Benefits of Physical Exercise On Motor and Non Motor Aspects in Parkinson's Disease

Ebony Isaiah, School of Applied Health Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that tends to affect the older adult population. The disease slowly takes away motor functioning and has negative repercussions on the individuals mental health. My research explores the interventions that physical exercise can have on non- motor and motor functions instead of using the medications that are prescribed for PD. The use of medications that are provided with long term use can be detrimental to motor function. The goal of this research is to help maintain health related quality of life and independence for those with PD.

Benthic Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators of water quality on the Mad River

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This project sampled benthic macroinvertebrate communities present at three locations in Humboldt County, California totaling 1642 individuals across 19 families. The composition of taxa differed significantly between upstream and downstream sites (p < 0.0000). Pollution taxa sensitive (Caenidae, Perlodidae, Pteronarcyidae, and Lepidostomatidae were present in the upstream sites and absent from the downstream site.

Benthic Microplastic Distribution in Humboldt Bay, Northern California: A Comparative Study of Surface Sediments Based on Proximity from the Shore

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This study focused on microplastic concentrations in and around Humboldt Bay, CA. Microplastics do not have a universal size class, but for the purpose of this study, microplastics were categorized as any plastic piece from 0.335 mm to 4.75 mm. Samples were taken on Humboldt State's research vessel "Coral Sea", and by foot on land. Both water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed to find the amount of microplastic particles per mass sampled. Visual microscopy was utilized to create counts for each station.

Best Practices in Adolecent Alcohol and Other Drug Interventions

College of Professional Studies

This project explored alcohol and other drug interventions that could be successfully implemented in our rural community, while also focusing on the special needs of foster and homeless youth. My goal was to focus on interventions for youth that are actively using alcohol and drugs, and to pay particular attention to interventions that focused on rural and indigenous youth. Interventions were screened using 6 key criteria. A total of 17 interventions met criteria to be included. Effective interventions were found to be school-based, peer-driven, built community within the school, and focused on developing positive coping skills among youth who participated.

Beyond Surviving—Thriving: A Study of Resilience Protective Factors in Child Welfare Social Workers

College of Professional Studies

The nature of the child welfare social work exposes workers to various forms of trauma impacting the sustainability of this workforce. The retention of social workers has a direct impact on the success or failure of families and children engaged with the child welfare system. Examining protective factors for these workers will increase information about where to focus agency and personal efforts. This is a quantitative study of resilience protective factors measuring resilience, personal meaning, quality of life and post traumatic growth. Findings will help us explore ways to support this workforce and how these factors may impact child welfare worker’s intention to continue in this field.

Beyond the Impact: Traumatic Brain Injuries and Long-Term Association with Neurodegenerative Diseases

Andrea Lugo, School of Applied Health Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

A comprehensive overview of the relationship between traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The poster delves into the critical roles that the proteins tau and beta-amyloid play in the neurodegeneration associated with TBI, suggesting a strong link between TBI and subsequent neurodegenerative conditions. It calls for increased research into treatment strategies and an improved understanding of TBI’s long-term effects.

Bicycling for Exercise Helps Maintain a Youthful Metabolic Cost of Walking in Older Adults

College of Professional Studies

Healthy older adults have been shown to have a 15-20% greater metabolic cost of walking compared to young adults. However, a recent study suggests that older adults who routinely run for exercise have a lower metabolic cost of walking compared to older adults who walk for exercise. It remains unclear if bicycling elicits similar improvements among older adults. PURPOSE: To determine if regular bicycling exercise affects metabolic cost of walking in older adults. RESULTS: Across the range of walking speeds, older bicyclists had a 9-17% lower metabolic cost of walking compared to older walkers. CONCLUSION: Bicycling exercise mitigates the age-related deterioration of walking metabolic cost.

Billing Medi-Cal for Indigenous Cultural Practices

College of Professional Studies

Two Feathers Native American Family Services is becoming a Medi-Cal provider through Humboldt County Mental Health. This will provide new revenue streams for their services but also requires navigating the Medi-Cal billing system. For my masters project, I helped research and compile best billing practices so Two Feathers can effectively bill for their many culturally-based interventions. My poster will highlight the important work Two Feathers is doing and will explain the importance of culturally-based interventions.

Bio-Renewable Hydrogel Polymers from Modified Chitosan: Progress Toward Three Dimensional Cell Growth Scaffolds

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Hydrogels are water-containing gels that have a hydrophilic polymer network and can absorb a large quantity of water without the dissolution of the polymer network. The current research focuses on producing hydrogels from chitosan, a bio-renewable polymer, and trans-cinnamic acid. The resulting solutions are photo-crosslinked in a catalyst-free environment under broad band ultra-violet (UV) radiation to produce hydrogels. The hydrogels show an average 75% swelling capacity in H2O. Initial cell growth studies have been carried out on sterilized hydrogels. Current efforts are being directed towards optimization of gels towards cell growth.

Bio-Renewable Hydrogel Polymers from Modified Chitosan: Progress Towards Three Dimensional Cell Growth Scaffolds

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

The current research focuses on producing hydrogels from chitosan, a bio-renewable bio-compatible and bio-degradable polymer. Hydrogels are used as contact lenses, drug delivery systems, and biomedical applications such as tissue engineering. Chitosan is the deacetylated form of chitin, an abundant biopolymer found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans and insects. Amino acid coupling, using 1-Ethyl-3-(3- dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC), is employed to covalently attach trans-cinnamic acid to the free amine of chitosan. Modified chitosan is then cross-linked under UV irradiation to produce hydrogels. The swelling capacity and sterilizability are currently under investigation.