The Athenaeum

Category: Science

  • Opening Letter from the Science Editor

    Welcome to new and returning Acadia students! The school year is already in full swing and as your semesters get busy, we hope that you will look out for online and print issues of The Athenaeum as your student-run source of news about what is happening on campus and in the greater Wolfville community. It is bound to be an especially exciting year for the sciences at Acadia as the $22.25 million investment in renovations for Huggins Science Hall and Elliot Hall comes to fruition. This funding, provided by the Government of Canada, Province of Nova Scotia and private donors, will serve to modernize our science facilities for research and teaching use alike while improving their environmental sustainability. 

    Despite the construction in some of our science buildings, research at Acadia is still going strong as Acadia researchers begin the year with $1.8 million in NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) funding. This funding will go towards research in the Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, Earth and Environmental Science, Computer Science, Biology and Geology departments. Of particular interest, will be the development of the Acadia Quarantine Behavioural Bioassay Facility to expand Dr. Kirk Hillier’s work on insect responses to odorants. 

    This year, we are hoping to have wide-ranging articles from all of the scientific departments at Acadia, particularly showcasing the research that happens right here on our campus. We hope to have articles about the work Acadia scientific clubs and societies, graduate students and professors do to enrich our campus and greater scientific community. We also hope to have contributions from students about their own experiences doing research abroad, through co-op or other external opportunities so as to help other students gain perspective about the opportunities they may wish to pursue. New submissions and ideas are always welcomed and can be emailed to [email protected]. We hope to hear from you and to be your source of news about the vibrant scientific community here at Acadia! 

    Sources:  

    http://www2.acadiau.ca/home/news-reader-page/canada-and-nova-scotia-invest-in-infrastructure-at-acadia-university-5806.html 

    https://www2.acadiau.ca/home/news-reader-page/acadia-researchers-receive-1-8-million-in-nserc-funding.html 

    https://www2.acadiau.ca/home/news-reader-page/acadia-researchers-receive-cfis-john-r-evans-leader-funds.html 

  • Dr. Rick Mehta on his Teaching Style, Research and Thoughts on Free Speech

    Dr. Rick Mehta is well-known on the Acadia campus for teaching Acadia’s biggest course, Introductory Psychology, but also for being a friendly and active member of the Acadia community. He can often be found going on a run around campus or singing in the Acadia University Chorus. In light of Dr. Mehta’s upcoming talk on “Free Speech in Universities: Threats and Opportunities”, I sat down with him to get some insight into his research interests, teaching style and thoughts on issues university students are facing today. 

    Dr. Mehta began his post-secondary education with his B.Sc. at the University of Toronto in Scarborough from 1989 to 1993. He debated doing a biology and psychology double major but settled instead on a neuroscience degree which he felt was the best of both worlds. From 1994 to 1996, he did his M.Sc. in psychopharmacology at McGill University to study the effects of drugs on rats’ brains. This was challenging due to a very uncomfortable allergy to rats and so he then switched to studying how people learn about correlations between events (and their role in decision making) as his Ph.D. project at McGill. After completing a three year Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Winnipeg, Dr. Mehta came to Acadia in 2003.  

    When asked about what he finds special about Acadia, he remarked at how, even being in a class in Acadia’s biggest classroom, Huggins 10, one can still feel a sense of community with those around you. This sense of community and belonging in a group appeals to him and, along with the pure joy of creating music, is the reason why he takes part in the Acadia chorus. He enjoys this opportunity to be equals with his students and to interact with them as peers rather than as a professor standing in front of them in a classroom. 

    Introductory Psychology is a course that many students find themselves taking at one point throughout their Acadia career, and Dr. Mehta’s teaching of it has helped to make it quite popular. He always arrives a few minutes early to chat with students and plays a song at the beginning of every class. To him, the necessary formula of a good lecture incorporates content that is both accessible and structured above all else but woven as much as possible with breaks for humour. Indeed, when I asked him if there was someone he’d encountered throughout his career who’d inspired him to teach in the unique style he’s adopted, his answer was to show me his forearms. Tattooed on his arms, are the faces of Rush band members. He explained to me that he tries to integrate what Rush does in their music and concerts into his teaching. The band member Neil Peart is the serious one in the group who writes the lyrics, while Geddy Lee adds structure and Alex Lifeson infuses humour and improvisation into Rush’s songs and concerts. To Dr. Mehta, these are the three most important elements he wants to incorporate into his teaching. Like Rush, he has something serious to share but wants to deliver it with as much joy and accessibility as possible.  

    Dr. Mehta’s research interests lie in the field of decision making. Recently, he’s been looking into the role of various predictors that play a role in decision making tasks. One predictor that he described was the Cognitive Reflection Test. This is a test where a question may be worded such that there seems to be an intuitive answer but it’s actually incorrect. An example question looks like this: “A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs a $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?” Many people would say ¢10 whereas if you really think about it, the answer is ¢5. Recent research suggests that low scores on this task are associated with real-life outcomes such as  increased credit card debt and failing to secure our computers (e.g., not being careful about our privacy settings when using social media). 

    Other predictors he has studied include the ways people process information, how much they enjoy being challenged, how much faith they put into intuition and how they reason with numbers in relation to decision making. These types of studies are relevant because there are plenty of everyday examples where quick decision making is necessary but can have consequences on a person’s well-being. For example, nutrition labels are supposed to be easily accessible to the public, and yet his research group has found that complex numerical and reading comprehension skills are actually needed to fully understand them.  

    I asked him if he had any advice to share with students who may be interested in also pursuing a career in research and his advice was to follow your strengths and to think creatively about your options. While the high level of competition for research jobs in the academic context may make a career in research seem daunting, there are plenty of alternative places to look to gain interesting experience. For example, research jobs in the private industry, government or military may have less competition and be just as interesting and rewarding. 

    Since Dr. Mehta’s upcoming talk on free speech has been a highly controversial topic in universities in Canada and the United States, I asked him for a preview of his stance and objectives in giving it. I learned that his goal is to address a persisting issue and to provide an outlet for a discussion that avoids setting off a rally or further polarization of viewpoints. He plans to provide evidence of a growing lack of civil discourse in universities and so a polarization of viewpoints leading to a new kind of discrimination. As he put it, “throughout human history, people have had a tendency to separate ourselves into us versus them groups, and the growing trend now is for people to discriminate against each other based on their views or ideas.”  

    His hope in giving this talk is to reach out to people who disagree with him so as to be able to follow up his talk later with a well-rounded panel discussion that has the potential to start a conversation within the university community. He plans to bring evidence from studies and incidents on Canadian and American University campuses to discuss how to approach this challenging subject. He feels that suppressing hate speech will not be the most effective way to eliminate hate and will bring ideas for how else to address this problem. He plans to discuss the shift in political ideologies on campuses across Canada that have inadvertently shifted to become disconnected with the rest of society. His concern with this being, that if viewpoints go very far in one direction, it can lead to a polarization that creates a rebellion for polarization in the opposite direction. This issue and debate exists in university campuses across North America, and if you can’t talk about it in university, then where can you talk about it? 

    To hear more about Dr. Mehta’s impressions of the factors affecting free speech in universities, join him for his talk “Free Speech in Universities: Threats and Opportunities” from 7 to 8:30pm in BAC 132 on September 27th, 2017. 

     

  • Chinese Officials Lose Control Over Tiangong-1 Space Station

    Chinese Officials Lose Control Over Tiangong-1 Space Station

    The Chinese space station, “Tiangong-1”, is headed towards Earth. Chinese officials have also revealed that they currently have no clue where the space station is going to crash, but have predicted that it is to occur sometime in 2017. The craft is approximately the size of a bus (a length of about 34 feet and width of 11 feet), weighing 8.5 tonnes. It will most likely re-enter our atmosphere in small pieces.

    The Tiangong-1, which translates to “heavenly palace”, was originally launched in 2011 as an attempt to practice and carry out experiments relating to living in space and docking procedures with other space crafts. It was only built and intended for two year missions. Only recently, on September 14th 2016, did Wu Ping, the deputy director of China’s manned space engineering program, reveal that they had lost contact with the space craft back in March of 2016. Reasons why China’s space program have lost contact with Tiangong-1 currently remain unclear. While most unmanned space crafts burn and break apart upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere, this is usually closely monitored and highly controlled.

    Unfortunately, having lost all contact with the satellite, the Chinese space agency has very little influence over when and where it will crash. As of September 23rd, Tiangong-1 was orbiting above the Earth at approximately 370 kilometers. It has been losing just over 100 meters a day from both the Earth’s gravitational pull and atmospheric drag. By November 13th, the station will be roughly 364.9 kilometers above the Earth, having lost over 5,100 meters.

    When satellites reach the end of their intended lifespan, there are two options to dispose of them. The first is blasting it even further into the icy depths of space where it will never be seen again. The second option consists of slowing down the satellite using the last of its fuel so it can fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere. While smaller satellites disintegrate upon entering the atmosphere at thousands of miles an hour, bigger crafts, i.e. Tiangong-1, may survive and are usually redirected to an area in the South Pacific Ocean known as the “spacecraft cemetery”. The cemetery is the safest place for satellites to crash because it is the point farthest away from any piece of land.

    So where will the space station crash? Nobody is able to know or even roughly estimate the site of impact at this time. Even when satellites reenter our atmosphere under controlled descents, no one is able to predict exactly where it’s going to crash due to factors like the descent angle, how much of the craft is left to burn, and if there are multiple fragments. Taking into account all these factors, means that the craft could crash practically anywhere on Earth.

    Despite all of this, officials claim that there is only a small chance that the satellite will hit a populated area. This is partially due to the fact that Tiangong-1 is hollow, which will cause it to burn up upon re-entry. Additionally, most of Earth’s surface (71%) is covered in water, with population density being a specific area on land, lessening the chance of the satellite posing any danger. However, that is only an estimate, and the only way to know for sure will be to watch the skies sometime in 2017.

  • Biology Graduate Marc Hetu on His Research Experience at Acadia

    Biology Graduate Marc Hetu on His Research Experience at Acadia

    A 2014 graduate from Acadia’s biology department, Marc Hetu now works in Acadia professor Dr. Sherri McFarland’s chemistry lab. He really enjoys his work there which focuses on the exciting field of light activated anti-cancer drugs. The field, called photodynamic therapy (PDT) attempts to find cancer treatment drugs, called photosensitizers (PS), that are non-toxic in the dark so that they can be administered under normal conditions that won’t harm the rest of the body but can kill cancer under specific conditions. This is a priority because the major issue with current cancer treatments, such as chemo and radiation therapy, is that they are a source of constant toxicity throughout the body, harming both cancerous and healthy cells. The key characteristic of light activated anti-cancer drugs is that they are relatively non-toxic in the dark but once you shine a certain wavelength of light on them, their anti-cancer activity is activated. This would allow for targeted treatment to specific areas of the body that need it by simply shining light on the affected parts. By leaving healthy parts of the body in the dark, they remain unaffected.

    There are a few molecular mechanisms by which this can be done with the most well documented being singlet oxygen generation. The PS, in the presence of light, activates oxygen in the cells to transition from a triplet state to a singlet state. Oxygen in its singlet state  is highly cytotoxic, destroying all cancer cells in the near vicinity. However, this singlet oxygen mechanism has limitations. For example, solid tumours tend to have central hypoxic regions (low oxygen) , which means that the singlet oxygen PDT mechanism cannot work if there is no oxygen.

    He credits this incredible opportunity to work in Dr. McFarland’s lab to the transferable job-specific skills he gained as a research topics student starting in 2012. He found that the two research topics courses he took not only opened the door for him to work in the lab he continued to work in as a graduate, but also gave him the opportunity to transfer what he’d learned in class to independent work in the lab. He describes research topics courses as a way for students to get over the significant hurdle they face where most entry-level research jobs in the sciences require several years of lab experience just to get started. These courses also provide students with a sample of what a researcher’s life is like, leading Marc to his most surprising find: the pure workload of doing research. Much time is devoted to making hypotheses, testing them, and attempting to learn something from the results, whether they support the hypothesis or disprove it. In addition, a lot of time is spent mastering experimental skills and trying things that may not work the first time. Then every meticulously planned out and executed experiment is often run in triplicate with controls and, depending on the experiment can lead to hours of work of analysing data.

    A research topics course also provides students with the opportunity to get to know their professors outside the classroom so as to learn more about their research and interests. This gives students the chance to see if a career in research appeals to them before they continue onto graduate school. And so, Marc finds he can’t speak highly enough about the incredible opportunity to do a research topics course at Acadia and hopes other students will feel encouraged to do so.

    The only significant drawback he experienced in his research career at Acadia was that since it is a smaller institution, it can be harder to get research funding than it would be for researchers at a larger institution. Funding agencies (and donors) tend to give their money to larger institutions despite the many excellent researchers at universities like Acadia, and Marc has at times felt like this has limited his ability to grow professionally. Overall though, his experience as a researcher at Acadia has been very positive and he continues to be inspired by the work he does in Dr. McFarland’s lab where he does the initial screening for the light activated antimicrobial drugs project. Some of the compounds that performed well in initial biological testing in this lab have even been licensed to a company in Ontario and are going through human clinical trials. While this is exciting, he warns that a career in research rarely comes with the many eureka moments depicted in media, and that patience is a necessity for a career in research. Some of the best discoveries often come from the “grind” of daily tasks. The hours can be long and the work at times seems redundant, but the satisfaction and personal validation that comes when an experiment finally works out makes the work worthwhile.

  • Acadia Physics and Mathematics Student Researchers Stand Out

    Long hours at the library and countless lectures pay off when you can produce a piece of work that’s exciting. Sometimes it can be helpful to learn about what other students are working on in order to not only understand what it means to be doing research while in your undergraduate degree, but also to gain inspiration from their triumphs. Take a look at some notable current students and the topics they studied.

     

    Physics Beyond the Standard Model: X plus and X minus

    Miriam Hewlett

    At present the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics is our best description of what occurs at the subatomic level, but it is known that this description is incomplete. Experiments investigating the possibility of new particles and interactions are some of the most prominent in modern physics. For this research the effects of additional vector bosons beyond the SM, X plus and X minus, on electron-positron collisions were examined at the tree level. Such collisions are outlined for Belle-II, an upcoming experiment at KEK. The X plus/minus model introduces direct CP violating phases in the coupling of X plus to anti-fermions and X minus to fermions. Results were calculated in Mathematica with the use of the Feyncalc package, and are in the form of exclusion plots displaying allowed ranges of physical parameters associated with the additional particles.

     

    Interval Estimation for Risk Analysis with Nonquantal Data

    Dewi Tanasia Saputra

    In the literature of low-dose risk assessment, Piegorsch et al. (2005) proposed five approaches to construct simultaneous confidence bounds with nonquantal data and they recommended Akahira’s Cornish-Fisher expansion method. In this thesis, a generalized confidence interval method proposed by Weerahandi (1995) is used to construct simultaneous confidence bounds for low-dose risk assessment when sample sizes are large. We apply small sample asymptotic methods to obtain interval inference for risk assessment. Simulation studies are conducted to compare their performances based on the coverage probability. The application of the proposed methods is demonstrated by a real data example.

     

    Bay of Fundy Tidal Power: Analysis of Tidal Velocity Data

    Dillon Burgess

    Models have indicated that 2500 MW of energy could be extracted from the tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy. Harnessing this energy has proved to be a difficult task, with the characteristics of the tidal currents needing to be analyzed and understood before a turbine can enter the water. Using a cabled Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP), a year long data set of the tidal velocity at a location in Grand Passage was gathered. Unfortunately, the data sets have several data gaps, when the instrument malfunctioned. The ADCP data can be analysed by performing a harmonic analysis, which produces amplitudes and phases of the tidal constituents. Each tidal constituent represents how an aspect of the periodic change in the relative positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun contributes to the time series data. Tidal velocities can then be reconstructed with the results from the harmonic analysis to generate a continuous time series for a full year. The difference between the ADCP data and reconstructed data is used to analyse the component of the velocity that is not related to the tidal harmonics, as is likely turbulence.

     

    Design and Construction of an Excitation Spectrometer

    Ms. Alejandra Maria Fuentes

    One method to study the optical properties of materials is by optical excitation spectroscopy.  In excitation spectroscopy, a nearly monochromatic light source is used to irradiate the sample at different wavelengths, and a spectrometer is used to record the spectrum of the emitted light at each incident wavelength. Hence, both emission and excitation spectra are recorded at the same time.  An emission spectrum consists of the wavelength distribution of the light emitted by the sample, measured at a fixed excitation wavelength. On the other hand, an excitation spectrum is the light intensity emitted at a fixed emission wavelength, over a range of excitation wavelengths. Both spectroscopic methods are useful in studying optical transitions occurring in a material.  My project involved the design, construction, and calibration of an excitation spectrometer.  LABVIEW programs were written to automate the experimental apparatus (monochromator, beam blanker, spectrometer), as well as perform the data analysis.  The data could then be investigated in three dimensions: excitation wavelength, emission wavelength and intensity.  This excitation spectrometer was then used to study the luminescent properties of geological rock and powder specimens, and a liquid chlorophyll sample.

     

    Biomarker Identification for Dementia and Brain Tumour Tissue Characterization with Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    Thalia Magyar

    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful for diagnosing brain disorders. For instance, it can be used for stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), and a host of other debilitating neurodegenerative disorders. Yet, the correlation between quantitative MRI metrics and tissue pathology is not yet fully developed. My research focusses on progress toward strengthening correlations through several analysis techniques I have developed. Images from different types of quantitative MR methods are distorted in different ways and image contrast can be different which makes voxel-by-voxel quantitative comparisons difficult. Multimodality images, for instance, position emission tomography images and MR images, are collected with different resolutions and the contrast within the images varies due to different tissue properties. I am developing robust image registration, that is, image aligning techniques, so that comparisons can be done. The Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Centre in Winnipeg now has the capability to perform simultaneous PET and MR imaging. Direct comparisons between cerebral flood flow maps and PET measurements can be done when the images are correctly registered. Direct comparison between MR image findings and histology are best done when the two types of images are co-registered. In my research I work toward these registrations and quantifying image comparisons on a voxel-by-voxel basis. I will demonstrate these methods on control samples as well as disease samples such as brain cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

     

    An Angular Analysis of the Rare B ! K*µ + µ- Decay Using AdS/QCD

    Ryan MacGibbon

    Using something called Anti de-sitter/Quantum Chromodynamics (AdS/QCD), you can predict the complete set of angular observables in the rare B ! K*µ + µ- decay using light-front holographic B ! K* transition form factors, just as you can with the traditional method of Lattice QCD. Light front holographic AdS/QCD is a relatively new and amazing technique that maps 4-dimensional non-perturbative QCD field theory to a dual gravity curved space string theory! This works because when fields under the quantum field theory are strong interacting, the ones using gravitational theory are weak interacting, and vice-versa. This means that we can use perturbation theory in this 5-dimensional dual gravity theory, then map it back to QCD field theory, where comparisons and further calculations can be made. Since perturbation theory is a more accurate method than nonperturbative methods, this will hopefully allow for better approximations for our particle interactions, resulting in greater precision in our decay models. We are applying this adapted AdS/QCD technique to B-Meson Physics, and more specifically in my case, to the angular observables of B Mesons! Angular observables are a neat tool for measuring the decay angles in different particle decay, and are a useful means of discovering New Physics and hopefully in the future, changing the Standard Model of Particle Physics and our understand on how the physical world works!!!

  • Acadia Hosts 12th Annual Robot Programming Competition

    Acadia was the host of the 12th Annual Robot Programming Competitions on March 4th, 2017. The Robotics Championship includes students from all grades, and is a great way to increase awareness of Computer Science and the Acadia facilities. Groups must go through a pre-Championship round of competition before they are able to progress to the Acadia event. The day included an appearance of the Michelin Man, lots of candy, and more enthusiasm for Computer Science. Key people involved with the event include Gary Walsh, Jenna Watson-Findley, Sidi Yang, Dr. Danny Silver, and Bailin He. Young people are provided with robot pieces in the fall, and must construct it according to a designated design plan. After that, they learn about Computer Science concepts such as loops, variables, and repetition. Robots are programmed to detect changes in color, changes in distance, and other fun things. This years theme was Animal Kingdom, and different events focused on things such as farming and wildlife protection. The competition is a great way to engage young people with developing programs in a supportive and team-oriented environment. The day consists of a Core Values competition, the main event, and a Sumo Challenge. The event took place in the Beverage Arts Centre and the Acadia Gym.

    Winners of the 2016/17 Robot Programming Competition

    FIRST® LEGO® League (ages 9 to 14):

    • Champion 1stPlace – Royal Robots – Annapolis West Educational Centre
    • Champion 2ndPlace – Techsperts – East St. Margaret’s Elementary
    • Robot Performance Award 1st Place – Royal Robots – Annapolis West Educational Centre
    • Robot Performance Award 2ndPlace – 21st Century Space Guys – Kentville Neighbourhood Team
    • Mechanical Design Award – Armbrae Dragonites – Armbrae Academy
    • Programming Award – Clayton Park Wildcats – Clayton Park Jr. High
    • Strategy and Innovation Award – Robo Lobo Wired – Wolfville School
    • Core Values Inspiration Award – LEGO Intelligence – Colchester East Hants Library
    • Core Values Teamwork Award – Trurobotics – Truro Public Library
    • Gracious Professionalism Award – 21stCentury Space Guys – Kentville Neighbourhood Team
    • Project Research Award – Dynamic Robotic Duo – Halifax Community Group
    • Project Innovative Solution Award – Legos R Us – Imhotep Legacy Academy
    • Project Presentation Award – Hippie lEgo loV3rs –Halifax Neighbourhood Team
    • Judges’ Award Against All Odds – Robotic Roadrunners – Sydney Community Team
    • Judges’ Award- Honourable Mention Award – Sisters of Science – Kingston Community Team

    Global Innovation Award Team Nominee (certificate) – Legos R Us – Imhotep Legacy Academy

    ROBOFEST® High School Robotics Competition:

    Game Competition (RoboHit)

    • 1stPlace – King’s-Edgehill School 5 – King’s-Edgehill School
    • 2ndPlace – SJA Team A – Sir John A. MacDonald High School
    • 3rdPlace – Robats – Horton Community Team
    • 4thPlace – Royal Robots – Annapolis West Educational Centre

     

    BottleSumo

    • 1stPlace – King’s-Edgehill School 6 – King’s-Edgehill School
    • 2ndPlace – Robats – Horton Community Team
    • 3rdPlace – SJA Team A – Sir John A. MacDonald High School

     

    Outstanding Rookie Coach Award:

    (FIRST® LEGO® League) – Juan Carlos López & Eduardo Vaz – Axe Robotics – Wolfville

    (ROBOFEST®) – Nevin Pick – Lockview

    Outstanding Coach Awards:

    (FIRST® LEGO® League) – Andy Pitter – Robo Lobo Wired – Wolfville School

    (ROBOFEST®) – Chris MacDonald – SJA Team A – Sir John A. MacDonald High School

    The Lynn Chipman Memorial Outstanding Volunteer Award: Sidi Yang

    Karen Wilder Award – In recognition of perseverance, resilience and courage in overcoming challenges. (named after the former Director of the Program): Martin Main

     

     

  • Transition Q&A with Acadia PRIDE

    What comes to mind when someone talks about Hormone Replacement Therapy? For most people, they immediately think about a person they know that has gone through the process. Overall, people know about the fact that it helps a person appear as the gender that they identify as.

    What are some of the major risks of undergoing Hormone Replacement Therapy?

    “The major risks that I’m aware of socially involve that awkward middle ground of  “not quite passing”, especially in the case of trans feminine women. Violence and rape is a possibility for many, especially when trying to access gendered spaces. Of course, there’s also the risk of social isolation that could come if family or friends pull away from someone. Medically, all the usual issues associated with HRT and surgery. I think trans masculine people may have a higher risk of uterine/ovarian cancer, but not certain.”

    Can you elaborate on that?

    “Sometimes, the things you know that are going to happen go quicker than you expect, or not in the order you were anticipating. Like on average for trans masculine people, facial hair tends to start around 1 year-ish, but if it started sooner than you were expecting, it’d probably be a surprise. Plus the voice starts to crack and drop, just like cis boys in puberty, so that could be a surprise when it starts happening. Again, that’s really individual to the person as the HRT generally provides a lot of the same things to expect for people.”

    Is it easy to get access to medication?

    “No. I know people who’ve gotten it easily and some that haven’t. In general, the indications I’ve seen is that it’s generally a pain. Of course, that’s also dependent on where you live as some places will be more liberal than others.”

    What are some of the emotional changes that occur?

    “Generally, I wouldn’t talk about emotional changes as those aren’t consistent with everyone and are individualized. I have know a few women to feel more emotional, but that could also be connected to the actual social transition of suddenly being “acceptable” to cry because society tells men to shut up their feelings. To be fair, assuming people will have huge emotional shifts because of HRT is like assuming every cis women is emotional because of their period.”

    What are some ways that Acadia supports trans students?

    “Not dealing with a transition, I can’t per say. I can say that my legal name isn’t Taylor and I’ve been having a fight to get someone to even talk to me let alone do anything about using the forums on Acorn which is required for my class, but if I use them, I show everyone my legal name.”

    If a student at Acadia was interested in transitioning, where should they go for more resources?

    “I’m personally non-binary as a broad term. For resources, they could either come to the Women’s Centre or Pride on campus. I’m told there are also two very trans friendly doctor’s at the Mud Creek clinic, but I can’t remember their names.”

    Could you talk about what it’s like to be non-binary?

    “It’s a broad term, so my experience isn’t necessarily standard. I don’t feel at all like I’m a woman/girl/female the vast majority of the time, but I also don’t feel like I’m a man/boy/male though on the spectrum of one to the other, I definitely fall more strongly towards being masculine than feminine.”

    Can you elaborate some more on that?

    “If you consider the idea of being a guy or a girl on a 1-5 axis with 1 being a guy and 5 being a girl, I’d consider myself somewhere around the 1.5-2 range. I have occasional dysphoria (discomfort with my body because it doesn’t match the idea in my head of what it should be like). Sometimes I also just feel neutral like I’m smack dab at the 3.”

    Can you explain what this dysphoria feels like?

    “Mostly I’m not always comfortable with my breasts being touched. I had someone slide their hand up my chest once and I kind of felt almost confused that there was a “bump” instead of it being smooth. Luckily, I have a really small chest, so it’s not as bad as I’m sure it could be.”

    At what age do most individuals experience dysphoria for the first time?

    “There’s no standard. I mean, there can be a general feeling of something’s off, but plenty of people don’t realize what it is until they’re much older. Some people never have dysphoria in their lives. Not all transgender people have dysphoria and that’s important to remember as some are denied access because they aren’t “disturbed enough” with their bodies. For more information on gender dysphoria, check out: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria”

    Is there anything else you’d like to add?

    “Transition is a very individual process. Some people never get medical procedures, even HRT. The discussion on transition should always include social as well and should focus on what the individual wants. All forms of transition are good transition. There is no “end point” that anyone needs to reach to be who they are.”

    Disclaimer: All of the medical transition information in this article is second-hand. For more information, speak to a doctor.

     

  • Whitney Wolfe Leaves Tinder to Start Bumble Following Sexual Harassment Claims

    In July of 2014, Tinder’s co-founder Whitney Wolfe sued the company for sexual harassment. Since then, Wolfe has settled a lawsuit against co-founder Justin Mateen and won a legal battle. Wolfe went on to found Bumble, a different type of dating app. Tinder is an app that’s based on location and mutual interest. It enables conversations between two users that match, and allows for different types of matches. It’s unique in that it’s one of the first apps where a user is required to make a swiping motion to choose between photos of potentially good matches. Swiping right for yes and swiping left for no. Bumble is also based on location, and allows users to talk to each other if both are interested. Within heterosexual matches, it only lets women start a chat with their male matches. However, within homosexual matches, either member can start the conversation first. After leaving Tinder, Wolfe settled for just over $1 million from Tinder. Other Tinder departees helped to create Bumble as well. Such departees included Chris Gulzcynski and Sarah Mick. Bumble is a proudly feminist company and encourages equality. It tries to tackle the heteronormative rules surrounding dating. Such a departure reminds users that sexism can be an issue in the Silicon Valley, and that the fight for equality is far from finished. A great way to support the cause is by choosing to use feminist friendly dating apps.

  • #BanTheBottle Advocating For Cleaner Water

    The first water bottle was installed in London, England, in 1859. A political and technical accomplishment, it introduced clean, free, and accessible drinking water to the public. Bottled water was considered low-class because it was only used by workers in buildings and factories that could not afford plumbing. The public perception of bottled and public water was about to change drastically. In 1977, European Perrier created a New York based marketing campaign, selling their product as chic, upscale and lifestyle-defining. Their success inspired domestic beverage producers to launch their own marketing campaigns. Domestic producers could not claim classy European roots, so they created doubt in the safety of local water. Calistoga Mountain Spring water explicitly asked: “how can you be sure your water is safe? … unfortunately you can’t.”

    Simultaneously, the pressure from environmental activists pushed the government to create the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act. Public water was now safer than ever as limits to dumping and a standard of contamination were introduced. However, the public perception of the quality of local water decreased. Residents now had increased interactions with warnings and possible risks of drinking the local water because the act mandated immediate notification of contamination. Between 1973 and 1988, the share of Americans who said they were extremely concerned about tap-water pollution had more than doubled. Bottled water sales were on the rise. The global industry, valued at USD $100 billion in 2015, is a huge marketing accomplishment.

    Recent concern about BPA found in plastic water bottles corresponds with David Suzuki’s sentiment that the chemicals found in the plastic packaging may be more harmful than anything found in the tap. Aside from potential health risks from the packaging, you are really paying for the same water at up to 3,000 times what you pay for purification through your taxes. Coca Cola’s Dasani bottles water from municipal sources in Calgary and Brampton. Pepsi’s Aquafina gets its water from Vancouver and Mississauga.

    If tap water is not trusted there is also not trust in drinking fountains. Reducing the number of water fountains or their maintenance becomes a way for municipalities to lower their budgets without raising public concern. The disappearance of water fountains makes it harder for the public to access clean and free drinking-water.

    Bottled water is a manifestation of water privatization. It creates a system in which people are increasingly responsible for their ability to buy potable water. The industry’s main concern is not for the health of the town’s residents from which they co-op their supply of water. The industry is based on profit-seeking and not the fulfillment of human rights. In 2004, Nestlé’s Poland Spring continued to truck water out of Fryeburg Maine during a drought where residents had to boil water due to a pump water failure. As a reminder, Flint Michigan still does not have clean water. The national guard distributes cases of Nestlé’s Ice Mountain 100 percent natural spring water to the residents. Nestlé receives $13 million in tax breaks from the state as an incentive to locate their plant in Michigan. The company only pays a small permitting fee to the state and the lease of a private landowner to access the water. Flint residents are still paying some of the highest water bills in the country for their poisoned water while the Nestlé bottling plant takes water out of an underground aquifer 120 miles away. Pumping large quantities of water can deplete underground aquifers that supply water to local communities and aquatic wildlife habitats. Companies like Nestlé also take millions of litres a day from Ontario wells on which residents rely. At the same time, there is a growing threat of water scarcity in Canada. Twenty percent of municipalities have faced shortages in recent years.

    If we do not trust our water, our response should not be to rely on bottled water shipped half-way across the world or pumped from our back yards. We should demand that the federal government address concerns about drinking-water quality, as is their responsibility. At Acadia, there is a lack of filtered water fountains in residences, the Student Union Building, and some of the older academic and administrative buildings on campus. Water bottles are being sold on campus again after earlier opposition. It is a shame to pay for a resource to which we have a fundamental right to access in its most healthy and free form.

     

     

  • Atlantic Universities Physics & Astronomy Conference (AUPAC)

    On February 3rd 2017, members of the Acadia Physics Society departed Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to attend the Atlantic Universities Physics & Astronomy Conference (AUPAC). Every year AUPAC is hosted by a different Atlantic university, this year the conference took place at the University of Prince Edward Island from February 3rd to February 5th. The conference offers undergraduate students an opportunity to present their research in front of a panel of judges. Acadia University’s very own Dillon Burgess, Alejandra Fuentes, Miriam Hewlett, Ryan MacGibbon, and Thalia Magyar presented their research at the conference. This event also offered opportunities to meet with professors from universities across Canada, allowing students to make connections with potential supervisors for graduate school. Research conducted by professors from the Atlantic universities was also presented, providing insight to students interested in those fields.

  • Nutrition and Dietetics’ Students Host Italian Food Night for the Wolfville Community

    On January 18th, Management in Dietetics’ Students hosted a night called, “Autentico! A Night in Italy” which highlighted many traditional Italian dishes. The event took place at 5:30 pm at the Acadia Café, which is located in Room 422 of Huggins Science Hall. The night featured sparkling apricot pineapple punch, butternut squash and apple soup, focaccia, chicken cacciatore with lemon orzo & peas, and dark chocolate cranberry biscotti served with coffee & tea. The cost of admission was $13.50 (taxes included), and guests could pay via cash or by cheque at the door. The event was by RSVP only and sold out quickly with a full house. Are you looking for a delicious, low costing and nutritious meal? The Management in Dietetics’ students plan and execute an appetizing meal twice a week. Every Wednesday and Friday from 5:30-7:30 pm there is a three course meal served that highlights a specific cuisine around the world! Past meals have highlighted countries such as Morocco, India and the Greece and that is just to name a few. If you are looking for an opportunity to try something new and meet members within the community, come and support your peers and enjoy a delicious tasting meal. Keep your eye out for future management meal advertisements!

  • Exercise is Medicine

    Exercise is Medicine

    Is it possible that there is a hugely under-recognized and under-utilized tool that could be key in the prevention and treatment of rising chronic disease in Canada? According to Acadia Kinesiology professor and National Chair of Exercise is Medicine Canada, Dr. Jonathon Fowles, there is, and it’s a relatively simple one: exercise.

    According to a Statistics Canada report using data from a 2012-2013 Canadian Health Measures Survey, physical activity has been shown to lower the risk for chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, depression, stress and anxiety. These conditions are so common that almost every Canadian knows someone affected. The report goes on to say that regular physical activity can have a hugely protective effect on these conditions, reducing the risk for some of them by as much as 50%. Many Canadians would probably admit they are not getting the physical activity they need and the statistics reflect this. According to a 2013 report by the Canadian Chief Public Health Officer, just two in ten adults and one in ten children and youth met the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for that year. These guidelines were relatively modest, recommending at least a weekly goal of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity. According to Dr. Fowles, inactivity is a huge problem as humans are designed to move, meaning that all our body systems have evolved to support intense energy expenditure and movement. It’s also not just about the exercise you’re not doing but the sedentary activity you are doing as well. The Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology has updated their recommendations for children and youth to actually limit sitting time and recreational screen time due to the unhealthy consequences of physical inactivity which affects everything from cardiovascular health to mental health.

    Not only does physical inactivity cause a lot of problems at an individual level, but it can have huge economic and ecological burdens. In Canada, Dr. Fowles estimates that direct healthcare costs of physical inactivity amount to about seven billion a year plus about thirty billion a year in indirect costs (such as in reduced workplace productivity, the effects of poor mental health etc.). He estimates that if we were to increase the population’s physical activity by only 10%, we’d save Canada about two billion dollars a year. The ecological impact of inactivity refers in part to our complete reliance on cars. Many people agree that it would be better for their health to exercise more but simply don’t feel they have the time for it in their day to day life. A good way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase physical activity could be to build infrastructure that allows for safe and reliable active transportation like cycling.

    Exercise is Medicine Canada aims to help Canadians increase their daily physical activity by encouraging healthcare professionals to do more to address the importance of physical activity to their patients. They want to encourage physicians to incorporate it as a key health indicator and as a “vital sign” of a patient’s health status. Also, they’d like to see certified exercise professionals have a more significant role as healthcare resources.

    Some of these goals are not far off from being attained. Currently, in Ontario, there are 184 Family Health Teams which are groups of health care professionals working together to provide a wide range of health services to their patients. These collaborative teams include family physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, dieticians, mental health professionals, and pharmacists. About 20% have registered kinesiologists on staff already. Dr. Fowles says interest in this collaborative approach to healthcare is growing in Nova Scotia. At the Wolfville Professional Centre for example, patients can see family physicians, a psychologist or a nurse practitioner. They can also receive referrals to see a physiotherapist or kinesiologist. Across the country, physicians are even starting to prescribe exercise to their patients. This is most prolific in B.C. as it is subsidized so physicians get reimbursed for participating. In Alberta, the Prescription to Get Active program involves around 3000 physicians that refer their patients to over 90 fitness centres that in turn provide those patients with two weeks to a month of free membership to get started. This exciting model of care has recently been launched in Truro as well.

    The main goal of Exercise is Medicine Canada right now is to seek to work with physicians by fostering education and awareness through newsletters, workshops and presentations. Exercise is Medicine clubs are also appearing at university campuses all across Canada. Here at Acadia, the Exercise is Medicine club started in September 2015 and has been growing rapidly since. The club maintains strong ties with the community and has organized several fun runs with participants from seven to eighty-seven years old participating! They are also looking forward to organizing a Walk with the Docs event March 11th 2017 from 1-3 pm which will give the opportunity to Acadia students and members of the community to connect with local physicians and talk about the importance of physical activity. Acadia students who are interested in finding out more are encouraged to find the Facebook group or to email [email protected].

     

    Articles cited:

    http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-625-x/2015001/article/14135-eng.htm

    http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/publications/department-ministere/state-public-health-status-2016-etat-sante-publique-statut/page-13-eng.php

  • Acadia Computer Science Begins a Presidential Election Period

    On January 30th, 2017, the Acadia Computer Science Society opened a Presidential Election period for Computer Science students and society members. To vote, students were asked to email [email protected] with their selection for president. The deadline to vote was Feb. 3rd, 2017, leaving a week for presidential nominees to campaign for a spot as the society president. Below are profiles of the teams running.

     

    Colin Mackenzie and James Hally as Co-Presidents:

    Hello! We, Colin and James, are running for co-presidents of the ACSS next year. We would be a great choice as co-presidents because we are experienced leaders actively involved in our department and community. We have the privilege of being the two Junior Executives of this years Computer Science Society which gives us insight into the challenges of running the society. I (Colin) have had a lot of leadership experience: I was the president for my high school Interact team, worked very closely with Rotary and Rotary International, and participated in the internationally recognized leadership camp R.Y.L.A. It taught me a lot about specific and general ways to become an effective leader. I (James) have extensive experience in teams, participating actively in dozens throughout high school and my time here. I’ve learned a lot about working with others and encouraging involvement. We plan to build on the current success of the society with new ideas and fun events for next year.

     

    Hope Latta and Sid Kondapuram as Co-Presidents:

    Sid’s been involved in the community ever since high school. He’s volunteered at hospitals, and libraries. Since coming to Acadia, he’s been a columnist and subsequently the editor for the school newspaper. He’s dying for an opportunity to be part of a student executive team. Hope won the President of the Year Award last spring for her work with Musical Theatre. She’s also been a Section Editor for the school newspaper, a Comp Science Rep. at WISE Acadia, and Vice-President Internal at the Acadia Pre-Law and Legal Society. We both think Computer Science is really awesome and we have lots of fun ideas for next year!

     

    To learn more about the Computer Science society, check out the Acadia Computer Science Society on Facebook, or email [email protected].

  • Acadia Researcher Finding a Way to Make Nova Scotia Roads Safer for People and Animals Alike

    Those familiar with Nova Scotia’s seemingly endless stretches of highway are likely accustomed to the sight of roadkill. But now, Acadia Master’s candidate Stephanie White is researching a way to make our roads safer for both the animals that cross them and the drivers who want to avoid hitting them.

    Wildlife fencing and wildlife underpasses/overpasses are common sights in many European countries and along the West Coast of Canada and the United States, where the frequency of large mammal crossings make them a more pressing safety precaution than in other parts of the world. In Atlantic Canada, the vast majority of wildlife road crossing preventative technologies are found in New Brunswick due to the high number of moose and deer in the region.

    Nova Scotia, however, may also benefit from the addition of such safety measures, as to date, there are only two known underpasses in the entire province designed for wild animals to cross highways safely. There are other underpasses scattered throughout the province, but they see regular ATV usage which makes them not much more wildlife-friendly than the highways they intersect. The other two wildlife underpasses, which have a metal bar to prevent their use by ATVs, are located at the Cobequid Pass and in Antigonish. Before Stephanie White’s research, neither had been studied to determine what animals used them and whether it would be worthwhile for more to be built.

    The government-funded project started in May 2015 with thirty-four trail cameras set up around the Antigonish underpass, which was situated at a highway undergoing construction. This underpass contained both an aqueous and terrestrial component and was designed for small to medium sized animals. A total of 300 000 photos were taken and analyzed. Variables such as the addition of wildlife fencing around the underpass and the usefulness of an atrium to allow light into the underpass were measured. While the study is still ongoing and the huge quantities of trail camera pictures are still being analyzed, promising findings are emerging.

    These findings conclude that the terrestrial component is most often used by hares and porcupines, but since the addition of wildlife fencing on the side of the highway, an average of one black bear a week has been observed crossing the underpass. The aquatic component sees animals such as musk rats, wild minks, beavers and families of ducks crossing it. The findings of ducklings using the underpass have especially exciting implications for road accident prevention as many drivers are tempted to stop or swerve when they see a trail of ducklings following their mother across a highway.

    While this project is still ongoing, it indicates so far that investment in wildlife fencing and wildlife underpass construction could reduce the number of small and medium sized animals crossing Nova Scotia’s highways. This could significantly improve the safety of Nova Scotia’s animals and drivers along the many kilometers of highway running the length of the province.

  • Acadia Computer Science Presents a Text Editor Seminar Series

    On January 13th and January 20th, the Acadia Computer Science Society (ACSS) and Jodrey School of Computer Science (JSOCS) hosted a seminar on how to use text editors. This seminar was put together for students in Computer Science and for anyone who is interested in coding. The importance of learning how to use a good text editor could be compared to the importance of strength and endurance training for athletes. Competing in a game for the athlete is like coding for a computer scientist, the training part is learning to use the editor! In the same way that there are different programs that manipulate documents, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel, there are different editors that exist to make coding easier. These programs include text editors such as Vim, Emacs, and Sublime Text. The seminar took place every Friday at 2:30pm. During the seminars, students learned how they could program efficiently, and about the advantages and disadvantages of different editors. During the first week, the society arranged a “Battle of the Editors” where the competitors: Jim Diamond, Duane Currie, and Samuel Coleman (and Edwin Kravčenka as a sub) each picked a different editor and tried to sell it to the group. It was a fun seminar, with a great turnout and lots of enthusiastic participants. The speakers attempted to time themselves when coding passages to show the difference in efficiency between editors. Samuel Coleman joined the room (in the K.C. Irving Centre) via Virtual Network Computing (VNC). During the second week, Jim Diamond and Duane Currie continued to teach Computer Science students about keyboard shortcuts at the Beveridge Arts Centre. Handouts were provided, as well as lots of additional information. This occasion was a fun experience for all, and was very useful. It was a great way to learn more about different educational tools in an enjoyable style. The Computer Science Society will be hosting a LAN party on February 3rd from 7:00pm-12:00am at Carnegie Hall for anyone that would like to learn more about the University’s Computer Science Society. To learn more, search for the “Acadia Computer Science Society” on Facebook.

     

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