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Morphological and chemical analysis of Cladonia chlorophaea S.L. specimens from the E.C. Smith Herbarium, K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre, Acadia University
No full textLichens are a symbiotic organism composed of a photosynthetic and fungal partner. They play an important role in ecosystems, and they are bioindicators of environmental health. The Cladonia chlorophaea group presents taxonomical challenges due to its morphological variability and cryptic diversity. Traditional morphological identification methods such as lichen keys are often insufficient given the very slight differences in closely related species. Chemical analysis is often necessary to confirm the identification of lichens within this group. This study reassesses the collection of lichens identified as C. chlorophaea s.l. from the E.C. Smith Herbarium at Acadia University using a combination of morphology and chemical tests including spot tests, UV fluorescence, and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Fourteen specimens were examined in this study, which led to accurate identification for eight specimens. Three specimens were identified as C. chlorophaea s.s., three as C. merochlorophaea, two as C. grayi, and the remaining six specimens remained under C. chlorophaea s.l. The specimens that were successfully identified to species level contained secondary metabolites that were characteristic for those species, but the remaining six specimens contained an unknown metabolite, therefore, their identities could not be confirmed. Discrepancies between spot test results and TLC analyses suggest that spot tests alone may not be enough for species identification, and that multiple solvent systems should be used when doing TLC for more accurate metabolite identification. This study emphasizes the need for combining morphological and chemical tests to correctly identify species within this group, with DNA sequencing being the best form of identity confirmation. The findings of this study highlight the importance of reassessing herbaria specimens to ensure that lichens are correctly identified within them.</p
Can strawberries be made healthier? How breeding can be adapted to increase carotenoid content in strawberries
No full textStrawberries are an economically and nutritionally important fruit. Their health benefits include being rich in antioxidants which help prevent disease. Carotenoids are a type of antioxidant that have been poorly studied so far in strawberries. I used data collected by researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Kentville to examine variation in carotenoid content across 215 diverse strawberries. Strawberries were grown in Kentville, NS and their carotenoid concentrations were measured using UPLC. The carotenoids measured were antheraxanthin, alpha-Carotene, beta-Carotene, beta-Cryptoxanthin, lutein, neoxanthin, phytoene cluster, violaxanthin, and zeaxanthin. I also used these values to calculate total carotenoid concentration. In addition, several agronomically important traits such as harvest date, fruit weight, and berry colour, were measured. I examined correlations between carotenoids as well as between carotenoids and agronomical traits across these diverse strawberry accessions. Among the 91 pairwise correlations, I identified ten as significant. There were six significant carotenoid-carotenoid correlations and four significant correlations between carotenoids and agronomic traits. The carotenoid-carotenoid correlations tell us that if we breed for high levels of one carotenoid, we may increase the concentration of another carotenoid as well. The agronomic trait correlations tell us valuable information like if we increase berry weight, we are decreasing carotenoid concentration. It is important to understand these correlations when deciding if nutritional value outweighs consumer preferred traits. Ultimately, I find that lutein is likely the most important and promising carotenoid in strawberries due to its presence in 214 of the 215 strawberries evaluated. Future work may include determining the underlying causes of carotenoid abundance variation in strawberries.</p
Data compilation and database creation of Windsor Group fossils in the Windsor-Kennetcook sub-basin, Nova Scotia, Canada
No full textThe late Paleozoic Maritimes Basin had a 120-million-year history that included folding, faulting, exhumation, and salt tectonism. This plethora of structural activity resulted in complicated stratigraphy across the basin and between adjacent sub-basins. One way to effectively correlate stratigraphy across the Maritimes Basin is using biostratigraphy, and one of the most fossiliferous units in this basin is the Windsor Group. In addition to stratigraphic correlation, Windsor Group fossils are important paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic indicators. Many researchers have studied these fossils; however, much of this work has not been published or is housed in governmental or industry reports that are inaccessible to the scientific community. The purpose of this project is to create an open-source Windsor Group fossil database by compiling fossil data from a variety of sources (e.g., journal publications, government reports, 3-D model websites). This project utilizes archival-based research alongside field work to focus on obtaining high-resolution images and creating 3-D models of the different fossil species observed in Windsor Group strata. This material is compiled on the Paleobiology Database, Borealis, and Sketchfab, which are all open-source and searchable platforms. This project creates a foundation for a database can be used in future research projects as a comprehensive, coherent dataset, and an effective tool for fossil identification, stratigraphic correlation, and data management.</p
Sense of belonging and knowledge circulation among international students in Nova Scotia
No full textThis study uses in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews to examine how international students studying in Nova Scotia find a sense of belonging and play a role in circulating knowledge. I conducted eight semi-structured qualitative interviews in the fall of 2024 with seven undergraduate students and one graduate student from Acadia University and Dalhousie University. The results of this study show that polite racism has become salient in multicultural Canada. It also demonstrates how international students are racialized and are affected by the “Canadian nice,” which permeates all parts of international students’ lives. Despite the participants’ experiences of being othered, friendships played a large role in helping international students develop a sense of belonging in Canada. Additionally, international students in this study came to Nova Scotia for a specific program which was either unavailable or less desirable at the universities in their home country, often with the intention of returning home with the knowledge acquired at Acadia or Dalhousie University. These findings suggest that international students in Nova Scotia participate in knowledge circulation and, despite being important to their university community, face constant uncertainty and racism among white Canadian peers. Because of this, along with the distance from home, friendships become the most important way to create a sense of belonging and home for this group of students.</p
Discourses of “normal democracy”: the role of state powers in the perpetuating the Troubles in Northern Ireland
No full textThis thesis critically analyzes the government discourses on the civil conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles, to identify the systemic influence of state power. In scholarship saturated with sectarian analyses of the conflict, this study investigates the role of the dominant social power, the British government, on historic intergroup relations during that time. I employ a critical discourse methodology in reviewing five government documents from British archival sources to analyze thematic patterns of dominance, power and control. Utilizing theories of genealogy, class relations, and hegemony by Foucault, Marx, and Gramsci, respectively, this project reveals the motivations of state actors in a colonial landscape which sustained the conflict for thirty years. I conclude that the discursive patterns of the British government reflect institutionalized hegemonic practices aimed at upholding their authority over the colonized Northern Irish state. The dominant colonial power masked their political motivations by weaponizing the historical tensions between the religious and political sects in the country. Instilling notions of group animosity through language and institutions allowed Britain to remain in authority. This work indicates the need for further investigation regarding the colonial power imbalances operating covertly within the prominent religious tensions defining Northern Irish history.</p
Things are taking shape; investigating leaf morphology in Malus spp.
No full textSpecies of the genus Malus feature a wide array of leaf shapes, ranging from smaller elliptical leaves to larger highly lobed ones. The leaf shape of plants holds more value than use as a descriptor, with the leaf shape and size playing many roles in their health. Despite their longstanding use in both ornamental and agricultural applications, little work has been done to quantify and characterize leaf shape of a species and the variation of shape among species across a genus. Scans of over 4,000 leaves from 18 Malus species were converted to binary images using ImageJ, and shape measurements for each leaf were obtained through the use of Python functions. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) found that the main sources of leaf shape variation within the dataset were due to changes in aspect ratio (PC1) and solidity (PC3) values. Leaves originating from North America and Asia were found to have distinctively different PC1 values, while analysis of species-level variation in PC1 values presented a range of various relationships. Continent-level linear discriminant analysis (LDA) yielded high prediction accuracies, suggesting that leaves from each continent have distinct morphologies. Species-level LDA presented cases in which certain species had high false prediction accuracies as other species, suggesting that the pairs shared similar morphologies. PCA and LDA results serve as the groundwork for additional exploration into the phylogenetic relatedness of species as well as the effect of climatic variables on shape.</p
Avert your eyes: investigating the impact of trigger warning messaging on physiological measures of avoidant behaviour
No full textTrigger warnings are widely-debated tools designed to prepare individuals, particularly those with trauma histories, before they are shown distressing content. While prior research has focused on trigger warnings’ psychological impact, less attention has been given to their potential influence on physiological avoidance behaviors. In the current study, self-reported negative affect and physiological avoidance behaviors (i.e., dwell time on disturbing content; blink rates) were measured. This study also further examined the effectiveness of a modified trigger warning, designed to present distress as normal and manageable, compared to a traditional trigger warning and no warning. The aim was to determine whether modified warnings reduce distress and increase adaptive coping at the physiological level (i.e., reduced avoidance). Data from 56 participants was analyzed in this study. The results revealed no difference in negative affect, dwell time, or blink rate across the three trigger warning conditions (traditional trigger warning, modified trigger warning, control condition). This study provided new information relevant to the potential effects of trigger warnings. It also extended knowledge about physiological reactions to emotion-inducing content. Further research should be conducted exploring a broader scope of physiological variables (e.g., heart rate, face expressions, skin conductance) in relation to trigger warnings.Keywords: trigger warnings, acceptance, negative affect, avoidant coping strategies, physiological measures</p
Some results regarding finite linear cellular automata modulo prime powers
No full textOur focus with this thesis will be on extending previous results obtained for finite linear cellular automata. Specifically, we will show that many properties of finite linear cellular automata with prime moduli also extend to the case of prime-power moduli. When the modulus is prime, the configuration space for our automata of interest forms a vector space, and many nice results regarding vector spaces can be directly utilised (such as the Primary Decomposition Theorem). However, when the modulus is a prime-power, our configuration space instead forms a module. While structurally very similar, modules are in general harder to work with. To overcome this difficulty, we will make use of the numerous connections between linear cellular automata with prime moduli and their corresponding systems with prime-power moduli (e.g. using a system modulo 5 to make conclusions about systems mod 25, 125, etc.). It turns out that, by exploring the similarities between systems with prime and prime-power moduli, we can show a lot to be true about the prime-power case which would otherwise be inaccessible if we focused solely on the prime-power case.First, a few motivating examples will be discussed. Next, any relevant background information needed to understand the terminology, notation, or techniques used will be covered. The rest of the thesis will be dedicated to proving results about the following aspects of finite linear cellular automata: the multiplicative orders of matrices and vectors, the generators of annihilating polynomial ideals for vectors in the case of a prime-power moduli, the structure of a particular subset of vectors in our modules known as the “core”, and the existence of vectors with particular multiplicative orders known as “maximal vectors”. A brief section at the end will be set aside for mentioning possible avenues for future work on linear cellular automata.</p
Preparing Canadian Baptist Ministries family units for missional engagement in collectivist cultures
No full textThe purpose of this thesis was to determine how Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) can best prepare its field staff for cross-cultural holistic engagement in collectivist cultures as field staff family units. The focus is on CBM field staff serving in regions of the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia-Pacific, where there are a significant percentage of Muslims in the general population. The research used a qualitative case study where three CBM office staff and nine CBM field staff participated in answering open-ended questions to record the experiences of the field staff family during the pre-field, on-field, and post-field stages of their journey. The qualitative findings indicated that though there were a number of issues identified that needed attention by CBM to better support its field staff families, the field staff family has a unique role in engaging with Muslims in collectivist cultures. By leveraging the strengths of all the members of the field staff family unit, both adults and children, the family can make a significant impact in the field. The primary practical outcome of this research is the development and introduction of an orientation package entitled, The BETAB Project: A Learning Journey for a Family on a Mission, to support its field staff families.</p
Something bigger than yourself: the influence of sport on body-image perceptions and identity among U-Sports football linemen
No full textSport provides an interesting context with which to study the constructs of the self. Within sport, the way in which we understand out body becomes tightly intertwined with the fulfillment of various identities. This relationship has been previously explored in sports that place demands of thinness on athletes, but no work has explored the perceptions of athletes in sports that demand large bodies. In response, two studies were conducted to understand the role that sport plays in how Canadian varsity football linemen make sense of their bodies. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) found that identity processes manifested in the experiences of offensive linemen through a reframing of their bodies, a sense of belonging, tensions between body priorities, and an awareness of football as being temporary. An autoethnography then supplemented the findings of the IPA, but also explored the effects of forced retirement on offensive linemen in football.</p