Humans enjoy a beneficial symbiotic relationship with bacteria. Although commonly thought to be the cause of illness, bacteria aid in food digestion along with creating resistance to disease. The microbiome refers to the aggregate of bacteria that reside in our intestinal track. There has been an effort over the past decade to map the human microbiome in order to identify this relationship. Given this crucial role of microbiota in human health, it is important to know how the microbiome is formed in infancy as it may impact one’s future ability to obtain wellness. A review of the literature was done to examine what is known of the microbiome at the earliest stage of life and the relationship to issues later in life. The articles were identified using the databases CINAHL, PubMed, and MEDLINE. Five themes were identified across the articles studied. The microbiome: (a) of preterm infants differs from full-term infants; (b) at birth is found in both the lungs and intestines; (c) development is affected by an infant’s intake of formula vs. breastmilk; (d) present and its amount present during infancy may influence the risk of developing behavioral issues; (e) development is altered when antibiotics are administered to newborns/infants. The choices of how a child will be fed is decided during pregnancy and consideration of the microbiome and its effect on future health has serious implications. Knowledge of the microbiome’s role in healthy growth and development should be considered when working with expectant mothers, parents and families of newborns.

The human brain is one of the most important, yet least understood, organs in the human body. This functional unit innervates every aspect of human life and is ever changing from conception until full maturity around age 25. Considering this, it makes sense that pediatric traumatic brain injuries are so misunderstood. Attempting to diagnose and monitor a traumatic injury to a complex organ that is still growing and developing is challenging for clinicians. Proper interaction with these children and their families is vital to physical health and psychosocial development. Identifying current knowledge and disseminating it is crucial for planning interventions and promoting healthy outcomes. A review of the literature was done using the CINAHL database, and articles collected identify themes that are important and unique to caring for these patients. The themes are (a) impact of age at time of injury on post injury behavior; (b) importance of proper identification of TBI related behaviors and appropriate interventions; (c) relationship between severity of injury and post injury behaviors; (d) patient challenges with internalizing and externalizing problems; and (e) role of home environment on post injury behaviors and recovery process. When caring for this patient population, it is important for health care providers to not use a "one size fits all" approach, as each patient will have a different presentation and different needs based on the factors listed above. The themes identified here provide a point of reference for clinicians when planning care for children who have experienced a traumatic brain injury.

Central line-associated bloodstream infections or CLABSIs cause major life-threatening illnesses that have a high prevalence rate within our healthcare industry today. CLABSIs not only cause potentially fatal consequences for patients, but also cost hospitals a substantial amount of money to treat these infections. CLABSIs can result from not only the insertion of the central line from a healthcare provider, but also in the central line care by nursing staff. Therefore, hospitals have implemented standardized “bundles” for central lines to try to reduce the overall amount of CLABSIs. However, many hospitals are not seeing a significant decrease in the number of infections from the time that they adopted these practices. A systematic review of literature was conducted using the CINAHL Plus database to investigate the efforts of trying to reduce the overall occurrence of CLABSIs and the success rates of these practices. Major themes include the implementation of bundles for central lines are not being consistently applied by those working at the bedside. Inconsistency with the implementation of bundles of care for central lines can be attributed to incomplete knowledge of what needs to be done; while the presence of written policies do not ensure policy compliance. Nurses are at the frontline to ensure patient safety and reducing patient risk for acquiring CLABSIs. It is important that nurses identify the barriers to compliance and collaborate to create effective strategies to promote patient safety and lower the overall occurrence of these life-threatening infections.

Salem State University has a newly accredited 4+1 master’s in education program but has been teaching education for decades. Given the newness of the 4+1 program, are the students getting a good idea of what assessments to write, what they look like, and when to do which type of assessment? This study investigates the confidence levels of SSU Education students in writing assessments based on their experiences and classes that they have taken in the School of Education. In order to examine this question, a survey was completed by students in the education program in which they specified their knowledge on each type of assessment (summative and formative), which classes they have taken, what experiences they have had, and how comfortable they are writing both. It is then analyzed by the classes they have taken the program, their comfortability, and knowledge of each assessment.

The Adirondack Mountains form the southern extension of the Grenville Province, an orogeny that formed during the formation of supercontinent Rodinia in the late Mesoproterozoic. This orogenesis can be defined by three major phases over 250 million years: the Elzevirian (1245 – 1225 Ma), the Shawinigan (1200 – 1160 Ma), and the Grenville orogeny that is further subdivided into two phases the Ottawan (1090 – 1020 Ma) and the Rigolet (1010 – 980 Ma). The Adirondacks can be defined by two geologic terranes: the Adirondack Highlands and the Adirondack Lowlands. The Highlands are composed of granulite facies metamorphic and igneous rocks (AMCG unit) while the Lowlands are characterized by amphibolite-facies metasedimentary and meta-igneous rocks. These terranes are separated by the Colton Carthage Mylonite Zone. Small bodies of metagabbro and garnetiferous amphibolites that are genetically related to the AMCG unit are exposed in the Highlands, although their timing and conditions of magmatism and metamorphism are unknown. We collected samples of coronitic metagabbro to garnetiferous amphibolite units and applied petrographic analysis coupled with U-Pb zircon geochronology. Our results show the coronitic metagabbro exhibited three age populations of 1147±8 Ma, 1036±7 Ma, and 1026±5 Ma. Zircons from the garnetiferous amphibolite sample yield an age of 1046± 54 Ma. These ages show that magmatism occurred in Shawinigan while metamorphism took place during the Ottawan phase.

Records of The Last Glacial Influx of Ice-rafted Detritus at Site DY081-GVY002, On the Orphan Knoll, Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Hannah E. Gonsalves*, James L. Cullen, Department of Geological Sciences, Salem State University, 352 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA, 01970. *H_gonsalves@salemstate.edu Detrital layers attributed to increases in influx of ice rafted detritus (IRD) found in sediments from the Orphan Knoll, Northwest Atlantic Ocean, are very similar to Heinrich layers (Heinrich, 1988) found in glacial sediments from the central Atlantic Ocean. A five meter core at 1,170 meters water depth on the Orphan Knoll was recovered during cruise RRS Discovery Cruise ICY-LAB (2017). We have used 30 samples at 5 cm intervals to extend our previously presented IRD records (Alisha Guglielmi, 2020) into the earlier part of the last glacial (Marine Isotope Stage 3) by generating two proxies of IRD input: number of lithic fragments >150 μm per gram sediment (lithics/gram) and % IRD (number of lithic grains, >150 μm / (number of lithic grains, >150 μm + number of whole planktic foraminifers, >150 μm)) X 100). Our additional one meter (130-230 centimeters) reveals 2 additional peaks of greater than 5,000 lithic grains per gram at 155 cm and 195 cm. The additional meter also records three intervals of high % IRD at 130-140 cm, 160-180 cm, and 205-220 cm. The % IRD intervals correlate with intervals of high Ca/Sr ratios in the core, a proxy that has been previously used to indicate the input of detrital carbonate grains composed of dolomite and/or inorganic calcite. We have preliminarily correlated these three intervals with Heinrich events H3, H4, and H5. The peaks in IRD/gram recorded in our extended record seem to be completely decoupled from the other two proxies, occurring at depths recording low values of %IRD and low Ca/Sr ratios for reasons we have not yet been able to explain.

The Nyambeni Hills (Kenya) is a shield volcano found along the eastern branch of the East African Rift (EAR). This volcano is pierced by a volcanic field populated with scoria cones, maar craters, and lava flows of Late Pleistocene to Holocene age, referred to as the Nyambeni Hills Volcanic Field (NHVF). Volcanic fields composed of monogenetic explosive cones can be observed along the EAR. Through close examination of the morphology and alignments of such features, magma paths can be inferred. Such magma paths are expected to develop perpendicular to the regional tensile stress (σ3) and along fracture systems in a rift zone. Here we present our findings on the analysis of these explosive volcanic features found in NHVF. Google Earth Pro is utilized to map outlines of craters and cones. The morphometry of each cone is analyzed for erosional marks and slope angle to determine the area and shape of the original feature before erosion. The degree of confidence for each feature is reported to allow for a more informed data analysis. ArcGIS is used to find minimum bounding geometry data. Trends of the long axes of high confidence features with a short axis/long axis ratio greater than 1.2 provide an estimate of the orientation of that feature and are graphically expressed in a rose diagram. Data has been collected on >300 cones within the northeastern slopes of the NHVF. Here both the long axis of the most reliable basaltic scoria cones and the linear distribution of the various features, represented by the near angle relationships of all cones, indicate a general NE-SW trend. This bearing diverges from the overall N-S trend of the rift but is similar to the observed orientation of other volcanic features in the Kenya Rift (e.g. Mega Volcanic Field, South Natron and Marsabit). A NE-SW trend could suggest a NW-SE orientation of σ3 or could be explained by the presence of pre-existing lithospheric weaknesses in the host rock influencing the direction of dikes.

The northeast United States faces harsh winters, resulting in the widespread application of road salts (NaCl) beginning in the1960’s. Road salt is a chemical deicing agent, which enters into streams and ponds via runoff and infiltration into the groundwater system. The widespread application of salt to roads, walkways, and parking lots is known to pollute urban watersheds. The focus of this study is Ducks Pond, located in the Forest River watershed in Salem, MA, and is part of an ongoing investigation to monitor the effect of development in and around the reservation. Pure water cannot transmit an electrical current. However, the ability of an aqueous solution to conduct a current is a measurable physical property known as its conductivity. Because conductivity is temperature dependent, measurements must be taken at or standardized to 25° Celsius, for comparison. With increasing concentrations of chloride from salt application through runoff, specific conductance will also increase showing a positive relationship which can be measured using a multiparameter probe. Previous water quality data, obtained in 2018, showed Ducks Pond was completely clear of chloride ions while other water bodies within the watershed, all walking distance of each other, had high concentrations. The lack of salt pollution in Ducks Pond is hypothesized to be the result of natural isolation by topographic highs, in combination with a railroad embankment that effectively cut off the pond from the rest of the watershed. To add to existing data, specific conductance, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH were measured at 5 locations in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021 using a YSI 6600 multiparameter sonde. The results are consistent with the data from 2018. All results support the hypothesis that Ducks Pond is a subwatershed, which is isolated from pollution both naturally and as a result of construction of the Boston and Maine Railroad embankment in the late 1800’s.

The purpose of this senior honors thesis was to write an autobiographical children’s book about my life as a child growing up with parents who were never together. I want to write about what it's like having two of everything. Two houses, two birthday parties, two separate lives with each parent. This is something that I am passionate about because it's something that I can relate to. I want to use what I have experienced as a child to make a book that many children can connect with or learn about.

The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) has been the dominant crab species in New England rocky intertidal zones since the late 1800’s, but since around 2000 they have begun to be outcompeted by a new invasive species, the Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). ​ Rocky intertidal zones at Pavilion Beach in Ipswich, MA and Chandler Hovey Park in Marblehead, MA were surveyed for both species monthly at low tide from June 2019 through April 2021. Asian shore crabs made up 89% of all crabs surveyed compared to European green crabs (11%). Also, at both sites, the average carapace width of European green crabs was found to be larger than that of the Asian shore crabs collected. From this survey, it appears that Asian shore crabs are outcompeting European green crabs at these locations.