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EFFECTS OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS\u27 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ON ENCOURAGEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
No full textThis study investigates religious leaders’ perspectives on mental health. Religious leaders are often viewed as people who can help support the well-being of others. However, religious leaders are not mental health professionals and are not trained to treat mental health issues. Previous research shows that mental health is a topic seldom spoken about by religious leaders, and this can affect their congregation’s view on mental health. Theological training encourages religious leaders to incorporate religion into their everyday lives. A secondary data analysis of the National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL, Duke University), tested whether the religious training clergy received influenced their likelihood of guiding others to seek mental health services and whether they have actually encouraged others to seek mental health services in the past twelve months. The survey consists of primary and secondary leaders of religious congregations. An independent samples t-test (variances not assumed to be equal) determined there was a significant difference between those who have and have not received religious training on their likelihood (intentions) to encourage others to seek mental health services, (t(931.32)= 2.95, p=.003). Those with religious training were more likely to say they would refer someone to formal mental health services (M = 3.73, SD = .60) than those without (M = 3.63, SD = .67). There was also a significant difference between these groups in how often they have in the past 12 months encouraged others to seek mental health services, (t(1535)= -6.27, p\u3c.001). Clergy with training were more likely to have referred others to mental health services (M = 2.92, SD = .19) than those without religious training (M = 2.52, SD = .20). Implications will be discussed, including how religious training is related to how clergy approach mental health issues with their congregation members
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHITE ETHNICITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
No full textThe goal of this study was to explore how White ethnic identities affect psychological well-being, with the hypothesis that ethnic identity would predict greater well-being. There is a dearth of research into White ethnic and even racial identity, which is surprising given the relevance of White identity to dismantling White supremacist ideology. Five hundred eighty-nine White participants, drawn from a sample collected via snowball sampling for another project, were asked to define their ethnic identities in their own words, and were given the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale (RPWBS). The means of subgroups of White ethnicity from the RPWBS were then compared to see whether those identities (and if so, which ones) affected psychological well-being. Contrary to findings from other ethnic groups, self-identifying with a White ethnic label of any type was correlated with lower scores on the RPWBS. In other words, White participants with ethnicities had poorer well-being. This suggests that White ethnic identity may be fundamentally different from other ethnic identities and that White participants may not have explored their identity very well. Indeed, there may not actually be such a thing as a healthy White ethnic identity after all. In practical terms, these findings suggest that anti-racist education may need to further incorporate an understanding of White identity that is open to negative feelings about being White, and that when working with White clients in the mental health professions, encouraging them to explore their White identities further may actually be harmful on the individual level
BURIED BENEATH OUR FEET: EARLY MAYA ARCHITECTURE UNDER THE MAIN PLAZAS AT THE ANCIENT MAYA SITE OF PACBITUN, BELIZE
No full textOver the past 75 years archaeologists have realized the benefits of investigating early Maya communities beneath plaza surfaces. Sites like Barton Ramie, Cahal Pech, Caracol, Ceibal, Colha, Cuello, Tikal, and Uaxactun have produced a wealth of information on Preclassic buildings, burials, and caches. In the Belize Valley there has been a concerted effort since the late 1980s to recover as much information as possible about the Middle Preclassic (900-300 BC) Maya by targeting plazas. This approach has been very effective at Pacbitun where we have uncovered new information on the earliest community located within the two main plazas. This paper reports on recent investigations in Plazas A and B and provides new information on the earliest houses and ceremonial constructions that may be compared with other sites in the region to identify general patterns in Middle Preclassic Maya development
COLONY DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF ANTRODIAETUS BURROWS
No full textMygalomorphae is an infraorder of spiders that comprises funnel web spiders, tarantulas, and trapdoor spiders. As of right now, the infraorder contains more than 20 families and over 3000 species dating all the way back to the Middle Triassic era . Mygalomorphs are most known for their two pairs of book lungs, large downward-pointing chelicerae, and extended lifetime. Unlike members of the spider infraorder Araneomorphae (orb-weaver spiders), Mygalomorphae can live 25 years or more. During this study we looked closely at a genus of the Antrodiaetidae family, Antrodiaetus. Antrodiaetus are most commonly known as the folding door trapdoor spider because of their unique silk-lined collared burrow that folds inward to close. Antrodiaetus live a solitary lifestyle in burrows which tend to be clustered in suitable habitats. They are most commonly found on fairly moist slopes in humid woodland habitats. As with many burrowing mygalomorphs, moisture is Antrodiaetus\u27s biggest challenge, and to combat this problem they keep their door closed to prevent their burrows from drying out. Knowing this, we hypothesized that Antrodiaetus colonies (burrow clusters) near water will have a higher number of more tightly clustered burrows than sites away from water. Additionally, we hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between burrow diameter and spider size. To test these hypotheses we collected soil moisture and data on burrows from two different Antrodiaetus sites. One of the colonies was located on a stream bank and the other was located alongside a hiking trail. After gathering and analyzing the data, we determined that there is no significant relationship between nearest neighbor distance and habitat type. However, we found that the burrow diameter and carapace length are significantly correlated
THE ACCLIMATION TIMES OF JORO SPIDERS IN HIGH TRAFFIC VERSUS LOW TRAFIC AREAS
No full textJoro spiders (Trichonephila clavata) are spiders that are known for their impressively large webs. The webs act as an extended phenotype, increasing the spider’s ability to sense vibration and gather information on its surrounding environment. The webs are a critical component of how spiders react to the world around them. Joro spiders react to a presence in or around their web in several ways, including web shaking, running to the edge of the web, or remaining still. This leads to the question: Do spiders in areas with lots of pedestrian traffic have different reactions to disturbance than spiders in more natural or secluded areas, and does the amount of traffic change the time it takes for them to acclimatize to a given disturbance. We hypothesize that Joro spiders in high traffic areas will acclimatize faster. In this experiment, we tested reactions to web disturbance of Joro spiders by plucking the web of each spider at five minute intervals. There was a trend towards faster acclimatization in spiders in high traffic areas, but there was no significant difference (p = 0.08) between the low traffic (mean = 5.82) and high traffic (mean = 4.53) spiders’ rates of acclimatization
INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF LIGHT CYCLE ALTERATION ON REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PRODUCTION IN ZEBRAFISH BRAIN**
No full textEvidence from human and animal studies indicate that exposure to disrupted light cycles leads to alterations of the sleep state, poor cognition, neuromediocrity, poor cognitive function, and the risk of developing neuroinflammatory disorders. Zebrafish, with a diurnal circadian rhythm similar to humans, are increasing in popularity as a model in neurophysiology and neuropathophysiology studies. Previous findings from our lab indicated that exposure to chronic unpredictable light cycles resulted in significant alterations to the cell stress response mediated by Heat Shock Protein -70 in the adult zebrafish telencephalon and optic tectum. Furthermore, the AKT-GSK3B signaling pathway widely known to mediate neuronal survival and plasticity pathways was significantly disrupted in both brain areas. The Akt-GSK3B pathway is known to contribute to healthy metabolic function in adult neurons. Here, we subjected adult zebrafish to 4 days of unpredictable light exposure for the purpose of investigating the effect of this stressor on lipid peroxidase, as well as the capacity of stressed neurons to repair oxidative damage by measuring catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activity. Preliminary results indicate increases in lipid peroxidase in fish with exposure to altered light cycles, as well as significant changes in protective enzymes meant to address reactive oxygen species production. These results, if confirmed, will illustrate some of the metabolic underpinnings of cognitive dysfunction that occurs as a result of sleep disruption stress
SEASONAL POPULATION AND ONGOING MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSES OF WILD DWARF SEAHORSES (HIPPOCAMPUS ZOSTERAE) **
No full textSeahorses (Hippocampus sp.) are known to be vulnerable species due to threats, such as habitat loss or over-harvesting, that can lead to a rapid decline in wild populations. Additionally, the life history traits of seahorses, including their limited home ranges and low mobility, are also factors that can lead to declines. The primary objectives of this study were to document seasonal population dynamics and analyze morphological variation in the dwarf seahorse, Hippocampus zosterae. Fish were collected from Tampa Bay, Fl, photographed, and released back into the wild over an entire year from August 2022 through July 2023. Our results indicate seasonal patterns in seahorse abundances, with the largest population numbers reported in October 2022 during the peak breeding season, which is supported by the increase in juveniles observed in November 2022. Seahorse abundances declined as seagrass blades shortened during the winter months with populations rebounding during the early summer. Photos of the fish were analyzed using the program ImageJ with seahorses measured (mm) based on snout length, head length, trunk length, tail length, body width, and total body length. Our preliminary results concluded that trunk length, tail length, and body width were found to be sexually dimorphic in adult dwarf seahorses from our yearlong study. These morphological differences across the sexes could be attributed to the unique reproductive roles in seahorses due to male pregnancy. Ongoing analyses are being conducted to determine if the cirri appendages, which are theorized to aid in camouflaging and potential mating preferences, on the seahorses are also sexually dimorphic. Preliminary results indicate a seasonal difference in cirri presence. The results from this study will have a significant impact on the understanding of population dynamics for conservation monitoring, identifying habitat changes in the seagrass beds, and detecting wild seahorse mating patterns and preferences
CORRELATION OF AVIAN MYCOPLASMA INFECTIONS BASED ON DIET AND FORAGING STYLE**
No full textMycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a bacterium that is infrequently detected in wild bird populations, more frequently in House Finches. Within the poultry industry, MG is a very important bacterium as a cause of respiratory illnesses. Both House Finches and poultry are granivorous and congregate while feeding. We hypothesized that communal feeding behaviors within avian diets would cause an increase in infection rates of MG through horizontal transmission. The birds processed for tissue extraction were donated by Birds Georgia, Project Safe Flight. For each bird that was processed, the trachea and lungs were extracted and examined since these organs would be expected to have the highest chance of containing evidence of an infection. Each organ was smeared on FTA cards that were stored at room temperature. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were used to amplify the MCG2 gene indicative of the presence of MG, followed by gel electrophoresis to confirm MG positive samples. The birds were divided into five dietary guilds and six foraging styles based on behavior. The foraging styles included: aerial diving/sallying, bark foraging, gleaning, ground foraging, hovering and stalking. The dietary guilds consisted of: carnivorous/piscivorous, frugivorous, insectivorous, granivorous, and other (consisting of dietary styles that do not fit in our other categories). To date we have sampled and tested over 200 birds, of which only 10 birds have tested positive for MG. For our samples, there was no correlation between positive MG infection rates and diet or foraging style
PURIFICATION OF A RECOMBINANT GFP-PREPTIN FUSION PROTEIN**
No full textThe osteogenic hormone preptin is an attractive target for the treatment of both osteoporosis and Type II diabetes. Typically this 34 amino acid peptide is produced via solid-phase peptide synthesis, which requires expensive solvents and instruments. We report the cloning and recombinant production of a GFP-Preptin (rat) fusion protein in E. coli(BL21). The fusion protein was isolated for biochemical characterization using low-pressure nickel affinity chromatography
INFLUENCE OF CHALKBOARD AESTHETICS ON TEACHING AND RESEARCH
No full textWe, as teachers and researchers, currently live in a time where to be considered “modern” you must own and constantly be engaged with the most up-to-date electronic technology. One consequence is that classroom and research laboratory chalkboards have been eliminated and replaced by whiteboards, smart boards, and/or other electronic based modes of display. I give arguments to support the proposition that these replacements often give rise to a loss of creativity, improper ordering of topics discussed, and enhanced incomprehensibility. Furthermore, I discuss why it is important to have the proper visual topology for the display of scientific and other symbols, concepts, and spatial features, and how the use of chalkboards allow this to happen. Chalkboards also permit coupling of the tactile (i.e., holding a piece of chalk for the presenter) and visual senses. The overall conclusion is that the use of chalkboards allows us to enhance essential aesthetic components that are lacking with the use of standard electronic-based devices