Moss is a bioindicator that can be useful in evaluating air quality in metropolitan areas. One study in Portland used a common moss, Orthotrichum lyellii, to locate sources of cadmium pollution, leading to regulations for glass factories in the area. The current study applied a similar methodology to locate sources of metal contamination in and around the South Puget Sound region. O. lyellii was collected from locations with a wide range of vehicular traffic. Additionally, collection sites were divided between industrial, commercial, residential, and forested areas. Moss samples were dried, digested with acid and peroxide, and analyzed for metal content using ICP-MS. Our study shows increased concentration of trace metals such as titanium and vanadium in industrial areas. Some major metals such as calcium may be more closely linked to vehicle traffic. These results may indicate human health hazards in industrial areas in the South Puget Sound area. 

Climate change coupled with inadequate infrastructure has disproportionately impacted people from underserved communities, as is the case for one village located in rural Alaska. Due to the increasing frequency of microbial water contamination exacerbated by temperature rise, this community experiences water insecurity. Previous research also illustrates that water samples collected from the Kuskokwim River, which is used for subsistence, had excessively high mercury levels compared to the regional baseline levels. Furthermore, our team's preliminary findings from informal interviews with community members indicate that their use of a rainwater cistern is well received by many households. However, community leaders have questioned the cistern's operation from September to March. When the temperature falls below zero degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, the cistern must be shut down to avoid damage to the system, and because it is not possible to collect water. Our work will develop and administer an online household-level survey to understand perceptions about local drinking water conditions. We implement principles derived from Indigenous research methodologies and Community-Based Participatory Research approaches. * Preliminary results gathered from conversations with the tribal council suggested a positive perception of the water quality from the installed water cistern, but we hope to quantify the water quality from survey data. * Our research focused on two areas: we will evaluate the utility of an online survey in collecting data from one remote community to understand their water needs and use the data to help guide future decision-making to improve the cistern operation under extreme temperatures. This work is part of a larger initiative to underscore the self-determination of under-resourced communities in Alaska, offering insights into Indigenous research methods and inspiring future design in the field. Note: * means revison per feedback, but will still need to get tribal approval as they approved for previous version as is

Neurological trauma, from a spinal cord injury (SCI), can have devastating effects on the quality of life of individuals, often resulting in a significant loss of motor function and accompanying bowel and bladder complications. Recent research has combined use-dependent physical rehabilitation, which is the current gold standard of treatment, with the delivery of neuromodulators or electrical stimulation to improve motor-recovery outcomes after SCI. However, little work has been done to understand the scope of psychological changes that occur after SCI, or how these changes may, in turn, affect an individual's ability to recover from the trauma. To fill this gap, our project examined changes in motivation levels after a chronic cervical contusion of the spinal cord that produces impairments in forelimb-motor function. We also studied how subsequent motor recovery altered motivation. Our experiments were conducted in an adult rodent contusion model of chronic cervical SCI. We used a skilled forelimb reach-and-grasp behavioral task to assess the motor performance and injury severity of rats. To assess motivation, we recorded the duration that rats attempted to complete the reach-and-grasp task over a thirty-minute time window. Motivation levels and motor performance were assessed pre-and post-SCI and before, during, and after therapy. Our results show that motivation levels were significantly impacted by the SCI, with motivation loss positively correlated to injury severity. Surprisingly, despite significant motor recovery, motivation levels continued to remain low months after the injury. These results provide new insights into the effect of SCI on psychological factors, which will inform future investigations and the design of therapies targeting neurological trauma.

Understanding how species of kelp perform under different environmental factors is critical for the management of kelp farming and its effects on carbon sequestration. In this study we evaluated how low salinity and water temperature affect two kelp species: bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) and ribbon kelp (Alaria marginata). Pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry was used as a proxy for health, while wet weight and the hole-punch measurement method determined growth. At Friday Harbor Laboratories (San Juan Island, WA), we collected and exposed ribbon and bull kelp to different treatments under grow lights for a standard photoperiod (12 hours/day) in closed-circulatory sea tables for 72 hours. Our treatments were high temperature (20ºC/ 30PSU), low salinity (12ºC/ 25PSU), high temperature with low salinity (20ºC/ 25PSU), and control (12ºC/ 30PSU). The results of the stress test via PAM fluorometry demonstrated 0% survivability of bull kelp for both heat and the combination of heat and salinity at 24 and 48 hours (Fv/Fm = 0) while ribbon kelp survived. When comparing percent change of wet weights, ribbon kelp gave a p-value of <0.05, with significant differences between combined treatment with control and salinity treatments, whereas bull kelp gave a p-value >0.05, however temperature treatments of bull kelp did not survive (Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn post-hoc). These results indicate that heat has a more significant effect on kelp than salinity. This data is increasingly relevant as the environmental effects of climate change increase global temperatures and could identify which kelp species are most vulnerable.

Birth asphyxia is the inability of a newborn to begin and maintain breathing. Twenty-three percent of neonatal deaths globally are caused by birth asphyxia [1]. Birth asphyxia results in a neurological injury called hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Rapid HIE screening within six hours after birth is crucial to identify neonates at risk. Unfortunately, the diagnostic equipment is impractical for low resource settings because it is costly ($20/test and $5,000 for equipment) and requires technical staff, that are in short supply, to operate. We hypothesize that a cost-effective device can be developed for HIE analysis. pHast Cam quickly screens for birth asphyxia and HIE in infants via a paper-based blood pH sensor. The device combines an inexpensive pH sensitive dye, a smartphone camera, and a fixture that controls the imaging environment to quickly identify acidosis that results from HIE. A low-cost paper-based strip is made with a water-soluble resin doped with a pH-sensitive dye, bromothymol blue (BTB), and a membrane to filter out red blood cells. The fixture removes lighting variation. The smartphone camera records the pH indicator image, and an algorithm captures, reduces noise, and accesses color change. pHast Cam incorporates four features: 1) accurate assessment of acidity within 0.05 pH units, 2) require only a few microliters of blood, 3) use electrical hardware and software only from the smartphone, and 4) affordability. At this stage, we have achieved a regressive linear model that predicts buffered solution acidity. In the future, we will transition from measuring buffered solutions to blood-plasma. Ultimately, we expect pHast Cam to screen for HIE by quantifying plasma pH in neonates so that timely therapeutic interventions and plans to address long-term complications may occur. [1] Diaz-Rosello JGP, Niermeyer S, et al. WHO Basic guidelines on new born resuscitation. 2012.

Purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) pose a serious threat to the environment by consuming entire kelp forests that serve ecological functions like carbon sequestration. We compared the preference of purple sea urchins on various kelp species to understand how feeding habits changed across different environments: temperature (ambient 13 °C, high 20 °C) and salinity (ambient 30 PSU, low 22 PSU). Urchins were collected from the subtidal zone in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA. At the University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs, urchins were exposed to either ambient (6.8L), high temperature and ambient salinity (6.8L), low salinity and ambient temperature (6.8L), or high temperature and low salinity water (3.1L). Within these treatments urchins were given Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), Ribbon Kelp (Alaria marginata), and Fringed Sieve Kelp (Neoagarum fimbrata) for 24 hours. To track kelp consumed, we weighed the kelp before and after each trial. Results showed that Bull Kelp was consumed the most in every environment except high temperature, low salinity. In low salinity and high temperature urchin feeding was significantly different and lower from the ambient environment, as most urchins ate nothing over 24 hours (Kruskal Wallis and Dunn’s test, p-value > 0.05). Our findings suggest that in areas with lower salinity and higher temperatures, urchins may be a smaller threat to kelp. In many environments, bull kelp is most vulnerable to urchin feeding, making it an important species for conservation efforts.