Cochlear implants (CI) are neural prostheses that provide individuals with profound hearing loss the ability to hear through artificial electrical stimulation to the inner ear. Despite the relative success of cochlear implants in providing speech in quiet settings, listening to complex signals such as music or speech in background noise is still difficult. Spectral resolution, the ability to extract frequency information from a signal, is important for interpreting complex signals, and this ability is impaired in CI users. In this study we compared two measures of spectral resolution: a pitch discrimination task and vowel identification. An individual’s ability to identify vowels depends on how well they can distinguish characteristic concentrations of energy at specific frequencies. Pitch discrimination is the ability to perceive small directional changes of sound frequencies between two pitches, and like vowel identification, relies heavily on one’s ability to discern frequency information. In this study we tested the pitch discrimination ability of CI users through the Clinical Assessment of Music Perception (CAMP) test (Kang et al., 2009), where participants were presented two tones 1-12 semitones apart and asked to identify the higher of the two. We then compared performance on the pitch perception test to the CI users’ scores on a vowel identification test, which included a closed set of ten vowel stimuli presented by a male or female speaker. Since spectral resolution is integral to both tasks, we expect to find that CI users with low scores on vowel identification also perform poorly on the pitch discrimination task. By understanding pitch and vowel perception we might inform the development of new signal processing that can optimize the transmission of music to cochlear implant listeners.

  This paper asks how weaving and traditional clothing are used as a means of resistance within the Maya Movement of Guatemala. Although historical evidence and cultural traditions confirm the use of backstrap looms before the arrival of the Spanish, the use of traditional clothing and weaving techniques are often maligned as vestiges of colonial repression and backwardness by the dominant Ladino culture of Guatemala. Those who choose to wear traditional Mayan clothing face discrimination, stereotyping, and hostility. Mayan clothing denotes the sex, age, marital status, regional affiliation, and village of origin of the wearer through the use of different weaving techniques, designs, style, and color. As a result of their inability to find work or navigate through the Ladino culture outside of their communities, most Mayan men have adopted Western style clothing. As such, women have been tasked with sustaining the culture within their communities through the art of weaving and the clothing it produces. The weavers are able to incorporate their cultural history and ideas into the cloth they create. Weaving, clothing, and Mayan identity cannot be easily separated. Due to the high visibility, traditional meaning, and customizable nature of Mayan weaving, clothing has been adapted by Mayan resistance movements as a means of cultural resistance. I argue that weaving and traditional clothing are being used by the Maya Movement to inspire pride and connection with traditional culture as a means to reassert Mayan heritage within Guatemala. Not only has the popularity and use of traditional Mayan clothing grown in recent years, but the meanings and traditions continue to grow and change along with the culture. Research for this paper is based on a mix of primary and secondary sources including scholarly analyses of Mayan resistance movements, history of weaving techniques and clothing, blogs, international newspaper articles, and documentaries.

In the marine environment, hypoxia is defined as: a level of dissolved oxygen (DO) that has fallen below 2.0 mg O₂/L. This level is approximately 20% of a system that is at oxygen saturation. Should the DO reach 0% it is described as “anoxic”. Due to anthropogenic influences, incidences of hypoxia and anoxia in coastal marine environments are increasing globally. In Hood Canal, a sub-estuary of Puget Sound, Washington, research is underway to define and quantify the effects of hypoxia on zooplankton distribution and community structure. One copepod, Calanus pacificus, is considered to be a keystone species in this community due to its prominence in the food chain. My research has been to determine the physiological tolerances of Calanus to dissolved oxygen then compare with data from samples taken in Hood Canal to determine whether there is evidence that Calanus avoids areas with low DO. To identify oxygen tolerances, DO in seawater was manipulated in the laboratory by bubbling with N₂ gas, then 24-hr survival of copepods was tested at several DO levels. In the field, Calanus abundance was estimated from depth-stratified plankton samples taken during day and night, in regions and at depths, of high and low DO. Laboratory experiments showed that Calanus were adversely affected by low DO with a sharp decrease in survival from 87% survival at 1.44 mg O₂/L to 13% at 0.96 mg O₂/L. My research relates these findings to distributions observed in the field data. Substantial decreases in Calanus populations due to increased hypoxia in Hood Canal could cause large changes in the food web. Further research into Calanus’ behavioral reactions to these conditions could help understand, and even predict these changes.

Plastic marine debris is found in coastal and marine waters worldwide. There has been an increase in the study of microplastics, synthetic polymers < 5 mm, throughout the world. Researchers at the Center for Urban Waters, University of Washington Tacoma have collaborated with Sound Experience, a local boat-based environmental education group, trained by our research group on sample collection. This presentation describes the 2012 and 2013 surveys of waters from Puget Sound, Washington. Undergraduate student researchers from the Center for Urban Waters analyzed the environmental samples using a wet-peroxide oxidation method. This survey measured variable concentrations of microplastics in this region’s surface water ranging from 0.05 to 31% microplastics of the dry mass with an average concentration of 7% microplastics of the dry mass. These results and their analysis in relation to environmental factors in the area lead to a greater understanding of the plastic contamination within the Puget Sound region.

The high antigenic diversity HIV-1 presents an enormous challenge for vaccine design as effective vaccines must be broad and potent in order to recognize and effectively counteract diverse circulating HIV strains. The identification of broadly neutralizing antibodies to recognize and counteract these diverse strains provides optimism for the ability to elicit broad and potent responses against HIV via vaccination. PGT128 is one such antibody and has been shown, in combination with other broadly neutralizing antibodies, to improve neutralization coverage of both viruses transmitted heterosexually and vertically, i.e. from mother to infant. Thus it is crucial that we understand the molecular determinants of the virus that leads to its sensitivity to broadly neutralizing antibodies. We studied viruses from longitudinal time points, one at 21 days post infection and one from 560 days post infection, of one infected individual who displayed increasing sensitivity to PGT128. Using nested PCR to create chimeras between the two viruses, we found that the loss of a single potential N-linked glycosylation site in the V1 region of HIV envelope conferred sensitivity to PGT128. This emphasizes the importance of N-linked glycosylation sites in conferring PGT128 recognition.

Although highly-skilled women (with a bachelor's degree or above) currently migrate at a rate twice as men worldwide, women's experiences in these migration patterns, especially to the U.S., have been largely neglected in the literature. Research on the feminization of "brain drain" conducted in other countries, however, have displayed how women's gender identities can radically change from the sending to the receiving country, usually resulting in greater gender inequality within both the public and private spheres. Paradoxically, while highly-skilled Latin American women come to the U.S. in the largest numbers, no research to date has documented these women's perspectives within the context of this international movement. Thus, this project aims to explore the ways in which Mexican and Caribbean highly-skilled migrant women (re)formulate their gender identities in the workplace and household as a result of their relocation to the U.S. and, more specifically, to the greater Seattle area. The methods employed include semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 10-15 highly-skilled migrant women recruited through a standard socio-scientific snowball sample. It is anticipated that, much like the findings in previous studies on other demographic groups, the shifting social, economic, and cultural realities between the U.S. and these women's home countries have significantly impacted their gender identities; in other words, leading them to perform less productive labor and to adhere to more traditional feminine roles. This work will contribute to filling the knowledge gap on highly-skilled Latin American women within feminist migration studies, and may be used to inform policy surrounding skilled migration from the region.

Seasonal hypoxia in Hood Canal, initiated by eutrophication, is a persistent condition that can overtax marine organisms and potentially affect the marine food web. While many organisms cannot survive in hypoxic areas for an extended time and may display stress or avoidance, low metabolic jellyfish could exploit such conditions to their advantage and proliferate. The health of Hood Canal and surrounding Puget Sound fisheries require detailed quantitative analyses to determine if jellyfish populations pose a threat to the balance of these unique ecosystems. During 2012 and 2013, zooplankton samples were collected monthly through June to October using 200 micron nets from four stations representing the greatest range of dissolved oxygen levels in Hood Canal: Union, Hoodsport, Duckabush, and Dabob. After preservation, samples were cataloged by identification, counts, and measurements using a dissecting microscope. Currently, nineteen genus/species have been identified in the classes Scyphozoa and Hydrozoa and in the phylum Ctenophora. Dominant species include the ambush predator hydromedusa Aglantha digitale and the siphonophore Muggiaea atlantica. Seasonal changes showed significant increases in densities of M. atlantica from 2012-2013 during July through August. Seasonal and interannual distributions of community structures will be further explored alongside environmental conditions to identify patterns and changes in the functional diversity of Hood Canal’s jellyfish and to infer their ecological impacts.

Public health concern in the U.S and across the world regarding the impact of environmental hazards on human health is becoming more evident as we develop tools to see disparities in exposure and health outcome. Pollutants in the air and water can have lifelong consequences for the quality of lives of many people. Therefore, our toxicology laboratory is examining the result of pesticide exposure and toxicity in children, and how it may cause harm to normal development. Our research centers on studying exposure using blood, urine, and oral buccal samples obtained as part of a Children’s Health study on Yakima Valley. We have determined blood pesticide, urinary metabolite concentrations, cholinesterase activity, paraoxonase activity, and genome wide variation in 200 families. We have analyzed buccal samples from farmworker and non-farmworker families that were collected during different pesticide spray seasons. We are studying these buccal swab samples of children and their parents to identify bacteria present within them. We are utilizing targeted 16S ribosomal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the phylogenetic composition of the microbiome in saliva samples. The microbiome refers to the vast colonization of microbes within the body. There are more bacterial cells in our bodies than human cells even though they are only about 10% of the total mass. We hope to find a difference in microbe composition and metabolism for samples from agricultural seasons (pesticide use and non-spray seasons), and for child and adult samples. We have already analyzed pilot samples and found consistent results. Recently, we have begun PCR-based analysis and sequencing the remainder of the cohort buccal samples to characterize the diversity of oral microbiomes. If a link is found between the microbiome, pesticides, metabolic traits, and host genotype then we can more fully describe risk and metabolic biomarkers for exposed populations.