Global climate models predict a more variable climate in the future through increased frequency of extreme wet and dry years. Since water is the most limiting resource in the Chihuahuan desert, investigating how semi-arid plants respond to precipitation extremes is pertinent to understanding how desert ecosystems will be altered in the future. To study these responses, I experimentally applied an extreme precipitation treatment to black grama, a dominant desert grass, during June and July 2018 in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge before the monsoon season. This experiment supports black grama's ability to survive in the desert with few precipitation events due to its growth response.

Use of herbicides by public and private entities throughout the Yurok ancestral territory, has raised concern for the health of Native peoples exposed to these organic residues on plant materials due to the significant roles that plants have within the Yurok culture (such as basket, medicinal and ceremonial purposes). The herbicides 2,4-D and Triclopyr are analyzed by using organic extraction followed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Additional research was also conducted such as computational calculations on 2,4-D and its derivatives along with more sampling sites added to this herbicide research.

Prescribed fire is a widely used land management technique that accomplishes many important cultural and ecological benefits to people and wildlife. Since 1935, wildfires have been suppressed and prescribed fires have been largely removed from the landscape. This has led to the loss of important cultural practices conducted by tribes in the Klamath Mountains. Prescribed fire is particularly useful for producing hazel plants that are optimal for basket weaving material used by the Karuk tribe. The goal of this study is to develop an allometric equation to quantify the relationship between hazel height and basal diameter and look into fire effects interactions with hazel.

High grade gliomas are aggressive brain cancers that arise from tumor promoting neuronal progenitor cells. The WD40 protein Lethal Giant Larvae (LGL) may suppress brain tumor formation. Mice without LGL develop brain tumors and have a high level of apoptosis, or programmed cell death, which is a key feature of many cancers. cJun is an oncogene involved in cell division, organismal development and regulation of apoptosis through its role as a transcription factor. Apoptosis is mediated downstream by intracellular proteolytic enzymes called caspases. We aim to measure caspase activity in cells with and without LGL protein through observation of its effects on cJun expression.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in planets outside of our solar system, also known as exoplanets. Our research involves looking for trends in these planets’ potential habitability, through archival information about the planet’s radius, its distance from its parent star, and its atmospheric composition. The latter is obtained using transmission spectroscopy, which shows absorption on different regions of the planet’s spectrum depending on the composition of the atmosphere. We are working in collaboration with Dr. Stephen Kane, the creator of the Habitable Zone Gallery, to include the spectroscopic information in this database, which will allow the community to access it.

Although college students have access to many free or low-cost services, a majority do not take advantage of these resources. For decades, researchers have sought solutions to this misalignment of service availability, need, and utilization. Impeding this goal is the lack of a sufficiently broad psychometric instrument that can measure and predict help-seeking in an individual. At this time, no such measure currently exists. The purpose of this study was to develop the College Help-Seeking Behavior Scale (CHSB) to assess college students’ intention and past behavior regarding seeking help from social networks and on-campus services for various problems.

We present the first survey of extremely high velocity outflows (EHVO) in quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release nine quasar catalog (SDSS DR9Q). Our survey draws from the 87,822 spectral targets in DR9Q. EHVO candidates were identified by measurement of one of the transitions due to absorption in carbon ion (C-IV), which appear in the spectrum as broad absorption features. Spectrum analysis was carried out by python codes developed by our group with results confirmed by visual inspection. The presented survey is composed of 45 quasars EHVO ranging in velocity from ~50,000 to 30,000 km/s. Our survey will be made available online as a publicly accessible database.

Student in REC 435 Sustainable Tourism teamed up to write a textbook about Sustainable Tourism. In their efforts, students brainstormed a list of potential topics, clustered finalized topics around main categories, agreed on an overall format for the textbook and required elements for each chapter, researched their individual topics and completed multiple chapter drafts. The completed textbook will be published through Creative Commons and used as a resources in future tourism classes offered through the Recreation Administration program.

Contemporary research does not support psychology’s historical framing of Bondage/discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism (BDSM) as a pathology. Multiple studies have suggested that supportive BDSM communities can play a positive role for people who practice BDSM. Drawing on these finding, this study consisted of a content analysis of top-selling human sexuality textbooks in the U.S. to determine the representation of BDSM. In particular, we explored how references to community experience were or were not represented. This poster reflects the importance of critically analyzing the influence of dominant narratives, social norms, and stigma in human sexuality textbooks.

Direct contact membrane distillation is a thermally driven separation process that can be used for treating wastewater. A solution of hot water and a solution of cold water are placed in direct contact on opposite sides of a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane, causing the contents to separate into distilled water and brine. Due to these properties, DCMD has potential to be used on a larger scale, transforming impaired water bodies into viable sources of drinking water. This particular project is a bench-scale DCMD system and will be used to treat leachate from a landfill in Eureka, before being sent to University of Nevada-Reno to be coupled with a membrane bioreactor.