This project presents a unique approach to mapping the Maya landscape of Northwestern Belize. The basis of the research will explore various GIS and cartographic techniques to manipulate and visualize geospatial data to map and produce a model to assist with predictive site survey of archaeological structures. As a result of this research, various images of relief visualization will be produced to help with pre-field planning for the summer 2018 field season. This project is part of the Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao Archaeology Project (DH2GC) led by Dr. Marisol Cortes-Rincon at Humboldt State University.

While walking on the ground and using a treadmill are the standard mode of exercise, treadmill walking has gained popularity recently. Treadmills are more efficient and reliable because of the better control of speed, and grade, and can be used in all weather conditions. Even though multiple studies looked over the impact of surfaces at different inclines at biomechanics (gait, impact forces, tibial acceleration, and muscle activation), still the impact of surfaces has not been examined using different treadmill manufacturers while comparing high-incline (20%) with low-incline (1%).

Invasive plant encroachment threatens native fauna and flora in the coastal dunes. Herbivores play an important role in the composition of plant communities. In this study, I measured black-tailed deer habitat use in relation to the invasive coastal lupine in order to better understand the relationship between herbivores and the dune ecosystem.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the therapeutic potential of exercise as an adjunctive treatment for substance use disorder, with the focus on three target problematic areas, in chronic use and relapse. 1. Regulation of the stress response or the HPA axis. 2. Promotion of neuroplasticity through BDNF expression. 3. Activation of natural dopamine reward pathways. This research will evaluate exercise's efficacy in building stress resilience, facilitating neural repair, and satisfying altered reward circuitry - thereby reducing susceptibility to relapse triggers. Potentially legitimizing its use as a low-cost, sustainable adjunct to current rehabilitation strategies.

Trauma is repeated throughout a victim’s life, but the biological mechanisms of its recurrence (revictimization), even though understood biologically, are not accepted or discussed in all disciplines. To understand these issues, I conducted a synthesis of existing scientific research on revictimization. Sociological research revealed that initial trauma and revictimization are in a positive feedback loop, with incidences of one increasing the other. In biology, however, this loop has been acknowledged but has not been integrated into these disciplines. Recognizing the existence of this biological feedback loop has the potential to mitigate the damage of past, present, and future trauma.

Combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills are used more commonly than any other method of contraception, with over 22 million users worldwide. Although many studies have investigated the potential health-related side effects of hormonal contraceptive use, relatively less research has investigated the potential psychological side effects of COCs despite the fact that many women anecdotally report such side effects. The current meta-analysis analyzes mood outcomes in the literature and finds a small but significant mood improvement following initiation of COCs.

Various studies have documented gender inequity in scientific fields, including medicine, computational biology, the physical sciences, and ecology. A clear indicator of this bias can be seen in the disparity between men and women authorship of scientific papers. This study describes gender diversity in wildlife publishing across institutions, countries, and study species taxa in recent decades. We reviewed all research articles published in the Journal of Wildlife Management from 1999 to 2020 and collected author names and affiliations. We classified the gender of each author using Genderize.io, and calculated the men:women ratio of first and co-authors over time.

The American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is a highly invasive species that has successfully colonized different habitats around the world. Our project’s objective is to isolate and characterize the genetic diversity of a rapidly evolving immune gene in an invasive bullfrog population in California’s Sutter National Wildlife Refuge. The level of genetic variability in a population may help determine how resistant a population is pathogens and how persistent an invasive population may be over time. We compared the genetic diversity within this population to that found in other frog populations, including both native and non-native populations.

When we eat food, we don't tend to think about its agricultural history and origins. An effective way to learn this history is by looking to the original Indigenous peoples' relationships with this food. This is a look at a plant/food we heavily value in the present day: chocolate, otherwise known as cacao. Though we presently have it all around the world in a variety of methods of consumption, this poster will help inform the ways in which cacao was used by Indigenous peoples of North and South America. Studying the past uses of this plant in compared to current uses will provide a thought-provoking learning experience that allows us to reassess our own present uses of cacao.

We examined the role of social support and perceptions of stress in predicting college students' degree commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students high in threat appraisals tend to interpret stressors as harmful or anxiety-inducing. These negative dispositional perceptions of stress are linked to lower motivation. Meanwhile, greater social support is related to greater college persistence, although students’ ability to cope can mitigate the beneficial effects of social support. We found support for a moderating effect of threat appraisals on the relationship between social support and degree commitment. Implications for student success and the importance of reappraisals are discussed.