ground cover, and vegetation by using two intersecting 30m transects and can be used to compare metrics before and after fires. Following several hundred years of fire suppression in the West, the last 50 years have marked a noticeable change in fire management practices. More than ever, prescribed burning is being used as a fire management and restoration tool, particularly in the wildland urban interface (WUI). Much of the West—and nearly all of Montana—is considered to be a part of the WUI. Citizen science has the potential to fill in research gaps related to prescribed burning as well as providing additional direct benefits to the students in the program and additional benefits for the broader context of the community residing near the location of the burn. Establishing more citizen science programs like YFMP fosters the expansion of available data to guide management decisions while also including the public in these processes— ultimately increasing public support. This is exemplified through the exploration of the YFMP that has been collecting data for the last 20 years.

Understanding the role of maternal-fetal tissue communication in the evolution of genomic imprinting and disruption of placental development

Ashlin Slanger¹, John Statz¹, Fernando Rodriguez¹, Jeff Good¹

¹Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana

The placenta is a fast-evolving organ in mammals and has been hypothesized to be a hotspot for the evolution of genomic imprinting. Imprinted expression is a form of gene regulation by which some genes show parent-of-origin dependent allelic expression bias and is critical for successful mammalian development. Studies of placental gene expression in hybridizations between mouse species have shown disruption of placental expression in several genes including a subset of imprinted genes, consistent with a role in the emergence of reproductive incompatibilities between species. Three of the genes that show imprinted and disrupted expression levels in hybrids (Erv3, Mfap5, and Edn2) are preferentially expressed in the endocrine layer of the placenta and code for signaling proteins associated with maternal immunomodulation, making them candidates for the regulation of communication between maternal and fetal tissues. We designed an in situ hybridization experiment to gain insights into the role of these genes during development with the goal to explore the genetic placental disruption in hybrid crosses. We compared spatiotemporal patterns of placental expression of the three candidate genes in interspecies hybrids to control (non-hybrid) mice at three developmental time points of mouse embryonic development. To test the hypothesis that these genes participate in the regulation of maternal-fetal communication, we are comparing spatiotemporal expression patterns between these candidate genes and the prolactin gene (Prl3a1) known to be expressed in the endocrine layer of the placenta and mediate maternal-fetal communication during mice placental development. We are currently analyzing samples from our control cross using in situ hybridization and sampling additional tissues from interspecies hybrids. This study will provide novel insights into the role of imprinted expression in modulating maternal-fetal communication in the placenta, advancing the current understanding of placental biology and its role in the origin of species.

Exposure to woodsmoke, either incidentally during wildfire events or professionally as in the case of wildland firefighters, poses a significant public health concern and prolonged exposure can result in serious health effects. Yet, studies of the health effects of woodsmoke exposure are often challenged by a lack of quantitative exposure information. Active exposure monitors are cumbersome and difficult to employ, and measurement of markers of exposure in urine is complicated by high and variable background levels. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of silicone wristbands as passive samplers combined with headspace gas chromatography to analyze and quantify wood smoke exposures. Silicone wristbands are easily worn by exposure study participants and are known to absorb volatile contaminants from the air, and headspace gas chromatography is a solventless chemical analysis technique suitable for sensitive measurement of absorbed volatile compounds. Procedures have been developed to pre-clean wristbands in a heated vacuum oven to rid them of any background contaminants. Pre-cleaned wristbands were spiked with known levels of volatile compounds benzene (a known carcinogen), toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), which are known volatile components of woodsmoke. These spiked wristbands were analyzed by headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection to evaluate and optimize methodology and procedures. Running these spiked samples also allowed for method sensitivity and minimum detection values to be found. Multiple pre-cleaned wristbands were exposed to woodsmoke; one group being exposed on day 1 for 2 hours at a woodsmoke particulate concentration of 0.83 mg/m³, a second group being exposed on day 2 for 2 hours at 1.1 mg/m³, and a final group being exposed for a total of 4 hours over the 2 days. Analysis of these exposed bands revealed high levels of unknown volatile compounds including benzene. BTEX components other than benzene were not detected. This study has demonstrated the utility of silicone wristbands as passive samplers combined with headspace analysis to quantify exposure to volatile compounds in woodsmoke, and that woodsmoke is a significant source of exposure to the carcinogen benzene.