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Determining Fusarium Head Blight Resistances in Bread Wheat Using Genome-Wide Association Studies
No full textWheat is a staple crop and an integral part of the world economy; however, these crops are frequently threatened by FHB, a fungal disease. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) is a powerful computational approach to identify the causal relationship between genetic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within a species and the phenotypic differences between individuals of the same species. In this study, we apply different GWAS models to identify the linkage between wheat SNPs and Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) resistance and to identify the best GWAS models.
The Genome Association and Prediction Integration Tool is used in this study. Associations are predicted with three statistical models, general linear model, mixed linear effects model (MLM), and the multiple locus mixed effects model (MLMM), taking into account the covariance between individuals by feeding in a k-matrix. Shell scripts were then developed to obtain the most common and significant SNPs for each phenotype with multi-year data and across the statistical tests for each phenotype.
Some of the resultant QQ-Plots do not show that the model fits the data well; however, this is due to the fact that the 90k SNP array only detects SNPs in preselected genomic regions that have a higher likelihood to be associated with traits of interest without including any irrelevant positions. Overall, the MLM and the MLMM fit the data best.
In the future, we will incorporate phenotype data that is being evaluated from greenhouses for the current season and will use other GWAS programs in order to verify and compare significant SNPs found
Identifying Critical University Supports for Low-Income Students: A Mixed-Methods Study
No full textStudents need to be supported throughout their academic journeys so that they can grow and realize their potentials, enter and be successful in their chosen professions after graduation, and share their knowledge, skills, worldviews, and experiences within communities in the future. Decreasing barriers to educational attainment can help promote inclusivity, address social and global issues, address social inequities, and work towards reconciliation. The 4th year Bachelor of Social Work student presenter is currently doing a UREAP mixed-methods research project, which will use online surveys and semi-structured interviews to identify Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) critical student services and supports that facilitate its self-identified low-income students’ educational success and well-being. The ways in which students identify, navigate, and access these services will also be explored using an online questionnaire that the student presenter developed. The online questionnaire and the research project’s design will be the main focus of this presentation. Gaining a better understanding of low-income students’ barriers to education, support networks and resources, and experiences in navigating and accessing student services is expected to have implications on student services’ strengths, areas of improvement, accessibility, student awareness on these resources, and how to better meet low-income students’ needs. Current and future students and faculty in TRU, and other post-secondary institutions, may benefit from this research project’s findings
The DNA of Cambridge Bay: An Analysis of the Microbial Community within the Permafrost Layer of Cambridge Bay, Canada
Get PDFPermafrost is a permanently frozen layer below the Earth’s surface, composed of soil, gravel and sand contained in ice. Ground is defined as permafrost that has been frozen for 2 years consecutively. Globally, permafrost environments account for the storage of 1672 petagrams of carbon. This carbon may be transformed to CO2 and CH4 by microbial processes as permafrost thaws. Few studies of permafrost microbial community composition have been completed in the Canadian Arctic, and no research has been conducted into the composition of the microbiome in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. In this study, permafrost cores were obtained from Cambridge Bay near the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS). Six cores were processed to remove contaminating non-permafrost material and split into top and bottom sections. DNA was extracted from 10 samples (0.70-0.90 g) and DNA was quantified. A PCR was then conducted to amplify the 16S rRNA gene, which is a typical marker used to identify bacteria. The samples then underwent gel electrophoresis to confirm the results of the PCR amplification and a second round of PCR was conducted to prepare the amplicons for sequencing. The resulting DNA was sequenced on the ION S5 sequencer in the TRUGen sequencing facility. A bioinformatics approach is being taken to describe the microbial community composition in the permafrost samples. This data will provide baseline information on microbial community characteristics in these soils that will inform future research evaluating the effects on the microbiome as temperatures in the Arctic continue to rise
Computer Model of Police Control of Large Event Egress
No full textThe research presented uses agent-based modelling and simulation to create a model of event attendees leaving an outdoor event. The specific event modeled in the simulation was the Celebration of Lights in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has been known to have over 1.4 million people attending. With this many people attempting to leave an area at the same time, public officials need to plan for the bulk movement of these individuals in order to assure an orderly and timely exit from the event. The crowd modelling software includes crowd agents that are attempting to leave the event, and police agents that both block crowd agent movement and give directions for alternative routes to take. The research compares different deployments and strategies that could be utilized to help with the event egress in a virtual environment that models the Celebration of Lights
Burglary Prediction using Deep Learning
No full textResidential burglary is still prevalent in most cities. It is sometimes difficult to predict where this kind of crime will happen. However, many cities have made their crime data available to the public. By analyzing these big crime data sets, it is possible to discover the patterns of urban structures that increase the risk of burglaries. In this study, deep learning was utilized to extract relationships between various house and environmental metrics and burglary. Through these relationships, the houses that have the higher risks of being burglarized can be identified. The City of Austin, Texas has been used for our case study since the city discloses various data sets including crime, street networks, demographics, and many others. This study can be used to deploy police patrols to the areas that are likely being burglarized. This can also provide an insight for making the urban environment safer by changing environmental cues and structures
North Now : ANTH 4040 Final Project Showcase
No full textIn this course we journey North – through the layers of meaning, power, politics, history, and representation that come together to form what we know as North. As we do, we are contemplating North as a landscape of (mostly southern) settler colonial desire upon which national-cultural interests are inscribed… North as resource rich. North as pristine wilderness. North as scape of adventure and self-discovery. North as beautiful. North as hostile and terrifying….
As we unpack these cultural representations and imaginaries, we’re thinking too about those who for whom these same landscapes are home. We’re thinking about the ways that settler colonial desires fold northern Indigenous peoples into their narratives as either invisible (wilderness is unpeopled, after all) or hypervisible (as tragic figures, destitute communities, or alternatively iconic symbols).
Our goal in this showcase is to carve out a space where contemporary life lived in northern communities can be shared in its own terms. Where media representations of tragedy or hardship are contextualized. Where environmental issues are fleshed out and all ways of knowing and being are honoured.
In this showcase of our final projects, we invite our TRU community to journey North alongside us, reflecting on what we imagine North to be, where this information comes from, what it gets used for, and how we can challenge the ways that settler colonial power relations are reenergized through them.
With gratitude,
Winter 2020, ANTH 4040 Class
1D: Conversations and Collaborations: Making Space for Indigenous Initiatives in Our Libraries
No full textInspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, and the commitment of Thompson Rivers University to decolonization, reconciliation, and Indigenization, TRU Library has expanded its services for the campus Indigenous community. Along with additional hours of research assistance and one-on-one librarian appointments at the Indigenous Centre, Cplul’kw’ten, we are now conducting library orientation workshops specifically designed for Indigenous Peer Mentors.
In June 2019, TRU Library and Indigenous Education co-hosted our first Indigenous book club event, “Books & Bannock”. Thirty-five members of the campus community read a book by an Indigenous author and shared their thoughts and insights at this lunchtime event.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional Library has also been expanding Indigenous initiatives in its branches. In 2019, the TNRL hosted Ted Gottfriedson, Language and Culture Department Manager for the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, for workshops and a presentation on the history and language of Secwepemctsín, encouraging others to learn the language. The TNRL is also working to update and increase our Secwepemctsín collection.
In February 2020 the TNRL began an Indigenous Authors Book Club. Each meeting highlighted a different fiction or non-fiction book written by an Indigenous author. All the books came from the TNRL Book Club Set collection, which provides multiple copies of a book as well as discussion questions and author information. Participants enjoyed snacks and conversation about the shared read.
Participants at this presentation will learn strategies for engagement, outreach and relationship building with Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of both TRU campus and the larger Kamloops community. We will share successes and learning opportunities from our engagement initiatives, as well share plans for future collaboration with a shared book club event
1A: Nerf Blasters: Planning and Implementing a New Program
No full textThis is an interactive presentation.
Creating a new style of programming is exciting and gives you the freedom to focus on your communities needs. We will briefly look at how to plan, create, prepare a proposal and finally offer the program to your patrons.
Supplies included and a waiver must be signed by all participants
2C: Escape the Library
No full textWant to build a fun escape room program that appeals to families with children, teens, and adults, but feel like you don’t have the space to make it work? Have you seen pictures from amazing escape room programs in other libraries, but don’t have a dedicated space to commit to a lengthy program? I’ll share tips, tricks, and plans for three different escape rooms we have successfully run that fit (almost) entirely on a book cart and are easy to set-up and take-down. We’ll talk about rooms with doors that don’t lock, different types of puzzles that are easy to use, how to build multiple rooms using the same materials, and ways that participants can adapt these programs for their own library spaces. We\u27ll also share how this program can be used to build partnerships between different institutions with a report on the joint TNRL-TRU Escape Room from February 2020