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  Development Work: FACT Zambia

  Isabel Gerardino, Casey Coyne Willson

  The evaluation of global aid programs is crucial to understand the meaning behind their work in the development of communities to conclude the improvements that can be done as well as the potential inefficient results that can be avoided. The Republic of Zambia, a country rich in natural resources, is also rich in attracting international NGOs that are interested in combating challenges concerning the lack of governmental transparency and advocacy for collaboration with the citizens. One of the organizations that proposes some strategies to create and sustain civil society’s collaborations with policy-makers and citizens is Counterpart International. Counterpart International has developed a program called Fostering Accountability and Transparency in Zambia (FACT Zambia) to address the lack of capacity and transparency among Civil Service Organizations (CSOs). Counterpart is doing this to aid in efforts that already exist in Zambia in order to facilitate more participatory involvement in development.

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  Disability Care and the Limits of Friendship

  J. Tyler Campbell

  Friendship is a common term that theologians working in disability studies use. The benchmark example for theological visions of friendship and disability is usually the L’Arche community, an international organization of group homes founded by Jean Vanier in 1964. Though the call for friendship among theological accounts of disability seem benevolent, such benevolence can hide the fact that friendship is in fact a complicated political category which calls for a more thorough definition than theologians often give. Providing care for any person is always animated by relations of vulnerability and dependency that cause asymmetrical relationships of power and influence. This project examines friendship in use among theologians as well as in the communities (specifically L’Arche) that theologians extol. After comparing and contrasting the various conceptualizations of friendship in recent works from theologians like Stanley Hauerwas, John Swinton, and Hans Reinders, I analyze the limitations of these broad definitions of friendship by highlighting the complex and difficult power dynamics between caregiver and care-receiver, and explore how the existence of this reliance complicates standard notions of friendship.

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  Drosophila eye model to study the role of NAT 9 in Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementia (ADRD)

  Prajakta D. Deshpande, Emily M. Snider

  Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative brain disorder, is characterized by a decline in memory and cognitive function. One of the hallmarks of AD is accumulation of β-amyloid plaques formed in the brain by due to improper cleavage of amyloid precursor protein. The extracellular accumulation of β-amyloid plaques triggers the hyperphosphorylation of Tau, a microtubule associated protein that helps stabilize microtubule structures in neurons. In its hyperphosphorylated form, Tau loses affinity to bind to the microtubules and can oligomerize. This results in the formation of tau tangles and the destabilization of axons and dendrites (necessary for cellular communication). We employed the GAL4-UAS system in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to misexpress human Aβ42 within the developing fly retina. Using forward genetic screening, we found N-acetyltransferase 9 (NAT 9) as one of the modifiers for the Aβ42 phenotype. NAT 9 is an enzyme that acetylates microtubules and supports the regulation of microtubule stability. This study aims to understand the role of NAT 9 in Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. The overexpression of NAT 9 in GMR > Aβ42 background suppresses the Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration whereas loss of function of NAT 9 in GMR > Aβ42 results in depigmentation, necrotic spots, and a reduction in eye size as compared to GMR > Aβ42 eye. Our hypothesis is NAT9 may play a role in Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration.

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  Early Cognition Education using Mixed Reality

  Shreyas Raghunath

  “Within the child lies the fate of the future” was what Dr. Maria Montessori said once upon atime, this project aims to lay a strong foundation to make that fate better. If children are equippedwith basic tools of life in the formative years, there is a certain chance that they will develop intobetter individuals. Cognitive development comprises a person’s working memory, attention, aswell as one’s ability to manage and respond to experiences and information. This applicationaims at improving cognitive ability of children by letting them interact with virtual augmentedobjects. Educating through mixed reality is not only fun but has also been proven to have greaterretention of information and longer attention spans for normal children and has workedexcellently for children with autism.

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  Effects of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Drugs on Glioma

  Kaitlyn Alleman, Molly Buchanan, Laura Bute, Nathan Holthaus, Kathleen McCaslin, Katie Parker

  Glioma is a deadly brain cancer, and current treatments have been unsuccessful in prolonging life more than a few months. In an effort to discover better treatments with more direct targets, we are conducting a chemical screen using Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors (Selleck Biochem). Promising results of such inhibitors will suppress the progression of glioma by (a) inhibiting the underlying molecular pathways activated in glioma, or (b) prevent rapid proliferation of the glia and other cells that encompass the glioma tumor. We have induced glioma in Drosophila by activating two of the most common oncogenic pathways, PI3K and Ras/MAPK. The activation of these pathways results in an enlarged brain from an increase in stem cells and their glia and neural progeny. These tumors cause the larvae to enter a prolonged larval phase, and eventually kill the organism. During our screen, larvae are added to food in their early third instar phase (72h old). The food is infused with 10 or 300uM chemicals in DMSO and where we then see effects on glioma growth, and survival in mature third instar stage (120h old). Using these metrics, here we present data from our screen on promising drugs from this academic year’s testing focusing on drugs E7, E9, and E11. Once we identify potential glioma inhibitors in the primary screens, we will validate them in secondary screens.

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  Encouraging Sustainable Fashion on a University Campus

  Jillian DeWitt, Jenn Hoody, Hannah Nicholas, Emily Shanahan

  The fast fashion industry has made it the norm to rely on cheap clothes with short lifetimes. This has resulted in extremely low wages for garment workers, inhumane working conditions in factories, and an increased amount of clothing waste. As awareness of these unethical and unsustainable practices has increased, more people are turning toward ethically sourced and produced clothing as well as secondhand clothing. Secondhand clothing has become particularly popular among college students who are always on the lookout for ways to save money. Thus, the University of Dayton’s Fair Trade Coalition organized what is now an annual “Clothing Swap.” Leading up to the event, students are able to drop-off old and unwanted clothing. Then, during the Clothing Swap, they are able to “shop” for clothes other students contributed, enjoy Fair Trade coffee, and learn about the impact of the fashion industry and Fair Trade through informational posters and table tents throughout the space that display statistics, facts and discussion questions to prompt dialogue. Additionally, the Fair Trade Coalition organizes the Clothing Swap in collaboration with other organizations to encourage, promote, and educate attendees on ways the university is implementing fair trade and ethical and sustainable practices campus-wide.The Clothing Swap demonstrates one way the University of Dayton is committed to Fair Trade education and engagement as a Fair Trade designated University. It has shown to be a great way to engage and educate students on the human and environmental cost of the fashion industry, leverage other fair trade initiatives and products on campus, and encourage the university and student body to take action through consumer habits both on and off campus.

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  Enforcing Privacy Policies for Hybrid Mobile Applications

  Aishwarya Marghatta Nandeesh

  A hybrid mobile application (app) is a mobile app that is based on the web running within a container in a native mobile app. Hybrid application development allows an app developed once but can be run on multiple mobile platforms. However, hybrid apps are more vulnerable to cyber attacks than native apps because of the vulnerabilities on the web. In this work, we study in-depth the vulnerabilities that compromise user privacy in hybrid mobile apps. We propose a wide range of policies that can prevent such privacy violations and allow the end-users to personalize them.

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  Enhancing the Understanding of Laboratory Safety in General Chemistry Labs at the University of Dayton

  Julia K. Baase

  A large percentage of students at the University of Dayton will complete a General Chemistry Laboratory at one point or another, but how does one ensure the safety of these students throughout the course of the lab experience? Safety is an important concern for science educators across the country, and it is a vital component of receiving a quality education. At the University of Dayton, the General Chemistry Lab curriculum currently includes two outdated, monotonous safety videos that students rarely watch. After reading through the list of Safety Procedures and watching the videos, students take a Safety Quiz that addresses the policies and procedures of the Chemistry Department. The goal of this research project is to create a more engaging and effective method to familiarize students with the Safety Procedures for the Chemistry Labs. A tentative solution was developed over the course of the Spring 2020 semester which is composed of two parts: an interactive video and an interactive hazard scene. The interactive video and hazard scene will potentially be integrated into the General Chemistry Lab curriculum in the near future to improve the education of students and ensure a safe lab experience.

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  Evaluating the “Electricidal Effect” with Shewanella Woodyi biofilms on Agar Plates

  Christopher T. Mortensen

  Electrical exposure can result in thwarting microbial biofilm formation through what has been labeled as an “Electricidal effect”. However, separating the effect of electrochemical potential from the presence of toxic metal ions has proven to be difficult. Separating these effects could create biotechnologies for detecting toxic metals or changes in electrochemical potential in salt water. Based on our previous work with bioluminescent marine bacterium, Shewanella woodyi, we will now present results from experiments designed to sense electric fields or the toxic metal ions using S. woodyi colonies on agar plates. We will present bioluminescence and brightfield images of working single Zn(s)/Vulcan Carbon (VC), Ag(s)/VC, and Cu(s)/VC electrodes drop cast on agar plates in order to evaluate the effect of the toxic metals (Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ag(I)) on the bioluminescence intensity from S. woodyi biofilms. We confirmed the overall activity of the microbial colonies with Live/Dead Assays and determined the density of toxic metal ions over time with Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICPOES) analysis. Our data confirmed that toxic metal ion sensitivity was the reason for growth inhibition around the electrodes rather than an electrical effect.

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  Examining America’s Treatment of the Elderly in Comparison With Other Cultures

  Ella Jude Sperry

  By looking at existing literature, I was able to gain knowledge as to how Americans think about and treat their elders. I chose to consider other cultures so that I could have a basis for evaluating Americans. I was able to understand in what ways Americans are more and less respectful of their older family members and friends. The research that I looked at led me to find forms of ageism within multiple societies and cultures. This is important because ageism is a form of discrimination. Ageism is a relatively understudied topic. For this reason, I think it is crucial to bring awareness to the topic. The goal of my research is to discuss the ways that elderly adults are disrespected, but additionally, highlight the ways that elderly adults are respected in the hopes that these patterns will be implemented in the lacking cultures.

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  Exploring College Student Perceptions of the Elderly Through Surveys and Interviews

  Ella Sperry

  In the United States, there is a general stigma that elderly adults are unable to function in the way that they once could. After reviewing previous research that evaluated young adults’ perception of the elderly, I surveyed 213 students and conducted 10 interviews with students at the University of Dayton regarding their own opinions of older adults. My goal was to gain better insight into how college students on this campus view elderly adults both physically and mentally. I also evaluated what age participants consider to be “older”. While there were differing opinions across campus, my research shows that there is a prominent ageist attitude amongst college-aged students. Many students tended to think of elderly adults as incapable, wrinkly, and needy. These results show that elderly adults are in some ways a marginalized age group. This outcome is significant because it shows that there is an opportunity for change on college campuses. This change could be presented as intergenerational classes or activities. It could also be as simple as educating youth about aging.

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  Family Upbringing: Implications of Detachment on Children

  Kenosha Robinson-Washington

  This project is a literature review that focuses on family upbringing and the implications of the detachment of the children. Studies have shown the are a variety of factors that foster a relationship structure between children and their parents. Negative interactions have been described as encouraging detachment. Premature birth also affects the relationship between children and their parents. After school activities have been illustrated to alleviate the detached parenting-adolescent relationships.

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  Finding Glioma Growth Inhibitors Using Drosophila Models

  Timothy Cook, Nathan J. Holthaus

  Glioblastoma multiforme is a devastating form of primary brain cancer that has a poor prognosis. The standard treatment is a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemo/immunotherapy, which has shown to be ineffective and ultimately results in the death of the patient. As a result, efforts should be made to identify better techniques or medicines that help slow down or prevent the growth of the tumor. Using glioma models, we studied different chemical inhibitors (drugs) that reduce tumor growth in Drosophila melanogaster models. This was accomplished by acting on the two most frequent oncogenic pathways shared between Drosophila and humans: Ras/MAPK and Pi3K. The primary focus was on tyrosine kinase inhibitors, key enzymes that are activated by oncogenic pathways, which have shown promise in previous drug screens. The study was conducted by collecting third instar larvae from a cross between two fly types – Pten RNAi , ras v12 and Repo GFP – which were then placed on food laced with 300 µM of the drug. We then dissected the larvae, mounted their brains, and imaged them using a fluorescent microscope. This allowed us to observe the glia in the brain lobes and ventral nerve cord to identify changes in the shape of the brain and the density of glial cells within the brain. From which, the effect of the drug on glioma growth and progression can be observed. As a result, we have developed a deeper understanding of the pathways that cause the development of brain tumors, which will allow for more successful treatments in the future.

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  Finding Human in Challenging Environment

  Sankarshan Dasgupta

  We have technologies implemented which assist us beyond the reasonable measures to make our life progress with minimum efforts and maximum output. Only lagging in our fight against devastating natural processes of Earth. The unstoppable force is beyond human intervention or control. Keeping in mind the disastrous effects of natural calamities, we propose an idea to help and assist the heroes of our real life such as Fire fighter, Defense personnel, Coast Guard etc. to save human lives, minimizing their individual risk. Detecting human in the distracted environment is very challenging due to the occlusion (i.e. people may be under debris), the unclear boundary (i.e. noisy background), and the coarse scale due to the distance. Here, we are building a network model and training it to seamlessly detect human out in plain sight. I am also considering this topic as part of my master thesis advised by Dr. Van Tam Nguyen. Creating a new data-set and then training the model to work precisely in harsh kind of environment possible. Images for data-set are chosen for their traits and uniqueness. Then feeding through a network built on Tensor-flow to learn from the data-set. Implementation of algorithm, since the data-set has new structure, shape and new observation of human images, algorithm chosen needs to be an accurate process with edge detection and processing. Then using it to up Mask R-CNN performance. We evaluate the proposed framework on the newly collected data-set. The extensive experiments on the data-set will evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed framework for this interesting problem. Unlike other object detection where the applicable methods of detection has significant references, human detection has been without an availability of well-formed data-set, which could set a benchmark and open the scope for many new research possibilities and high accuracy performing networks.

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  Finding Our River

  Rachel Carr, Cassidy Count, Jack Hallagan, Kelly Hines, Baylor Johnson, Zack Jordan, Katherine Kirchner, Troy Lampenfeld, Meaghan Lightfoot, Natalie Merline, Noel Michel, Sammy Miller, Claire Roberts, Carter Spires, Austin Williamson, Casey Willson

  The River Stewards 2020 cohort will be presenting on the children's book that they have written over the course of the last year. Their book is a socially inclusive story centered around the Great Miami Watershed. This discussion will focus on how the cohort chose to focus on literacy in Dayton for their senior project, the year-long process from writing to printing, and how they identified and collaborated with their community partners. We encourage all those interested in literacy, watershed management, and community organizing to attend.

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  Finding the switches that activate animal genes through a combined in silico and in vivo approach

  Chad M. Jaenke, Michael L. Weinstein

  Genomes encode in DNA sequence the recipes for cellular products, notably proteins, and the switches that determine when during life and in which cell types these products are made. While the genetic code for protein recipes is known, a comparable code for these switches is lacking. This impedes understanding the genetic underpinnings of animals and their evolution, as switches (CREs) outnumber protein-coding genes by over an order of magnitude and switch evolution is thought to be a predominant mechanism of trait evolution. Both in vivo and in silico approaches exist to study CREs, but the former is low throughput, and the latter lacks validation of predictions. Our research merges these approaches to identify CREs controlling genes for an evolving fruit fly pigmentation trait. We will use sequences of CREs known to activate genes involved in pigmentation, in order to find the unknown CREs with similar activity. We will use the SCRMshaw bioinformatic tool to find putative CREs in the Drosophila melanogaster genome that control novel genes involved in pigmentation, based upon the putative CREs possessing DNA motifs similar to those within the known CREs. From this list, we will test eighteen for CRE activity in vivo as reporter transgenes. As a control, we tested a set of four randomly selected sequences of similar length and deoxyribonucleotide composition for in vivo activity. The results will reveal the extent this in silico method succeeded in CRE identification. For the validated CREs, we will elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which they similarly control gene expression, and whether they evolved in route to the gain, loss, and modification of male-specific abdomen pigmentation. The encoding of information in CREs is a universal feature of life, so these results bear upon life at every level.

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  Fun with Fungi: Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Microbes on Campus

  Emily Georgopoulos

  Bacterial diseases that have been successfully treated with antibiotics for decades are now posing a threat to human health because of the development of antibiotic resistance in these pathogens. The overuse of antibiotics in agriculture and their misuse and/or the lack ofregulation in medicine are largely responsible for the high levels of antibiotic resistance found in common pathogens. The discovery of new antibiotics and alternative antimicrobial strategies has become critical. The Tiny Earth Network, a novel educational research program, is mobilizing high school and college students (BIO 411L) to participate in a global investigation through hands on research, in efforts todiscover new antibiotics. An independent research project centered on isolating bacteria from a soil sample was conducted, and these isolates were examined for compounds that exhibit anti-microbial effects on known pathogens. Three isolates from the sample were determined to have antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus epidermidis. Further biochemical tests were done on these isolates in order to identify them by their characteristics, including catalase, citrate, and gelatinase tests, SIM tests for motility, hemolysis tests, and tests for growth on TSI, MSA, and MacConkey agar. An antibiotic-producing isolate that was sequenced was determined to be a fungus in the family Magnaporthaceae. This project was successful in finding sources of antibiotics right on UD's campus, perhaps in an unlikely source: fungi. The novelty of the microorganism's antibiotic activity is unknown, but could be a prospect in the battle against antibiotic resistance.

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  Gain-of-function of mir-277 ameliorates Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration in Drosophila eye model of AD

  Prajakta D. Deshpande, Catherine Jean Yeates

  Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorder, exhibits reduced cognitive functions with no cure to date. One of the reasons for AD is the accumulation of extracellular Amyloid-beta 42 peptide (Aβ42) plaques that triggers oxidative stress, aberrant signaling, and finally results in the death of the neurons. The exact mechanism of neurodegeneration is still not well-understood. We misexpressed human Aβ42 protein in the developing fly retina, which triggers the neuronal cell death and exhibits AD-like neuropathology. Several studies have implicated the antiapoptotic role of microRNAs, post-transcriptionally regulate the gene expression by degrading mRNA of the target. In a forward genetic screen, we identified mir-277 as a genetic modifier of Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. The gain of function of mir-277 suppresses the Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration whereas loss of function of mir-277 enhances the Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. We looked for the targets of mir-277 to understand the genetic mechanism of mir-277 mediated neuroprotection against Aβ42 plaques. Here we present the mechanism by which micro RNA provides neuroprotection to the neurons expressing high levels of Aβ42.

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  Gender Differences in the Role of Parent and Peer Attachment in College Adjustment for Childhood Maltreatment Survivors

  Emily Budde, Katelyn Barnes, Erin Collins

  Childhood Maltreatment (CM) survivors may have difficulty with college adjustment (CA), as evidence by higher dropout rates, in part because they may struggle using critical social resources. Among 114 first and second year undergraduates, parent and peer attachment were tested as mediators of the link between CM and total, relational, psychological, and educational CA. Gender was tested as a moderator, as female survivors have reported more relational disruption. Gender was found to moderate both the CM – attachment and attachment – CA links. Men, but not women, reported lower relational (CI = -.038, -.002) and total CA (CI = -.021, -.000) through impaired attachment to friends. While gender was found to moderate the links between CM and attachment to parents (p = .01), with a stronger relation for women (b = -.09) than men (b = -.05), no indirect effect was found through parent attachment. Findings suggest that, while both men and women may have impaired attachments, only men’s impaired relationships with friends affected CA. While counter to expectations, this may be consistent with documented stigma around CM in men, which may limit openness to using these social resources to adjust following CM and to college. College counseling centers could be critical in helping male survivors adjust by enhancing use of relational resources and by reducing stigmas.

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  Gene Regulatory Network Homoplasy Underlies Recurrent Sexually Dimorphic Fruit Fly Pigmentation

  Jesse Taylor Hughes, Rachel A. Johnson

  Traits that appear discontinuously along phylogenies may be explained by independent origins (homoplasy) or repeated loss (homology). While discriminating between these models is difficult, the dissection of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) which drive the development of such repeatedly occurring traits can offer a mechanistic window on this fundamental problem. The GRN responsible for the male-specific pattern of Drosophila (D.) melanogaster melanic tergite pigmentation has received considerable attention. In this system, a metabolic pathway of pigmentation enzyme genes is expressed in spatial and sex-specific (i.e. dimorphic) patterns. The dimorphic expression of several genes is regulated by the Bab transcription factors, which suppress pigmentation enzyme expression in females, by virtue of their high expression in this sex. Here, we analyzed the phylogenetic distribution of species with male-specific pigmentation and show that this dimorphism is phylogenetically widespread among fruit flies. The analysis of pigmentation enzyme gene expression in distantly related dimorphic and monomorphic species shows that dimorphism is driven by the similar deployment of a conserved metabolic pathway. However, sexually dimorphic Bab expression was found only in D. melanogaster and its close relatives. These results suggest that dimorphism evolved by parallel deployment of differentiation genes but was derived through distinct architectures at the level of regulatory genes. This work demonstrates the interplay of constraint and flexibility within evolving GRNs, findings that may foretell the mechanisms of homoplasy more broadly.

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  Genetic interaction between the axial patterning gene defective proventriculus (dve) and Dpp signaling in the developing Drosophila eye

  Anuradha Chimata Venkatakrishnan, Neha Gogia, Katie Marie Perry

  An interesting question in developmental biology is how any three-dimensional organ develops from a single monolayer of cells. In multicellular organisms, delineation of Antero-Posterior (AP), Dorso-Ventral (DV) and Proximo-Distal (PD) axes is crucial for organ development. Drosophila melanogaster is an ideal model organism because genes and pathways are highly conserved between Drosophila and humans. During eye development, DV axis formation marks the first lineage restriction event and deviation in this process results in birth defects in the eye. We have identified defective proventriculus (dve) as a new dorsal eye fate selector in Drosophila. We hypothesize that dve, a transcription factor, regulates the Decapentaplegic (Dpp) signaling pathway, which is comparable to bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling in mammals, during dorsal eye development. We will investigate the role of dve in the dorsal eye and whether Dpp signaling requires dve to specify eye and head fate to form an organ of balanced size and shape. We utilized the GAL4-UAS system to modulate Dpp signaling in the dve domain. Thus far in our research, we have found that upregulating Dpp in the dve domain results in an enlarged eye phenotype, while downregulating Dpp in the dve domain results in a small eye phenotype. We have tested retinal determination genes to explore cell fate and further support the genetic interaction between dve and Dpp signaling. We are currently testing their interaction using clonal strategies to understand how dve regulates dpp in the developing eye. This study may have a significant bearing on growth, signaling and patterning defects and help in understanding the etiology behind genetic birth defects in the eye.

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  Graduate Students on Going Green

  Bethany R. Davies, Amber Johnson, Meg Maloney, Vaishnavi Shesham, Lauren Wolford

  The University of Dayton prides itself on sustainability and green practices. The 'going green' movement is one that has grown substantially in the past few decades. While most associate this movement with broad efforts, this panel's focus is to discuss how this movement has affected current science graduate students at an individual level. Discussion will focus on how the 'going green' movement has affected his or her research, course offerings, career pathways, and outlook on a scientist's responsibility to others and the world at the graduate level.

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  Graphic Design Summer Fellowship 2019

  Emily M Cordonnier, Megan Lewis

  Food and family bring people together. Megan Lewis and Emily Cordonnier’s research focused on the history and relationship between both. Lewis explored the origin of recipes and the processes of making them while experiencing the conversations and moments that were generated from the guests that enjoyed them. The recipes, imagery, and stories were compiled in the form of a cookbook. Cordonnier’s research focused on her ancestral origin and related it to a familial tradition of Euchre. The final form of her research was formed into a three-dimensional family tree that highlighted relatives stories, professions, and surname etymology.

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  HealthNotes - Designing to Impact Quality of Life for Patients with Discordant Chronic Comorbidities while Improving Provider Time Management

  Michael Graham, Ben Reutelshofer, Josh Schmellenkamp, Brandon Wong

  Discordant Chronic Comorbidities (DCCs) severely impact patients. DCCs are conditions which are present in the same patient and contain conflicting treatment plans. DCC conflicts include prescriptions, dietary modifications, and activity levels. Where a combination of medical instructions to treat “Condition A” directly conflicts with treatment of “Condition B” in a way that either nullifies treatment or worse, they work together resulting in a negative impact to the patient. Patients struggle to prioritize medications and medical instructions in effort to find some relief while not suffering adverse effects of discordant treatments. In our study we show that the healthcare providers also face difficulties in the form of time management. The biggest cause of time loss is due to research into their patients. Patients may bring a list of their providers and medications, but often do not provide accurate information on previous procedures and tests. More often than not, the information is incorrect leaving the provider to reconcile the provided information and find the missing pieces. To address these issues, we designed a mobile application (HealthNotes). The goals of HealthNotes app are to; i) educate patients on their DCCs, ii) provide alerts to potential problems resulting from additional treatment recommendation and/or prescriptions, iv) improve communication between both the patient and provider, as well as between the patient’s various providers. These four elements will help improve the quality of life of a HealthNotes user.While serving the patients, our projects seeks to improve and streamline the use of doctors’ time This is accomplished by the user bringing an accurate list of their providers with contact information, and providing a list of tests and procedures reducing the possibility of duplication. This significant improvement to the efficiency of research will improve both patient experience as well as the provider’s time allocation.

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  He Said She Said: An Analysis of Gender Differences in Mayors' Statements Following Mass Shootings

  Rachel Richardson

  The United States is one of six countries, roughly 10 percent of the global population, that make up half of all gun deaths that happen worldwide each year. Gun violence is a widespread issue in American life, especially as mass shootings seem to be happening more and more frequently. This study analyzes gender differences in public statements made by mayors following mass shootings in their towns. Using content analysis of 70 mass shootings from 2009 to 2019, I selected all 8 shootings with a female mayor, and 8 shootings with male mayors that most closely align with each. I collected three statements from each mayor about the shooting in their city, and coded them based on the frequency with which they referred to: the shooter, the victims, the community, law enforcement, policy failures/proposals for change, and any other recurring themes. I find that as the identities of the shooters and their victims are released, the issue of gender slowly moves to the front of the discourse- as it should. However, there have not been studies into the effect that gender has on the language used by politicians, more specifically mayors, in the wake of these horrific events. This study reveals patterns in mayoral statements, contributing data to the ever-raging debate concerning whether there are inherent differences between how men and women communicate.