The quality of contraceptive counseling has been shown to influence contraceptive use. Minorities and women of lower socio-economic status (SES) report that the contraceptive counseling they received as being lower quality than white, or higher SES women. Additionally, while contraceptive counseling is usually provided through verbal interactions with the clinician, evidence shows patients value the use of visual aids, such as videos, as part of the visit. The extent to which minorities or lower SES patients are satisfied with a contraception counseling video when compared to white or higher SES women is unknown. This project compares satisfaction ratings of a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) counseling video of minority and lower SES women to white and higher SES women. To date, 93 English-speaking women ages 18+ from family planning clinics in Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles have been counseled by their clinician and had chosen to receive a hormonal IUD watched a 6-minute counseling video the day they received their IUD. The video showed racially/ethnically diverse clinicians who provided factual information about the IUD, and either white or Asian IUD users who described their personal experiences with the IUD. After watching the video, participants completed a satisfaction survey containing 8 categorical and 2 open ended questions. We will compare the satisfaction scores of the Likert Scale questions and use thematic analysis for the open-ended questions to determine whether attributes of the video differed along demographic lines. Of the 93 women who watched the video, 55% were white, and 45% were African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, or multiracial. Approximately 55% had a less than a college degree, while almost 40% reported a yearly income of $25,000 or less. Further analysis may show that certain aspects of the video are perceived differently depending on the demographics of the participants.

Microplastics (plastic < 5mm) has become a prominent research topic over the last 15 years. Microplastic research papers are published around the world, using a variety of organisms, environments, and interactions as study systems. Findings from these papers suggest that microplastics have negative effects, like behavior disruption and cell death, on marine organisms. This research project uses scientometrics to analyze if trends in regional plastic policies are correlated with marine microplastic research papers. Utilizing spatial analysis, we compared the rate and spread of microplastic research and plastic policies across the globe to identify a statistical relationship between them. We then further explored this relationship by determining if the distribution of study systems in a region’s research affected the quantities of policies in that region. We used the Web of Sciences database to obtain data on microplastics papers from 2006 to 2018. Our data has revealed that specific species are being used in research more than others and that there are large concentrations of microplastics papers in areas like Europe and China. Countries with large amounts of plastic research also have the most plastic policies. The results of this project help decipher how marine microplastics research can have an impact on plastic policy.

Microplastic (plastic < 5mm) pollution is increasing at an exponential rate in marine environments, leading to increased contamination of marine organisms. Previously, it was thought that the majority of microplastics were found in surface waters due to their positive buoyancy; however, recent studies show pollution exists throughout the water column. Mussels, suspension feeding bivalves, can be catalysts to the spread of microplastic pollution to different trophic levels through filtration, ingestion, and egestion of microplastics. Mussels are prominent benthic-pelagic coupling organisms in marine ecosystems, moving particles and nutrients between habitats through different types of biodeposits. Mussels produce feces and pseudofeces, where feces is the digested biodeposit and the pseudofeces are the rejected materials. Accumulation of microplastics in their biodeposits may interfere with this coupling by altering sinking rates, giving other organisms more opportunity to feed on deposits and promote the spread of microplastics through the food chain.The purpose of our project is to test how different types of microplastics affect sinking rates of mussel biodeposits. Our hypothesis is that mussels filter microplastic particles differently.The more readily ingested microplastic will lower the sinking rate of the feces more drastically. In our experiment we fed mussels either polystyrene or polyethylene microspheres along with algae, collected their biodeposits, and measured sinking rate. Further, we quantified microplastic and algae found in each type of biodeposit. The selectivity of mussels toward a particular microplastic was determined by the amount of a microplastic present in the feces vs the pseudofeces. The results from this study can help us understand the impact of microplastic pollution and how mussels play a major role in the spread of microplastics. They may also provide insight into which types of microplastic are more readily spread, potentially providing information on how to distribute microplastic waste.

I have led a study of over 13 years of optical and near-ultraviolet spectropolarimetric observations of the famous Luminous Blue Variable (LBV), P Cygni. LBVs are a critical transitional phase in the lives of the most massive stars, and achieve the largest mass-loss rates of any group of stars. Using spectropolarimetry, I am able to learn about the geometry of the near circumstellar environment surrounding P Cygni and gain insights into LBV mass-loss. Using data from the HPOL and WUPPE spectropolarimeters, I have estimated the interstellar polarization contribution to P Cygni's spectropolarimetric signal, analyzed the variability of the polarization across the Hα emission line, searched for periodic signals in the data, and introduced a statistical method to search for preferred position angles in deviations from spherical symmetry which is novel to astronomy. 

Our research project aims to find red supergiant stars (RSGs) among the starburst galaxy IC10. Using stellar evolutionary theory, estimates can be made about how many RSGs are expected, based upon analyzation of known facts such as size, age, and metal content. The research conducted will allow for a comparison between observational data to theoretical expectations. RSGs are massive stars with a supergiant luminosity class; they are the coolest of the supergiants and have spectral types of K and M; hence temperatures below 4,100 K. Typically, they can be up to a thousand times the radius of the sun, and are therefore highly luminous. We began our search for these stars in IC10 by collecting the Two Micron All-Sky Survey and United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) J and K photometry. We then transformed the colors to luminosity and temperature allowing us to create an HR Diagram and identify candidate RSGs. Our next step was to continue to refine our results in order to remove foreground stars that aren't in the IC10 galaxy. We cross-matched our IC10 photometry with data from the GAIA satellite to obtain a list of proper motions and parallax values of all potential RSG candidates. From this we plotted the proper motion values vs. parallax to visually select stars in IC10. Our resulting list brings us closer to identifying RSGs in the starburst galaxy IC10.

Bivavle Mollusks, such as mussels, are generally considered to be well-known bioengineers due to their ability to aggregate and reduce local flow conditions. They are impacted by changes in their microenvironment, such as alternations in seawater chemistry or water flow. As a result, there may be benefits such as lower energetic costs and risk of dislodgment in reduced flow. However, there may also be harmful effects such as minimal water exchange and less food availability. Furthermore, the chemical conditions within mussel bed aggregations can affect mussel survival rates due to changes in byssal thread production and overall attachment strength. At the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, Summer 2019, we conducted laboratory experiments to quantify how mussels alter the chemistry of the interstitial spaces within their aggregations. Specifically, we placed aggregations of mussels (M. galloprovincialis) in a flume and measured the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration within the aggregation, referred to as “in bed,” and compared it to the dissolved oxygen values upstream, referred to as “ambient.” The mussels were arranged to mimic the set up of an aquaculture rope. We found that the difference between ambient and in bed DO concentrations went up to 2.5 mg/L when flow was less than 5cm/s. This difference increased with temperature due to increased respiration. These findings indicate that flow and temperature mediate processes that determine the chemical microenvironment in a mussel bed. Furthermore, the conditions in these microscale environments may have important consequences for the survival of mussels and other species that rely on them for shelter.

In trying to understand biology’s dynamic heterogeneity, scientists have sought to recapitulate the spatial complexity and temporal presentation in which proteins are naturally presented to cells. Currently, the most promising strategies in this regard exploit sequential ligation/cleavage reactions, each controlled in time and space using light so as to reversibly immobilize proteins within synthetic biomaterials. Though our lab has utilized these approaches to spatially control complex biological fates with micron-scale resolutions, previous methods suffer from complex syntheses, as well as requirements for specialized equipment and skillsets rarely available in bio-based laboratories. Improving upon these fundamental limitations, our group has developed a scalable system wherein proteins can be bound/released from hydrogels using light, without the need for such expertise/equipment, by being fully genetically encodable. In this approach, biology performs all the modifications necessary to photopattern protein binding to gels, as well as install the reactive species requisite for the protein’s photo-mediated release. We have accomplished this using a photoactivatable protein-peptide ligation reaction developed by our lab, wherein UV irradiation “activates” the protein to ligate specifically with the peptide tag. Additionally, we exploit co-translational chemoenzymatic modification strategies to install a functional handle for tethering the protein into polymeric hydrogels during protein expression. To the peptide tag, we append a photocleavable protein that cleaves when irradiated by visible light, fused to a protein of interest (POI) to be tethered to the hydrogel. Expressing these proteins in E. coli yields the first-ever fully genetically encodable system which can reversibly pattern proteins into hydrogels, by first shining UV light to tether POIs into biomaterials, then subsequently shining visible light to photocleave the protein and trigger POI release. Highlighting the system’s versatility, we demonstrate that the approach is compatible with fluorescent proteins and bioactive growth factors to direct 4D cell fate.

Water-swollen polymeric networks (i.e., hydrogels) provide a structural platform for the manipulation of chemical and mechanical signals that mimics the complex heterogeneous environment experienced by cells in vivo. Photoresponsive chemistries have been of particular interest to this end, as they allow for precise spatiotemporal control of physiochemical properties and, thus, cell behavior. Here, we present a novel protein-based network that will allow for the photo-mediated stiffening of genetically-encoded hydrogels. In this system, we exploit a biochemical technology recently pioneered by our lab in which two pairs of proteins undergo irreversible, covalent heterodimerization after photoactivation. Through the incorporation of an inert, unstructured polypeptide backbone, we have exploited the aforementioned reaction to induce gelation in response to light through the formation of four-arm protein crosslinks. Unlike previous synthetic polymer-based hydrogel systems, this system is entirely genetically encoded, which provides significant advantages in terms of cost, time, and production simplicity. As we intend to demonstrate through photorheometry, this reaction proceeds in a dose-dependent manner, providing step-wise control of both where and when gel stiffening occurs. Such 4D control of a gel’s mechanical properties can be used to influence cell migration, growth, and differentiation, and, thus, could have applications in tissue engineering. Furthermore, we anticipate our system could be utilized to model the stiffening of the extracellular matrix, which is commonly associated with pathologies such as cancer, fibrosis, and cardiovascular disease.

How do social scientists determine what to study? Social scientists agonize over methodological considerations, but rarely is the relationship between the individual and topic choice examined empirically. Previous research by sociologists of science has applied this scrutiny to the natural sciences, but the same lens has not been applied to social scientists themselves. In this study I will examine both how individual researchers develop a personal interest in research, as well as how they grapple with external constraints on the topics and subjects of their research. I examine these questions through qualitative interviews with Sociology faculty at the University of Washington. Through interviews with both sociologists-in-training and established faculty, I will gain perspective on the factors influencing topic choice, and how standards of topic choice are reproduced or changed. As sociologists seek to evaluate their own practices, and policymakers increasingly turn towards evidence based practices, my results will allow us to understand not just what that evidence says, but how it is produced.

Nearly half of Americans live in earthquake prone areas. Many primary fault zones that host large earthquakes, such as the Cascadia, Alaska, and San Andreas fault zones, extend into the offshore regime. These offshore fault systems have been historically difficult to study due to challenges in observational techniques. Through the creation of an algorithm that uses geospatial analytical tools, this study seeks to identify seafloor faulting structures from data collected by high frequency multichannel acoustic methods. In doing so, we improve our capabilities of characterizing offshore fault zones. In addition, we examine these geospatial analytical methods for accuracy and explore the impact of data collection and post-processing procedures on associated errors. Data utilized subsists of bathymetric data collected in the Cascadia and South African regions, which are active and passive margins respectively. Methods for surface fault identification include visual inspection, as well as geospatial analytical methods consisting of the Bathymetric Position Index, slope, and aspect of surface morphology. Faults identified from surface morphology are compared to those identified using a coherence-based detection method from seismic reflection data. Surface expressed faults indicate high-amplitude and/or recent geologic deformation and can give insight into tectonic stress regimes and associated faulting hazards. An improved understanding of faulting hazards through efficient surface fault identification would aid in preparation and planning for earthquakes. Through the creation of this algorithm, our capabilities to accurately identify surface expressed faults in bathymetric datasets will be enhanced and thus our understanding of global tectonic processes and earthquake risks to population centers like those in the Pacific Northwest will be improved.

Randomized controlled trials form the basis of translating research data into clinical practice. Adequately powered trials are essential to draw a precise and accurate conclusion. Our study aims to determine the proportion of randomized controlled trials published in the field of emergency medicine that were sufficiently powered to detect a true 25% difference in outcomes between study groups. We conducted a PubMed search to identify randomized trials related to emergency care published in 5 top-ranked general medical and emergency medicine journals in the last 10 years. Standard statistical techniques were used to calculate the sample size required to have at least a 90% probability of detecting a 25% difference in the primary outcome between study groups. Adequate power was defined as a planned sample size larger than the sample size required to detect this difference. We found that approximately half of the studies that met inclusion criteria reported no significant difference between study groups. 36.3% of these “negative” studies had adequate power to detect a 25% difference between study groups. When grouped by study setting, 26.4% of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) based studies as compared to 22.5% of Emergency Department (ED) studies had adequate power to have at least a 90% chance of detecting a 25% difference between study groups (p=0.11). Therefore, we concluded that a large proportion of randomized trials in the medical literature had inadequate power to detect a clinically significant difference between study groups. Our study would help to strengthen research practice in the field of emergency medicine and to advance knowledge in this field. 

For many years, the primary mode of treatment for people experiencing alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been abstinence-based treatment. Research has indicated, however, that abstinence-based treatment does not optimally engage or treat more severely affected populations, such as people experiencing AUD and homelessness. Instead, harm-reduction treatment approaches are more desirable for this population and can serve as an effective treatment alternative for people experiencing AUD and homelessness. Harm-reduction treatment entails a set of compassionate and pragmatic strategies to emphasize client autonomy, mitigate substance-related harm, and promote quality of life (QoL) without the need for abstinence or use-reduction. Specific components include assessment and tracking of harm-reduction metrics, harm-reduction goal-setting, and implementation of safer-use strategies. This secondary study (N = 213) served to qualitatively and quantitatively explore harm-reduction goals generated by participants in a larger, 4-arm randomized control trial of harm-reduction treatment for people experiencing homelessness and AUD. The three treatment groups included in this secondary study received: a) harm-reduction counseling only, b) harm-reduction counseling + medication assisted treatment (i.e., extended-release naltrexone), and c) harm-reduction counseling + placebo. Participant goals were recorded using the Safer Drinking and Harm Reduction Efforts (SHaRE) scale at baseline assessments and weeks 4, 8, and 12. Qualitative analyses will be conducted to determine the kinds of goals participants generated throughout the 12-week treatment period. Additional descriptive, quantitative analyses will establish quantity of participant goals set at each time point. Finally, inferential statistics will be used to test harm-reduction goals as correlates of alcohol outcomes across the 12-week treatment period. It is expected that a) the combined pharmacotherapy group will generate, progress toward, and achieve more goals than other study conditions; and b) quality-of-life goals will be more strongly associated with reduced alcohol-related harm than drinking-related goals.

Prior research has established that the occurrence of headache in adolescence is more likely if one or more parents have a headache history. However, little is known about the prevalence of non-headache (i.e. musculoskeletal or abdominal) pain history among parents of adolescents with headaches, and whether adolescent headache characteristics (frequency, pain intensity, functional disability) differ among different parental pain histories. This analysis aimed to characterize the parental pain history of adolescents with recurrent migraine and tension-type headaches and examine if differences in parental pain history predicted different adolescent headache characteristics. 238 adolescents (mean age = 14.64 years (SD = 1.86), 67% female) who reported at least 10 headaches days per month completed a 28-day headache diary and a self-report questionnaire on headache-related disability. Parents (mean age = 44.06 years, SD = 6.04; 94% mothers) completed a pain history checklist. Results indicated that most parents had a positive pain history (78%). Parental musculoskeletal pain (55%) was just as prevalent as parental headache (54%; χ²(N = 226) = .098, p = .754), but abdominal pain (27%) was significantly less common (Headache: χ²(N = 227) = 30.306, p < .001; Musculoskeletal pain: χ²(N = 226) = 44.298, p < .001). Most parents reported pain at one site (35%), followed by two sites (29%), having no pain (23%), and pain at all three sites (14%). Adolescent headache characteristics were similar between parents with or without a pain history and when parents had a headache and/or musculoskeletal pain history, and were not associated with the number of parental pain sites (ps > .05). These findings indicate that any connection between parental and adolescent pain characteristics may be more complicated than a simple direct relationship. Future research should examine whether the characteristics of parental pain (e.g., parental pain intensity) are associated with headache characteristics in adolescents.