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Study of Microbial Communities in Non-contaminated and Contaminated Arctic Soil
No full textSoils in some regions of the Arctic may have three layers, which are from top to bottom the soil surface, active layer, and permafrost. The active layer thaws during the summer and freezes during the winter, while the permafrost remains frozen continuously through the seasons. Because of climate change, the active layer is becoming deeper and may not refreeze during the winter, and permafrost thaw is increasing. In both the soil surface and the active layer there is an active flow of compounds. Hydrocarbon contamination can occur in the Arctic due to fuel spills, and as a result of the increasing temperatures they can be transported within the active layer and down to the permafrost. Since there are some microbial communities that are able to degrade these compounds, there might be some variations in microbial communities in contaminated soils in comparison with the communities from the non-polluted soils. The objective of this research is to determine the differences between microbial communities present in non-contaminated and contaminated Arctic soils, to better understand the biodegradation potential of these communities. In order to do so, DNA will be extracted from the soils and community 16S rRNA gene sequencing will be completed to allow a comparison between bacterial species found in different communities. As a consequence of climate change some contaminants could arrive to bodies of water such as rivers and lakes, however, some of these communities could run bioremediation reactions, so a future prediction of the process will be exposed in this research
Partners in Transformation: TRU Stories from the Intercultural Ambassadors Program
No full textStudents are the largest constituency on our campus and they have extensive lived experiences and situated knowledges concerning effective teaching practices and approaches. Educational scholars have pointed out that envisioning students as partners challenges traditional educational hierarchies and neoliberal transactional models of higher education. Acknowledging students as partners in education also helps to amplify the voices of students in campus interactions and in relation to equity initiatives. The Intercultural Ambassadors program at TRU is designed to provide transformative learning opportunities for student participants, as well as to play a transformative role in fostering a normative culture of equity and inclusion on campus. As such, it aligns directly with three of the four themes and six of the eight Institutional Learning Outcomes for the General Education Model that will be instituted at Thompson Rivers University. The program provides students with the opportunity to engage in co-curricular high impact practices intended to improve their personal and professional intercultural engagement skills, to build community among people of diverse backgrounds, and to foster equity, inclusion, and intercultural understanding on campus, in the local community, and beyond. The program is further subject to a process and impact assessment research project. In this roundtable discussion, faculty organizer and principal investigator Amie McLean and student research apprentice Harminder Padda will facilitate a conversation about the Intercultural Ambassadors program. You will have the opportunity to learn with student participants in the program as we explore the rewards, challenges, and/or transformational potentials of the initiative
1 - The Impact of class attendance on student performance at TRU
No full textStudents’ class attendance and engagement play a vital role in their performances in higher education. This study aims to investigate the association between students’ class attendance and their performances throughout the semester. The study also highlights the positive impacts of having a faculty-wide attendance policy. This study incorporates data from eight science and engineering courses offered in 2019 at TRU. Students\u27 performances are assessed via quizzes, assignments, midterms, projects and exams. The association between class attendance and students’ performances is assessed using statistical analysis such as scatter plots, correlation and regression. A strong positive association is found between attendance and class performance in all of the eight courses. Preliminary analysis shows that with an increase of 10% class attendance, the performance is increased by 8% to 15%. This association is found highly statistically significant. Based on the findings, it is concluded that class attendance has a positive impact on students’ academic performance and hence a mandatory attendance policy has been proposed to be established in all the departments in the Faculty of Science at TRU. This study clearly suggests that class attendance is critical for learning, however other factors such as students\u27 language proficiency, gender, ethnicity and uses of online tools/software etc, may be incorporated to increase the explanatory power of the model to assess association
2 - Using H5P in moodle to Increase Student Engagement and Participation
No full textAs instructors modify and adapt their courses to better suit students’ needs, the value of technology in and out of the classroom is becoming more apparent. Incorporating technology in and out of the classroom has been done to support the high proportion of student population from generation Z, who grew up in a world with internet and technology at their fingertips. The use of interactive multi-media has been demonstrated to be effective in maintaining student engagement and participation in courses. Student surveys also indicate that they would like to have more interactive multi-media content in their online course delivery. This speed session will focus on H5P as a tool instructors can use within moodle. Through this short workshop, audience members will be given a tour of H5P website, shown how to create an H5P in moodle, shown how to copy an existing H5P into moodle, and provided with examples of H5P content created for chemistry biology courses
Microwave Promoted Suzuki Reactions Suitable for Undergraduate Experiments
No full textThe Suzuki reaction is a coupling reaction in which an aromatic organoboron species reacts with an aromatic organohalide compound in the presence of a palladium catalyst and results in the efficient synthesis of biphenyls. The Suzuki reaction is now used widely by the chemical industry in the synthesis of drugs and other materials.
In the present research we have investigated a simple microwave promoted set of conditions that provide rapid and high yield examples of the Suzuki reaction. The goal is to develop a number of examples that can be used in undergraduate teaching experiments. Phenylboronic acid is combined with a number of bromobenzene compounds in the presence of palladium (II) chloride as a catalyst in a simple green solvent system consisting of water and ethanol. The whole reaction is carried out in a microwave heating apparatus using small quantities of chemicals in order to reduce waste. We are studying the yields of the Suzuki reactions carried out using these conditions. Undergraduate students who will be carrying out these examples will also be required to interpret the proton and carbon NMR spectra of the products, as well as the IR spectra. The students will be able to perform a “green” version of a Nobel prize winning name reaction and study the scope of this chemical process. Moreover, the students will make use of a heating device, seldom used in undergraduate labs but with important applications in the chemistry world
Pangenome Construction Pipeline for Eukaryotes
No full textIn the field of plant genomics, there is an increasing trend towards the study of a species’ full complement of genes, termed the species’ pangenome, which can be used to capture the entire gene repertoire of a clade. This has created an expanding demand for tools relating to the construction of pangenomes for eukaryotes, especially for plants. The creation of a complete eukaryotic pangenome tool remains hindered due to the increased complexity placed on such a tool as a result of the large genetic duplicity and genome size within eukaryotes. Many tools capable of completing functions that are part of the pangenome construction process, such as genome assembly and annotations, already exist. This project explores how to employ and customize certain of these existing tools to create a pipeline that will serve as the complete pangenome construction. To identify these tools, numerous existing plant pangenome studies were reviewed to locate those tools common to multiple studies and then to combine them through experimentation to create the pipeline. By creating a complete pangenome construction pipeline for eukaryotes, pangenomes can be constructed for a larger number of and for more complex species. Through these pangenomes, biologists can identify which genes serve core functional needs or as a variable component between individuals and subspecies to further understand the variations of each subspecies
Antimutagenic Assay Analysis and Lectin Extraction Relative to Genotoxicity in Arceuthobium americanum
No full textIt is expected that one in two Canadians will be affected by cancer in their lifetime, and one in four will die from it. Due to the abundance and lethality of the disease, alternative methods of treatment are being looked at to slow down the rate of DNA mutations. Antimutagens work by preventing spontaneous DNA damage, which could potentially lead to permanent, irreversible damage. In Europe, some studies have shown the effectiveness of combining Viscus album extracts as an antimutagen concurrently with chemotherapy to slow down the rate of DNA damage upon tumorigenesis. In British Columbia, the Lodgepole Pine Dwarf Mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum) grows, which is in the same phylogenetic family as V. album, and shares its parasitic nature. Studies have shown that the lectins (carbohydrate binding proteins) in V. album play a vital role in the antimutagenic properties, likely due to the high binding affinity to N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylneuraminic acid sugars, which are found on the cell surface, and therefore interaction with them could alter the regulation of programmed cell death. This study aims to extract and identify a similar lectin in A. americanum, and use the extract to begin testing for antimutagenic properties in Prokaryotic systems, using the Ames test and SOS Chromotest in Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli respectively, using xenogenic mutants of the respective bacteria cultures to test for growth of cultures upon a lack of a specific nutrient in the former case, or the catabolism of lactose in the latter case
The Impact of Ketone Salt Supplementations on Heart Rate Responses Muscle Metabolism During Exercise
No full textThe consumption and marketing of some ketone supplements has been increasing recently suggesting that inducing muscle ketosis may improve performance, despite little evidence. In fact, several ketone effects may actually lead to poorer performance caused by acidification of the blood, alterations in heart rates and potential changes in muscle efficiency and substrate utilization. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of dietary ketone salt supplementation during rapid changes in exercise intensity and muscle metabolism. We had participants attend the lab on 5 occasions with the first visit to determine maximal aerobic fitness (O2max) and specific workloads for the subsequent 2 placebo and 2 ketone exercise trials. At each subsequent visit (placebo or ketone), we had participants complete a 5 min warm-up at 50 watts and then an immediate intensity change to a higher work-rate for 8 minutes. We continuously monitored heart rate and oxygen uptake throughout these sessions. We then compared work efficiency (metabolic rate/workrate) of both placebo and ketone trials over last 3 minutes of each trial. In addition, we fit the heart rate responses with a monoexponential equation to examine differences in heart rate responses between conditions. With this research we expect to gain insight about whether dietary supplementation with ketone salts affects our metabolic efficiency and heart rate responses thus contributing or detracting from exercise performance
Impact of Slow Release Fertilizer Packs on Planted Interior Douglas-fir Seedlings After One Growing Season in the Elephant Hill Burn
Get PDFRegeneration of planted Interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) has been a challenge for foresters in the interior of British Columbia (B.C.) due to frost damage, drought, and low mycorrhizal associations. With the need to plant large volumes of Interior Douglas-fir after the 2017 and 2018 wildfires in B.C., foresters are looking for methods which will increase production and survival of seedlings in burnt areas. In this study the effects of slow release fertilizer packs on Interior Douglas-fir planted seedling within a high severity fire area in the Elephant Hill Wildfire area are examined after one growing season. Planted on May 24, 2019 then measured and assessed on August 20and 21, 2019, the fertilized seedlings, compared to the control seedlings, showed no differences in growth parameters which included leader length, root collar diameter, shoot weight, root weight and total weight. Fertilized seedling had a statistically larger height compared to control seedlings (P value = 0.02) but when seedling with no leaders present were removed from the height data set no statistical difference was found (P value = 0.43 ). Seedling vigour was scored on a scale of 1 to 5, there was no statistical difference in vigour for fertilized and control seedlings. Leader damage caused by frost, insects or browse effected 35% of the control seedlings and 22% of fertilized seedlings. These results indicate that using slow release fertilizer after a high severity fire does not provide increased growth or vigour after one growing season in the interior of B.C