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Substance Use Disorder Treatment Resources for Healthcare Professionals
No full textSubstance use disorders among healthcare professionals are a prevalent problem often overlooked. This research will investigate current resources available to healthcare professionals in Idaho, in addition to the barriers preventing access to existing treatments. The methods used to collect information on this topic will include peer-reviewed studies, interviews, surveys, and a review of Idaho statutes and administrative rules. This line of research is significant because healthcare professionals often face unique barriers when seeking treatment. Barriers such as stigma, lack of accessible resources, and restrictive policies can prevent healthcare professionals from receiving the help they need. By examining how policies, education, and other strategies are used to alleviate these barriers, this research seeks to identify existing resources and highlight ways to reduce stigma and enhance access to treatment. Addressing this determinant of health is critical for improving both the health of healthcare professionals and the quality of care they provide their patients
Incentivizing Sustainability: How Extended Producer Responsibility Can Drive Eco-Friendly Product Design
No full textThis paper/poster examines Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), also known as the take-back principle, and its implications for environmental sustainability, economic efficiency, and social equity. As global consumption patterns continue to generate exponential levels of waste, the traditional model of placing disposal responsibility on governments and consumers shows to be increasingly inadequate. This research analyzes how transferring end-of-life product responsibility to manufacturers can drive innovation in product design, reduce waste, and create a more circular economic system. Through case studies from Germany and newer EPR frameworks in the United States, this paper demonstrates how well-designed EPR policies can address externality problems while creating corporate responsibility. The analysis concludes that despite implementation challenges, comprehensive EPR frameworks represent a necessary shift toward more sustainable production and consumption models
Pain in the Glass
No full textBird populations have been declining since the 1970’s. With an estimation of up to 1 billion bird mortalities per year in the United States of America, window collisions are a significant conservation concern. Birds perceive reflected images as the real thing, a danger when glass reflects food, shelter, or escape routes. This project aims to identify problem windows on Boise State’s campus, and encourage community awareness and involvement through outreach campaigns and community data collection. One of the overarching goals of this project is to retrofit dangerous windows at BSU with bird-friendly vinyl. 11 buildings on campus were identified as having risk factors including large windows that reflect surrounding landscapes. These buildings were surveyed by students and community volunteers for evidence of bird strikes including dust prints on glass, and carcasses in landscaping. Data was reported through iNaturalist and Google Forms, and compiled by student researchers. We also partnered with the Center for the Visual Arts to take steps toward installing a bird-friendly vinyl window application. Since September of 2023, 60 fatal collisions at 10 different buildings have been reported. University Plaza has the highest number of collisions at 34, followed by the Center for the Visual Arts at 14
Pigmentation Effects of ApoE4 Fragmentation In Transgenic Zebrafish
Get PDFAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorder, and the most common cause of dementia. In addition to advancing age, there are known genetic risk factors associated with AD. Of the genetic risk factors identified, the 34 kDa protein apolipoprotein (Apo) E4 is significant, as ApoE4 carriers account for 65-80% of all AD cases. Recent data from the Rohn lab suggests that a 151 amino-terminal fragment of ApoE4 (nApoE41-151) can traffic to the nucleus, leading to toxicity and expression of inflammatory genes. We developed a stable zebrafish line through Tol2 transgenesis by creating a fusion construct that links the ApoE41–151 fragment with a self-cleaving 2A peptide and mCherry reporter. F2 homozygous mutants showed standard cardiac expression of the reporter and fragment, but about 10% of them also showed a significant loss of pigmentation, paralleling albinism. Quantitative image analysis demonstrated that pigmented area measurements in mutants were substantially lower than those in wild-type controls (p = 0.03) and approached the levels of true albino zebrafish (p = 0.039). We hypothesize that ApoE41–151 disrupts pigment cell development through interference with bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which is vital for neural crest-derived melanophore differentiation. Zebrafish serve as a valuable research model to study systemic effects of Alzheimer’s-related genetic risk factors, and demonstrate that ApoE4 neurotoxicity can cause disrupted pigmentation
Effects on Incubation Behavior in American Kestrels
Get PDFIncubation and parental care are essential behaviors for the healthy development of offspring. Stressors such as migration and disease can affect parental care resulting in altered egg survival and hatch rates. Therefore, varying individual fitness and life history events may lead to changes in reproductive fitness across a population. We examined the relationship between incubation behavior and blood parasite prevalence, migratory strategy (migrant or resident), mass, and first egg date in a population of American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) in southwest Idaho to determine influences on incubation behavior. We observed incubation behavior using nest box camera images taken during preset daylight times. Individual migration status was determined using stable hydrogen isotope analysis on claw samples taken during the time of breeding. We predicted that stressors would negatively affect incubation behavior, leading to an adult that is not displaying appropriate parental care. We discovered that American Kestrels in southwest Idaho showed a common pattern in incubation behavior, with males incubating for an average of 26.3% and females for 59.1% of the total incubation period, and the eggs were uncovered for 14.6% of the time. Incubation was heavily dependent on female incubation, with the only factor significantly affecting male incubation being female incubation (p \u3c 0.0001). However, female incubation was significantly affected by date of first egg laid (p = 0.02), relative parasite load (p = 0.03), and male incubation (p \u3c 0.0001). There was no effect of migration strategy or nesting phenology on incubation behavior. The relationship between parasite load and female incubation shows a positive correlation, suggesting the stressors of a parasite infection possibly inhibit hunting and defense behaviors, leading to a greater proportion of time inside the nest box. These results will provide further insight into the relationships between incubation behavior and stress in bird populations of southwest Idaho
Modernizing Legacy Scientific Code: A Fortran-to-Python Translation of EXAFS Self-Absorption Correction Algorithms
Get PDFThis research focuses on translating a critical scientific code from Fortran to Python to improve accessibility, maintainability, and future development in Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) data analysis. The original code performs self-absorption correction as part of the Real Space X-ray Absorption Package (RSXAP), a suite of tools known for its rigorous treatment of Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) and XANES data. The legacy code, written in a mix of Fortran 77 and Fortran 90, posed challenges for integration with modern data science tools and workflows. A complete manual translation was undertaken, with careful validation to ensure the Python version reproduced results consistent with the original implementation. This translation modernizes an essential step in EXAFS analysis, enabling wider use by researchers without Fortran expertise and opening the door for future enhancements such as interactive visualization, automated fitting pipelines, and integration with modern machine learning libraries. This research demonstrates the importance of software modernization in scientific research and contributes to the long-term sustainability of specialized computational methods in physics, chemistry, materials science, and many other fields
How Latino Farmworkers Gather and Distribute Media to Navigate Their Environmental and Political Precarity
No full textWith extreme changes in climate and without sufficient legislation protection laws in Idaho, Latino farmworkers are vulnerable to health risks related to climate such as heat exhaustion, sun strokes, dehydration, and death. Along with the dangers of physical well-being, precariousness revolves around the current anti-immigrant and political climate. In this research, we will explore the hostility around Latinos by focusing on farmworkers by analyzing how they gather and distribute information. Another aim of this research is looking at how Latino farmworkers perform action by resisting forces, both political and environmental. This research will further the scholarship by looking at the coverage news outlets have on Latino farmworkers and how this potentially informs action by community formation. In order to investigate I ask, how does the way Latino farmworkers learn about news inform their environmental and political action? Furthermore, how does this foster community among Latino farmworkers? These questions will be explored through semi-structured interviews and participant observation
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