STEM

Evaluating the effects of relocation versus in situ incubation on the hatching success of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) in North Carolina

Izabel Giglio

Wittenberg University

The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), the world’s smallest and critically endangered sea turtle species, has experienced significant declines in nesting populations. Most nesting occurs along the western Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Veracruz, Mexico, with historical concentrations in Rancho Nuevo. However, bycatch in the 1980s diminished the population, leading to conservation efforts aimed at establishing a secondary nesting colony on Padre Island National Seashore. These efforts involved relocating nests to safer locations for protection against predation and tidal inundation. Despite successful population recovery, concerns persist regarding complications to hatchling fitness and sex ratios. Here we show that relocated nests in North Carolina yield higher hatching and emergence success rates compared to in situ nests, with relocated clutches exhibiting 27.5% higher hatching success and 12.3% higher emergence success. These differences are likely due to the additional protection from environmental stressors provided by relocation. Most nests, both relocated and in situ, exhibited incubation periods of less than 55 days, associated with higher hatching success, exceeding 75.9%. June, the most common nesting month, with an average incubation period of 57 days, yields a balanced 1:1 sex ratio. This study adds insight into the effectiveness of nest relocation, demonstrating its potential benefits for hatching and emergence success. However, further research is needed to assess its impact on hatchling fitness and sex ratios, particularly through TSD studies. It is recommended to prioritize in situ nest conservation with additional protective measures at natural nesting sites to mitigate risks while maintaining hatchling health.

Precision Engineering of pH-Sensitive Alginate Capsules for Targeted GERD Therapy: An Exploratory Study of pH-Dependent Breakdown

Roice De Castro

Mt. San Jacinto College

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a widespread gastrointestinal condition in which acid reflux causes pain, inflammation, and long-term complications. Current treatments provide relief but are often limited by non-specific targeting and systemic side effects. Biopolymer-based carriers offer a promising alternative, and sodium alginate—an abundant, seaweed-derived polysaccharide—forms calcium-crosslinked hydrogels that are biocompatible, low-cost, and responsive to pH. This study evaluated alginate capsules across pH 2–7 to assess stability and release behavior. Unexpectedly, capsules remained largely intact in strong acid but degraded most extensively at pH 5. This instability highlights a therapeutic window relevant to inflamed esophageal tissue and the gastroesophageal junction. By revealing this overlooked range, the findings suggest alginate’s potential as a simple, scalable platform for targeted delivery not only in GERD but also in other mildly acidic environments such as wound healing and cancer microenvironments.

Utah’s Dust Hotspots: How Oxidated Dust from Great Salt Lake Threatens Air, Health, and Justice

Rally Carver

University of Utah

Utah’s Great Salt Lake is undergoing rapid desiccation, exposing hundreds of square miles of playa sediments that generate dust “hotspots” with high oxidative potential. This article synthesizes recent findings on lake elevation trends, sediment chemistry, and air-quality monitoring to examine the health, ecological, and justice implications of this transformation. Analyses reveal toxic concentrations of arsenic, mercury, selenium, and cyanotoxins in airborne particulate matter (PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀), with disproportionate exposure among low-income, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and incarcerated populations, amplifying systemic health inequities. The crisis extends beyond human health, threatening millions of migratory birds, brine shrimp industries, and Utah’s mineral extraction economy, with estimated losses exceeding $1.3 billion annually. Comparisons with Owens Lake, Salton Sea, and the Aral Sea highlight the Great Salt Lake as a critical global case study in terminal lake collapse. Despite nearly $1 billion pledged for mitigation, water-use policies remain insufficiently enforceable. Findings underscore the urgency of integrated conservation strategies and position the Great Salt Lake as a sentinel case for global terminal lake management.

Highlights from previous editions

A Comparison of Corrosion Potential, Installation, Maintenance, and Anti-Microbial Efficacy: Copper Combined with a Polymer Matrix or Stainless Steel for Use in a Hospital Setting

Barika Mirza

Virginia Commonwealth University

According to Boev and Kiss in their article, “Hospital-Acquired Infections,” hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), also known as nosocomial infections, are currently the leading cause of deaths and disability in hospitalized patients (2017, p. 51), so they cost both patients and hospitals a lot of money. As of right now, QualityNet reports on their “Scoring Methodology” page that Obamacare’s Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program requires for hospitals with high cases of HACs to be subject to a reduction of Medicare payments (n.d.). The World Health Organization explains in Prevention of hospital-acquired infections: A practical guide, 2nd edition that HAIs can be acquired through environmental infection, wherein one acquires the infection from inanimate objects, substances, or surfaces that have been contaminated by a human source (World Health Organization, 2002, p. 10). Because environmental infection can be caused by surface contact, by installing antimicrobial surfaces, hospitals can reduce the rate of HAIs due to environmental infection.

Connexin-43 and Traumatic Brain Injury: A potential target for therapeutic intervention

Lauren R. Moore

Eastern Kentucky University

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a widespread, degenerative affliction with no current therapeutic interventions. The long-­‐term degradation caused by TBI results from secondary injury cascades that are initiated by primary injury. An early and important step in the damage process is reactive astrogliosis in astrocytes. Astrocytes communicate through gap junctions, which are composed of two connexon hemichannels from the two communicating cells and these connexons themselves are composed of six connexin protein subunits. Connexin 43 (Cx43) is a particularly important connexin to gap junctional communication and could act either to preserve the astrocytes from oxidative stress, or to propagate the damage signals to otherwise healthy cells. The present study investigates the expression of Cx43 in different treatment types in hippocampal samples of Wistar rats in order to elucidate the relationship between Cx43 and secondary injury through Real-­‐Time PCR (qPCR) and cell culture work. While Cx43 has a trend for increased expression in traumatized tissue that is returned to normal levels with an antioxidant treatment, these results are not statistically significant according to a single-­‐ sided ANOVA test. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between Cx43 and secondary injury.

Palm Epiphyll Cover Shifts to Higher Elevations in Tropical Cloud Forest, Indicating Local Climate Change

Maya Spaur

University of Maryland College Park

Intensifying patterns of weather and climate as caused by anthropogenic climate change have already caused extensive species extinctions, migrations, and range contractions in endemic species (Parmesan 2006), and pose the potential to induce substantial biodiversity loss on a global scale (IPCC 2014). Such trends have proven exceptionally apparent in tropical montane forests, where the disappearance of range-restricted species indicates a lifting cloud base as caused by rising sea surface temperature (SST) (Pounds et al.1999). Epiphylls serve as a bioindicator of local climate change due to their heightened sensitivity to water availability (Drake 2005). An altitudinal transect of percent epiphyll cover was performed on Geonoma palms to study how epiphyllous distribution has changed over the last ten years, replicating Drake’s (2005) methods. Decades of increasingly severe local drying caused a significant difference in epiphyll cover and strengthened the negative relationship between altitude and percent epiphyll cover. As climate change increases SSTs and propels moisture up mountains, epiphylls serve as an indication of what to expect in the very near future, where species disappear at lower elevations and follow the lifting cloud bank upwards.

Evolutionary Explanation for Invasive Abilities of Centaurea stoebe (spotted knapweed) in Introduced Areas

Erin Koren

Grand Valley University

Since every invasion and every exotic species presents a new challenge with novel invasion strategies, the invasion of Centaurea stoebe (synonymously referred to as C. maculosa) into North America will be used as a case study to deeply examine invasion strategies. Centaurea stoebe is a short-lived (approximately 3 years) perennial member of the aster family (Broz et al., 2007). It occurs in two different cytotypes, or with two different chromosomal factors. In its home range, it exists in both diploid and tetraploid cytotypes, but only the tetraploid version is present in introduced ranges in North America (See Figure 1; Treier et al., 2009). C. stoebe, commonly called spotted knapweed, is native to Eurasia and was introduced to North America in the late 1800s or early 1900s in several distinct introduction events (Hahn and Muller-Scharer, 2013; Marrs, Sforza, & Hufbauer, 2008). According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (2001), C. stoebe is now found in all but four of the continental United States. The detrimental effects of its invasion are most clearly seen in the northwestern United States (See Figure 1). In Montana alone, C. stoebe covers nearly 4.5 million acres (Broz et al., 2007). Bais et al. (2003) introduce spotted knapweed as one of the most economically damaging invasive species in North America. It can take over in a variety of conditions and is especially common in disturbed areas in pastures and prairies. In its native range in Eurasia, it is not problematic, but in North America it has formed monocultures and replaced many native plants. On top of all this, it degrades the infrastructure of communities by increasing runoff that leads to erosion and causing decreases in forage for wildlife (Broz & Vivanco, 2009b). It is important to understand the mechanisms of invasion for specific invasive species, so that conservation efforts can be most tailored and effective. There are two major hypotheses in the literature as to why Centaurea stoebe is a successful invader. One theory assumes that there is pre-existing genetic variation and adaptation in C. stoebe that provide them with success in novel environments. The other postulates that rapid evolutionary change occurs in the invasive species in its new habitat (Muller- Scharer, Schaffner & Steinger, 2004).

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