Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and statistical analysis of suicide by profession reveals that physicians and veterinarians experience abnormally high suicide rates. This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive literature review over what some general theories of suicide are, why these professions exhibit high suicide rates, what assistance is currently being provided, and where do these assistance efforts succeed or fail. Moreover, this paper addresses what advancements may be made within these fields to further combat suicide in physicians and veterinarians. To achieve this, general theories behind suicide, risk factors unique to or heavily prevalent in these professions, and current assistance efforts are read, organized, and summarized.<br/><br/>A summary of these risk factors includes stress and mental health disorders accumulated through school and work, personal and professional isolation, access to lethal substances, suicide contagion, exposure to euthanasia, and the role of perfectionism. There are several assistance efforts in place with the most successful ones being highly personalized, but many are still underutilized. Moreover, the stigma of suicide pervades these professions and is addressed by several researchers as something to combat or prevent. Going forward, it is hopeful that not only will more assistance efforts will be created and provided for physicians and veterinarians suffering from suicidal tendencies, but efforts to reduce the stigma of suicide be implemented and utilized as soon as possible.

Hemcrete is an alternative, environmentally‐friendly building material gaining adherents in Great Britain and other European countries. It is an attractive choice as a building material because it is made from a renewable resource, hemp, a hardy plant that is a close, but non‐hallucinogenic relative of marijuana. This plant is relatively easy to cultivate, requires little in the way of pesticides or fertilizers, and almost all parts can be used for various products from paper to textiles to food.

Hemcrete is made from a mixture of lime, water, and the fibrous outer portion of the hemp plant called the “hurd” or “shive”. When mixed, it is worked and placed much like conventional concrete ‐ hence the name. However, that is where the similarities with concrete end. Hemcrete is not comparable to concrete on a strength basis, and is better described as an alternative insulation product. When built into walls of sufficient thickness, Hemcrete offers high thermal efficiency, and has strong claims to being carbon negative. The purpose of this study
was to evaluate this claim of carbon negativity, and to compare these environmentally friendly qualities against conventional fiberglass batt insulation.

Our model was constructed using two identically sized “walls” measuring eight feet square by one foot in depth, one insulated using Hemcrete, and the other using fiberglass. Our study focused on three areas: water usage, cost, and carbon dioxide emissions. We chose water
usage because we wanted to determine the feasibility of using Hemcrete in the Phoenix metropolitan region where water is a troubled resource. Secondly, we wished to evaluate the claim on carbon negativity, so CO2 equivalents throughout the production process were measured. Finally, we wished to know whether Hemcrete could compete on a cost basis with more conventional insulation methods, so we also built in a price comparison.

Since the cultivation of hemp is currently unlawful in the United States, this study can help determine whether these restrictions should be relaxed in order to allow the construction of buildings insulated with Hemcrete.

The status of Earth’s diversity is deteriorating quickly which will continue to impact humans’ way of life, as well as every other living creature, in all regions of the world. However, there are organizations taking action to protect biodiversity on our planet. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one of those organizations and includes 196 signatories from around the world who are committed to strategies to preserve their biodiversity (Secretariat). Indeed, 98% of the parties which have participated in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have created national biodiversity strategies (NBS) and action plans (NBSAPs) (Secretariat). Yet, there are still countries that have yet to partake in these efforts. America continues to hold out against ratifying the CBD and remains the only developed country without a National Biodiversity Strategy. As an NBS for the U.S. is under consideration, my goal is to understand what works from previous plans. In particular, I focus on stakeholder engagement in Conservation Biodiversity Action Plans. Stakeholder engagement is important because, without it, there may be insufficient levels of integration of the action plans, which can lead to the failure of the CBDs conservation efforts. To address this question, I analyze the 193 strategies created for countries across the globe. My review describes the ways that stakeholders are engaged in National Biodiversity Strategies for CBD member countries. All plans mention some form of engagement. The most common types mentioned are ‘Education’, ‘Communication’, and ‘Training’. Examining the plans further reveals that most forms of engagement often are just mentioned and not completed. Close to 58% of the engagement forms are only completed about 50% of the time. Exceptions are surveys, interviews, and workshops, which are each completed in over 70% of plans that mention them. I then use this information to provide practical recommendations for creating an effective NBSAP for the United States.

An effort to experiment on the novel Usutu virus in pure in silico methods was made to determine conformational changes with non polar point mutations in the amino acid sequence. The first method consisted of creating a Python program to exhaustively identify codons, amino acids, and dinucleotide bridges & nonbridges, including viral characteristics defined by Mollentze in 2021. The second method consisted of creating point mutations to non polar amino acids in deemed key sites of the Usutu virus envelope protein and finding the RMSD from the original structure. This resulted in one of two outcomes - either the experiment showed that the Usutu virus envelope protein is highly resistant to point mutations or in silico methods are inconsistent and biased, leading to inaccuracy.

This study highlights the significance of zoonotic diseases, which make up almost 60% of infectious diseases in humans, and their origin from animals. Among mammalian viruses, primates, bats, and rodents have been identified as high-risk carriers. Within the rodent family Cricetidae, the species complex of Peromyscus eremicus, Peromyscus californicus, Peromyscus fraterculus, and Osgoodomys banderanus have been found to play a crucial role in disease transmission. These four species are phylogenetically related and share similar physical appearances and ecological niches. They have been identified as carriers of several zoonotic diseases, including Hantavirus, Arenavirus, Yersinia pestis, and Flavivirus, with a history of spread to humans. Despite their implications for public health, many of these species remain understudied. Thus, this study aims to provide a systematic review of the existing literature on these four species to summarize the findings on virus prevalence and distribution. The review shows that sampling efforts have been uneven and recent efforts have been lacking, with potential undiscovered zoonotic diseases. The concentration of sampling efforts in California and gaps in the literature are concerning, especially with changing agriculture and climate change potentially affecting rodent communities.