9780 research outputs found
Sort by
Assessing Logging Impacts on Carbon Storage and Species Diversity at Valley View Farm in Auburn, Maine
No full textThe objective of this project is to provide a comprehensive review of species diversity, forest succession, and carbon storage in response to the logging of two wooded areas at Valley View Farm in Auburn, Maine. Conducted in collaboration with landowner Kathy Shaw, and situated within the Auburn Agriculture and Resource Protection Zone, this community-based project aims to inform sustainable land management practices relevant to Shaw and other landowners in the area. To conduct our research, we walked transects throughout the newer, more recently logged forest and the older, more undisturbed forest using the point-centered quarter method. We also conducted a literature review to contextualize our research. Our findings show that forest recovery from logging is heavily impacted by the methods used during timber harvests. While it may be considered an example of an early successional forest, the newer growth region was dominated by eastern hemlock and eastern white pines, neither of which are typical pioneer species. The newer growth region had a higher species richness but slightly lower species evenness. Additionally, the older growth region stored more carbon per unit area. Our deliverable focused on providing an overview of management strategies to our community partner, as well as expected future changes to her land, in an accessible way. These changes include a reduction in tree species diversity due to losses in early successional trees, infections of emergent tree pathogens, but also an increase in available habitat for animal species. We conclude both the report and the deliverable with management recommendations that can be used to increase the availability of high-quality wildlife habitat and ensure the health of the forests going forward
Conflating Disease, Morality, and Sex: Regulating Military Fitness in the War Years
No full textThe United States military worried about the impact of venereal diseases on the ability of soldiers to fight in both World War 1 and 2. The war years thus resulted in an increase in regulations that sought to curb the spread of venereal diseases. Much of this regulatory shift has focused on how police targeted women who were suspected of spreading venereal diseases to American soldiers. Women were profiled as promiscuous and possible sex workers, with the lines between the two categories becoming increasingly blurred. Policing was viewed as a public health regulatory mechanism that needed to be carried out to protect a fit fighting force and win the wars. However, the public health regulatory arm focused not only on policing possible sex workers, but also on using sex education for men as a way to curb the spread of venereal disease. This paper explores these two dual public health regulatory mechanisms that the US military used to keep soldiers healthy in the name of winning the World Wars
Contentious vulnerability: The case of Rwandan genocide memorials
Full text linkThe memorials commemorating Rwanda’s 1994 genocide are rare in their use of human remains and depictions of violence. These memorials have been widely criticized by European and North American scholars, who focus on the danger of depicting bodily vulnerability, arguing that it supports the regime’s politics of exclusion. However, by conflating what is exclusionary about the framing of the aesthetic of bodily vulnerability at Rwandan memorials with the aesthetic itself, these critics write off vulnerability altogether, risking a colonialist stance that reduces the Rwandan context to the non-political by fitting its commemorative politics into a false dichotomy of emotion and reason. In conversation with theories of vulnerability and the human by Judith Butler and Achille Mbembe, I argue that the aesthetic of vulnerability, when framed in an inclusive and critical way, can provide hope by supplying a way to see others’ bodies as non-disposable and oppose debasing forms of power
A World Class Lithium Deposit In Western Maine; Fascinating Minerals, Big Problems with Old Maps, Intriguing Links to Paleoclimate, and the Tectonic Evolution of Western Maine.
No full textRecording of the talk A World Class Lithium Deposit In Western Maine; Fascinating Minerals, Big Problems with Old Maps, Intriguing Links to Paleoclimate, and the Tectonic Evolution of Western Maine at the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center in Portland, OR which took place on January 11, 2024
Beavers: How a 100 Pound Rodent Fights Climate Change and Preserves Biodiversity
No full textThis capstone project includes an op-ed, story map, and final zine-style article that all explore the multitudes of ways in which beavers’ environmental engineering activities have profoundly positive impacts on ecosystem health. The story map and zine include photographs, which were all taken by myself with the aim to create a more engaging multimedia reading experience. To include new, unpublished information, I took to the field with two biologists working with Maine’s threatened turtles and explored the numerous impacts of beavers on the life histories of these species. All three pieces of work discuss similar content and themes, with the zine being the most detailed and thorough of them all. Reading my final project will hopefully leave you with a much stronger understanding of the history of beavers in the United States, how beavers fight climate change and improve biodiversity, and how conservationists are working with beavers to bring back threatened species
Energy Efficient Development: A Comparative Life Cycle Analysis of Retrofitted and New Housing in Lewiston, Maine
Full text linkIn response to aging residential buildings in Lewiston, Maine, a choice must be made between retrofitting existing residential buildings or building new homes. Renovating existing residential buildings decreases construction and material emissions, however, there are significant limitations to the energy efficiency of retrofitting residential buildings. Working through a community-engaged research approach with Raise-Op, a local housing cooperative in Lewiston, Maine, this study seeks to understand the environmental impact of retrofitting existing residential buildings in comparison to building new energy efficient homes. Employing a life cycle CO2 assessment, this study calculates the embodied carbon of a retrofitted residential building model and Raise-Op’s newly constructed building at 198 Blake Street to present a clear understanding of the total emissions of a building\u27s life cycle. In combination with embodied carbon emissions, this study also looks at the operational carbon emissions of each building. Our research findings suggest that building energy efficiency accounts for significantly more carbon than embodied carbon over a building’s lifespan. The study results will be presented to Raise-Op in an effort to recommend development strategies that minimize environmental impact
Intergenerational Conservation for Farm and Forest Owners in Auburn, Maine: An Analysis of Carbon Credit Program Tradeoffs
No full textHow can individual landowners ensure that their land is not transferred over to the power of developers in their lifetime and the lifetimes that follow? Carbon credit programs are presented as an up-and-coming solution to this dilemma. However, what some consider a solution, others may see as a downfall. Through a collaborative, community-based approach with Kathy Shaw and the Auburn Natural Products and Agriculture Working Group, this study explores the tradeoffs of carbon credit programs and whether these programs could benefit intergenerational conservation in Auburn, Maine. Data were collected using participant observation methods and semi-structured interviews. These methods offered insight into a range of perspectives including: carbon expert, carbon credit program representative, local government, forestry educator, and landowner. Interview transcripts were analyzed and visualized using qualitative coding in NVivo and an informational pamphlet was created as a public-facing deliverable for local landowners within rural areas of Auburn. The main goal of this deliverable was to provide accessible decision making information surrounding the options for land conservation strategies for local landowners. Interviewees identified a relatively even amount of drawbacks and benefits of carbon credit programs. The carbon credit program representative was the only interviewee to identify more benefits than drawbacks. The aim of this study is not to argue for or against carbon credit programs, but to provide landowners with an educational resource which can allow them to make a more informed decision based on their individual values and goals for their land
Synthesis and Biochemical Evaluation of Caffeoyl-Based Phenylpropanoid Glycosides
Full text linkCOVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, is a highly contagious respiratory coronavirus that has caused many societal changes and social unrest over the past four years. An essential feature of the virus is how rapidly it mutates, subverting current treatments. As such, new antiviral compounds must be identified to try and keep up with the quick mutation rate. The initiation of the COVID-19 infection cycle was identified as a potential target. This is because the interaction is extracellular, meaning an inhibitor would not need to be transported into the cell to be effective. One class of compounds that have shown potential as antivirals are phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs), common secondary metabolites in various plant species that exhibit wide-ranging in vivo effects. We set out to examine the antiviral effects of caffeoyl-based PPGs, characterized by caffeic acid (CA) groups conjugated to glucose. Preliminary data shows that CA is capable of inhibiting the extracellular interaction of the COVID-19 spike protein and the human ACE-2 receptor at sufficiently high concentrations. Building off these data, we synthesized, characterized, and tested a library of compounds utilizing a synthetic PPG scaffold appended with varying numbers of caffeoyl groups. Using a spike-ACE2 binding assay, it was determined that each of the eight compounds synthesized effectively inhibited the spike-ACE2 interaction at 500 μM, each inhibiting the interaction near 100%. The best inhibitors were determined to be methyl-2-O-caffeoyl-α-D-glucopyranoside and methyl-2,3,4-O-caffeoyl-6-O-acetyl-α-D-glucopyranoside, which are believed to inhibit the interaction through different mechanisms due to their significant structural differences