Stander Symposium Projects

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  Piezo-optic coefficient of gallium nitride

  William Bradley Poston

  Gallium nitride is a material of interest for a range of optical and optoelectronic applications, including its use in blue light LEDs, efficient solar cells, and high power optoelectronic devices for communications, radar, and power amplifiers. During high power operation, these devices develop temperature gradients which cause changes in the local refractive index due in part to the piezo optic effect, resulting in distortion of the output beam. Therefore, measurement of the piezo-optic coefficients is required to predict the performance of high power optoelectronic devices. Uniaxial mechanical stress was applied to a sample of gallium nitride, which induced a birefringence in the sample. The magnitude of the induced birefringence was determined by shining polarized light from a HeNe laser through the sample at pressures between .5 and 10 MPa, passing the output beam through a rotating polarizer and measuring the intensity as a function of relative polarizer position. From the induced birefringence, the piezo-optic coefficient of gallium nitride was determined.

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  Police Brutality in the Dayton Community

  Shelby S Goble

  Police brutality can be defined as the use of excessive or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. It has been in issue in the Dayton community for years and with the recent shift in focus in the media, this problem has received more attention locally, as well as nationally. This topic brings to light issues within the criminal justice system as well as community issues, such as racism, poverty, and other social inequalities. The goal of this poster presentation is to highlight the community level issues that perpetuate criminal behavior and encourage police brutality. Drawing on social inequality literature and Facing Project Narratives from Dayton, this poster will discuss concentrated poverty and racism and their role in promoting criminal behavior. The presentation will also cover possible solutions to the issue of police brutality such as more community involvement from younger generations or more attention from the city. A problem as serious as police brutality deserves more attention, action and change.

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  Positive Behavior Intervention and Support

  Mary Eileen Schultz

  Behavioral issues or lack of social skills can be a huge distraction to one’s learning or daily life. All teachers should have a technique to not only handle but change challenging behaviors. One strategy that can be used is positive behavior intervention and support (PBIS) is an intervention used mainly with people who experience challenging behaviors. In this review of the research literature, I pursue the question what context does PBIS work most effectively in. It can be used on an individual or class wide level, offering different levels of support based on student’s needs. It helps to teach self regulation and the use of appropriate behaviors. On a class wide level, it can help students with mild to severe behavior problems or those who lack social skills. PBIS tends to sustain positive outcomes over time, except in small group instruction set in a class wide intervention.

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  Possible pharmacologic glioma treatment in Drosophila model

  Luke Alan Bressler, Karishma Sanjay Gangwani, Catherine E Martini, Margarita Rosa Mendez, Isha Mishra, Kirti Snigdha, Jordan M Terschluse

  Glioma is a lethal brain cancer, and current treatment strategies have limited effects by extending life only by a few months. Thus, efforts should be made to discover better inhibitors of glioma growth. Ideally 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 developed a glioma model by co-activating PI3K and Ras/MAPK specifically in the Drosophila CNS glia. The Drosophila glioma cause the larval brain to appear enlarged due to rapid increase in the stem cells and their glial and neural progeny. These tumors cause the larvae to enter a prolonged larval phase, and eventually kill the organism. We are conducting a chemical screen using Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Selleck Biochem.) in which we feed early third instar (72h old) larvae 10 or 300uM chemicals in DMSO and 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 B1-B11 of the library. Once we identify potential glioma inhibitors in the primary screens, we will validate them in secondary screens.

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  Post-Freeze Viability of Erythrocytes from D. chrysoscelis

  Loren Vanessa Geiss

  Cope’s gray treefrog, Dryophytes chrysoscelis, is a freeze tolerant frog that survives the freezing of extracellular fluids during winter. Throughout the fall months the frogs are exposed to a gradual decrease in temperature, becoming cold-acclimated. Cold-acclimated treefrogs have elevated plasma levels of glycerol and urea, solutes that function as cryoprotectants by reducing the intra- and extracellular flux of water during freezing and thawing. To minimize cell damage, glycerol and urea need to be taken up by erythrocytes through a transmembrane protein, aquaglyceroporin HC-3. It is hypothesized that erythrocytes frozen in solution containing glycerol/urea would have greater post-freeze (PF) viability than cells frozen without glycerol or urea. It is further hypothesized that cells frozen with naturally accumulating, and HC-3 permeating, solutes (glycerol and urea) would have enhanced PF viability compared to cells frozen with solutes that do not accumulate during cold acclimation (glucose, NaCl, sorbitol). In this study, erythrocytes were obtained from warm-acclimated (22°C) or cold-acclimated (4°C) frogs. Cells were suspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) ± solute and incubated for 30 minutes at -8°C. Percent hemolysis was calculated as the amount of hemoglobin leaked from erythrocytes over the total amount hemoglobin in the erythrocyte sample. PF viability was 2.6-fold greater in cells from cold-acclimated frogs compared to cells from warm-acclimated frogs. Cells from warm- and cold-acclimated frogs enhanced PF viability when frozen in PBS containing urea (2.8-fold, p<0.005 and 0.6-fold, p<0.001, respectively). PF viability of cells frozen in PBS containing glycerol improved when cells were from cold-acclimated frogs (0.6-fold, p<0.005). Although results support the involvement of glycerol and urea in the cryoprotection of D. chrysoscelis, enhanced viability of cells from cold-acclimated frogs, compared to cells from warm-acclimated frogs, suggest that changes other than glycerol and urea accumulation are involved in the freeze tolerance of D. chrysoscelis.

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  Poverty and Inequality in Dayton and the Surrounding Areas

  Eric Wallace Handorf

  Today, there are severe disparities in economic well-being between the city of Dayton and the surrounding areas. This project examines the historical causes and current consequences of severe economic inequality in Dayton and its surrounding areas, as well as how social change has occured around this topic. To do this, I draw on the Facing Project Narratives, social inequality literature, historical documents, and current work being done to help the problem. The project will conclude with recommendations as well as an overview of current efforts that specifically address poverty and inequality.

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  Prairie designers: Cambarus diogenes as an ecosystem engineer in a coastal tall grass prairie

  Emily Katherine Brady, Shania E Hurst, Ryan William Reihart

  In a coastal tallgrass prairie, fatclaw crayfish (Cambarus diogenes) are an abundant, but little studied species. They burrow from the water table to the surface, carving chambers where groups of crayfish live, and assembling a soil “chimney” that they use to access the prairie. It is unknown how these crayfish that move vast amounts of soil may be affecting prairie ecosystem processes, or if soil nutrients affect where chimneys are found. Little is also known about the diet of the fat claw crayfish or their trophic placement in a prairie food web. We determined how nutrients affect the abundance of chimneys by counting the number of chimneys in a large fertilization experiment that manipulated (N&P, Ca, K, and Na). Conversely, we also determined if crayfish affect soil characteristics by measuring total soil moisture and bulk density, total nutrient concentrations, and nutrient availability from chimneys and soils at an increasing distance away from chimneys. Using our estimates of chimney abundances, we also determined how much soil crayfish move, and how they affected soil nutrient pools and availability. Additionally, we collected crayfish claws and used stable isotopes to determine the placement of this species in the prairie food web. The abundance of crayfish was affected by soil nutrients. Plots containing a combination of N&P and Ca tended to have a higher abundance. Conversely, crayfish chimneys also affected soil characteristics: the soils from chimneys were very high in available sulfur compared to soils away from chimneys. A total of 245.76 g/m 2 of clayey soil was likely brought up from anaerobic conditions where sulfur-reducing bacteria are present. Available potassium was lower at the base of the chimney, and got progressively higher the further you moved from the chimney. Because Cambarus diogenes significantly affected available soil nutrients, they likely play an important role in structuring plant communities and nutrient cycling in these rare prairies. As ecosystem engineers, their presence may be important in coastal prairie restoration and conservation. The cycling of nutrients cause by the crayfish building chimneys could manipulating what plants are able to grow in the ecosystem, and some plants need specific nutrients to be successful. Crayfish could be the key to helping preserve the fading prairie ecosystem.

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  Promoting Academic Achievement and Intrinsic Motivation in Mathematically Gifted Elementary Students

  Sarah Elizabeth Rolfsen

  Most often, the mathematically gifted student is the most neglected in an elementary classroom. Though there is very little available research on this topic, this paper will explore the available structures, programs, and strategies aimed to support mathematically gifted elementary students in both academic achievement and intrinsic motivation. Through analyzing studies involving structures such as the cluster model, distance learning, and the pull-out method, and programs such as Accelerated Math, Project M2, and Project M3, specific strategies that seem to be a common theme are identified. These strategies should be implemented in classrooms to cater to these gifted students; for they have proven positive effects on academic achievement, and often times, motivation. Though more research must be done on this topic, there seems to be a strong potential for using these structures, programs, and strategies to promote mathematical achievement among young gifted students.

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  Public Memory: The Monuments and Memorials of UD

  Jen Mayrena Agudelo, Essa Alhamer, Lillian Margaret Dickman, Andrew Patrick Gross, John Martin Harmon, Brandon Michael Heath, Leah S Henkel, Seth Christian Hill, Kristen Hisek, Mitchell Christopher Honious, Tyler Andrew Johnson, Trent E Jones, Kelly Ann Katis, Kristine Anne Kearney, Liza Christine Lutz, Taylour W McMullen, Katie Katherine Parker, Matthew John Pins, Ryan Darnell Scott, Cassandra L Secrease, Micheal John Sheridan, Sophia Jane Tokar, Marcel J Tworek, Ying Wang, Adam Steven Wicks, Joseph J Wilson

  The Pubic Memory themed section of SSC200 was tasked with proposing monuments and/or memorials needed on campus at The University of Dayton. Five groups of five students each conducted survey, observational, and archival research to choose subjects connected to the UD culture and deemed worthy of commemoration. Through careful consideration of concerns related to public memory, identity, culture, and materiality, each group created and designed either a monument or memorial fitting the memory of their chosen subject. Groups will be able to explain their designs, rationale, and processes culminating in their final course project for SSC200.

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  Race Represents Nothing and Everything

  Faith Ann Senkbeil

  While many of the institutionally racist practices in American history have been eliminated, other forms of racism persist. For example, personal racism occurs when individuals or social groups, governed by behavioral norms, support racist thinking and increase active racism. This type of racism affects an individual’s ability for social mobility as well as their equality in schools, neighborhoods and society as a whole. Drawing on examples of personal racism from social science literature and the narratives of the Facing Project in Dayton, I will show how personal racism limits social mobility as well as how acts of resistance are used to overcome it. While addressing institutional racism is a first step to creating a more equal society, addressing personal racism must also be part of the solution.

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  Race Represents Nothing and Everything

  Faith Ann Senkbeil

  While many of the institutionally racist practices in American history have been eliminated, other forms of racism persist. For exam­ple, personal racism occurs when individuals or social groups, governed by behavioral norms, support racist thinking and increase active racism. This type of racism affects an individual’s ability for social mobility as well as their equality in schools, neighborhoods and society as a whole. Drawing on examples of personal racism from social science literature and the narratives of the Facing Project in Dayton, I will show how personal racism limits social mobility as well as how acts of resistance are used to overcome it. While addressing institutional racism is a first step to creating a more equal society, addressing personal racism must also be part of the solution.

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  Reading and Vocabulary Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities

  Claire Elizabeth Grabowski

  Literacy skills affect every other subject, making literacy skills crucial to success in school. Educators need to know what factors contribute to the success of reading and vocabulary strategy for students with learning disabilities. My analysis of the research literature found many effective strategies incorporate four common factors: regularly checking understanding, being easily individualized, asking clarifying questions, and providing the student with a study buddy or study group.

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  Real-time camera tracking and 3D scene reconstruction based on pose graph

  Ruixu Liu

  The 3D reconstructed maps can be used in many applications such as robot navigation, augmented reality and virtual reality. 3D maps for the environment has been developed using RGB-D sensor data that provides color and depth information. RGB-D camera noise, fast camera movement, and rotation introduce drift in the reconstructed 3D maps. If the scale of the 3D model increases, the drift error is also accumulated which can affect the final 3D model performance. A good way to reduce the drift is loop closure detection which is based on visual place recognition. It is an extremely challenging problem to solve in the general sense. First, a place recognition system must have an internal representation of a map of the environment to compare to the incoming visual data. Second, the place recognition system must report a brief about whether or not the current visual information is a place already included in the map, and if so, which one. If the loop closure detects successful, we could use the loop closure pose to correct current camera pose to enhance the camera tracking accuracy and 3D model performance.

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  Recommendations for Improving Eating Disorder Services at the University of Dayton

  Sarah Elizabeth Kane, Maria Pasqualina LaBello, Corteney K Miller, Austin Michael Mueller

  Eating disorders are most common among students 18-21 years of age and are becoming increasingly prevalent on college campuses. When no longer under the eye of family and close friends, a college student can develop an eating disorder without anyone noticing. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 35% of all college student dieters progress to pathological dieting, and 20-25% of these students subsequently develop a full-blown eating disorder. While the University of Dayton offers health brochures and professional help through the Counseling Center, Health Center, and Campus Ministry, we believe their resources could be improved to better reach the intended population. The University of Dayton does not offer easily accessible information that specifically targets their students, nor extends their resources beyond having a student consult a professional such as a dietician, doctor, counselor, or a campus minister. While these opportunities can be effective, they should be supplemented with other resources; especially considering that many students consult help off campus to cope with eating disorders. More information should particularly be supplied on how roommates, resident advisors, friends, and other peers on campus can recognize the most common eating disorders including, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating/compulsive overeating. Therefore, the purpose of our research project is to examine the University of Dayton’s existing programs, and how other colleges have approached eating disorders on their campuses. As a result, we will use this information to develop a document that effectively addresses possible recommendations on the University of Dayton’s campus.

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  Redlining: Lasting Scars in the City of Dayton

  Jillian Marie Malone

  Redlining, a practice of systematic discrimination against African Americans in the distribution of home loans, left scars on the city of Dayton that can still be seen in housing patterns today. These patterns have a ripple effect not only on housing, but also on issues such as inequality in education and wealth. Utilizing narratives from the Facing Project, historical maps, and sociological literature, this poster seeks to shed light on the effects of redlining in Dayton by providing a historical context and theoretical framework. This poster will also explore current efforts in the city that aim to address and ameliorate the lingering effects of redlining.

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  Redlining: Lasting Scars in the City of Dayton

  Jillian Marie Malone

  Redlining, a practice of systematic discrimination against African Americans in the distribution of home loans, left scars on the city of Dayton that can still be seen in housing patterns today. These patterns have a ripple effect not only on housing, but also on issues such as inequality in education and wealth. Utilizing narratives from the Facing Project, historical maps, and sociological literature, this poster seeks to shed light on the effects of redlining in Dayton by providing a historical context and theoretical framework. This poster will also explore current efforts in the city that aim to address and ameliorate the lingering effects of redlining.

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  Regulation of dronc by the Hippo pathway

  Karishma Sanjay Gangwani, Kirti Snigdha

  The Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that regulates organ size and tissue homeostasis in Drosophila and mammals. The pathway functions by regulating the nuclear availability of transcriptional cofactor Yorkie (Yki), mammalian YAP, which is regulated by the activity of a core kinase cascade comprising the serine threonine kinases Hippo (Hpo) and Warts (Wts) and their accessory proteins. Yki binds with transcription factors like Scalloped (Sd) or Homothorax (Hth) to regulate target genes involved in cell proliferation and survival. Downregulation of the Hpo pathway causes increased cell proliferation and overgrowth, whereas hyperactivation of this pathway leads to cell death due to activation of these caspases. Previous work in our lab identified the initiator caspase Dronc (mammalian Caspase 9) as a transcriptional target of Yki. Caspase proteins are cysteine aspartic proteases which play essential roles in cellular signaling, development and cell death via apoptosis or Programmed Cell Death (PCD). We found that loss of Hippo signaling leads to downregulation of dronc expression suggesting that Yki could act in co-repressor complexes to provide growth and survival cues to cells where Hippo pathway is downregulated. We hypothesize that Yki functions both as an activator and a repressor simultaneously in association with the TEAD family transcriptional factor Sd to control dronc expression. Here, we present our work on the regulation of dronc by the Hippo pathway, and its implications in organ size control, and in disease conditions like cancer.

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  Resolving the Molecular Mechanisms by Which DNA Mutations Alter the Function of a Genetic Switch

  Emily Elisabeth Wey

  Each human genome possesses around a million mutations that are genetic baggage from DNA replication mistakes or “mutations” that occurred in the past. Each mutation can have one of three outcomes on an individual, these are to improve, reduce, or have no effect on health. Moreover, the effects of such mutations can depend on the presence or absence of other mutations, so called epistatic interactions. A major goal of genomic medicine is to glean diagnostic or predictive health information from the genome sequences of individuals. However, this goal remains out of reach as the effects of mutations and epistatic interactions are difficult to predict without knowing the function of the DNA sequence they reside in. This difficulty is especially heightened for mutations occurring in cis-regulatory element sequences that act as switches to control gene transcription. The research I plan to perform for my Honors Thesis is to use a fruit fly model to test hypotheses about the molecular mechanisms by which mutations alter a genetic switch’s activity and whether these mutations are subjected to the tyranny of epistatic interactions. I will study the Drosophila melanogaster dimorphic element which is a transcription-regulating switch for the bric-à-brac genes. Three mutations in the dimorphic element were identified that individually alter the level of bric-à-brac transcription. The presence or absence of epistatic interactions will be determined by measuring the activity of dimorphic elements from related species that have been engineered to possess the Drosophila melanogaster mutations. I will also test the hypothesis that these mutations impart their effects by creating or destroying binding sites for proteins known as transcription factors. The results will provide a sorely needed example where an understanding of molecular mechanisms bridges the gap between a DNA sequence and its in vivo function.

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  Revealing when, how, and how often a pigmentation gene network evolved to be sexually dimorphic in a fruit fly subgenus

  Abbey Marie Groszkiewicz, Jesse Taylor Hughes

  Since the origin of the 36 recognized animal phyla, evolution can be largely summarized as the diversification of characteristics among these original body plans. As animal characteristics are the products of development, a key challenge for contemporary research is to reveal the ways in which development evolves through changes in the use of genes within a gene regulatory network. One ideal trait for deep mechanistic study is the coloration patterns observed on the abdominal tergites of fruit fly species from the Sophophora subgenus. Prior research has supported a scenario where elaborate melanic pigmentation limited to the male abdomen evolved once within this clade through the evolution of a sexually dimorphic pattern of expression for the bric-à- brac transcription factor genes. My research seeks to confirm or revise this scenario by bringing attention to the distribution of species with elaborate male pigmentation among the diverse Sophophora species groups and interrogating the patterns of bric-à- brac expression during the development and coloration of abdominal tergites.

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  Revising the Geological Time Scale: A Multi-Clade CONOP9 Composite from the Middle Ordovician Rocks of Newfoundland

  Katherine Gayle Michel

  The Geological Time Scale is a fundamental tool for geoscientists that is revised and republished every eight years. It is a representation of the geologic record - a system composed of radioisotope dates interpolated into fossil successions that can be used to correlate rocks, used a standard to which local successions can be compared, and as a framework for the rate calculations needed in geologic and evolutionary studies. The current Geologic Time Scale for the Ordovician Period (GTS 2012) is composed of a sequence of species ranges from a group of fossils called graptolites with interpolated radiometric dates. Building a global geologic time scale requires correlating between different biofacies. These correlations are difficult because the fossil organisms used to demonstrate time equivalency may live in non-overlapping environments, as well as other biases inherent in the fossil record. In this thesis I will attempt to combine stratigraphic range data from different kinds of Ordovician fossils in order to improve the precision and usefulness of the Ordovician time scale. I will integrate the range data from graptolites (deep water biofacies), chitnozoans and conodonts (shallow water biofacies) in the Middle Ordovician rocks of Newfoundland. I will conduct field studies to make new, detailed fossil collections and use these in conjunction with already published literature. In particular I will look for unusual co-occurrences of both types of fossils on single bedding planes, which have been reported in the geologic literature from Newfoundland. I plan to use the computer-assisted graphic correlation program CONOP9 to create composite taxon ranges from many localities based on the first and last appearance data for each species and then construct a more precise correlation network between sections that represent disparate biofacies. This correlation network can be used in the revision of the Ordovician Time Scale for 2020.

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  Role of Calcium Signaling Pathway in Rescuing Aβ42 Neurodegeneration in Drosophila

  Neha Gogia, Chris Y Kang, Dena M Schaeffer

  Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease, common in more than five million individuals in the United States (US) alone, making it the sixth leading cause of death in the US. While currently there are no cures for the disease, there are many ongoing studies, which are using the Drosophila melanogaster model, to find a way to prevent and slow down AD. We have used Drosophila as our model organism; Drosophila eye as our model organ (due to highly conserved genetic machinery between flies and humans). We have developed a transgenic fly model of AD where we misexpress high levels of human Aβ42 peptides using GAL4/UAS system approach, using this system, misexpression is targeted in the differentiating photoreceptor neurons in the Drosophila eye and can be explained to address questions pertaining to whether activating or deactivating certain pathways can rescue Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. We have found that members of calcium signaling pathway acts as the modifier of Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. In order to test our hypothesis, we misexpressed the loss-of-function form (using RNAi) of six components of calcium signaling pathway (which are stimRNAi, sercaRNAi, oraiRNAi, inx2RNAi, ip3rRNAi, and plc 21cRNAi) in Aβ42 background in the eye, and observed the effects in both eye-antennal imaginal discs and adult eyes. Our results showed 100% eye rescue with all 6 components of calcium signaling pathway at 29C, which clearly states that inactivation of calcium signaling pathway blocks Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. Previous studies on calcium signaling pathway showed a role in deadly diseases like cancer and other fatal diseases. Our studies show a new role of calcium signaling in neurodegeneration disorder like AD.

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  Role of M1BP in eye development of Drosophila melanogaster

  Hannah Corinne Gordon, Abijeet Singh Mehta, Ankita Sarkar, Kaitlyn E Strickland

  Regulation of transcription in multi-cellular organisms is responsible for generating diversity in cell type and final patterning and growth of an organ. The regulation of gene expression can be present at multiple levels like assembling pre-initiation complex at promoters or regulation of gene expression by micro RNA. Recently, a novel transcription factor M1BP (TF; Motif 1 binding protein) has been identified which is required to regulate a large class of paused genes. However, the role of the Motif 1 binding protein is unknown in the eye development. We employed Drosophila melanogaster eye model to understand its role in patterning, growth and development. M1BP is highly conserved across the species and encodes a 55kDa protein containing five C2H2 zinc-fingers domains. A battery of highly conserved genes regulates Drosophila eye development. In our studies, we examine the effects of Motif 1 Binding Protein (M1BP), and its effects on the control of gene expression during eye development of the Drosophila melanogaster. Our preliminary data suggests that absence of M1BP function in dorsal and ventral eye margins results in the suppression of eye fate and the suppression of the gene from the entire eye gives us a head loss phenotype. We also hypothesize that the loss of function o f M1BP leads to the change of the fate of peripodial epithelium cells to disc proper in the eye imaginal disc. The above data will be presented in our poster.

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  Role of Relish/NFkB Apoptosis Pathway in Amyloid-beta 42 mediated neurodegeneration inAlzheimer’s disease.

  Steven Gerard Borchers, Neil William Glenn, Neha Gogia

  Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease, which affects the mental functions of the patients. This disorder progresses with age and does not have a cure to-date. One of the reasons for the manifestation of AD is the accumulation of amyloid-beta- 42 (Aβ42) proteins. In our study, we have used Drosophila as our model organism (as 75% of the genetic machinery is conserved between flies and humans), and have developed a model where when human Aβ42 is misexpressed in the differentiating eye, triggers cell death in the retinal neurons. We have also identified a soy-based anti- inflammatory protein, Lunasin, which can block Aβ42 mediated cell death by downregulating the NFkB pathway (which lead to translation of apoptotic proteins of Jun-N Terminal Kinase (JNK) pathway). In order to discern the exact mechanism by which Lunasin prevents neuronal cell death (caused by the accumulation of Aβ42 proteins), we have developed transgenic flies, which can produce human Aβ42 and Aβ42+Lunasin in the Drosophila eye. Our hypothesis states that manipulating the Relish protein complex of the Imd-NFKB pathway could lead to activity variation in JNK pathway in Aβ42+Lunasin flies. To test our hypothesis, we used GAL4/UAS system genetic technique and misexpressed relish and relish RNAi in human Aβ42, Aβ42+Lunasin background, and checked for the resultant phenotypes in (1) the larval eye imaginal discs and in (2) the adult eyes. Our data showed that downregulating Relish rescues neurodegenerative phenotypes seen in Alzheimer’s flies. It suggests that the Imd-NFKB pathway plays a positive role in Lunasin’s ability to mitigate the neuronal cell death cause by the accumulation of Aβ42 plaques. These studies have significant bearing on the use of NFKB members as biomarkers or druggable targets and generate new insights into the mechanism by which Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration cell death can be blocked in the future.

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  Runge-Kutta Methods to Explore Numerical Solutions of Reactor Point Kinetic Equations

  Elizabeth N Boeke

  This work is the study of Reactor Point Kinetic equations. This is a system of seven coupled ordinary differential equations, one for neutron density and six for delayed neutron precursors. The application of Runge-Kutta methods is used to study the system numerically. Solutions were then compared for different values of reactivity using MATLAB built-in functions ode23 and ode45. There are graphs and tables presented to compare these methods; theoretically ode45 is of higher-order than ode23.

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  Semester of Service - Adventure Central

  Ellie Marie Ryan

  Adventure Central is an after-school program that focuses on positive youth development, health and wellness, and interaction with science and nature. Adventure Central assists students with any homework or school assistance needed as well as provides structured activities for after school hours. Adventure Central is a partnership between The Ohio State University, 4-H Youth Development, and 5 Rivers Metroparks of Dayton. It is located in the West Dayton community and continues to improve the lives of the students and the families it serves. This semester, as part of the Semester of Service Program, I am working at Adventure Central as a Group Leader. I am working on lesson and activity planning for a small group of students. By working in the West Dayton area, I am allowed the opportunity to immerse myself in the community.