Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to an organism’s fitness and have been a strong selective pressure throughout human evolution. Although we have evolved a sophisticated biological response to pathogenic threat, it can be quite costly to engage the physiological immune system. The Behavioral Immune System encompasses a suite of psychological mechanisms that bias our cognitions and behaviors to facilitate pathogen avoidance. The potential link between the behavioral and physiological immune systems in relatively understudied. The current study aimed to replicate and extend previous work on this link by introducing an additional live pathogenic cue (a "sick" confederate).

The Costco-Price Collection is an assortment of historic artifacts excavated in 1994 from the current Costco site and former city dump in Eureka, California. A portion (619 artifacts) was kept as a teaching collection in the Archaeology Research Laboratory at Humboldt State University, and has been used to educate students and encourage interest in California archaeology. This presentation will showcase the rehabilitation of this collection from its original inherited state in 2013 to its current incarnation as a useful and coherent resource through the three-year timeline.

The bright red cloak and fearsome white bonnet featured in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood has been internationally recognized as a symbol for protest. Bruce Miller’s Hulu adaptation of the novel propelled this new wave of activism. I argue that the costume functions as a metonym, reacting to larger issues concerning women’s rights. This study examines whether the uniform is a viable protest image or is it being co-opted to get people to buy into a certain social and political system?

We use grades to categorize student achievement and provide feedback, but is this really the best way to foster accountability, prompt meta-cognition, and instill students with an intrinsic love of learning? Despite the near ubiquitous acceptance of grading as a standard feature of secondary and post-secondary education, educational philosophers and educational practitioners have had reservations about grading–practically since its inception. If grading does not lead to the best outcomes for our students, what shall we do instead? "The Case for Ungraded" is a poster created and presented by Alexandria Rumbel, a graduate student in the Master’s of Education program at Cal Poly Humboldt.

North American river otters are a regular sight to see in the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary and have been observed to exhibit different behaviors and activities in various locations of the marsh. By using ArcGIS Pro, visual observations of river otters made by Jeff Black over the course of two years have been mapped out depending on their behavior and activity. I focused on mapping three main behaviors that otters exhibit in the marsh: fishing for fish or invertebrates, hunting for birds, or traveling to/from or through the marsh.

The Humboldt County office of education (in partnership with HSU students is preparing) the environmentalist of the future by integrating their Classroom Aquarium Education Program with their Redwood Edventure Program in an effort to educate K-12 students on the value of aquatic environments. Their lessons speak to the balance that must be met to maintain and preserve California's fisheries and habitats and actively engage students to get up and out into their local environments where they can then see how our personal actions affect valuable resources.

For ideafest, we plan to enlighten our fellow Humboldtians on how Native tribes are helping to save the bison from extinction. Bison have played a key role in Native culture, especially in the great plains . The Sioux and Assiniboine tribes of Fork pecks currently have the largest restoration herd, with up to 340 bison living and thriving on their lands. We major in zoology, so we decided to focus in on this subject because we are passionate about the wellbeing of animals and it is a clear bridge between Indigenous people, animals, and their culture. Thereby, a connection between NAS and Zoology is born and recognized :) .

Large woody debris (LWD) in rivers can increase fish and macroinvertebrate habitat, but also increases the risk of flooding and reduces channel navigability. This research aims to better understand the river hydraulics associated with LWD in order to find a balance between the beneficial and detrimental effects. By modifying equations of turbulent pipe flow, we attempt to estimate the vertical velocity profile of flow under LWD jams and compare the estimated profile to measured profiles from flume-simulated LWD jams.

Our project investigates the cross-talk between cells contained within the human coronary atherosclerotic plaque using single-cell technologies. We mapped the transcriptome of the plaque using 10x transcriptomics and validated our findings with immunohistochemistry and in vitro assays. We found a predominance of memory T cells suggesting T cells were recruited by antigen engagement with their cognate peptide presented by myeloid cells. Using in vitro assays, we also found activation of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic pathways in smooth muscle cells after exposure to T cell cytokines. Our analysis suggests that T cells communicate with myeloid and smooth muscle cells within the plaque

The objective of my study is to determine relative abundance and species diversity of avian species in dune habitat by comparing point counts conducted in burned sections of prescribed fires that were either treated or untreated with herbicides prior to application of fire compared to unburned areas of invasive beach grass or native dune mat. The prescribed fire event was conducted last fall in Loleta's Ocean Ranch Unit, and I am seeking to inform CDFW and Cal Fire on the potential effects of the burn on birds, with the goal of restoring our dunes to habitat with native vegetation.