MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Implementation of a new method to identify Verticillium isolates affecting potato cultivars in Alberta
No full textPotato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the most important non-cereal crop in the world, with 300 million tons produced every year. Despite its economic importance, potato plants are susceptible to numerous diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses, that lead to tremendous financial losses for the industry. A common potato disease called Verticillium wilt, or potato early dying, is caused by fungi from the genus Verticillium. The two species that affect potato cultivars in Alberta are V. dahliae and V. albo-atrum. These soil-borne fungi affect xylem tissues preventing water intake causing dehydration in plants. This results in necrosis of the tissues and thus, leads to early plant mortality. Unfortunately, once a crop has developed disease symptoms, there is little that can be done to prevent harvest losses that year. This is why a fast and reliable method for early detection of the fungi is necessary.
Traditionally, fungal identification is performed by observing morphological characteristics of mycelia on solid media with a microscope; however, it is time consuming, requires specialized skill set, and species identification can only be achieved by genome sequencing. We are currently implementing a new method developed by Inderbitzin et al. (2013) to identify the species of Verticillium isolates by detecting the presence of species-specific nucleotide sequences1. After extracting fungal DNA, a polymerization chain reaction (PCR) is conducted with species-specific primers for both V. dahlia and V. albo-atrum. By visualizing the presence of an amplified fragment on agarose gel, it is possible to determine the Verticillium species.
We are testing and optimizing this method on eight non-identified pure Verticillium cultures isolated from fields in Alberta to determine their species. We are also working on the isolation of new Vertcillium cultures from seven potato plant samples collected during the past growing season across Southern Alberta that showed symptoms of Verticillium wilt. This will allow us to build a collection of Verticillium isolates for future genetic analysis. Overall, this new method will be a very powerful tool to detect the presence of Verticillium fungi in soil and plants before the emergence of any disease symptoms, which allows potato grower to control this disease in a timely manner preventing harvest losses.
1Inderbitzin P, Davis RM, Bostock RM, Subbarao KV (2013) Identification and Differentiation of Verticillium Species and V. longisporum Lineages by Simplex and Multiplex PCR Assays. PLoS ONE 8:e65990
*Indicates presente
The Closers and Pace Setters of Kentucky Derby
No full textThe Kentucky Derby is the longest held sporting event in America, and is often referred to as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports." In horse racing, the closers or the horses that are coming from the back of the pack excite most viewers. This study attempts to establish the effect of early speed to the performance of closers in the Kentucky Derby based from Kentucky Derby races from 1933 to 2017. The study is designed such that effect of pace is isolated from other factors of the race and is analyzed through different linear models. The results of the study are also used to emphasize the greatness of the late Secretariat, who is considered as one of the greatest horse that ever lived.
Discipline: Mathematics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rui H
The Effects of the H1 Antagonist Chlorpheniramine on Anxiety in Zebrafish
No full textZebrafish (Danio rerio) have recently emerged as an excellent model organism to study the neurological basis of anxiety disorders. Research in rats has demonstrated that the histaminergic system plays a role in anxiety, possibly by interacting with other neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. In zebrafish, however, the histaminergic system is not well characterized, so it is of interest to assess the role of histamine on anxiety in zebrafish. Chlorpheniramine, a histamine antagonist that has been tested multiple times in rodents and shown to decrease anxiety, was administered to fish with the expectation that we would observe similar anxiolytic effects in zebrafish. Chlorpheniramine was administered through immersion at two doses (20mg/L and 25mg/L), and zebrafish were tested in the shoaling test, which is a measure of anxiety based on the tendency of fish to form more cohesive shoals when anxious. We found that chlorpheniramine did not produce a significant anxiolytic effect at either dose; however previous research in our lab suggests that the 20mg/L dose reduces anxiety in the novel tank diving test. Future research using different doses and tests or other histamine antagonists should be conducted to further characterize the role of histamine in zebrafish.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Melike Schalomo
The Effects of Noun-Labelling by Others and the Self in the Domain of Mental Disorders
No full textUsing noun phrasing to refer to an individual\u27s maladaptive behavioral pattern (e.g., "John is a drinker.") may lead to stronger inferences of identity, compared with non-noun phrasing (e.g., "John drinks"). Building on research from developmental and social psychology, the current studies examine the impact of noun labels in the mental disorder domain. In Study 1, 171 undergraduate participants read descriptions of hypothetical individuals’ behaviour (e.g., gambling, drinking, overeating) phrased using either noun labels or non-noun phrasing, depending on the condition randomly assigned. The hypothesis that participants would rate behaviours described using nouns as more stable and resilient compared with behaviour described using non-nouns was not supported. Self-labelling was investigated in the Study 2, 167 undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to either a drinking or gambling condition. In response to a series of questions regarding which of two phrases would reflect greater amenability to change, participants chose between a noun-label phrase (e.g., “I am a gambler”) or a non-noun equivalent (e.g., “I gamble whenever I can”). As predicted, participants’ perceived the noun-label phrase (e.g., “I am a drinker”, “I am a gambler”) as more in-keeping with an intent to change. These findings broaden our understanding of the effects of language which implies identity in the domain of mental disorders.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrew Howel
Longitudinal Study of Implicit Theories of Well-Being, Positive Thought/Action Orientation, and Well-Being
No full textPeople differ on the extent to which they believe well-being is fixed (entity theorists) or amenable to change (incremental theorists). Recent research has shown that incremental theorists adopt a positive orientation to their cognitive and behavioral experiences more than entity theorists, but no research to date has examined this relationship over time or in relation to well-being outcomes. In a three-wave longitudinal study with 120 undergraduate university students, it is predicted that incremental beliefs regarding well-being at the beginning of the semester will predict a positive cognitive and behavioral orientation at the middle of the semester which, in turn, will predict greater hedonic and eudaimonic well-being at semester end. If findings support this mediation model, the study will contribute to the extant literature on the effects of implicit theories of well-being, and will support the utility of interventions aimed at cultivating incremental theories of well-being.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrew Howell
 
Ubiquity of Microplastic Pollution in Canada
No full textMy CHEM/EASC 498 research projects investigate microplastic contamination in both the water column of the North Saskatchewan River (NSR) and Arctic sediments of Frobisher Bay. This research shows that microplastic contamination is everywhere from densely populated urban centers such as Edmonton to the highly secluded and sparsely populated Arctic archipelago. The effects of such contaminants are yet to be fully understood however microplastics have been observed to be ingested by organisms and is unable to be metabolised. This will lead to bioaccumulation and may interrupt food webs having greater effects at higher trophic levels. This data are the initial measurements for microplastic pollution in both the NSR and Arctic sediments of Frobisher Bay in a rapidly growing and highly imperative field of research.
Discipline: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Matthew Ros
Exploring Ukrainian Dance and Identity
No full textThis presentation concerns a community-based research project, supported by MacEwan’s URDC on the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers in Edmonton, Alberta. The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the role of folk dance, and in particular, Ukrainian folk dance in creating meaning and shaping people’s lives. I will explore Ukrainian folk dance by examining various sociological aspects of dance through concepts such as ethnicity, culture, and identity. The principle theoretical approach in framing the research will take a post-modernist and symbolic interactionist perspective. Qualitative analysis of the data will help to further uncover the sociological underpinnings of the impacts of Ukrainian folk dance in the lives of people within the Ukrainian community and Canadian society. The social research methods used for collection and assessment of data will employ a mixed-methods approach by combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches such as surveys, semi-structured interviews, content analysis, and archival analysis of newspapers and periodicals. Much of the research will be conducted using performers and audiences in the Edmonton area, with the expectation that these findings will be relevant in a broader Canadian context. Due to the dynamic nature of dance, it is expected that this research will help provide insight into the changing meanings of Ukrainian folk dance in contemporary society. This research will also offer insights that can be generalized to other ethnic folk-dance groups.
Discipline: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Stepnisk
Health Anxiety and Disordered Eating: Examining Differences and Similarities in Etiological Factors
No full textHealth anxiety (HA) describes worry about one’s health, and can range on a continuum from mild to severe. For example, someone with severe HA might be convinced a headache is indicative of a brain tumour. They may continue to have this belief despite medical reassurance that they do not have a tumour. The DSM defines eating disorders (ED) as an impairment in functioning caused by a disturbance in eating, which leads to the altered consumption of food. Previous research has found increased body checking behaviours in ED and HA when compared to healthy controls. However, there is a lack of research looking at other important cognitive factors in individuals high in both HA and ED. The present study will compare four groups, those high in only HA, those high in only ED behaviours, those high in both HA and ED behaviours, and a control group of those low in both HA and ED behaviours. This study will first explore if the groups report different levels of body checking behaviours. The second factor to be explored is metacognitive beliefs, which are the positive or negative beliefs people have about their thinking. Finally, the study will examine differences in intolerance of uncertainty, which is when an individual has negative beliefs surrounding uncertain situations. Past research has shown that both those with HA and ED have reported high levels of these factors, though research has not looked at levels of these factors when someone is high in both HA and ED.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alexander Penne
The Dog-Owner Bond in Multi-Person Households: Effects of Caregiving Styles on Dog Attachment
No full textThis study aims to investigate whether the effects of different caregiver characteristics, such as sensitivity, warmth, and attachment style, will have the same effect on the attachment style displayed by the caregiver’s pet dogs as the attachment style infants develop towards their parents (i.e., secure vs. insecure). Additionally, this study aims to investigate how the presence of multiple owners with varying attachment and caregiving styles contribute to the attachment style pet dogs display towards each owner. To this end, our study will use a modified Strange Situation Procedure to observe the differences in a pet dog’s attachment towards two of its owners and compare this with both owner’s caregiving and attachment style scores. We hypothesize that, similar to the infant-parent attachment literature: (1) dog owners with an insecure attachment style will display either too high or too low levels of warmth and sensitivity in their caregiving behaviours and will therefore be more likely to have an insecurely attached pet dog, (2) pet dogs with two securely attached owners will be most attached to the owner with the more secure attachment style (3) pet dogs that have one owner with an insecure attachment style and another owner with a secure attachment style will be more likely to develop a global insecure attachment style, and (4) pet dogs with an insecure attachment style will show more problem behaviours than securely attached pet dogs.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric Legge
 
Love Enough (Book of The Year)
No full textThe purpose of this project is generating a poster for the course DESN330 of Instructor Pacher Constanza, that we have to create the "Poster" that contains all the plot of the "LOVE ENOUGH" book by Dionne Brand. The goal of this project encouraged all the student to develop their idea and visual thinking about the book which shows the variety of feeling of all characters through the story in designers\u27 vision. Moreover, the aim of this project is to push students\u27 effort on their work to make the typeface work well with the idea of the concept, and it has to provide the legible and aesthetic to the audiences.
Discipline: Design Studies
Faculty Mentor: Constanza Pacher