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When stories lead to sustainable tourism – the role podcasting plays in the development of sustainable tourism on islands
No full textAlthough podcasting has been explored in many areas and disciplines already, its use in tourism – specifically sustainable tourism – remains unstudied. In this thesis, four podcasts hosted on different cold-water islands were analyzed, one of which (the hidden island) is a podcast I produced and hosted for the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation. The remaining three podcasts include All Things Iceland (Iceland), National Leprechaun Museum Talking Stories (Ireland), and Shetland with Laurie (Shetland). This thesis places islanders at the forefront of its study, studying podcasts hosted by local islanders about places where they live year-round. Through data analysis of both the written episode transcripts and sound impact by analytical listening, themes of tourism, intangible cultural heritage, islandness, and storytelling were extracted. This thesis argues that islandness, intangible cultural heritage, and the persuasibility of the podcasting medium can help create more sustainable tourism by inspiring potential tourists to adopt sustainable tourism practices, along with supporting a more socially sustainable form of tourism that reflects authentic island culture
Stop being mean! Customer incivility influencing employee incivility via employee burnout: a hospitality context
No full textThis study examines the effect of customer incivility on employee burnout and incivility in the restaurant sector. The results showed that supervisory support moderated the relationship between customer incivility and employee burnout but not the relationship between employee burnout and employee incivility. The study also investigated the role of burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment) as mediator in the relationship. A sample of 446 Chinese restaurant employees was used, and the results indicated that customer incivility had a significant impact on employee incivility through employee burnout. The study found that supervisory support served to moderate the relationship between customer incivility and employee burnout, but it had no impact on the correlation between employee burnout and incivility. Additionally, it explored the sequential mediating effect of the three aspects of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment. This study provides insights for restaurant operations to minimize employee incivility, especially for stressful times such as during the COVID-19 pandemic
Bromodomain protein BRD8 regulates cell cycle progression in colorectal cancer cells through a TIP60-independent regulation of the pre-RC complex
No full textBromodomain-containing protein 8 (BRD8) is a subunit of the NuA4/TIP60-histone acetyltransferase complex. Although BRD8 has been considered to act as a co-activator of the complex, its biological role remains to be elucidated. Here, we uncovered that BRD8 accumulates in colorectal cancer cells through the inhibition of ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation by the interaction with MRG domain binding protein. Transcriptome analysis coupled with genome-wide mapping of BRD8-binding sites disclosed that BRD8 transactivates a set of genes independently of TIP60, and that BRD8 regulates the expression of multiple subunits of the pre-replicative complex in concert with the activator protein-1. Depletion of BRD8 induced cell-cycle arrest at the G1 phase and suppressed cell proliferation. We have also shown that the bromodomain of BRD8 is indispensable for not only the interaction with histone H4 or transcriptional regulation but also its own protein stability. These findings highlight the importance of bromodomain as a therapeutic target
Investigation of the impact of bacterial microencapsulation on natural product discovery
No full textDeveloping new effective drugs to treat antibiotic resistance infections and cancer is urgently needed to reduce mortality due to these devastating diseases. Despite the promising potential of environmental microorganisms to produce such drugs, researchers are currently facing the problem of rediscovering known compounds. To address this challenge, the impact of microencapsulation on natural compound production was explored using, Kitasatospora cystarginea NRRL B-16505 which is known to produce Cystagamide and the 20S proteasome inhibitory cystargolide. The current work postulates that the stress of microencapsulation process may induce secondary metabolism, potentially leading to the production of novel metabolites. Different microencapsulation techniques, including microfluidics, co-axial air flow printing, and emulsification, were compared in terms of bead size, cell viability, metabolite profile, and metabolite yields. This study has shown promising results that may be leading to the discovery of new bioactive compounds as well as activating the silent pathways for compound production. Nutrition deficiency, reduced Oxygen, presence of salt, heat shock, and shear stress during microencapsulation are potential reasons for the production of these putatively novel chemicals
Development of a biodegradable soft bait fishing lure
No full textPollution from recreational fishing, including lines, hooks, weights, nets, and lures made of both plastic and metal materials, can have a significant effect on aquatic species and the environment. A common fishing lure used by recreational anglers is the soft plastic lure (SPL) which is fabricated of plastisol, a blend of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plasticizers, and phthalates. These lures are non-degradable and can be toxic to marine life if swallowed. SPLs are manufactured using injection molding and can be configured into various shapes and sizes depending on the targeted fish species. If lost or discarded, these lures can be ingested by fish or other aquatic species, leading to issues such as obstruction of the digestive tract causing the formation of gastric bezoars. For these reasons and to keep fish stocks abundant and healthy, the development of more environmentally friendly fishing options is needed. Several attempts have been made to develop biodegradable fishing baits; however, the strength, wear resistance, and water interaction properties of these baits need to be improved.
A few studies have been completed on the swelling properties of SPLs when left in water for an extended period; however, other important lure properties have yet to be characterized. The objectives of this thesis are:
1. Develop biodegradable fishing lures and optimize the manufacturing process.
2. Develop a quantitative test platform and characterize the performance of the biodegradable baits.
3. Optimize the formulation to enhance:
a. Mechanical and cohesive properties
b. Shelf-life and long-term stability
c. Water interactions and degradation properties
To achieve the first objective, biodegradable lures were manufactured using injection molding, like the production of SPLs, where eight initial optimization runs were designed to determine how the individual ingredients impact both the manufacturing process and the lure properties. Several changes were made to the manufacturing process including the heating method. Originally, a microwave was used to heat the formula; however, this method is not practical if the process was to be scaled-up. For this reason, the heating method was modified by using a convective heating technique where a stainless-steel beaker was elevated in a boiling pot of water. The second objective was achieved by selecting several important properties for a soft bait lure to be successful. After careful consideration, several tests were chosen to evaluate the lure performance. The properties of biodegradable soft bait fishing lures and SPLs were examined and compared by exploring the strength, swelling, heat resistance, viscosity, and porosity of the baits. Comparison of the results indicated that SPLs showed superior properties compared to the biodegradable lures. More specifically, SPLs showed improved swelling properties, heat resistance ability, and viscosity. Lastly, to achieve the third objective, a final formula optimization was completed by adding a new ingredient to the formula to improve the performance of the biodegradable lure. Carboxymethyl chitosan, a water-soluble form of chitosan, was added to the lures to attempt to improve the
hindering properties, such as the strength, swelling, viscosity, and underwater performance of the baits. The addition of carboxymethyl chitosan showed significant improvement in the strength of the lures after being submerged in water and the underwater performance of the baits
Exploring the role of solution-focused brief art therapy (SFBAT) on self-esteem and anxiety level of preadolescent immigrants (aged 10-12)
No full textImmigrant adolescents undergo immigration and developmental shifts that yield mental health concerns, including depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. Alleviating anxiety is crucial for children's emotional health, academic performance, and self-esteem. Understanding adolescent internal struggles is challenging until self-identity is established. This dissertation explores the effectiveness of Solution-Focused Brief Art Therapy (SFBAT), an art-based approach, in improving self-esteem and reducing anxiety level in preadolescent immigrants aged 10 to 12. The study used a one-group pre-test post-test design, and the results were analyzed with a one-tailed sample t-test. Ogdon’s instruction from the Psychodiagnostics and Personality Assessment handbook was utilized to analyze House-Tree-Person results. Pre- and post-test scores showed no statistically significant reductions in a participant or parent's perceived anxiety level or improvement in self-esteem and self-perception. Including male participants, obtaining a larger sample size with a control group, conducting weekly group sessions, and assessing anxiety level by using a 10-item MASC are suggested for future studies
The only girl in Amoy: Gender and American patriotism in a nineteenth‐century treaty port
No full textIn 1861, twenty-year-old Ruth Bradford accompanied her father to the Chinese treaty port of Amoy where he was to serve as American consul. Bradford recorded this trip in a diary kept from her departure from New York until her 1863 return. Drawing upon her diary, this paper explores how Bradford, as the only American woman in Amoy, refined her sense-of-self through interracial and cross-cultural encounters with the settlement's Chinese and British inhabitants. The paper argues that through critical comparison with these communities, Bradford, like other nineteenth-century American women in China, consolidated and articulated her gendered, racial and burgeoning patriotic national identity
A comprehensive analysis of the shell microbiome of American lobsters in Atlantic Canada, supported by population dynamics modeling
No full textThe American lobster (Homarus americanus) is the most lucrative commercial fisheries species in Atlantic Canada and supports many rural communities. However, recently the fishery has faced some climate change challenges, for example, population dynamic shifts or infectious disease outbreaks, such as epizootic shell disease (ESD). While a shift in the lobster shell microbiome has been determined to be one of the key factors for ESD, the overall microbial community composition is still insufficiently researched. As the occurrence of ESD is also linked to lobster population dynamics, the first part of this thesis aimed to determine sex ratio patterns and size distributions in the two most important lobster fishing areas (LFAs) in southwestern Nova Scotia. This was performed by using mixed effect logistic regression (sex ratio) and truncated linear regression models (size) to evaluate the effects of spatio-temporal, environmental, and life history factors on the outcome variables. It was shown that the sex ratio differed by LFA, that larger females were more likely to inhabit colder deeper waters and that skewed sex ratios can develop due to fisheries practices or environmental factors. The second part of the thesis aimed to provide a novel and comprehensive description and analysis of the shell microbiome of apparently healthy lobsters from Atlantic Canada. Shell microbiome samples of over 180 lobsters were collected over eight sampling events from four LFAs - more than any other study on this topic to date - and analyzed with the novel PacBio long-reads 16S rDNA sequencing. The shell microbiome of healthy lobsters consisted mainly of the bacterial classes Gammaproteobacteria, Saprospiria, Verrucomicrobiae, Alphaproteobacteria, Flavobacteriia, Acidimicrobiia, and Planctomycetia but their abundance differed by region, season, lobster sex, and moult stage. For example, Planctomycetia and Verrucomicrobiae, of latter mostly the genus Rubritalea, were highest in LFA 25. The latter is potentially beneficial to the host because it produces carotenoids with antimicrobial functions. Interestingly, the bacterial genus that has most commonly been linked to ESD, Aquimarina, occurred to a higher degree in LFA 37 and LFA 25. However, it has yet to be determined whether differences in the frequency of this taxon stem from geographic variation alone or if it could be linked to lobsters being more likely to develop ESD. The shell microbial alpha and beta diversity differed significantly by region, sampling month and moult stage but not by lobster sex or size. These findings are interesting as they highlight, for the first time, the microbial variability between healthy lobster shell samples based on geographic location, time of year and lobster moult stage. While ESD affects larger females to a higher degree, the analyses did not detect significant effects by lobster sex and size on the shell microbial diversity of healthy lobsters. Taken together with the results from the population dynamics modeling, showing that larger females prefer habitats where ESD prevalence is supposedly lower, these findings make important contributions to the knowledge gap of how microbial dynamics could be linked to host and environmental factors. Overall, this thesis presents a comprehensive baseline for future work to deepen our understanding of the lobster shell microbiome and the data presented are highly relevant for future research on the American lobster pathobiome and bacteria-mediated diseases such as ESD
Analysis of patterns of livestock movements in the Cattle Corridor of Uganda for risk-based surveillance of infectious diseases
No full textIntroduction: The knowledge of animal movements is key to formulating strategic animal disease control policies and carrying out targeted surveillance. This study describes the characteristics of district-level cattle, small ruminant, and pig trade networks in the Cattle Corridor of Uganda between 2019 and 2021.
Methodology: The data for the study was extracted from 7,043 animal movement permits (AMPs) obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) of Uganda. Most of the data was on cattle (87.2%), followed by small ruminants (11.2%) and pigs (1.6%). Two types of networks representing animal shipments between districts were created for each species based on monthly (n = 30) and seasonal (n = 10) temporal windows. Measures of centrality and cohesiveness were computed for all the temporal windows and our analysis identified the most central districts in the networks.
Results: The median in-degree for monthly networks ranged from 0–3 for cattle, 0–1 for small ruminants and 0–1 for pigs. The highest median out-degrees for cattle, small ruminant and pig monthly networks were observed in Lira, Oyam and Butambala districts, respectively. Unlike the pig networks, the cattle and small ruminant networks were found to be of small-world and free-scale topologies.
Discussion: The cattle and small ruminant trade movement networks were also found to be highly connected, which could facilitate quick spread of infectious animal diseases across these networks. The findings from this study highlighted the significance of characterizing animal movement networks to inform surveillance, early detection, and subsequent control of infectious animal disease outbreaks.CGIAR initiative on Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods, Nutrition and Gender Inclusion (SAPLING
Massive hepatic trematodosis in 5 juvenile bald eagles
No full textHepatic trematodosis by opisthorchiid flukes has been reported sporadically in North American fish-eating raptors. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) infected by these flukes often have various degrees of granulomatous cholangitis, pericholangitis, necrosis of adjacent hepatocytes, and subsequent hepatic fibrosis. Species identification has been complicated by the inability to dissect intact specimens from liver tissue. Between 2007 and 2018, 5 juvenile bald eagles with massive hepatic trematodosis were identified at autopsy. Histologically, flukes were non-spinous. Parasitologic identification revealed ventral suckers (80–93 µm diameter), and uteri containing golden, operculated eggs (~25.0 × 12.0 µm). An unfixed frozen liver sample of one eagle was analyzed by PCR and DNA sequencing targeting the large subunit rRNA, ITS region, and cox1 genes of the parasite. The fluke DNA sequences shared 99.6%, 98.4%, and 87.0% similarity, respectively, with Erschoviorchis anuiensis, a newly described opisthorchiid species infecting the liver and pancreas of fish-eating birds in Europe and Asia. Infection by E. anuiensis is highly pathogenic in several piscivorous bird species. The clinical significance of trematodosis in our 5 cases is uncertain because all birds had comorbidities