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Fear and Oxytocin: Effects of Intraperitoneal Pretreatment in Rats
Full text linkINTRODUCTION: Oxytocin is a neuropeptide widely known for its role in social bonding and emotional regulation. Recent studies have suggested its involvement in modulating fear, stress, and anxiety responses, potentially offering therapeutic applications for trauma-related disorders such as PTSD. This study investigated whether pretreatment with oxytocin reduces behavioral and physiological fear responses in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats using a classical fear conditioning model. METHODS : Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats (12 males, 12 females) were assigned to one of four groups: control (no shock, no oxytocin), shock only, shock + low-dose oxytocin (0.5 mg/kg), and shock + high-dose oxytocin (1.0 mg/kg). Oxytocin or saline was administered intraperitoneally 30 minutes prior to conditioning. Fear conditioning involved five trials in which an 8-second tone was paired with a 2-second, 0.6 mA footshock. Rats were observed for freezing behavior and solid waste production (fecal data) as indicators of fear and stress. RESULTS: Oxytocin-treated groups showed significantly reduced fecal output across shock and non-shock trials, suggesting reduced physiological stress. Freezing behavior showed dose-dependent reductions during initial conditioning, particularly in high-dose groups, but these effects were inconsistent during re-exposure trials. Correlation analysis revealed partial alignment between fecal and behavioral data, with early-trial reductions in both. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that oxytocin may reduce acute fear and stress responses but has limited long-term impact on conditioned fear extinction. Future research should investigate neural mechanisms and the therapeutic potential of oxytocin for anxiety-related disorders
Development of High Throughput Assay for the Detection of Amyloid Fibrils in \u3cem\u3ePseudomonas aeruginosa\u3c/em\u3e Cell Cultures.
No full textAbstract removed at faculty mentor reques
Identifying and Validating Momentum Shifts in the NFL A Data-Driven Approach to Predicting Short-Term Team Success
Full text linkThis thesis aims to demonstrate that momentum in professional NFL games is real, measurable, and leads to short-term success. Using play-by-play data from over ten NFL seasons, a custom momentum score system was developed by combining engineered features and changes in win probability for key events. Momentum is defined conceptually and operationally to ensure consistent measurement across games. Different predictive models were then trained to identify momentum shifts, and an event-based validation strategy was implemented to verify the momentum shifts led to successful events. The findings indicate that the momentum score system captures shifts in game control and differs from traditional win probability metrics. Unlike win probability, momentum does not guarantee victory. It can also be gained by either team regardless of the game\u27s expected outcome, builds progressively, and can be stalled rather than entirely lost. Furthermore, with over a 60 percent validation rate of short-term success following a momentum shift, these findings provide evidence that short-term success driven by momentum is not random. This work offers a new quantitative framework for evaluating momentum in football, with implications for understanding game dynamics and team strategies
Bridging prairie restoration and regenerative agriculture with compost tea / the rocket incident: post-fire soil microbe recovery on the Eastern Washington University restoration site
No full textInland Pacific Northwest prairie is an endangered ecosystem that has been reduced by conversion to agriculture. There is growing interest in the role of soil microorganisms in prairie ecosystems, which may be crucial for restoration of the plant community through interspecies interactions within the rhizosphere. One method for improving soil microorganism community composition is compost tea: enriched liquid compost extract. Compost tea is used in regenerative agriculture to improve crop yields and protect against pathogens. While research has supported compost tea application in regenerative agriculture, it has not been widely studied in the context of ecosystem restoration. After beginning a field experiment on Eastern Washington University\u27s prairie restoration site to investigate whether compost tea improves native plant establishment, most plots were burned by a wildfire started by a model rocket. This study now consists of (1) a greenhouse experiment investigating the effect of compost tea on the biomass of native prairie plants and (2) an analysis of post-fire recovery of the soil bacteria and nematode communities at the field site. In the greenhouse experiment, compost tea application did not affect the biomass of all plant species considered together, but Lupinus sericeus in particular experienced an increase in biomass due to compost tea. Compost tea also suppressed seed germination and reduced soil bacterial diversity. Compost tea had a similar impact on bacterial community composition regardless of whether it was boiled. In the field study, compost tea had no effect on bacteria or nematodes. The fire did not affect bacterial or nematode diversity, but it did have a small effect on their community compositions. Hill position and aspect were the major drivers of both bacterial and nematode community composition in the field, and these differences were not well explained by soil moisture or soil organic matter content. These results indicate avenues of further research into the circumstances in which it may be best to apply compost tea during a iv restoration effort. Research into the abiotic drivers of differences among soil microbial communities by location on the rolling hills of Inland Pacific Northwest prairie could further inform soil restoration efforts
What shapes instruction in course-based undergraduate research experiences? & Spatial, temporal, and structural drivers of soil microbial communities in regenerative agricultural systems
No full textCHAPTER 1 Course-based undergraduate research experiences, also known as CUREs, integrate authentic scientific investigations into STEM curricula. These experiences prioritize scientific practices, discovery, real-world relevance, collaboration, and iterative experimentation. CUREs offer a more accessible approach to engaging diverse student populations in science compared to traditional labs. However, they can place heavy demands on instructors, with challenges such as time limitations, scalability constraints, and resource availability. This research focuses on (1) the importance instructors place on implementing CURE characteristics and (2) the factors that influence their planning and implementation of CUREs. Instructor perspectives were analyzed using the Teacher-Centered Systematic Reform model (TCSR) in a multiple-case study at a primarily undergraduate institution. Qualitative data from observations and interviews were deductively coded to identify challenges and gather detailed perspectives. Findings indicate that CURE characteristics vary in application across instructors’ courses; instructors more often prioritize scientific practices and collaboration over iteration and real-world relevance. Analyses of the three TCSR factors (personal, teacher-thinking, and contextual) revealed that each factor influences instructors in their implementation of CURE characteristics. Trends varied among TCSR factors: personal factors generally supported instructors, teacher-thinking factors frequently posed barriers, and contextual factors had mixed effects. These factors interact, creating a variety of impacts. Consequently, successful and sustainable CURE implementation requires comprehensive support across all three TCSR factors. Ongoing instructor support may help overcome common challenges like limited planning and grading time and staying current with evidence-based teaching practices. This will ultimately benefit both instructors and students. CHAPTER 2 Conventional agricultural practices degrade soil structure, nutrients, and microbial communities essential for food production. Regenerative agriculture (RA) can counter these effects through practices that support microbial diversity and ecosystem resilience. This study analyzed soils from three RA sites over two years and two seasons in the Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion near Ashland, Oregon. The Haney soil health test was used to assess chemical properties and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing identified microbial diversity and relative abundance. Results showed that soil microbial communities were shaped by a combination of spatial, seasonal, and annual factors, with site being the strongest determinant of microbial diversity. Additionally, out of the chemical properties tested (pH, H2O Organic N, and H2O Organic C), H2O Organic C was the only property to significantly influence soil microbiomes. These findings highlight the complexity of soil systems in RA, and understanding these relationships is an important step for identifying management practices that promote soil health
Procedural terrain generation: noise functions, modern methods, and style transfer
Full text linkProcedural terrain generation, the algorithmic creation of digital terrain, finds use in multiple types of digital media. As the capabilities of modern computation increase, the ability to create more and more realistic terrains fully procedurally at scale improves. Modern methods of procedural generation have also overlapped with these advances, most notably advances in hardware. To account for this, a survey was done of modern methods for procedural terrain generation. Smooth procedural noise functions are one of the backbones of procedural terrain generation. Perlin noise, value noise, and fractal noise were explored in-depth. These noise functions were also tested for capabilities to be altered in ways that would allow them to generate more realistic terrain without the aid of post-processing. Style transfer stands out as a modern method that strikes a balance between speed and realism. One method of style transfer was re-implemented, and steps were taken to alter the results of the generated heightmaps in ways that would reduce homogeneity of style transfer-generated terrains. Multiple methods for altering these heightmaps, such as scaling certain regions to a lower elevation, or adding terrain features, such as rivers, were explored
Smokejumper biographies for 1963 rookie class
Full text linkThis document contains short biographies of smokejumpers who rookied in 1963.https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumpers_year/1041/thumbnail.jp
Smokejumper Magazine, July 2025
Full text linkThis issue of the National Smokejumper Association (NSA) Smokejumper Magazine, contains the following articles:
Message from the President; T-Hangar Years, 1974-1977; Burned Out: Deadly National Forest Fires Now Entering Towns; The Passing of Frank Fowler; Revisit Nugget Lake Fish Planting; Global Triage: Helping the Sick and Wounded in West Africa, Iraq, and Ukraine; Planting Grizzly Bears; Can A Cargo Chute Stop a Bus?; Somewhere North of Powell R.S., 1943; Montana Bill: A Marine in Action at Tarawa; The Race to Survive; To Tell the Truth: Stanton Tate; Fire Economics; Notes From the Ranks; 2024 Al Denton Smokejumper Leadership Awards; Sounding Off; If You’re Here, I Must Be Dead; Odds and Ends; The Jump List: 1961 Rookies; Off the List; NSA Fund Contributions; National Smokejumpers Reunion Announcement (June 20-23, 2025).https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_mag/1145/thumbnail.jp
Montserrat developments Impacting local coral reefs
Full text linkMontserrat is a small island in the Caribbean, and over half of the island is in the exclusion zone because of the active volcano, Soufrière Hills. In that half was the old capital, Plymouth, which has since been abandoned, and its old port. The old port was getting less reliable and accessible, so they decided to build a new port in Little Bay, closer to the seat of government in Brades. This study explored how the addition of the new port impacted the corals in that area. We explored several different bays and recorded the diversity and health of the corals in the bays. Most bays we explored with the assistance of Scuba Montserrat with Emmy Aston. Throughout the entire island, there is a wave of coral bleaching that is impacting most of the corals of Montserrat, we found that near the new port, some of the corals are being impacted by Stony Coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) that is affecting many different Caribbean islands and has a high fatality rate for these corals. The corals that were close to the new port faced harder side effects from SCTLD and damage from the dredging they did for the port. Some of these corals that are facing the side effects of the SCTLD are critically endangered and need active protection. This research can help contribute to the protection of these corals