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Cache like a Squirrel: Effects of Long Term Storage on Crude Fat Content of Q. Palustris and Q. Alba Acorns
Get PDFQuercus palustris and Quercus alba acorns are a primary component in many wild animal diets, particularly during preparation for winter. As such, they provide a natural, easily gathered food staple for wildlife recovering in rehabilitation facilities. We examined whether collection and temperature-controlled storage methods differentially affect the nutritional deterioration of crude fat in acorns to assess both caching by wildlife and to provide recommendations to rehabilitators. We collected acorns from Q. palustris in 2020 (N=8) and Q. alba in 2017 (N=11) in Bridgewater, VA, USA. Acorns were dried for 7 days using a fan or for 30 minutes in an oven at 93°C and then stored at room temperature hanging in onion bags, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer. We assayed fat content from all trees immediately after collection (baseline) and compared fat content after one month and six months of storage for both species. Storage at 4°C (refrigerator) resulted in germination of some Q. alba acorns and mold growth in both species. Although acorns from Q. palustris had significantly more fat than Q. alba acorns, individual trees varied widely, with greater variation among Q palustris. On average, drying, storage, and combination treatments resulted in greater losses in fat compared to baseline for Q. alba than Q. palustris, but not significantly. Our results suggest that acorns cached by species like squirrels (Sciurus sp.) do not vary significantly in fat content when recovered months later compared to acorns consumed directly from the trees. We recommend wildlife rehabilitators store acorns either in the freezer or at room temperature depending on their storage capabilities
Developing an Electroporation Method for Transforming Streptomyces nymphaeiformis
Get PDFStreptomyces species are notoriously difficult to transform. Streptomyces nymphaeiformis is no different, so a method of electroporation was used to attempt to transform the cells. Multiple growth stages were used in order to alter the degree of development of the cell wall. The procedure did not kill the cells, but the cells were not transformed. Due to the lack of transformation with S. nymphaeiformis, transformation was attempted on two other Streptomyces strains, S. lividans and S. coelicolor. Neither was successfully transformed to thiostrepton (tsr) resistance, nor did they grow on a plate lacking thiostrepton. One possibility for the lack of transformation and growth was flocculation of the cells in the broth after electroporation. The flocculation may have prevented the electric pulse from shocking all the cells or transferring the sample to the plate for selection was made more difficult. Finding a method to prevent flocculation may allow for successful transformation using an electroporation method
Band Pass Filter With Application to Gravitational Waves
No full textThe purpose of this project was to create activities for undergraduate students that teaches them Fourier transforms and applies them to bandpass filters. The goal was to create a set of exercises for students to complete and publish them to PICUP for other professors to use. This project began by writing code that would successfully Fourier transform a wave with noise. The Fourier transform was used to write a band pass function to filter a bandwidth of interest. Once these codes were working on simple waves, they were applied to LIGO data in order to extract a gravitational wave signal from the noisy data. Once debugged, the code used to filter the gravitational wave data became the basis for a set of exercises developed for PICUP. The exercises are designed so that they are accessible to a student in a second semester physics class. A set of optional exercises were developed and tested to give students the opportunity to build an electronic bandpass in the lab and compare the implementation of the physical filter to the bandpass filter code. It was found that students in General Physics II were able to successfully complete the procedure with some help in setting up the physical circuits
Writing Center Resources
Get PDFThis project facilitated the composition of a series of resources for the Bridgewater College Writing Center website, part of the MyBC online portal. The result was thirty resources on writing-related topics such as the writing process, including prewriting, drafting, and revising; citation styles and avoiding plagiarism; and grammar, mechanics, and style. These resources are available to Bridgewater College students, faculty, and staff. The primary purpose of these resources is to assist Writing Center tutors during tutoring sessions with students and to provide supplemental writing assistance for students. Project development was based on research into college writing centers and best practices for writing instruction in higher education. This process was completed in collaboration with the Writing Center Director, with the Forrer Learning Commons\u27 Learning Services Librarian, and with the IT and Marketing departments
Bridgewater College Catalog, Session 2022-23
Get PDFhttps://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/college_catalogs/1133/thumbnail.jp
Vol. 97, No. 1 | Fall/Winter 2021-22
Get PDFForward Thinking: The College\u27s first endowed, named school marks a pivotal moment in our historyhttps://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/bridgewater_magazine/1350/thumbnail.jp
The Dissipating Energy: When Teaching Priorities Are Repositioned
Get PDFThe issue of teacher attrition has strengthened over the course of the decade, especially with the influence of a global pandemic (Zamarro et al., 2021). Ingersoll et al. (2018) found that 44% of teachers leave the field of education within the first five years of their careers. More recently, Zamarro et al. (2021) described a 6% increase in teachers expressing the desire to leave their teaching careers within the next five years. A wide range of demands have contributed to teacher attrition across the years, and it can be problematic when teaching philosophies are pushed aside as teachers attempt to navigate the demands of teaching. This paper considers how some may find the enthusiasm involved with a new career dissipating as the challenges of teaching become clearer
