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Determination of Major Components in Propolis by Capillary Electrophoresis
No full textPropolis is a viscous substance collected by honeybees and used as a hive protector. Its bioactive properties such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and antifungal activities are what makes it a popular natural remedy that has long been used by humans in pharmacological settings. Essential components in propolis that are responsible for its beneficial biological properties are polyphenols which include flavonoids and phenolic acids. These compounds are proven to act as inhibitors of specific enzymes, hormone and neurotransmitter mimetics and scavenge for free radicals. A rapid and sensitive method was developed to determine the major components in propolis using capillary electrophoresis [CE]. Method parameters such as the wavelength monitored by the UV detector, pH and concentration of the buffer, the voltage and injection time on the CE were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, four flavonoids and one phenolic acid were separated within 35 min in a borate buffer with sodium dodecyl sulfate (pH 9.0). This method was successfully used for the analysis of propolis tinctures without an extraction step. Future work would include the identification and quantification of other flavonoids and phenolic acids in differently sourced propolis and to test their bioactivity against certain harmful bacteria and fungi
The Power Of Mapping
No full textFor hundreds of years, maps have been used to link people with place. Maps can guide us near and far, hold records for future generations and tell the stories of the places we hold dear. However, in an increasingly global world, many of the maps we use lack transparency and say little about our experience in place. The purpose of this visual exhibit is to use maps to depict our experience creating potluck dishes from ingredients sourced as close to Kamloops B.C. as possible. From field to table, copious amounts of information can get left behind in the dust. Collectively our maps will detail the process each student went through to acquire their ingredients, as well as outlining the journey the ingredients themselves made just to get here. Each map uses a unique combination of inks and paints fabricated from local flora—both domestic and native—found within our ecosystem. From the places we visited, to the people we met along the way, the maps tell our story of finding place through the intersection of food and botany
Enhanced Visual Processing for Objects in Peri-hand Space: Does it Matter Which Hand Acts on the Object or Will Any Hand Do?
No full textVisual information near the hands may be processed differently, leading to enhanced visual attention, object recognition, and working memory for objects located within peri-hand space. It has been proposed that peri-hand space may have evolved to facilitate visually guided hand movements such as reaching and grasping for an object near the hands. While it is well known that the intention to act activates sensorimotor brain regions responsible for generating the action, it is not known whether the intention to act on an object near the hands might also potentiate visual processing of objects in peri-hand space. To test this, undergraduate students (n= 30) wore an eye tracker and completed a visual search task. Participants either rested their dominant hand near the screen and used the same hand to act on the target object, placed their dominant hand near the screen and used their opposite hand to act on the object, or placed both of their hands in their lap and acted on the target object with their dominant hand—all three conditions were repeated using the participant’s non-dominant hand to control for handedness confounds. The eyetracker and visual search software recorded three dependent variables: accuracy, visual search time, and target fixation duration. We predict that peri-hand space effects will be enhanced when the participant intends to act on the object with the hand that is nearest to it. This would provide preliminary behavioural support for the idea that peri-hand space may have evolved to facilitate visually-guided hand movements
Hydrogenation of Cyclohexene using Wilkinson’s Catalyst: Development of a Chemistry Laboratory for 3rd and 4th Year Students
Get PDFThe goal of this experiment is to synthesize, characterize, and utilize the catalyst chlorotris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I), also known as Wilkinson’s Catalyst, on a small scale using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The synthesis of the catalyst and hydrogenation of cyclohexene is carried out entirely in an NMR tube; this technique of small-scale synthesis and characterization is employed often in graduate studies and synthetic labs but is not often utilized at the undergraduate level. As such, small quantities are used throughout. This reaction is monitored throughout using NMR spectroscopy.
We have successfully developed a new microscale experiment that can be used in 3rd and 4th year inorganic laboratory courses: the only glassware required is a J. Young NMR tube. Green chemistry is incorporated because the students will be using smaller amounts of heavy metals, organic compounds, and solvent. Furthermore, less waste is produced. Students gain experience with the NMR, which is an instrument used extensively in research laboratories
Incorporating Renewable Energy Sources and Green Material into Residential Dwellings to Maximize Energy Efficiency
No full textWith global temperatures rising, climate change growing more prominent, and the concern of lower energy security, the incorporation of green technologies has never been more important. While large scale change in green technology is important and what tends to be highlighted in media, small scale, localized change can make a large difference. The incorporation of energy efficient building materials and renewable energy are being explored more in residential building sites. Looking into the benefits of each suggested efficient material, we see that there are many viable ways to incorporate renewable energy systems for small scale, residential use. Some of the variables explored in this presentation are infrastructural design, sustainable consumption, and energy efficient technologies. These are further analyzed through outlining the regulations and standards set within BC to look at the environmental and economic cost-benefits of sustainable development/consumption within individual homes. Although cost is a major hurdle for many homeowners, the benefits outweigh the reservations. By conducting this analysis, we find that a mass switch by individuals can have a huge effect on the global movement towards sustainable development. The main conclusion of this report suggests that fossil fuel use can be limited by developing more residential homes with green technologies, efficient power systems, and the addition of renewable energy use
A History of Dispossession: An Analysis of Indigenous-Settler Relations in the Secwepemc, Nlaka’pamux, and Syilx Territories of British Columbia
Get PDFThe piece of land which we now refer to as British Columbia was first the home of a multitude of Indigenous cultures, territories, languages, and people. Throughout history, the British Crown referred to this land as Terra Nullius, meaning empty land. There were treaties made on Vancouver Island, but the majority of the province remains unceded in reference to Indigenous title to land. Yet, here we are in 2020 with colonial civilization flourishing. How we got here, specifically in the Interior region of BC, is my research question. I investigate this topic by focusing on the relationship between newcomers and Indigenous peoples. In the Interior of BC, the relationship between Indigenous peoples and newcomers has changed over time. What was once a mutually respectful relationship quickly became lacking of everything a trusting relationship requires. When explorers such as Simon Fraser came to the Interior, he wrote of amicable interactions with the Nlaka’pamux people in the Thompson Region. Further explained in the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Memorial, fur traders were also experienced similar interactions in this territory and surrounding nations. However as other whites, including settlers and miners, began encroaching on Indigenous land, their relationship began to change. In this presentation, the relationship between newcomers and Indigenous peoples from these territories are analyzed in order to understand why the Interior of British Columbia remains unceded
Perceived Responsibility of Natural Disaster Victims’ and our Willingness to Assist
No full textIn this study we examined people’s perceptions of natural disaster victims and the impact of these perceptions on willingness to help and judgements of responsibility. Weiner (1995) asserted that deciding to offer assistance involves an attributional process; victims perceived as less responsible for their predicament are more likely to evoke more sympathy and aid than victims perceived to be responsible for their predicament. Marjanovic et al. (2009, 2012) found that people’s beliefs of victims’ preparedness impacted their perceptions of victim responsibility and the amount of help offered. Given these findings, we are hoping to potentiate these perceptions with changing post-disaster behaviours. The participants were students attending Thompson Rivers University. Participants read an article about the victims of hurricane Dorian, which occurred in 2019 in the Bahamas, followed by questions to measure their emotional response to the victims, perceptions of victims’ responsibility and their willingness to assist. The article, adapted from Marjanovic (2009, 2012), depicted victims as either cooperative, responsible and helpless to the events or as uncooperative and having partial responsibility for the impact of the aftermath. Victims are also depicted as either continuing similar behaviours they executed prior to the disaster or as seeking new technologies to better prepare for the future. We will present the results to test the prediction that victims described as being partially responsible for their situation with intent to continue inadequate preventative behaviours following the disaster will receive stronger judgements of responsibility and elicit less overall help than those perceived as less negligent
Keynote Address
No full textSpeaker bio:
Camille Callison is a Tahltan Nation member, a PhD student (Anthropology) and the Indigenous Strategies Librarian at the University of Manitoba. She is from BC, an alumna of TRU (Williams Lake campus) and completed a BA (Anthropology) and M.L.I.S. (First Nations Concentration) at UBC then moved to Winnipeg in 2012 to become the first Indigenous Services Librarian at the University of Manitoba. Camille is a passionate cultural activist who currently serves as the Chair of IFLA Indigenous Matters Section, a member of the NFB Indigenous Advisory Group and a member of Canada’s Steering Committee on Archives – Truth & Reconciliation Commission Taskforce. She has served in many capacities including as a Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA-FCAB) board member; Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee then subsequently Chair/Past Chair of Indigenous Matters Committee and as a Copyright Committee member. Camille was also Vice-Chair, Memory of the World Committee, Canadian Commission for UNESCO, that founded Canada’s national program
3 - Engaging EAL (English as an Additional Language) Learners with Movie Scenes and Dialogues
No full textFollowing the success of my 2019 TPC presentation (titled Knowledge Retention and Memorable Learning ), where I highlighted the critical importance of using engagement tools in the classroom to help students remember the materials they are taught, I have spent almost a full year exploring the potential of teaching English vocabulary, grammar items, and common errors to avoid, etc., through short videos incorporating movie and TV scenes/dialogues (often funny). So far, this approach has proven to be very successful both in engaging students in the classroom and enhancing their ability to recall the language items discussed in the videos. I hope to share my experience using these videos as a teaching tool thus far, in terms of my creative process, when and how I use them, and pros/cons. I would also like to share with my audience/fellow educators some of the videos I\u27ve created. Finally, I also hope to hear about others\u27 experience with this teaching method (or similar ones) and inspire those who are new to this to try their hand at it
3 - Academic Integrity, Then and Now
No full textContract cheating and other academic integrity violations are currently a hot topic, at TRU and other universities around the world. While cheating on exams or paying a smart friend to write your paper are not new behaviours, the ease with which this can now be done and the explosion of online commercial essay-writing services has made it next to impossible for students to avoid receiving the offers—and the temptation—to make poor and dishonest choices. In this presentation, members of the Academic Integrity Committee will share statistics showing the current growth in integrity cases at TRU, and some of the trends we’re seeing. We will show what academic dishonesty looked like in the past, and then compare that with at the options that are now available. This will include a variety of technologies used to cheat during exams, as well as a look at some of the many paper-writing and assignment uploading websites that are marketing themselves aggressively through social media. It is our hope that by increasing awareness of these types of tools, faculty will be better able to both identify and report contract cheating when it occurs, and have open conversations in the classroom to direct students away from these predatory sites, and towards more appropriate sources of academic support