Showing papers by "Augustana College (Illinois) published in 2013"

Conditions favouring Bromus tectorum dominance of endangered sagebrush steppe ecosystems

Abstract: Summary 1. Ecosystem invasibility is determined by combinations of environmental variables, invader attributes, disturbance regimes, competitive abilities of resident species and evolutionary history between residents and disturbance regimes. Understanding the relative importance of each factor is critical to limiting future invasions and restoring ecosystems. 2. We investigated factors potentially controlling Bromus tectorum invasions into Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis communities across 75 sites in the Great Basin. We measured soil texture, cattle grazing intensity, gaps among perennial plants and plant cover including B. tectorum, biological soil crusts (BSCs) and bare soil. Using a priori knowledge, we developed a multivariate hypothesis of the susceptibility of Artemisia ecosystems to B. tectorum invasion and used the model to assess the relative importance of the factors driving the magnitude of such invasions. 3. Model results imply that bunchgrass community structure, abundance and composition, along with BSC cover, play important roles in controlling B. tectorum dominance. Evidence suggests abundant bunchgrasses limit invasions by limiting the size and connectivity of gaps between vegetation, and BSCs appear to limit invasions within gaps. Results also suggest that cattle grazing reduces invasion resistance by decreasing bunchgrass abundance, shifting bunchgrass composition, and thereby increasing connectivity of gaps between perennial plants while trampling further reduces resistance by reducing BSC. 4. Synthesis and applications. Grazing exacerbates Bromus tectorum dominance in one of North America’s most endangered ecosystems by adversely impacting key mechanisms mediating resistance to invasion. If the goal is to conserve and restore resistance of these systems, managers should consider maintaining or restoring: (i) high bunchgrass cover and structure characterized by spatially dispersed bunchgrasses and small gaps between them; (ii) a diverse assemblage of bunchgrass species to maximize competitive interactions with B. tectorum in time and space; and (iii) biological soil crusts to limit B. tectorum establishment. Passive restoration by reducing cumulative cattle grazing may be one of the most effective means of achieving these three goals.

Window area and development drive spatial variation in bird-window collisions in an urban landscape.

Abstract: Collisions with windows are an important human-related threat to birds in urban landscapes. However, the proximate drivers of collisions are not well understood, and no study has examined spatial variation in mortality in an urban setting. We hypothesized that the number of fatalities at buildings varies with window area and habitat features that influence avian community structure. In 2010 we documented bird-window collisions (BWCs) and characterized avian community structure at 20 buildings in an urban landscape in northwestern Illinois, USA. For each building and season, we conducted 21 daily surveys for carcasses and nine point count surveys to estimate relative abundance, richness, and diversity. Our sampling design was informed by experimentally estimated carcass persistence times and detection probabilities. We used linear and generalized linear mixed models to evaluate how habitat features influenced community structure and how mortality was affected by window area and factors that correlated with community structure. The most-supported model was consistent for all community indices and included effects of season, development, and distance to vegetated lots. BWCs were related positively to window area and negatively to development. We documented mortalities for 16/72 (22%) species (34 total carcasses) recorded at buildings, and BWCs were greater for juveniles than adults. Based on the most-supported model of BWCs, the median number of annual predicted fatalities at study buildings was 3 (range = 0–52). These results suggest that patchily distributed environmental resources and levels of window area in buildings create spatial variation in BWCs within and among urban areas. Current mortality estimates place little emphasis on spatial variation, which precludes a fundamental understanding of the issue. To focus conservation efforts, we illustrate how knowledge of the structural and environmental factors that influence bird-window collisions can be used to predict fatalities in the broader landscape.

Whole-exome sequencing supports genetic heterogeneity in childhood apraxia of speech

Abstract: Background Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a rare, severe, persistent pediatric motor speech disorder with associated deficits in sensorimotor, cognitive, language, learning and affective processes. Among other neurogenetic origins, CAS is the disorder segregating with a mutation in FOXP2 in a widely studied, multigenerational London family. We report the first whole-exome sequencing (WES) findings from a cohort of 10 unrelated participants, ages 3 to 19 years, with well-characterized CAS.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) in two patients with 16p11.2 microdeletion syndrome

Abstract: We report clinical findings that extend the phenotype of the ~550 kb 16p11.2 microdeletion syndrome to include a rare, severe, and persistent pediatric speech sound disorder termed Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). CAS is the speech disorder identified in a multigenerational pedigree ('KE') in which half of the members have a mutation in FOXP2 that co-segregates with CAS, oromotor apraxia, and low scores on a nonword repetition task. Each of the two patients in the current report completed a 2-h assessment protocol that provided information on their cognitive, language, speech, oral mechanism, motor, and developmental histories and performance. Their histories and standard scores on perceptual and acoustic speech tasks met clinical and research criteria for CAS. Array comparative genomic hybridization analyses identified deletions at chromosome 16p11.2 in each patient. These are the first reported cases with well-characterized CAS in the 16p11.2 syndrome literature and the first report of this microdeletion in CAS genetics research. We discuss implications of findings for issues in both literatures.

Study of two-neutron radioactivity in the decay of 26O.

Abstract: A new technique was developed to measure the lifetimes of neutron unbound nuclei in the picosecond range. The decay of $^{26}\mathrm{O}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{24}\mathrm{O}+n+n$ was examined as it had been predicted to have an appreciable lifetime due to the unique structure of the neutron-rich oxygen isotopes. The half-life of $^{26}\mathrm{O}$ was extracted as ${4.5}_{\ensuremath{-}1.5}^{+1.1}(\mathrm{stat})\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3(\mathrm{syst})\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{ps}$. This corresponds to $^{26}\mathrm{O}$ having a finite lifetime at an 82% confidence level and, thus, suggests the possibility of two-neutron radioactivity.

Bi-directional signaling: extracellular matrix and integrin regulation of breast tumor progression.

Abstract: Cell transformation and tumor progression involve a common set of acquired capabilities, including increased proliferation, failure of cell death, self-sufficiency in growth, angiogenesis, and tumor cell invasion and metastasis. The stromal environment consists of many cell types and various extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that support normal tissue maintenance and which have been implicated in tumor progression. Both the chemical and mechanical properties of the ECM have been shown to influence normal and malignant cell behavior. For instance, mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into specific lineages that are dependent on matrix stiffness, while tumor cells undergo changes in cell behavior and gene expression in response to matrix stiffness. ECM remodeling is implicated in tumor progression and can result in increased deposition of stromal ECM, enhanced contraction of ECM fibrils, and altered collagen alignment and ECM stiffness. Tumor cells respond to changes in ECM remodeling through altered intracellular signaling and cell cycle control that lead to enhanced proliferation, loss of normal tissue architecture, and local tumor cell migration and invasion. This review focuses on the bi-directional interplay between the mechanical properties of the ECM and integrin-mediated signal transduction events in an effort to elucidate cell behaviors during tumor progression.

Resisting Federal–Local Immigration Enforcement Partnerships: Redefining ‘Secure Communities’ and Public Safety

Abstract: Constructing undocumented immigrants as a security threat has allowed the US government to justify extraordinary measures that have pushed immigration enforcement increasingly inward from the border to states, counties, municipalities, and sheriff and police departments. The Secure Communities program, which integrates federal criminal and immigration databases to identify and deport undocumented immigrants, represents only the latest attempt. Most of the academic literature on local immigration enforcement has elaborated on the diffuse, ubiquitous and often paralyzing nature of the biopolitical power of the state vis-a-vis undocumented immigrants. In contrast, in this article, we focus on the contestations that challenge and go beyond repressive state power. We conceive of these not simply as a reaction to state techniques of power, but as productive and affirmative power that promotes alternative imaginaries and institutional change. As the Obama administration has sought to roll out the program to ever...

The contribution of a frequency-compression hearing aid to contralateral cochlear implant performance

Abstract: Background: Frequency-lowering signal processing in hearing aids has re-emerged as an option toimprove audibility of the high frequencies by expanding the input bandwidth. Few studies have inves-tigated the usefulness of the scheme as an option for bimodal users (i.e., combined use of a cochlearimplant and a contralateral hearing aid). In this study, that question was posed.Purpose: The purposes of this study were (1) to determine if frequency compression was a better bimo-dal option than conventional amplification and (2) to determine the impact of a frequency-compressionhearing aid on speech recognition abilities.ResearchDesign: Thereweretwoseparateexperimentsinthisstudy.Thefirstexperimentinvestigatedthe contribution of a frequency-compression hearing aid to contralateral cochlear implant (CI) perform-ance for localization and speech perception in noise. The second experiment assessed monaural con-sonant and vowel perception in quiet using the frequency-compression and conventional hearing aidwithout the use of a contralateral CI or hearing aid.StudySample:Tensubjectsfittedwithacochlearimplantandhearingaidparticipatedinthefirstexperi-ment.Seventeenadultsubjectswithacochlearimplantandhearingaidortwohearingaidsparticipatedinthe second experiment. To be included, subjects had to have a history of postlingual deafness, a mod-erate or moderate-to-severe hearing loss, and have not worn this type of frequency-lowering hearing aidpreviously.Data Collection and Analysis: In the first experiment, performance using the frequency-compressionandconventionalhearingaidswasassessedontestsofsoundlocalization,speechperceptioninaback-ground of noise, and two self-report questionnaires. In the second experiment, consonant and vowelperception in quiet was assessed monaurally for the two conditions. In both experiments, subjects alter-nateddailybetweenafrequency-compression and conventionalhearingaidfor 2mo. Theparametersoffrequency compression were set individually for each subject, and audibility was measured for the fre-quency compression and conventional hearing aid programs by comparing estimations of the SpeechIntelligibilityIndex(SII)usingamodifiedalgorithm(Bentleretal,2011).Inbothexperiments,theoutcomemeasureswereadministeredfollowingthehearingaidfittingtoassessperformanceatbaselineandafter2 mo of use.Results:Forthisgroupofsubjects,theresultsrevealednosignificantdifferencebetweenthefrequency-compression and conventional hearing aid on tests of localization and consonant recognition. Spondee-in-noiseand vowelperceptionscoresweresignificantlyhigher withthe conventionalhearingaidcomparedto the frequency-compression hearing aid after 2 mo of use.Conclusions: These results suggest that, for the subjects in this study, frequency compression is not abetter bimodal option than conventional amplification. In addition, speech perception may be negatively*DepartmentofCommunicationSciencesandDisorders,AugustanaCollege;†DepartmentofCommunicationSciencesandDisorders,Universityof Iowa; ‡Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, University of IowaAnn E. Perreau, 639 38th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201; Phone: 309-794-8935; Fax: 309-794-3497; E-mail: annperreau@augustana.eduPhonakAGprovideddevicesforthisstudy.TheGraduateCollegeandtheDepartmentofCommunicationSciencesandDisordersattheUniversityof Iowa contributed financially.J Am Acad Audiol 24:105–120 (2013)

Immigrant Ambivalence Toward the Homeland: The Case of Iraqis in Helsinki and Rome

Abstract: This article seeks to contribute to our understanding of the social psychology of migrants by introducing the idea of ambivalence as a central feature of the migration experience. Building on the contribution of Neil Smelser, we follow his lead in linking the idea of ambivalence to Albert Hirschman's treatment of exit, loyalty, and voice. The data utilized herein derive from a larger study of Iraqi immigrants in Helsinki and Rome. We make use of 48 open-ended interviews, half conducted in each city. Our focus is on the ambivalence of immigrants toward their country of origin. We find evidence that ambivalence is common and the reactions to it vary along the lines suggested by Hirschman.

Designing Interdisciplinary Science/Humanities Courses: Challenges and Solutions

Abstract: Interdisciplinary teaching requires substantial effort to integrate the disciplines, especially when a wide interdisciplinary gap exists, such as when a course bridges the sciences and humanities. Creating successful science/humanities courses requires more than good intentions; it demands awareness of the challenges that faculty encounter in such courses, along with specific strategies to meet these challenges. We compile findings from theories, case studies, and instructional guides in the interdisciplinary literature, along with faculty interviews and our own teaching experience, to present seven main challenges and suggested strategies for each.

First observation of the 13 Li ground state

Abstract: The ground state of neutron-rich unbound ${}^{13}$Li was observed for the first time in a one-proton removal reaction from ${}^{14}$Be at a beam energy of 53.6 MeV/u. The ${}^{13}$Li ground state was reconstructed from ${}^{11}$Li and two neutrons giving a resonance energy of 120${}_{\ensuremath{-}80}^{+60}$ keV. All events involving single- and double-neutron interactions in the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) were analyzed, simulated, and fitted self-consistently. The three-body (${}^{11}\text{Li}+n+n$) correlations within Jacobi coordinates showed strong dineutron characteristics. The decay energy spectrum of the intermediate ${}^{12}$Li system (${}^{11}\text{Li}+n$) was described with an $s$-wave scattering length of greater than $\ensuremath{-}4$ fm, which is a smaller absolute value than reported in a previous measurement.

Behavioral niche partitioning in a sympatric tiger beetle assemblage and implications for the endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle

Abstract: How behavioral patterns are related to niche partitioning is an important question in understanding how closely related species within ecological communities function. Behavioral niche partitioning associated with thermoregulation is well documented in tiger beetles as a group. Co-occurring species of salt flat tiger beetles have adapted many thermoregulatory behaviors to cope with this harsh ecosystem. On first examination these beetles appear to occur in overlapping microhabitats and therefore compete for resources. To determine if behavioral niche partitioning is allowing multiple species to occur within the same harsh salt flat ecosystem we observed Cicindela nevadica lincolniana, Cicindela circumpicta, Cicindela fulgida, and Cicindela togata between 8:00 h and 21:00 h and recorded all behaviors related to thermoregulation using a digital voice recorder. Results of this study strongly indicate that competition among these species for resources has been reduced by the adaptation of different thermoregulatory behaviors such as spending time in shallow water, avoiding the sun during the hottest parts of the day, and by positioning their body against or away from the soil. The endangered C. n. lincolniana appears to rely most heavily on the shallow water of seeps for their diurnal foraging behavior (potentially limiting their foraging habitat), but with the advantage of allowing foraging during the hottest times of the day when potential competitors are less frequent. Ironically, this association also may help explain C. n. lincolniana's susceptibility to extinction: beyond the loss of saline wetlands generally, limited seeps and pools even within remaining saline habitat may represent a further habitat limitation within an already limited habitat.

Evaluation of an intervention to increase self-efficacy for independent exercise in cardiac rehabilitation.

Abstract: Adherence to independent exercise is an essential outcome of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), yet limited theory-based interventions to improve adherence exist. This study tested the effects of an intervention based on Bandura's conceptualization of self-efficacy. The self-efficacy coaching intervention (SCI), a supplement to standard care, was designed to increase self-efficacy for independent exercise and independent exercise behavior in CR. We examined whether the SCI vs. attention control (AC) resulted in improved exercise self-efficacy (ESE), barriers self-efficacy (BARSE), and minutes of independent exercise for CR participants (n = 65). While between-group differences did not reach significance (p > .10) for any of the outcome measures, significant within-group changes were noted in BARSE scores and independent exercise (p < .001) for the SCI group. Change in independent exercise for the AC group was also significant (p =. 006). Further study is needed to explore whether short-term changes translate into maintenance of independent exercise participation after program completion.

Sidestepping awkward encounters: avoidance as a response to outperformance‐related discomfort

Abstract: When people believe that their higher performance poses a threat to another person, they may experience discomfort or concern that has been termed Sensitivity to being the Target of a Threatening Upward Comparison (STTUC). One way to reduce STTUC discomfort might be to avoid contact with the outperformed person, a possibility examined in three studies of undergraduates. In laboratory contexts, STTUC discomfort predicted reluctance to meet an outperformed peer (Study 1) and preference for a different partner in future competitions (Study 2). In Study 3, which focused on naturalistic outperformance situations, STTUC distress again predicted avoidance. Additionally, avoidance of contact predicted less satisfaction with outcomes, especially in relationships where people knew each other well.

Mis)Reading Muslims and Multiculturalism

Abstract: This paper offers a review and conceptual reflection on fears about the Muslim pres ence and lack of inclusion into Western European societies and the core features of criticisms of multiculturalism. It does so by first addressing the misreadings of Islam and multiculturalism in influential works by Christopher Caldwell and Paul Scheffer. It then addresses the main points of their critiques by examining the role of the state in Muslim incorporation, framing multicultur alism theoretically in terms of claims-making, and offering evidence of the ways in which Muslim claims-making has occurred.

Exploiting Neutron-rich Radioactive Ion Beams To Constrain The Symmetry Energy

Abstract: The Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) and 4 Tm Sweeper magnet were used to measure the free neutrons and heavy charged particles from the radioactive ion beam induced ${}^{32}$Mg+${}^{9}$Be reaction The fragmentation reaction was simulated with the constrained molecular dynamics model (CoMD), which demonstrated that the $\ensuremath{\langle}N/Z\ensuremath{\rangle}$ of the heavy fragments and free neutron multiplicities were observables sensitive to the density dependence of the symmetry energy at subsaturation densities Through comparison of these simulations with the experimental data, constraints on the density dependence of the symmetry energy were extracted The advantage of radioactive ion beams as a probe of the symmetry energy is demonstrated through examination of CoMD calculations for stable and radioactive-beam-induced reactions

Learning by Doing: Performance Assessment of Information Literacy across the First-Year Curriculum

Abstract: In the 2011–2012 school year, the instruction librarians at Augustana College, Illinois, changed their assessment approach in the college's required first-year sequence to focus on higher-level information literacy concepts. The librarians replaced a quantitative assessment instrument with performance assessments, which they integrated into their first-year library sessions. Although the sequence is taught by many faculty with diverse assignments, these new assessments could be applied organically across sections yet provide generalizable results. This case study describes that assessment project and its initial findings, analyzes the project's implications, and suggests how other college libraries might adopt similar qualitative assessments.

Associations between caregiving, social support, and well-being among parents of children with childhood apraxia of speech.

Abstract: This study tested a path model that examined the impact of contextual caregiving variables (i.e., severity of child's symptoms, caregiving demands, and perceived caregiving) and different forms of received romantic partner social support (i.e., emotional, esteem, network, tangible, and information) on depressive and somatic symptoms among parents with a child diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), a severe childhood speech disorder. In total, 169 parents of a child with CAS participated in this study. Results provide some support for one stress process model of caregiving, which further highlights the need to look at relational variables as mediators between contextual stressors and health outcomes in caregiving contexts.

Circulating Practices: Migration and Translocal Development in Washington D.C. and Cochabamba, Bolivia

Abstract: Migrant remittances are increasingly seen as a potential form of development in the global South, but the impact of international migration on sending regions is far from straightforward. In this article, I analyze migrant communities of origin in rural Bolivia as dynamic places that are constantly reproduced through connections with other places. I document the movement of migrant practices between Washington D.C. and Cochabamba and the influence of monetary and non-monetary flows on Bolivian cultural practices, politics, and development. I demonstrate how hometown associations and returning migrants have transferred organizational practices and political ideas about development from the United States to rural Bolivia. In addition, I explore migration’s role in struggles over belonging in Cochabamba, focusing on the efforts by migrants in Washington D.C. to stake their claim through transnational houses and collective remittance projects and on recent internal migration from other regions in Bolivia. Finally, I assess the sustainability of migrant-led development in Cochabamba. Although collaboration with migrants can strengthen the local state by providing more resources, it conditions the type of development that can take place and has yet to provide adequate opportunities for returning migrants or young people in rural Bolivia.

Observation Of Ground-State Two-Neutron Decay

Abstract: Neutron decay spectroscopy has become a successful tool to explore nuclear properties of nuclei with the largest neutron-to-proton ratios. Resonances in nuclei located beyond the neutron dripline are accessible by kinematic reconstruction of the decay products. The development of two-neutron detection capabilities of the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) at NSCL has opened up the possibility to search for unbound nuclei which decay by the emission of two neutrons. Specifically this exotic decay mode was observed in 16Be and 26O.

The forgotten self-talk attribute: examining perceived effectiveness profiles and patterns of elite female junior soccer players.

Abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the role of "perceived effectiveness" as a relevant self-talk (ST) attribute using an exploratory instrument designed to measure multiple ST dimensions/attributes as well as psychosocial correlate variables. A sample of 214 adolescent female soccer players were surveyed while participating in an Olympic Development Program Regional Camp. Correlational analysis demonstrated moderate relationships between perceived ST frequency and effectiveness and psychosocial correlates, with perceived effectiveness correlations similar to, or stronger than, frequency relationships. Cluster analysis identified three perceived ST effectiveness profiles (i.e., effective, ineffective and strategy-users), and MANOVA results found the effective ST profile demonstrated significantly more positive psychosocial outcomes than did the other two profiles, supporting perceived effectiveness as a key self-talk process attribute.

All-Fiber, Wavelength and Repetition-Rate Tunable, Ultrafast Pulse Generation in the 2.0 μm Region Without Mode-Locking

Abstract: We show 3.0 ps pulses from 1877 nm to 2008 nm at variable repetition rates up to 18 GHz using time-lens compression of a tunable CW laser. The center wavelength is changed by tuning the CW seed laser, and the repetition rate is changed by electronically tuning the drive of the master RF clock. The repetition rate of 18 GHz represents a record speed for pulse generation in this spectral region. This simple all-fiber platform uses standard 1550 nm telecom components, offering a turn-key, flexible, robust alternative to pulse generation in the 2.0 μm region with both wavelength and repetition rate tunability.

Can You Change a Student's Mind in a Course about the Brain? Belief Change Following an Introductory Course in Biological Psychology.

Abstract: Undergraduate courses in the neurosciences, including biological psychology, often appeal to students because they offer perspectives on human behavior and experience that are so different from those students arrive with or are exposed to elsewhere on campus. Consider, for example, this passage from Crick’s, Astonishing Hypothesis: “You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.” Unfortunately, because this perspective is at such odds with those many students arrive with, the very thing that makes these classes so interesting is also likely to engender resistance. With Crick’s hypothesis serving as the theme of my introductory course in biological psychology, we explore the ways in which complex experiences and behaviors can be explained by lower-level, biological phenomena. Historically, and for a host of valid reasons, class assessment tends to focus on whether students understand the course material (e.g., Can you explain the role of Ca 2+ in synaptic transmission?), rather than whether students believe what they have been introduced to (e.g., Do you believe that the mind exists as something separate from the body?). For a number of years, however, I have also been collecting pre- and post-test data from students enrolled in three formats of the class in an effort to measure changes in beliefs. One format was a conventional standalone class, whereas the other two were more intensive and involved parallel coursework in the Philosophy of Mind with a second instructor. The full assessment, identical at both test intervals, was comprised of 56 items and included 16 items from a Theoretical Orientation Scale (TOS; Coan, 1979), several of which addressed whether human behavior was predictable; 14 items that addressed dualism, the veracity of our perceptions, personal responsibility, and other topics; and 26 items from the Organicism-Mechanism Paradigm Inventory (OMPI; Germer et al., 1982). Unlike most of the other test items, which addressed class topics specifically, the OMPI addressed general worldviews between two poles of mechanism and organicism. Mechanistic explanations, common in Neuroscience, tend to be highly reductive and treat organisms as more passive and reactive, whereas organismic explanations treat organisms as more active and the systems that give rise to their behaviors as non-reductive. Overall, analyses revealed statistically significant changes on a wide range of items that were generally, though not always, consistent with course objectives. The results of the OMPI indicated that the average student began the term closer to the organismic end of the scale, and became slightly more organismic by the end of the term. And yet, on a number of items related more specifically to the relationship between brain and behavior, students became more willing to endorse reductive and mechanistic positions. Although student beliefs can be very resistant to persuasion, change can occur.