Promoting Physical Activity and Nutrition in Adolescents

Introduction/Background: In the United States, childhood obesity has become the leading pediatric chronic disease. Increased caloric intake and decreased energy expenditure is hypothesized as contributing to the upward trend of obesity. Independent of adult weight, obese children have increased morbidity and mortality from metabolic syndrome as adults. Individuals engaging in exercise programs as short as 6 months have shown improvement in risk factors including body fat mass, waist/hip ratio, ambulatory systolic blood pressure, fasting insulin, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein ratio. In our study, adolescents were taught a foundation of health and well-being that incorporated regular exercise. Nutrition was taught through an evidence-based systems approach, including lessons about the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal systems. Our aim was to improve adolescent food choices and increase physical activity through interactive educational sessions.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1055/thumbnail.jp

Stem Cell Transplantation As A Dynamical System: Are Clinical Outcomes Deterministic?

Outcomes in stem cell transplantation (SCT) are modeled using probability theory. However the clinical course following SCT appears to demonstrate many characteristics of dynamical systems, especially when outcomes are considered in the context of immune reconstitution. Dynamical systems tend to evolve over time according to mathematically determined rules. Characteristically, the future states of the system are predicated on the states preceding them, and there is sensitivity to initial conditions. In SCT, the interaction between donor T cells and the recipient may be considered as such a system in which, graft source, conditioning and early immunosuppression profoundly influence immune reconstitution over time. This eventually determines clinical outcomes, either the emergence of tolerance or the development of graft versus host disease. In this paper parallels between SCT and dynamical systems are explored and a conceptual framework for developing mathematical models to understand disparate transplant outcomes is proposed.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures. Updated version with additional data, 2 new figures and editorial revisions. New authors adde

Cross-cultural Travel: A Study of How International Travel at a Young Age Impacts Communication Skills as an Adult

Graduate Applie

Branding and Web Design for Inkululeko: With Freedom Comes Hope

My Honors Capstone Project is entitled “Branding and Web Design for Inkululeko: With Freedom Comes Hope.” I worked with a Syracuse native, Jason Torreano, who recently started up an education nonprofit in Grahamstown, South Africa. This program is called Inkululeko, which, in the local Xhosa language, means “freedom.” The organization seeks to combat the inequalities in education that are a result of Apartheid in South Africa. They operate under the belief that anyone deserves a quality education, and that education is the key to success in a place where people have been denied it for so long. This project allowed me to combine my interest in education with my skills in graphic design. I have been tutoring students from Somalia for the past four years at Syracuse, and although their situation is different, I have realized how important education is to a child or teen’s success. So I was drawn to this project because it allowed me to mix two of my passions together for a good cause. I did the majority of my work on this project when school was not in session, because I knew that this was the only time I would be able to design with a clear head. I designed the logo over winter break of my junior year, exchanging ideas with Jason the whole time. I began with sketches, and once we had settled on one that we liked, I began adding colors and typefaces. The finished product is an abstract combination of a sun emerging from a book. As per Jason’s request, the logo’s colors are bright (red, orange and yellow) and evoke a message of hope, change and movement. After I returned from studying abroad in the spring of my junior year, I began work on Inkululeko’s website. I had never designed a real website before, only non-functional mock-ups for class. Since I did not know how to code in HTML/CSS, I enlisted the help of a friend and iSchool student, Julie Dellinger, to code the site for me. After I designed each page in Adobe InDesign, I would send them to her to start coding. The process took the majority of the summer, and extended into the school year. During the fall of my senior year, I took a basic web design class, and am now able to make minor updates to the site at Jason’s request. In the future, Julie plans to create a Wordpress theme from the site, which would allow anyone – even those with no background in web design – to edit the site. In this way, it would function almost like a blog. Additionally, Jason has hired an intern to take my place next year, and I have been training this student and providing her with the necessary materials to carry on what I have started with Inkululeko. View the site: http://www.inkululeko.org

Holocene Vegetation and Climate Dynamics at Two Treeline Lakes, Northwest Territories

Understanding how northern ecosystems responded to past climate change is critical for predicting ecological responses to modern climate change. This thesis reconstructed vegetative responses to Holocene (natural), and modern (anthropogenic) climate change. Sediments were analyzed from Queen’s Lake and McMaster Lake, located ~ 2 kilometers (km) from one another and ~25 km north of the boreal treeline in the shrub tundra, Northwest Territories. Sediments were analyzed for pollen, sedimentary DNA (sedaDNA), organic content, and magnetic susceptibility. Radiometric ages were calculated to infer temporal ecological shifts. In the early Holocene, ~10,500 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP), the climate was cold, organic content in lake sediments was low, and the landscape included herbaceous and shrub tundra. By ~8000 cal yr BP, organic content increased in response to gradual warming. By ~7300 cal yr BP, Picea pollen abundance began to rise at Queen’s Lake, indicating northward advancement of the boreal treeline. Picea pollen continued to rise throughout the mid-Holocene, peaking at ~5600 cal yr BP. This aligns with the DNA record, with Pinaceae DNA being detected at ~5850 cal yr BP, confirming the local presence of trees at the study site. A mix of shrubs, grasses, moss, ferns, and wetland taxa, were also identified in the pollen and DNA records in the mid-Holocene, suggesting that a structurally complex and dynamic vegetative ecosystem had developed. This ecosystem supported large herbivores and predators, with Canis lupus DNA found at ~5850 cal yr BP, and Cervidae and Rangifer tarandus DNA found between ~5380 – 2360 cal yr BP. Following Neoglacial cooling in the late Holocene, the treeline retreated southward to its modern position. However, these results may be limited by poor sedaDNA preservation. Modern warming is occurring at a faster pace than mid-Holocene warming. Despite rapid warming, modern pollen records do not exhibit meaningful or straightforward shifts. Subtle vegetation changes are captured at Queen’s Lake, with an increase in Betula pollen in ~1980. Meanwhile, McMaster Lake shows a decline in shrubs and an increase in Pinus pollen in ~1960. Further monitoring is required to fully understand the fate of boreal ecosystems under a changing climate

Cross-cultural Travel: A Study of How International Travel at a Young Age Impacts Communication Skills as an Adult

The purpose of the study “Cross-cultural Travel: A Study of How International Travel at a Young Age Impacts Communication Skills as an Adult\u27\u27 was to gather the perception of the weight of impact that traveling to foreign countries throughout childhood carries upon the individual later in life. This qualitative research approach focused on individuals who have spent extended periods of time in foreign cultures around the globe and with the inhabitants thereof, and assessed through interviews how past intercultural experiences through childhood contribute to effective engagement and communication throughout adulthood. This research provides insight for the audience in terms of how cross-cultural immersion throughout childhood provides valuable tools and life skills, but also displays the benefits of spending time in foreign cultures, as individuals prove to walk away with an increased understanding of various global lifestyles, regarding cultural norms, intercultural communication, and an applicable sense of how to integrate gained skills daily. This topic provides value through its distinctive findings regarding how intercultural engagement is beneficial for the individual growth and development of human beings, specifically within the realm of communicative behaviors, norms, and practices