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: Restorative Justice in Education; A well-educated population is an invaluable resource to any country and the obtainment of a high school diploma lays the foundation for an individual's future. Programs in the U.S. have been created in the interest of youth to encourage them to complete their high school education. Such programs include truancy prevention and provision of school supplies, but all share the same purpose: to help students earn their high school diploma. Despite this, the effectiveness of these programs can be questioned, considering the substantial number of students that still drop out of high school and do not complete their education.

: Returning to Aztlan: Immigrants Forging New Lives in Familiar Places; The socio-economic conditions in Latin America are a driving force of emigration from Latin America to the US for those in search of wage earning opportunities. I explored this recent demographic pattern by working with Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center in Durango, CO. After making inferences from data in the form of W-2 income statements, I have found numerous instances of working age males, of Latin American origin, sojourning in the United States. I suggest that the word "sojourn" more accurately portrays their lived experience because it implies a temporary stay, and a majority of clients have expressed desires to return to their country of origin after sending remittances (money) to their dependents. The principle reason, as I have found, as to why workers embark on this path and sojourn is because there are no economic opportunities to provide for their families in their countries of origin. I propose this is due to years of neoliberal trade policies that have adversely affected Latin American economies. Through review of the current literature, I explain how the formation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a cornerstone neoliberal trade policy, resulted in 2.3 million newly unemployed working class Mexicans from the agricultural sector alone. This case study provides examples of how trade policies imposed by the US and other international bodies onto Latin American countries have not yielded their promised fruits. Instead, the implemented agreements have caused economies in Latin America to contract and lose purchasing power and at the same time exaggerate disparities in wealth.

: Reverse the Longevity; Poem by Jordin Bahozhoni from Fall 2008 - Winter 2009 issue of Images.

: Revisiting the Pueblo Revolt of 1680: the Historiographical Debate; When studying the Spanish occupation of New Mexico during the 17th century, the political and religious strife between the former and the Pueblo Indians who inhabited the area is not easy to delineate. Tensions that had began to build amongst the Puebloans since the Spaniards arrived in 1598 finally erupted in 1680, making the Pueblo Revolt one of the few large-scale insurrections ever seen in New Spain's northern frontier. However, the utter destruction of crucial evidence concerning this event has challenged many borderland historians to accurately represent the Spanish occupation and their subsequent expulsion. As a result the various analyses of the revolt are forced to utilize documents that are sparse and partial, and historians thus have arrived at differing conclusions. Two historians that have published widely varying accounts of the Pueblo Revolt are Ramón A. Gutiérrez and Andrew Knaut. From reading When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away by Gutiérrez and The Pueblo Revolt by Knaut, one is left to question what really evoked such a violent outbreak against the Spaniards. This essay aims to examine the syntheses of Gutiérrez and Knaut in order to highlight where their stories converge, where both rely on the same sources to expand on different arguments, and how dissecting their interpretations enhances our understanding of the revolt. We will specifically dedicate our analysis to the process of conversion utilized by Franciscan friars, the nature of Pueblo negotiation with Catholicism, and the ultimate reasons for the Revolt in 1680. What becomes clear at the end of this analysis is that the undeniable biased and scant nature of the source materials explains the polar differences between the conclusions of Gutiérrez and Knaut. Furthermore, this essay draws attention to the importance for history scholars to examine a variety of interpretations of a single event in order to avoid completely misinterpreting it. This becomes particularly crucial when the source material available on a subject resembles that of the Pueblo Revolt.

: Ribosomal Frameshifting in HTLV-1: Examining the Pro-Pol Frameshift Site; Human t-cell lymphotropic virus type l (HTLV-1) was the first identified human retrovirus, identified in 1980. Infection with HTLV-1 results in adult T-cell leukemia with 5-10% incidence. An estimated 15-20 million individuals worldwide are infected with HTLV. Replication of retroviruses, such as HTLV, is dependent upon synthesis of viral structural and enzymatic proteins. Synthesis of HTLV's enzymatic proteins (Protease (PR), Reverse Transcriptase (RT), and Integrase (IN)) is dependent upon programmed ribosomal frameshifting (PRF). PRF is defined as a programmed change in the ribosome's reading frame during translation. HTLV-1 has been observed to have ribosomal frameshifting at two difference sites. The frameshift sites gag-pro and pro-pol have been established but the efficiencies and structures of these two frameshift sites has not yet been determined. The HTLV-1 pro-pol site consists of three RNA elements: a slippery sequence (UUUAAAC), a spacer, and a downstream structure. In this work, the HTLV pro-pol -1PRF mechanism is investigated. A pseudoknot structure is predicted downstream of the slippery sequence. We hypothesize the pseudoknot structure contributes significantly to the frameshift efficiency. To test this hypothesis, we designed four variant frameshift sites to test the importance of the pseudoknot structure to frameshifting. An in vitro dual-luciferase frameshift assay was utilized to determine the frameshift efficiencies for the wild-type and variant frameshift sites.

: Riptide; Poem by Matthew Winchester Smith, published in the Fall 2013-Winter 2014 issue of Images.

: Rooftop Greenhouses and the Restaurant Industry; There is no denying the fact that human population has grown quite substantially over the past few centuries. Food has steadily become less available, less nutritious, and has indirectly become the point source of a lot of environmental degradation. Fertilizers, pesticides, food packaging, and CO2 emissions from food transportation vehicles have polluted our air and water, continue to contribute to greenhouse gas accumulation, cause public health problems, and are costing business owners millions. This analysis shows the feasibility of restaurants using rooftop greenhouses in order to grow fresh produce on site, as well as many other countless benefits. The concept of an eco-friendly rooftop greenhouse is much more than just a food producing gold mine in the middle of an urban metropolis. It is a paradigm movement in which communities are drawn together, societies are educated, nutrition is plentiful and affordable, jobs are created, food miles and food waste are reduced, money is saved, excess heat and CO2 is captured, storm water is retained, as well as leaving the ecosystems we have left to thrive. Urban agriculture, specifically rooftop greenhouses, is designed to produce large yields of vegetables in a confined space. A roof the size of approximately 2000 square feet, equipped with a year-round rooftop greenhouse, and if managed efficiently, can potentially generate 20,000 pounds of fresh produce annually. A rooftop greenhouse will not only save money and energy by lowering the import of fresh foods, but also will also reduce the expense of export on food once it has served its purpose. This food waste, produced from operating a restaurant, can be transformed into a nutrient rich compost which can be returned to the greenhouse. There are so many positive aspects that come with investing in a rooftop greenhouse ranging from CO2 and heat capture, to creating jobs, and educating the public, that state governments have begun to offer incentives to support urban agriculture. This new agriculture movement that has started to unfold can change the agriculture system, but will need help from policymakers and business owners in order to provide a stable food future for upcoming generations.

: Room to Grow: Improving Farmer Livelihoods Through Increased Quinoa Production in Colorado; Quinoa, a pseudocereal traditionally cultivated in the Andean highlands of South America, has gained recent global recognition for its high nutritional content and ability to grow in areas characterized by low precipitation and poor soil quality. Keen to health food circles in North America and Europe, demand for this super food has skyrocketed in recent years. While some producers of this lucrative crop are experiencing increased profits from the demand, many of the poor farmers in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador who produce the majority of the world's supply are experiencing a slew of negative impacts. This paper examines the impacts of greater quinoa consumption ex situ on Bolivian farmers and argues that an increase in the production of quinoa in the United States is necessary to relieve some of the negative impacts. Interviews and background data collection concerning the past and current efforts of quinoa cultivation in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado (the most feasible region in the United States to produce quinoa) provide insight into the possibilities of increasing production. It was found that high elevation basins in the Colorado Rockies with summer temperatures not exceeding 95°F have the right environmental requirements for successful quinoa production. It was also found that quinoa prefers nitrogen-rich soils, making it a good rotation crop for nitrogen-fixing legumes and grains. Additionally, as climate change and drought continue to challenge agriculture in the region, an examination of the adoption of organic farming techniques will be used in order to emphasize the importance of drought-resistant crops in current organic farming operations in order to increase overall profit and productivity. Due to the information-intensive nature of organic farming practices, adoption can be spread more efficiently through external agencies promoting the practice. Externally sponsored demonstration gardens that teach organic farmers how to grow quinoa could be an effective adoption strategy.

: Ropes Courses Help Build Group Cohesion, Resulting in More Effective Group Endeavors; Ropes courses, also referred to as challenge courses, are ubiquitous today, particularly given their accessibility and suitability to a variety of educational, recreational, and therapeutic settings such as school districts, mental hospitals, and urban recreation programs. Analogous to obstacle courses, ropes courses consist of a series of physical and mental challenges, many of which require individual and group focus, group problem solving, and team building to complete. Group cohesion, defined as a measure of how well a group performs together, is essential to these performance tasks, particularly to be successful. This quantitative study examined whether ropes courses help groups form group cohesion. Subjects consisted of players from the Fort Lewis College baseball team. The baseball team, consisting of a majority of new players, was split into two study groups, one of which completed a low ropes course experience and the other of which did not. Each person (from both groups) was surveyed three times for group cohesion using the Group Cohesion Evaluation Questionnaire (GCEQ). Results imply that the group participating in the low ropes course had exponentially increased their cohesion, while the other group showed little to no increase. This suggests ropes courses have the potential to contribute to group cohesion and should be considered when selecting group development interventions.

: Salvia Officinalis L., Growing Popularity and Environmental Implications for the Use of Common Sage; Salvia officinalis is the most common species of sage. Although sage has been known about and used for many years, Carl Linnaeus first documented and described the plant in 1753. Salvia in Latin translates "to heal' and officinalis translates to officina: the actual office in a monastery where medicines were stored. Aside from the scientific name that Linnaeus introduces, there are many other common names and uses for sage. Before modern technologies and understandings of medicine, Salvia officinalis was being used for its culinary, gardening, and most importantly its medicinal properties. Although it is not a highly recognized plant in the United States for its medicinal qualities, it grows in abundance across the country. Through the study of ethnobotany and homeopathic medicine that is becoming ever more popular, there has been an increase in research on herbs with medicinal properties. Now, with new and more in-depth understanding of these plants, we can better utilize them and steer away from pharmaceutical drugs. With our growing population, there is not enough wild sage to support our needs. Therefore, in order to provide sage to people, it must be cultivated. Cultivation of Salvia officinalis is recommended on a small scale for personal use. Then fresh leaves and stems are available as needed as well as materials that can be dried and used at later times. Cultivating sage can be done in a herb, flower, or vegetable garden providing medicine and additionally adding color and aroma to the landscape.

: Same Blue Eyes; Alcoholism runs in my mother's side of the family. My mother's dad, Tom, was a doctor and a loving father, husband, and grandpa. However, he struggled with addiction and his crutch was alcohol. The liquid turned him from a gentle, loving man into, sometimes, an out-of-touch father, who would later abandon his family.

: Sattabacin Inhibits Replication of the Varicella Zoster Virus in Human Fibroblast Cells; Herpes simplex virus 3 (HSV3) is commonly known as the Varicella zoster virus (VZV), which is a DNA virus within the Herpesviridae family. Infection with VZV, commonly in children, results in chickenpox (varicella) and reactivation of the virus in the elderly or in immunocompromised adults leads to shingles (zoster). The Census Bureau predicts that by 2050 more than 21 million American will be 85 years of age or older; therefore, a large population will be susceptible to shingles. New compounds against VZV infection must be developed now and tested for anti-viral efficacy. We hypothesize that sattabacin and other structurally related compounds will have anti-viral activity against VZV infection in human fibroblast cells (MRC-5 cell line). Our study utilizes sattabacin, 4, which has been synthetically produced in the Chemistry Department and is known to exhibit antiviral activity against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) and Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2). To identify effective anti-viral compounds against VZV infection a traditional viral plaque assay was performed. Microarray analysis and realtime PCR were also used to determine a cellular mechanism by which these compounds inhibit VZV replication by analyzing global gene expression changes in human fibroblast cells. Our results indicate that, although sattabacin is cytotoxic to human cells at concentrations of 1000 µM and greater, sattabacin also possesses anti-viral activity against VZV infection at concentrations ten-fold less than the cytotoxic concentrations. Compound concentrations that reduced viral replication by 50% (IC50) and 90% (IC90) were 58 µM and 109 µM, giving antiviral coefficients of 13.2 and 35.6, respectively. Inhibition of active viral replication by sattabacin may occur at the translational level in human cells. However, this assertion will need to be clearly identified in future studies. This study demonstrates that sattabacin is an effective anti-viral compound against VZV infection.

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