79717 research outputs found
Sort by
Evaluating Musculoskeletal Loading and Comfort During Nasal Spray Use
No full textThe nasal spray market is growing as rates of use are increasing, however, there has been little research on the topical of how the mechanical properties of nasal sprays affect loading, comfort, and usability. To gather to make these comparisons, the data of 20 participants were gathered by measuring muscle activity in the fingers with EMG and wrist posture with an electro-goniometer among 5 different styles of sprays. Data was also gathered on subjective preferences and usability with visual analog scales. Though pipette and single-use styles rated the least for muscle activity, they ranked the lowest among subjective ratings like comfort and usability. Side-trigger and aerosol styles showed were ranked as the highest in subjective ratings, and also showed the greatest radial deviation in the wrist. This study indicates that wrist extension and radial deviation create the most comfortable and enjoyable experience
Confluence : Winter/Spring 2019
Get PDFConfluence is a newsletter of Oregon Sea Grant promoting discovery, understanding, and resilience for Oregon coastal communities and ecosystems. Articles feature the supported research and events of the program.This issue of Confluence includes articles on:
- Interns help Oregon companies reduce waste, save money
- Microplastics suspected in Oregon oysters
- Free, guided tours promote buying local seafood direct from fishermen
- Tourism expert helps coastal outdoor rec companies
- Some Oregon salt marshes stay ahead of rising sea levels
-Scholars Corner features Bryn Hudso
Teacher perceptions of training and pedagogical value of cross-reality and sensor data from smart buildings
Get PDFThis paper discusses elementary, and secondary (K-12) teachers’ perceptions of cross-reality (XR) tools for data visualization and use of sensor data from the built environment in classroom curricula. Our objective was to explore the use of sensor-informed XR in the built environment and civil engineering (BECE) field to support K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiential learning and foster BECE-related career awareness. We conducted surveys and informal questionnaires with 33 primary and secondary teachers attending an annual two-day university-based teacher professional development workshop as part of a statewide STEM afterschool program serving students in rural communities. We assessed teachers’ familiarity with, knowledge about, and appraisal of using cross-reality platforms and sensor data in classrooms and after school curricula. Findings show that, while all teachers reported relatively high interest in learning about sensor applications and innovative interactive techniques, middle school teachers in particular were most likely to see value in using these applications for teaching and learning. Implications for teacher professional development are discussed
Tide gates in the Pacific Northwest : operation, types, and environmental effects
No full textThis report is an attempt to address some critical information gaps regarding the effects of dikes and tide gates on coastal ecosystems and fisheries resources. The authors have identified the information needs during their work with landowners, community organizations, and resource management agencies and through a compilation and summary of information on dikes and tide gates derived from an extensive literature review. They illustrate the characteristics of traditional tide gate designs and their operation, explain the environmental effects of dikes and tide gates, describe new tide gate designs—including those that are considered fish friendlier—and identify current knowledge gaps that may guide future research directions. Included at the end of the report are a brief directory of manufacturers (Appendix 1) and a summary of relevant U.S. and Canadian laws and regulations (Appendix 2)
Evolving interest and sense of self in an environmental citizen science program
Get PDFCitizen science is a growing phenomenon across many branches of environmental science facilitating both increased science literacy and the collection of highly rigorous, longitudinal data. Understanding the motivations of adults to join and remain active in citizen science programs is important as the diversity and abundance of opportunities for public participation in science grow. We conducted a mixed-methods study of newly recruited and “seasoned” (1 year plus) participants in the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, a hands-on, environmental citizen science program focused on adult coastal residents, to explore the degree to which engagement, measured as time in the program, influenced motivation. We used constructs of functionalism, person-object theory of interest, and activity theoretic approaches to situational identity to deconstruct motivation into three interacting components: objects of interest, actions directed toward those objects, and situated senses of self. Newly recruited participants came with a strong interest in being outside on the beach and learning about birds and saw themselves as data collectors defined in part by their birding and degree/job-based credentials and their social relationships. By contrast, seasoned participants aligned their interests and situational identity more directly with the program, calling out the importance of program data and results, elevating science-based actions such as monitoring over learning, intensifying their desire to contribute to science, subjugating individual attributes in favor of their science identity, and increasing their sense of self-worth attached to the project. Our results suggest that hands-on, environmental citizen science programs focused on adults should shape their data collector roles and projects around context-specific motivations including senses of place and biodiversity, support both the altruistic and self-interest needs of participants, and combine rigorous science experience with social interaction
Abundance, distribution, and feeding ecology of Pyrosoma atlanticum in the Northern California Current
No full textDuring 2016-2018, unprecedented aggregations of the colonial pelagic tunicate Pyrosoma atlanticum were observed in the Northern California Current (NCC). Pyrosomes are common in tropical and sub-tropical ocean waters, but little is known about their abundance, distribution, and trophic ecology in mid-latitude systems. To assess these factors, pyrosomes were collected during cruises in the NCC in May and August 2017. A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to identify relationships between in situ environmental variables (temperature, salinity, fluorescence) and distribution and abundance patterns of pyrosomes in May 2017. Fatty acid (FA) profiles were then characterized as diet indicators, and bulk stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen was used to examine spatial variations in potential food sources and trophic level. The GAM identified sea surface temperature and surface salinity as significant variables related to pyrosome densities. The most abundant FA in the pyrosomes was docosahexanoic acid (22:6ω3), which serves in pelagic systems as a biomarker for dinoflagellates. Common FA biomarkers for bacteria, carnivory, and dinoflagellates differed by latitude, suggesting that pyrosomes have different diets over a broad latitudinal range. The δ15N values of P. atlanticum indicate that pyrosomes may be feeding at a relatively low trophic level compared to other zooplankton groups in this region. Offshore pyrosomes had lower δ13C values than those collected on the shelf, suggesting incorporation of nearshore carbon in pyrosome tissues. Previously documented rapid reproduction and growth of pyrosomes coupled with efficient feeding behavior for common NCC plankters may support their continued presence in this mid-latitude region
A Bootstrap Analysis of Fishery Operation under Protected Species Hard Caps
No full textConservation impacts on protected sea turtles and marine mammals are a longstanding concern in U.S. swordfish fisheries, including the Hawaii shallow-set longline (SSLL) fishery and the west coast drift-gillnet (DGN) fishery. Observer records for these fisheries document a history of rare-event interactions with large cetaceans and endangered sea turtles. Since 2001, leatherback and loggerhead sea turtle interactions in the SSLL fishery have been limited by hard caps, or common-pool limits on the numbers of observed interactions which may occur before the fishery shuts down for the remainder of a season. More recently, in September 2016, the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted hard caps to strictly limit annual DGN fishery interactions with a range of protected species including fin whale, humpback whale, sperm whale, leatherback turtle, loggerhead turtle, olive ridley turtle, green turtle, short-fin pilot whale, and bottlenose dolphin. Hard caps create a tradeoff between protected species conservation and potential fishery production. Caps set low enough to make closure early in the season a likely event may result in lost fishing effort and quasirents. Uncertainty over closure timing increases the risk to fishing livelihoods. A bootstrap analysis has been developed to simulate the conservation and economic effects of hard caps on DGN fishery operation. Observer, logbook and landings databases and cost-and-earnings survey data are used to calibrate the analysis. Results suggest a substantial loss of economic viability with limited conservation benefits may occur if caps are set at levels which are likely to trigger early season closure
The Role of Game Theory in Fisheries Economics: From Non-existent to Indispensable
Get PDFThis paper is designed to “set the stage” for the Special Session on Game Theory and Fisheries. It traces the origins of the application of game theory to fisheries economics, noting that, for the first quarter of a century after the publication of H. Scott Gordon’s 1954 seminal article, the role of game theory in fisheries economics was all but non-existent. The coming of the EEZ regime, and the emergence of the internationally shared fish stock problem, forced the hands of fisheries economists compelling them to bring game theory to bear, since strategic interaction between and among fishing states sharing the aforementioned stocks lay at the heart of the problem. That problem became increasingly complex over the ensuing decades requiring, in turn, the application of increasingly sophisticated game theoretic models. The question now concerns the relevance of game theory to the management of intra-EEZ fishery resources. The paper argues that game theory is in fact highly relevant, but that the application of game theory to the management of intra-EEZ fishery resources lags far, far behind the application of game theory to international fisheries. The paper goes on to explore this ”new frontier”, introducing and discussing such concepts as double level cooperation
The price tag of regulated open access for for-hire recreational fisheries
Get PDFSaltwater recreational fisheries receive little attention compared to their commercial counterparts. Yet recreational fisheries can suffer from many of the same symptoms of open access as commercial fisheries. Regulations designed to allocate a scarce supply, such as seasonal closures augmented with bag and size limits, can result in significant losses of welfare to anglers. We provide an estimate of these foregone benefits by estimating the potential gains to implementing rights-based reforms of the headboat portion of the recreational red snapper fishery in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) – a fishery which has suffered from a regulatory spiral of shortened seasons and lowered bag limits in spite of rebuilding stocks. We gather primary survey data of headboat anglers that elicits their planned number and seasonal distribution of trips under status-quo management and alternative arrangements with year-round retention of red snapper and compensating increases in prices or lowered bag limits. We utilize these data to estimate a Kuhn-Tucker demand model of anglers’ seasonal demand for trips as a function of the ability to retain red snapper and bag limits and prices. We find that a hypothetical rights-based policy under which vessels could offer their customers year-round fishing, in exchange for lower per-angler retention and increased prices, could raise individual headboat anglers' welfare by an average of $139/year. These estimates, when placed in the context of the overall scope of recreational fishing around the world, suggests that status-quo management of scarce fish stocks may cost anglers billions of dollars a year