Abstracts a body composition test and performed a graded maximal energy test on a stationary bike. Cell isolation and flow cytometry were performed on blood drawn from participants at baseline and post exercise. The results showed an increase in CD16+, CD14+CD16+ and CD14-CD16+ cells and a decrease in CD3+, CD14+, CD14+CD16and CD34+ cells. The decreases in CD14+ and CD14+CD16- were expected due to their pro inflammatory affects but the other results were not. These results were inconclusive due to the small sample size and lack of women participants and will be continued in the spring.
should be conducted on this topic to better test the hypotheses. Double-Deficit Hypothesis for Dyslexia: A Meta-Analysis Mary Elizabeth Moody, CURO Research Assistant Dr. Jason Nelson, Psychology, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Although the phonological theory of dyslexia has dominated the research literature over the past several decades, a more recent theory – the double-deficit hypothesis (DDH) – has received increased attention and has potentially significant implications for the identification and treatment of individuals with dyslexia. Three subtypes are purported within the DDH model, including a phonological deficit (PA) subtype, naming speed deficit (NS) subtype, and double-deficit (DD) subtype. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to determine if those with the different deficit subtypes differed in their reading skills in the way predicted by the DDH. Inclusion criteria were that studies (a) used a group design, (b) categorized groups according to the DDH subtypes, (c) compared at least two of the subtypes on a reading measure, and (d) reported statistics necessary for calculating effect size. Of the 193 studies reviewed, 22 met these criteria. The hypothesis that the DD subtype experiences more impaired reading skills than the other subtypes was confirmed. The DD subtype had lower reading skills than both the PA and NS subtypes, with effect sizes in the medium range for both comparisons. The PA subtype had lower reading accuracy than did the NS subtype, and the NS subtype had lower reading fluency than did the PA subtype. However, each of these effect sizes was in the small range. The hypotheses of the DDH were confirmed, although the effect sizes were substantial only for the hypothesis that the DD subtype has more impaired reading skills than the PA and NS subtypes.
Comparing Activity Budgets between Adult and Juvenile Asian Elephants Nam Money, CURO Research Assistant Dr. Vanessa Ezenwa, Ecology, Odum School of Ecology The slow growth and development rate of Asian elephants (Elaphus maximus) is directly linked to the length of their lifespan, which can be as long as 70 years in the wild. This suggests that behavioral differences between juvenile and adult elephants can be very prominent. However, there has been limited research on differences in elephant behaviors based on age. In this study, the behavioral activity budgets of six semi-wild elephants were observed at the GVI Thai Elephant Project in Northern Thailand. Since half of the elephants were juveniles and the other half adults, the objective of the study was to discern if knowledge and learning causes older elephants to perform activities indicating a higher understanding of environment. This main hypothesis was tested by investigating four specific hypotheses: (1) The activity budgets of adult elephants will be less diverse than those of juvenile elephants (2) Adult elephants will be more sedentary (3) Juvenile elephants will exhibit more exploratory behaviors, and (4) Adult elephants will walk more, as they are more familiar with the area and have more experience. Behavioral differences between adult and juvenile elephants did not appear to differ significantly for any of the hypotheses. Thus, none of the hypotheses were supported by the data. By better understanding age related behavioral differences in elephants, conservation measures can be tailored to specific populations of elephants based on their ages. More thorough and comprehensive research
Likely Leaders: The Influence of Big Five Personality Traits on Leadership Dynamics Alex Moore, CURO Research Assistant Gabrielle Moriah Richie, Carissa Urrea, Diana Enriquez, David Wyrembelski 162