OPUS: Open Ulethbridge Scholarship
Open ULeth Scholarship (OPUS) is the University of Lethbridge's open access research repository. It contains a collection of materials related to research and teaching produced by the academic community.
Self-archiving your research in OPUS is one way to meet Open Access policies of granting agencies. It is important to retain your final, post-peer-reviewed drafts for submission to OPUS, as this is often the only version publishers will allow to be archived. Click here for information on the U of L Open Access Policy.
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Immigrants' exposure to natural environments in Canada: associations with integration, settlement satisfaction, physical activity, and wellbeing
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2023) Charles Rodriguez, Ulises; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Health Sciences; Larouche, Richard
Refugees and immigrants dissatisfied with their settlement may experience a significant decline in mental health after arrival. Evidence suggests that nature can positively affect mental health, belonging, and place attachment. The dissertation includes three complementary studies. Our scoping review revealed that being in nature is primarily an embodied experience that can foster new memories, facilitating adaptation and attachment to new environments among immigrants. Our national cross-sectional study suggest that immigrants engage in significantly fewer outdoor activities and outdoor activities are associated with settlement satisfaction. In our evaluation, participants expressed a range of motivations, benefits, challenges, and recommendations for a local community garden project.
The scoping review and cross-sectional study identify outcomes and barriers to participation and summarize recommendations for research and practice. Adopting a participatory approach to our evaluation facilitated capacity building and direct use of research findings. Such an approach can catalyze sustainable community action in immigrant communities.
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Walking with SAGE Clan Patrol: practicing Niitsitapiikimmapiiyipitssinni in healing addiction
(University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Anthropology, 2023) Cran, Amy; Wilson, Patrick
This thesis will examine if and how a local, grassroots, Blackfoot-led outreach organization, SAGE Clan Patrol (Serve, Assist, Guard, and Engage) is guided by traditional Blackfoot Ways of Knowing, and how the work of this organization intersects with other proposed approaches to addiction treatment in Southern Alberta, including harm reduction framework and abstinence-oriented treatment. Through an ethnographic account of patrols from June to August 2022, it will explore how the work of this organization fits into narratives of ostensibly competing FNMI (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) and Western frameworks of health in the context of addiction treatment, and specifically, whether SAGE Clan's approach can be said to map onto a "Culture as Treatment" model. Further, it will explore the possibilities (and limits) of conceiving of the work of this organization under the banners of decolonization and reconciliation.
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Understanding the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of permafrost at a range of scales across the Western Canadian Arctic and Subarctic
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Geography and Environment, 2023) Garibaldi, Madeleine C.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Bonnaventure, Philip
Permafrost and active layer thickness (ALT) vary considerably spatially and in response and sensitivity to warming. Understanding the driving influences behind local scale variability and sensitivity is important to guide regional studies. Heterogeneity in the thermal state of permafrost (TSP), ALT and the most important influences on each were analyzed across the western Canadian Arctic and Subarctic. Spatial differences in ALT were related to ecoregional characteristics with increasing average ALT by ecoregion moving south (68 cm to 126 cm) and high variability in ALT for shrub dominated ecoregions (up to 145 cm). The sensitivity of the permafrost model varied between regions, highlighting the importance of winter conditions with less than 60 % of observations remaining within 1 ºC of the original value compared to 72 % for the thawing conditions. Local models of permafrost presence compared to regional models both under current (33% compared to 77%) and future climates (71% compared to 10%) demonstrated the unreliability of regional models in locations where the underlying model assumptions were not valid. Ultimately, the importance of using locally measured data to characterize and adjust regional assumptions was demonstrated. Finally, differential magnitudes of thermal responses to warming (up to 5 ºC), based on the connectivity of the air and ground thermal regime across the analysis, underscores the potential for permafrost resilience and the need to account for variable surface offsets when predicting future permafrost distribution maps.
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On the quality of the ABC-solutions
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science, 2023) Bolvardizadeh, Solaleh; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Akbary, Amir
An ABC-solution is a triple (a,b,c) of integers such that gcd(a,b,c) = 1 and a+b = c. The
quality of an ABC-solution is defined as
q(a,b,c) =
max{log |a|, log |b|, log |c|} /
log rad(|abc|)
,
where rad(|abc|) is the product of distinct prime factors of |abc|. The ABC-conjecture
states that given ε > 0 the number of the ABC-solutions (a,b,c) with q(a,b,c) ≥ 1+ε is
finite. In this thesis, under the ABC-conjecture, we explore the quality of certain families
of the ABC-solutions formed by terms in Lucas and associated Lucas sequences. We also
unconditionally introduce a new family of ABC-solutions with quality > 1. In addition, we
provide an upper bound on the quality of the ABC-solutions assuming an explicit version of
the ABC-conjecture proposed by Alan Baker. Assuming this explicit upper bound for the
quality, we explore the solutions to two Diophantine equations in integers, namely
xn+yn = n!zn and n!+1 = m2.
Next, inspired by the work of Pink and Szikszai, we provide the solutions to a generalization
of n!+1 = m2 in Lucas sequences. Furthermore, we study the S-unit equations and find all
the ABC-solutions with rad(ABC) = 30. Lastly, we consider another explicit version of the
ABC-conjecture proposed by Baker and show that this conjecture is false by examining the
newfound good ABC-solutions.
Item
The molecular mechanisms of anti-inflammatory impact of three minor phytocannabinoids, eugenol and psilocybin and the protective effect of two major phyatocannabinoids, three minor phytocannabinoids, eugenol and psilocybin on high glucose-high lipid induced ß-cell loss, dysfunctionality and dedifferentiation
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 2023) Ghasemi Gojani, Esmaeel; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Kovalchuk, Igor; Kovalchuk, Olga
Type 2 Diabetes, a growing disorder worldwide, particularly in advanced countries, is closely associated with dysregulated inflammation. In our current research, we aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms behind the potential anti-inflammatory effects of major and minor phytocannabinoids, eugenol and psilocybin. We investigated their impact on mitigating proinflammatory responses in human macrophages, as well as their potential to counteract high glucose-high lipid-induced (HG-HL) loss and dedifferentiation of beta-cells, along with impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.
Our findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of THCV, CBC, and CBN are likely mediated through the involvement of CB1R and PPARγ receptors. Furthermore, we identified PANX-1, TXNIP, and ADAR1 as potential contributors to the mitigation of Nlrp3 inflammasome and the anti-inflammatory effects exerted by these three minor phytocannabinoids. We also observed that THC, CBD, THCV, CBC, and CBN could inhibit HG-HL-induced loss of beta-cells, possibly by reducing apoptosis and pyroptosis.
Additionally, all five phytocannabinoids displayed varying degrees of inhibitory effects on HG-HL-induced -cell dedifferentiation. Moreover, we found evidence suggesting that eugenol exerts its anti-inflammatory effects, at least in part, by mitigating NFκB activity. Eugenol also demonstrated the ability to inhibit apoptosis and dedifferentiation in HG-HL-induced beta-cell. As for psilocybin, it showed potential inhibitory effects on cytokine storm through the suppression of NFκB, STAT3, and STAT1 transcription factors. Psilocybin also exhibited a suppressive impact on beta-cell loss and dedifferentiation.
In summary, our research sheds light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory properties of eugenol and psilocybin, as well as major and minor phytocannabinoids. These findings have implications for understanding the potential therapeutic benefits of these compounds in mitigating inflammation and preserving beta-cell function in the context of Type 2 Diabetes.