Bioculture Journal
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Floodable Urban Landscapes for a Resilient City: Potential for the City of Seattle
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019As a professional project for Seattle Public Utilities, this thesis explores the potential of the urban landscape to act as an integral component of the water infrastructure system as a climate adaptation strategy that simultaneously creates dynamic, multifunctional public open spaces. As an investigation in support of SPU’s Integrated System Plan, this thesis explores the following questions: • What can examples of floodable spaces beyond the context of Seattle teach us about how effectively they deliver functional drainage performance along with usable open space? • How could Seattle benefit from this concept? • What might be priority locations for floodable spaces in the City of Seattle? • How might a concept for floodable spaces in the Aurora-Licton urban village demonstrate how recreational space can work in tandem with drainage function for climate resilience, ecological health, and quality of life improvements
Tribes of Washington State: factors influencing presence and quality of climate adaptation and hazard mitigation plans
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Climate adaptation and hazard mitigation planning is becoming increasingly necessary for tribes across the United States. In Washington, tribes span a gradient of ecosystems all with their own climate challenges. This study analyzes the factors that influence both the presence and quality of both climate adaptation and hazard mitigation plans of Washington tribes. Factors influencing presence and quality are internal capacity, external capacity, and exposure (Birkland 2015, Dolšak and Prakash 2018, Glavovic and Smith 2014). Influencing factor (independent variable) data was gathered from publicly available information and existing plans that are publicly available were then evaluated based on a set of criteria from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for process scores and the University of Oregon Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Network for content scores. The average process score for climate adaptation plans was 19.4 and 22.0 for hazard mitigation plans, out of a total 30 points. The average content score for climate adaptation plans was 16.0 and 16.8 for hazard mitigation plans, out of a total 28 points. A difference of means was calculated at the 0.05 significance level to determine the relationship between each independent variable and plan presence and the null hypothesis failed to be rejected for each independent variable. Then, a linear regression was utilized to estimate regression coefficients between independent variables and plan process score and plan content score. It was found that external capacity has an estimated regression coefficient of -2.8 and a p-value of 0.01 and the number of departments has an estimated regression coefficient of 3.6 points and a p-value of 0.06. No other regression coefficients were significant at 0.10 or higher levels
Productivity, influence, and evolution: The complex language shift of Modern Ladino
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2019This dissertation uses data from interviews with Seattle Ladino speakers, an online forum in Ladino, and documents from the University of Washington Sephardic Studies Collection to investigate the language shift that Modern Ladino has undergone. Ladino is the language that developed when the Jews who were exiled from Spain in 1492 fled to the Ottoman Empire and mixed Ottoman Turkish and other languages into their Spanish. Chapter 1 of this dissertation provides a short language shift literature review, a brief history of the Ladino speech community, and information about each of the aforementioned Ladino data sources. Chapter 2 explores the variation of the vowel raising pattern found in the Rhodesli dialect of Seattle Ladino and shows that this variation existed before Rhodesli speakers came into contact with non-raising speakers in Seattle. Chapter 3 explores the combinatory potential of the Turkish-origin suffix -dji and finds that, while the majority of the roots being combined with this suffix today are of Turkish origin, there appears to still be some productivity with respect to this suffix. Chapter 4 challenges the traditional three-generation language shift model, showing that this model is insufficient for Modern Ladino, as it fails to account for the multilingualism and constant language contact inherent to the Ladino speech community in the 20th century, but also throughout its history. Ultimately, this dissertation provides a snapshot of Modern Ladino in the 20th century, and highlights what are likely some of the last recordings of Seattle Ladino speech that will be made
Effects of co-occurring stigmas on PTSD and depression among African American women living with HIV who use substances
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Introduction: Intersectional stigma has been shown to have negative impacts on behavior and health outcomes. Few research studies have incorporated both internalized HIV stigma and substance use stigma into a single analysis, and none looking at their relationship to mental health illnesses amongst African American women living with HIV and consume substances. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data taken from a HIV stigma reduction randomized control trial was used to examine the relationship between internalized HIV stigma, substance use stigma, and mental health illnesses (PTSD and Depression) amongst African American women living with HIV and who consume substances. We examined PTSD and depression symptoms amongst the population, and used multiple linear regression to analyze the relationship between both stigmas and mental health related illnesses. Results: Fifty-four participants were enrolled in this study, ranging in age from 23 to 61 years. The mean year living with HIV was 14.3 (SD = 7.5). We found that 85.2% reported significant levels of PTSD symptoms, while 44.4% reported moderate depression symptoms. Internalized stigma was associated with moderate depression symptoms (0.38; p < 0.01) and significant PTSD symptoms (0.46; p<0.001). Substance-use stigma showed a trend between moderate depression symptoms (0.23; p=0.07) and significant PTSD symptoms (0.23; p=0.06). Discussion: Our findings demonstrates a relationship between intersectional stigmas and mental health illnesses. Further studies are needed to better understand the complex relationship between intersectional stigmas, HIV status, and mental health outcomes
Help-Seeking Patterns and Perceived Barriers to Care among Latino Immigrant Men with Unhealthy Alcohol Use
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Background: Latino immigrant men have high rates of unhealthy alcohol use, yet we know little about their help-seeking patterns and barriers to care. Methods: We described the help-seeking patterns and perceived barriers to care of a sample of Latino immigrant men (N=121) recruited to a pilot randomized trial of a brief alcohol intervention (the Vida PURA study). All men were Latino, immigrant, spoke Spanish, and had an Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score equal/greater than 6. Interviewer-administered survey data were used to describe help-seeking and barriers to care across alcohol use severity. Results: AUDIT scores ranged from 6 –40 (M = 20, SD = 10); 49% (n=60) of men screened positive for severe unhealthy alcohol use (AUDIT score equal 20, and 30% (n=36) reported having sought help for drinking. 61% of men who had sought help for drinking (n-36) reported attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). All men reported perceived barriers to care, especially stigma and health care system related. Conclusion: Findings suggest further investigation of interventions based on severity level to address stigma and health care system barriers
High-throughput mutagenesis identifies regulatory interactions and drug resistance mechanisms in Src kinase
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2019The majority of the human proteome is phosphorylated by the eukaryotic protein kinase (EPK) enzyme family. EPKs are subject to multiple layers of regulation that modulate both the magnitude and specificity of their activity and this regulation is crucial, as loss of control over activity often results in disease. Commonly, this regulation is governed by interactions between the catalytic kinase domain and other regions of the protein. A classic example of intramolecular EPK regulation was delineated in the tyrosine kinase Src, whose regulatory SH2 and SH3 domains interface with its catalytic domain to constrain activity. Although this mechanism of Src intramolecular regulation is broadly well established, our knowledge of how the individual catalytic domain residues contribute to regulation is less well understood. To investigate this, we use saturation mutagenesis to functionally interrogate thousands of single missense mutants of the catalytic domain of Src kinase. We identify 27 residues located throughout the catalytic domain that, when mutated, result in increased Src activity. As expected, several of these residues hyper-activate Src by disrupting known mechanisms of SH2 or SH3 domain regulation. However, we also identify a patch of residues on Src’s C-lobe which strongly affects its activity but whose mechanism cannot be explained by our current understanding of Src regulation. We investigate this patch and surprisingly find that mutations here affect activity in a manner dependent on Src’s membrane-binding SH4 domain. Moreover, these mutations cause Src to associate more with membranes both in vitro and in cells, implying these mutations alter SH4 domain conformation. Our results suggest a novel functional interaction between Src’s SH4 and catalytic domain that couples localization and activity and thus our study adds an additional layer to the canonical mechanisms of Src kinase regulation. In a follow-up project, we use this same system to systematically identify mutations that confer resistance to three different conformation-selective inhibitors of Src. We identify dozens of resistance mutations, including some that are specific to a given inhibitor. These “unique” resistance mutations are of particular interest, because these residues may contribute to the adoption of specific conformations of Src’s catalytic domain. In summary, this work uncovers a previously unidentified regulatory role for Src’s SH4 domain. Moreover, it lays the groundwork for future investigations into the nature of these newly identified resistance mutants for conformation-selective inhibitors
Evaluation of muscle synergies in individuals with cerebral palsy
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2019Cerebral palsy (CP) originates from a brain injury, causing impairments in motor control specific to the individual. These motor impairments manifest themselves differently between individuals, resulting in altered and highly heterogeneous gait patterns. Interventions aimed at improving motor function produce highly variable results between individuals, with some benefiting greatly and others seeing little or even negative impacts. Electromyography (EMG) recordings allow muscle activity to be measured, giving an opportunity to see how the brain is controlling and coordinating movement. Muscle synergies provide a tool to quantify motor control by finding lower-dimensional groups of weighted muscles which are commonly activated during an activity such as walking. In individuals with neurologic impairments such as stoke, spinal cord injury, and CP synergy complexity is reduced, and synergy organization is altered. The goals of this dissertation were to evaluate how motor control is altered in individuals with CP and address some of the challenges in translating muscle synergies into a useful clinical measure. There are many methodologies for pre-processing EMG data prior to calculating synergies, and these choices can impact clinical interpretations. We found that synergy complexity was sensitive to EMG pre-processing, but that these effects could be mitigated by normalizing to typically-developing (TD) synergies. When a consistent number of synergies was evaluated the muscles recruited within synergies and synergy activations were similar across a range of filtering conditions. In order to use synergies as a measure of motor control, we sought to determine whether muscle synergies were repeatable between days and between centers. We found similar levels of repeatability for both TD children and children with CP, for both synergy complexity and structure of synergy weights when measured across two separate days. We also found similar associations between pre-treatment synergy complexity and post-treatment outcomes in CP at two separate institutions. Across a variety of common interventions, children with motor control closer to that of their TD peers were associated with greater improvements in kinematics and walking speed. These results suggest that synergies provide a repeatable measure of motor control which may be useful in treatment planning. Common treatments which aim to improve walking function may also impact motor control, either by directly targeting the nervous system or by indirectly targeting the biomechanical constraints of the system. We evaluated changes in muscle synergies after treatment and rehabilitation and found only small changes that were inconsistent between individuals. While current treatments do not consistently alter synergies, we found that those children whose synergy activations that more closely matched TD post-treatment were associated with improved treatment outcomes. We also applied muscle synergies as an individual model of motor control to musculoskeletal simulation techniques in an effort to improve estimation of muscle activations. Muscle force, and thus muscle activations are used to evaluate a range of clinical questions including muscle contributions to gait and joint loadings. We compared experimental EMG to muscle activations computed using standard musculoskeletal optimization methods and to activations constrained to synergy groupings and for both TD and CP children. We found that constraining modeled activations to muscle synergies did not improve predication of muscle activations for either group. These results suggest that generic musculoskeletal parameters including activation dynamics and musculoskeletal geometry may limit predictions of muscle activations during gait and that constraining muscle activations to synergistic patterns cannot alone improve these estimations. This dissertation examines methodological considerations pertaining to the calculation of muscle synergies, including demonstrating that muscle synergies can be robustly measured across days and processing decisions. This work provides important evidence for the clinical utility of muscle synergies in CP, demonstrating associations with treatment outcomes across treatments, centers, and muscles measured. This work also suggests that synergies may be a promising target for future treatments in an effort to improve mobility in children with CP
Removing the rose-colored glasses: Resetting U.S. - Turkey relations
No full textIn the midst of a shifting global landscape, the U.S.-Turkey relationship is in a volatile state. Although historically allies, Turkey and the U.S. have begun to drift apart as a result of Turkey’s rising selfconfidence and willingness to act against U.S. interests. This self-confidence comes as a result of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s successful consolidation of power under the guise of Islam and the flourishing economy of the past seventeen years which has led Turkey to develop a range of interests that do not always align with the United States. President Erdoğan’s self-confidence allowed him to go after rivals of the state such as the Gülen Movement and the Kurdish community living in Turkey. These preconditions, discussed in our report’s background section, influenced the divergence of U.S.-Turkey relations in other key regions where Turkish and American interests are interwoven. The divergence of U.S.-Turkey interests marks a new era in the Turkish-American partnership. If the United States is to remain partners with Turkey, it must recognize the state of the relationship as it is now and effectively restructure the relationship so that both states can benefit from their prolonged collaboration
Determining Seaglider Velocities Automatically
No full textDetermination of underwater glider speed along its glide path is critical to recovering important oceanographic observations, including vertical water velocities and depth-averaged currents (DAC), as well as for properly correcting passive flow-dependent sensors, including thermal-inertia effects in unpumped conductivity-temperature (CT) instruments. To estimate these velocities accurately we developed a completely automated flight model system (herein ‘FMS’) that solves the flight model regressions regularly and consistently recovers well-constrained flight model parameters for each dive of a deployment. It is designed to analyze both on-going and completed deployments, providing, in the former case, warnings and suggestions to the pilot about flight performance and parameter settings that could improve glider's navigational performance at sea
The Importance of Discovery Park’s Relative Wildness in the Urban Landscape: History, Human-Nature Interaction, and Just Management
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Discovery Park – Seattle’s largest park spanning 534 acres – has repeatedly been the subject of debates over how to justly manage its vast amount of open green space, specifically in terms of whether or not to allow some form of urban development within or around the park. Proponents for such development argue that much of Discovery Park is underutilized space and could provide more than its current benefits to the community if its use were different. Those who oppose Discovery Park’s development claim that any such disturbance would be in direct contradiction to the park’s Master Plan, which calls for the park to be an “open space of quiet and tranquility” for the community. The unfolding debate over Discovery Park’s management is a microcosm of larger environmental and societal problems that are perpetuated by norms of human domination within capitalist cultures, in which those who support these systems that uphold these lingering colonialist norms (whether intentionally or not) continue to maintain lifestyles that oppress other humans and non-human nature. Those involved in the debate, however, have overlooked the global context and significance of these underlying ethical issues that should have guided their efforts for the balanced management of Discovery Park. For example, the long and recent history of oppression (over Indigenous people and their land) at Discovery Park stands in direct contrast to a space deemed “quiet” and “tranquil” by its Master Plan, and the general lack of attention to this history illuminates a problem in which historical norms of colonization and domination are left unconfronted, and therefore remain structurally embedded within capitalistic cultures and societies and subtly influence the ways in which people value and interact with humans and non-human nature today. In order to better guide efforts that seek justice for both humans and non-human nature through changes in land management, this thesis will respectively discuss the implications of Discovery Park’s past, present, and future use through: 1) outlining a history of Discovery Park’s indigeneity and colonization, discussing why a just outcome must also involve diversifying the voices, values, and perspectives that are represented in these land-use decisions, 2) applying an Interaction Pattern Approach to characterize and quantify the ways in which current people use Discovery Park, investigating claims of the park’s utility through obtaining and coding narrative data of 320 participants who described meaningful interactions with nature in the park, and 3) exploring how maintaining “relatively wild” forms of nature, as seen in places like Discovery Park, could actually unite competing environmental and social claims for local and global justice through its potential ability to afford more meaningful and relational human-nature interactions, in turn deconstructing colonialist norms of domination through fostering a more virtuous society of mindfulness, care, and cooperation toward humans and non-human nature