Stander Symposium Projects

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  Impact of Classroom Quality and Preschool Experiences on Executive Functioning

  Shelbie Nicole Weightman

  From a young age, executive functioning begins to develop in children. Executive functions are a group of cognitive processes that are important for processing speed, working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. These skills typically begin to develop drastically around the time children are entering the preschool years. However, research has shown that poverty can negatively impact the development of executive functioning due to the lack of resources available. There is evidence that chronic exposure to poverty and chronic exposure to certain psychological stressors related to poverty can predict children’s executive functioning at four years-old (Raver, Blair, & Willoughby, 2013). On average, children who are poor have much lower starting points and cognitive growth slopes later on throughout childhood (Raffington, Prindle, & Shing, 2018). I am interested in strategies that can combat this issue and reduce the gap in executive functioning skills between children from different family incomes. A high-quality, teacher-child interaction involving classroom organization and emotional support has been shown to have a great impact (Choi, Castle, Williamson, Young,Worley, Long, & Horm, 2016). Along with this, incorporating mindfulness-based prosocial skills curriculum into the early ages of education has also shown to help close the gap in executive functioning, as well as social-emotional development (Flook, Goldberg, Pinger, & Davidson, 2014). In both of these strategies, the children from low-income backgrounds had the largest gains. We will investigate the correlations between higher quality elements of the classroom environment and preschoolers’ growth in executive functioning skills. Data will come from a large-scale longitudinal study of preschool school readiness skills development.

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  Impact of Parental Involvement in the use of Adaptive eBook Technology on Preschoolers' Math Skills

  Patrick Caleb Ehrman

  By the time students in the United States reach the fourth grade, the majority do not perform at or above the level of proficiency in mathematics (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2017). A child’s education in mathematics begins at a very young age. One method by which children are introduced to the basic concepts of math is number books. Traditional number books have been found to be successful in promoting mathematical knowledge, but are stagnant in their difficulty, leaving parents to discern ambiguously when their child is ready to move onto more difficult problem-solving (Elia, Heuvel-Panhuizen & Georgiou, 2010). The present study seeks to discern the effectiveness of new eBook technology, as well as the impact parents have on their children's ability to learn. Specifically, does a discrepancy in the magnitude of the pictures in counting books lead to better learning and does the eBook facilitate learning that overcomes a parent’s anxieties in math. Two different eBooks will be read to thirty randomly selected parent-child pairs at the Dayton Metro Library during their summer Family Story Time sessions. Children will be ages 3-5. A survey will be used post reading to measure the parents’ predisposition towards liking or disliking math, as well as their current methods of math instruction in the home. The results of this study will be assessed using a paired samples t-test. This study predicts that the eBook containing discrepancies in image magnitude will facilitate higher quantity and quality of math-based discourse between parent and child. Additionally, the eBook formatting will help combat the impact a parent’s math anxiety has on their child.

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  Implementing Energy Saving Behaviors in Low-Income Communities

  Jenn Margaret Hoody

  The necessity to combat climate change is on the rise as more and more studies are revealing the catastrophic outcomes if the current trends of energy consumption do not change. Residential programs to promote energy savings and reduce consumption are being enacted to decrease the greenhouse emissions due to home energy usage. However, thus far, little to no measures have been taken to extend the reach of such programs to low-income communities. Reducing household energy consumption would be extremely beneficial as it would lower utility bills for low-income households who spend a substantially greater portion of their income on energy bills compared to other households. While installation of energy efficient appliances is a dominant component in energy reduction, adopting energy behavior has the potential for significant savings. Research is being conducted to determine the most effective techniques necessary to successfully promote and enact energy reduction behaviors in low-income communities based upon peer-to-peer methods. Through a program that will track and analyze thermostat and consumption (energy and water) data in a low-income neighborhood in Dayton, behavioral models will be designed and implemented to deduce what education and intervention methods produce optimal energy behavior results, how demographics impact energy behaviors, and what factors most strongly correlate to an increase or decrease in energy consumption.

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  Importance of Data Compilation in Regards to Understanding Fuel Property Effects on Gas Turbine Combustor Ignition

  Travis C Meyer

  Since the late 19th century, Earth’s average temperature has risen approximately 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit. This is in part due to an overall increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions in the atmosphere. If the level of emissions continues to rise at the current rate, we will continue to see the detrimental effects including rising sea levels, an increase in forest fires, and ocean acidification impacting ecosystems and human civilization. As an attempt to mitigate the effects of climate change, the aviation industry is looking towards alternative jet fuels (non-petroleum derived fuels) as a solution. Programs such as the National Jet Fuel Combustion Program (NJFCP) and JET Program are working to improve the commercialization of these alternative jet fuels. Fuel property research would aid NJFCP and JET in accomplishing their missions by increasing their understanding of figures of merit (FOM) in fuel performance, namely lean blowout, high-altitude relight, and cold start ignition due to the fuel properties. Data mining fuel properties such as viscosity and surface tension within a specific temperature range allows these programs to better understand the FOM of the fuel. Ideally, this work would reduce carbon-foot print, support surrogate development, and improve commercialization of alternative jet fuels.

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  Importance of high resolution precipitation isotope datasets for climate change studies

  Alyssa Nicole Forristell

  Climate change has an unprecedented effect on the hydrologic cycle and could impact water resources. However, the link between climate patterns, atmospherics processes and water availability is poorly known. This is largely the case in a drought sensitive region of the world where direct observations of climate are limited. As conservative dual tracer, stable isotopes of oxygen (18O) and deuterium (2H) in precipitation can provide an integrated view of the hydroclimate. In Ethiopia, there is one long-term (1961-2016) monthly precipitation isotope monitoring station in Addis Ababa. However, the data from this station deviates from expectations given its inland location and high altitude, making the generalized framework usually used to interpret isotopic data in hydrology and paleoclimate studies difficult. Moreover, the reasons for these anomalously high values are poorly understood. To understand what drives these anomalously high isotope values in Addis Ababa, we analyzed 50 daily precipitation samples collected in the main rainy season (June-September 2018). Our result shows that the daily amount weighted monthly averages from this study are similar to the long-term data in Addis Ababa. The two data sets also show a similar trend throughout the rainy season with the lowest isotopic values in August. Despite theses similarities, the daily isotope measurements exhibit larger range that the long-term monthly data in Addis Ababa. Our high-resolution daily isotope dataset could provide new insights into the climatic controls on the isotopic composition of rainfall in Ethiopia and understand hydroclimate variability today and in the past.

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  Improvement in Jet Aircraft Operation with the Use of High-Performance Drop-in Fuels

  Shane Kosir

  The implementation of high performance drop-in jet fuels (HPFs) from alternative feedstocks can provide economic benefits to airlines, while contributing to emissions reduction. HPFs offer several operational and economic advantages compared to conventional jet fuel, including improved specific fuel consumption and lower sooting. HPFs that exhibit high specific energy [MJ/kg] and energy density [MJ/L] can increase mission range, payload, and seat capacity. As commercial airlines in the US spend close to 135 billion USD per year on jet fuel, it follows that small increases in the specific energy and energy density of jet fuel can save airlines millions of dollars annually in fuel cost. Three approaches were taken in conjunction to bound HPF economic benefits: identification and calculation of properties for bio-derived molecules via quantum chemistry methods, utilization of ant colony optimization to determine blends of conventional and “specialty” molecules that meet HPF specifications, and simulation of flights to correlate HPF performance increases to economic benefits for airlines. Optimization indicates that alkylated cyclohexanes have significant performance benefits when used in HPFs while helping achieve drop-in operability properties. The creation of HPFs with high concentrations of mono and dicycloalkanes can potentially allow for the removal of aromatics from the fuel, which are widely accepted as being major contributors to soot formation during combustion.

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  Improving Object Detection with Dual Mask R-CNN

  Yunheng Liu, Jinnan Yan

  Object detection is crucial for real-world applications like the self-driving vehicle, search and rescue missions, and surveillance systems. Therefore, it is essential to accurately detect all objects in the field of view. While cutting-edge technologies like Mask R-CNN work in specific regions in images, therefore, some image regions are usually ignored one object is covered partially by the other. In our project, we improve the performance of object detection through a dual mechanism. In particular, our proposed framework removes the already-detected objects in the original image, then perform the detection process once again to force the attention to the ignorable regions. The final results are obtained by merging the two sets of detection results. We conduct experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

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  In Addition to Improving Memory for Paintings, Self-generation of Elaborative Titles Increases Aesthetic Preferences

  Terah Lee Blakemore, Chloe Michelle Clark, Abigail T Flower, Tessa Nicole Jatczak, Hannah M Propes, Rachel Marie Yeager, Yu Zhao

  Aesthetic preferences are influenced by factors such as context surrounding art (e.g., titled photographs; Millis, 2001). In addition, self-generation of context information influences the strength of memory, in general. The present study examined the influence of titles that are participant-generated on aesthetic preferences and memory for paintings. For each painting, there were two types of titles generated: elaborative (evoking a deeper thought process, such as “Water Sustains Life” for a painting of a bridge over a stream) or descriptive (naming objects in the painting, such as “Bridge over Water.” All participants were first exposed to paintings without titles. Participants were then exposed to the same paintings in a different order and generated their own titles consistent with either elaborative or descriptive titling instructions and were asked questions assessing preferences: if they liked the painting, if they would buy the painting, and if they would hang the painting in their home. Control participants also rated the paintings, without the titles and without generating titles. After the ratings, all participants completed a task to distract from rehearsing memory for the paintings, and then viewed the original paintings intermingled with paintings not seen earlier to test their memory for the original paintings. We hypothesized that participants would exhibit greater preferences and better memory for paintings with self-generated elaborative titles than for those with self-generated descriptive or no titles. Our earlier research found that preference and memory were stronger for the paintings with elaborative and descriptive titles than for those with no titles. However, memory and confidence in the accuracy of memory was stronger for paintings with descriptive than for those with elaborative or no titles. The results of the present experiment suggest that the deeper cognitive processing of self-generated elaboration enhances an aesthetic experience when viewing paintings and makes the paintings more memorable.

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  Inclusion in Schools for Students with Disabilities

  Elizabeth Downey Hanold, Aine Rosaleen Harless, Christina M Zaso

  Schools around the world struggle to include students with disabilities in the classroom environment. Through the combination of individual research, the information provided shows that the inclusion of students with disabilities in the classroom lets all students make greater strides in their academic successes through the diverse learning levels. This diversity decreases the stereotypes that surround those with disabilities when their neurotypical peers see all their shared characteristics. Inclusion fosters strong relationship formation between students with disabilities and students in general education. Inclusion with peer support arrangements create a classroom that is full of success.The connection peers get to make with the students with disabilities helps the overall well being of students by allowing peers and students with disabilities to both thrive inside the classroom and receive benefits from this learning experience. When educators teach students with disabilities strategies that improve their learning, students are better able to articulate and express their ideas. This allows students with disabilities to more confidently engage in the classroom, but also with the attention and help they need from the teacher because of their disabilities, these students will begin to see and take pride in their academic success. Inclusion of students with intellectual and learning disabilities creates a more diverse learning environment where everyone can succeed.

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  Increasing Awareness of Intimate Partner Violence on UD’s Campus

  Maria Elizabeth Anderson, Marie Jane Crouchley, Claire Marie Feller

  Many people know that sexual assault is a rising issue on college campuses. However, many do not realize that intimate partner violence (IPV) is also a prevalent issue among college-aged individuals. While the University of Dayton provides many resources on sexual assault, we found there is a need for increased awareness specifically of intimate partner violence. Many students are unaware of the signs of IPV and do not know how to effectively intervene as bystanders of these situations. We examined the impact of existing resources for IPV on UD’s campus and compared them to resources on other college campuses. We determined that there is not enough information readily available for UD students regarding IPV in particular. Our project goal was to create a document that informs UD students of the signs of IPV. Furthermore, our document addresses how friends can support and guide each other in unhealthy relationships. We believe that by providing more information on IPV, UD students will be better equipped to handle these situations and will know where they can get help.

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  Individualized Learning Plans

  Katherine Victoria Evans, Alexa Dehner Passafiume

  The aims of this research is to see how individualized learning plans can benefit the development of well-rounded students in secondary education programs. Specifically we will be focussing on the use of alternative classrooms and alternative scheduling within high schools and the benefits that come with them.Through the use of flipped classrooms and the inclusion/choice of electives, specifically in the arts, one can receive a more well-rounded education that will help them in both the world and in their further education. Going beyond the traditional ways of earning credit in high school can help the students develop a more personalized education, therefore ensuring more of a balance in the education of the whole person. Giving students more choice and flexibility within their schedule will allow them to focus on their passions and become more advanced in their interests. Additionally the integration of arts within a student’s education through both electives and within other classes can lead to benefits in other academic areas, allowing for students to get the most out of their high school experiences. Both alternative classrooms and alternative scheduling provide a more individualized approach to education which allows for students to gain control of the path that they take through their secondary education experiences. By giving students an ability to choose gives them more of a sense of ownership and responsibility when it comes to their education which oftentimes leads to better outcomes in their education as a whole.

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  Inevitable or Avoidable: Assessing the Relationship between Childhood Trauma and Adult Crime and Violence

  Chloe Marie Kisela

  Crime, violence, and childhood trauma are all unfortunate things to speak of, yet they are ever-present in our society. We might have several questions about what factors have a casual influence on these events and how we can prevent them, but for the researcher, one question stood out among others – could all three be connected in some way? In conjunction with that thought, this project uses secondary data analysis to examine whether or not childhood trauma (neglect, abuse, parental death, parental absence, etc.) is related to later adult criminal offending or violent behavior. In addition, specific psychological processes that could possibly connect childhood trauma with adult offending have been researched and described, including learned helplessness, classical conditioning, neurological changes in the brain post-trauma, and the emergence of psychological disorders. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) has been utilized through statistical analysis in pursuit of supporting or refuting the hypothesis, which believes that there is a positive relationship between childhood trauma and adult offending. This is all done with the motive to help reduce childhood trauma and adult offending and violence because, in order to pursue the weighty goals of putting an end to crime as well as childhood suffering, we must first work to better understand them and how they relate to each other.

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  Influenza Vaccine Health Literacy Among UD Intensive English Program Students

  Kaylin Ann Kultgen, Nicole Elise Licher, Leigh Anne Roberts, Aubrey Alexandra Woolford

  In the United States, it is estimated that only 12 percent of adults have proficient health literacy. According to Zarcadoolas in Advancing Health Literacy, health literacy is defined as “the wide range of skills and competencies that people develop over their lifetimes to seek out, comprehend, evaluate, and use health information and concepts to make informed choices, reduce health risks, and increase quality of life.” For this project, our group was tasked with finding an original healthcare document in an area of interest or concern for UD’s Intensive English Program (IEP) students. The original document, a vaccine fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control, was analyzed for readability using the SMOG test and Microsoft Word assessment, identifying the Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level. We also performed a Health Literacy Load Analysis. The original document was then revised to enhance the readability to the IEP students. The first revision was presented to IEP students to gain critical feedback. Though our original document was a more broad outline of how vaccines work, our team chose to focus on the influenza vaccine. This decision was made based on the questions and feedback IEP students provided us, specifically their interest in why some vaccines must be given multiple times. The students’ feedback was used to create a second and final revision of the original document aimed at making information about influenza vaccinations easier to read and understand. We were able to reduce the reading level of the original document to be more understandable and usable for IEP students.

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  Inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Growth using TMP preventative treatment on Steel and Polyethylene substrata

  Erin Elise Pellot

  Within recent years there have been a growing number of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. Many of these strains produce biofilms, which are sturdy layers of bacteria on a surface. These biofilms are highly antibiotic resistant and have multiple defense mechanisms. Biofilms have been known to form layers on metal implants after surgery and dialysis tubing which can prevent typical antibiotic treatment methods from being effective. In order to prevent biofilms from forming on steel and polyethylene coupons the porphyrin Tetramesitylporphyrin (TMP) was tested as a pre-treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the six ESKAPE bacterial pathogens responsible for most deadly opportunistic infections in the United States. In this experiment steel and polyethylene coupons were placed in a 225 µM TMP and a 100 µM TMP solution for time periods of three and five hours. After this presoak period the coupons were submerged in a PAO1 liquid culture for an 18-hour period. Once a biofilm was formed the coupons were removed and vortexed in sterile water to resuspend the biofilm. A serial dilution and plating was then carried out and the plates were placed in the 37°C incubator overnight. A Colony forming unit (CFU) count was taken the next day to asses the log reduction created by TMP pretreatment. Results showed a roughly .5 log reduction in the 100 µM TMP and 225 µM TMP treatment trials.

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  Insectile Neurochemistry: Developing a novel HPLC-based method to assess neurotransmitters in the grasshopper brain

  Benjamin Klocke

  Grasshoppers (Order Orthoptera) are critical members of grassland ecosystems; as herbivores they serve an important role in many ecosystem services. They can also cause very costly destruction of crops and are seen as pests in agriculture. Therefore, understanding grasshopper behavior is critical to fully understand their impact on the environment. Many chemical pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture affect the balance of micronutrients such as sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca). Similar micronutrient shifts have recently been correlated to an alteration in grasshopper activity. It is currently hypothesized that changes in neurotransmitter systems in the grasshopper CNS underly this response. Therefore, understanding the neurochemical mechanisms underlying these observed behavioral changes is necessary to fully understand the impact of chemicals used in agriculture. However, only a few studies have assessed neurotransmitters have not been quantitatively assessed in insects. Thus, the purpose of this project was to develop a novel HPLC-based method to assess neurotransmitters in the grasshopper brain. This method will be used in collaborative projects by the Prather and the Pitychoutis labs here at the UD to conduct studies exploring grasshopper neurotransmission dynamics following micronutrient shifts in the ecosystem.

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  Inspecting the role for the trans-regulatory landscape to the origin, diversification, and loss of a sexually dimorphic fruit fly pigmentation trait

  Jesse Taylor Hughes

  A major goal for evolutionary-developmental biology research is to identify the genetic changes underlying the origins, diversification, and loss of morphological traits. Such traits are built by the spatial and temporal regulation of gene expression, and thus the evolution of gene expression is often involved in their evolutionary histories. Gene expression is under the control of a network of transcription factors (trans-landscape) that ultimately impinge on the cis-regulatory elements (CREs) of differentiation genes whose encoded proteins produce particular traits. Transcription factor genes are often highly pleiotropic, as they can regulate the expression of multiple genes for multiple traits. Thus, it seems reasonable to expect that evolutionary changes in gene expression more frequently occurred by mutations altering the CREs for differentiation genes than changes to the trans-landscape. Our research aims to test whether this expectation for a conserved trans-landscape applies to the origin, diversification, and loss of a well-studied fruit fly pigmentation trait in the Sophophora subgenus. The origin of a male-specific pattern of abdominal tergite pigmentation involved the gain of CREs controlling the expressions of pigmentation enzyme genes responsive to the prevailing trans-landscape of body plan patterning and sexual dimorphism transcription factors. Here, we share our results from tests of these CREs in transgenic hosts that represent the ancestral sexually monomorphic trait, diverse forms of the derived dimorphic trait, and a secondary loss of the dimorphic trait. The outcomes from these tests will reveal the extent to which this particular trans-landscape has remained conserved while the pigmentation phenotype has widely evolved.

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  Intelligence and Interpersonal Functioning in Youth and Young Adults with Varying Levels of Psychopathic and Callous-Unemotional Traits

  Marie Hermine Feyche

  The current study examined 30 youth and young adults ages 12-21 who were receiving therapy services at South Community, Inc. The intelligence and interpersonal functioning of individuals with varying levels of psychopathic and callous-unemotional (CU) traits was studied. Although there are a variety of conceptualizations of psychopathy, this study used the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy (TriPM), which defines the three factors of psychopathy as boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. CU traits are a downward extension of psychopathy, overlapping with the meanness factor, and are embodied by an absence of guilt, remorse, and the expression of superficial emotion. “Successful” psychopathy is a term applied to individuals who have psychopathic traits but are non-antisocial and function at a comparable level to individuals lacking psychopathic traits. Interpersonal functioning refers to one’s ability to interact with others; a significant distinction between successful and unsuccessful psychopathy involves interpersonal skills. Both verbal and abstract intelligence were assessed. Participants completed the Triarchic Personality Measure (TriPM), the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Shipley Institute of Living Scale-Second Edition (Shipley-2) in order to assess their levels of psychopathy, CU traits, interpersonal functioning, and intelligence. It was hypothesized that individuals with high levels of CU traits, psychopathy, and intelligence would have higher levels of interpersonal functioning than individuals with high levels of CU traits and psychopathy but low levels of intelligence. It was also hypothesized that this relation will be particularly true for abstract intelligence. This is supported by previous research suggesting low intelligence is present in psychopathic individuals who exhibit antisocial and violent behavior and may correlate with the predisposition to callous-unemotional behavior in youth.

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  Intensive English Program: Skills For Academic Success

  Abbass A A A Almarza, Ahmad J M KH J K Alqallaf, Abdullah Mohammed A Alshahrani, Khalil Ibrahim D Alsulami

  The presenters are students from the Intensive English Program. The posters they have created are representative of an end of term project for the level 3 Special Topics course that focuses on the elements and needed skill for Academic Success. Academic Success is an intermediate class for English language learning students at the intermediate proficiency level. The goal of this assignment is to give students an introduction to research and an opportunity to improve their speaking and presentation skills all while learning how to be a successful student in university setting.

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  Interaction between axial patterning gene (dve) and Dpp signaling during eye development in Drosophila

  Neha Gogia, Katie Marie Perry, Akanksha Raj

  An interesting question in developmental biology is how any three dimensional organ develops from a single monolayer sheet of cells. Organogenesis in multicellular organisms requires an important process of axial patterning which marks the development of Antero-Posterior (AP), Dorso-Ventral (DV) and Proximo-Distal (PD) axes. Out of these axes, Dorso-Ventral (DV) patterning marks first lineage restriction event and any disturbance during these axes development leads to defective organ/s formation. In our research we have studied how cell signaling mechanisms interacts with cell fate specification genes and forms eye as an organ. We have used, Drosophila melanogaster (a.k.a fruit fly) as our model organism and Drosophila eye as our model organ (as the genetic machinery is conserved between fruit flies to humans, and any insights generated here can be extrapolated to humans). Previous data from our lab confirms defective proventriculus (dve-a Homeobox gene), an ortholog of SATB homeobox 1 (special AT-rich sequence binding protein 1, in humans), acts as a new member of DV patterning gene hierarchy. In this research, we present that, DV patterning gene (dve), interacts with Dpp signaling. Our results using Gain-of-function (GOF) studies confirms that upregulation of the levels of Dpp signaling by misexpression of decapentaplegic (dpp) and mother against dpp (mad) in dve expression domain results in downregulation of wingless and dramatic eye enlargements. In contrast, downregulation of Dpp signaling by misexpression of brinker ( brk), an antagonist of Dpp signaling in Drosophila, in dve expression domain leads to ectopic induction of wingless in posterior domain of eye and eye suppression or reduced eye phenotypes. In future, we will test if these eye phenotypes are a result of the change of cell fate or due to induction of developmental cell death. To address this, we will test what happens to retinal determination and cell death markers in this background. This study may have a significant bearing on growth, signaling and patterning defects and helps to understand the etiology behind genetic birth defects in the eye.

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  Interaction between JAK STAT pathway and axial patterning genes in Drosophila eye development

  Neha Gogia, Akanksha Raj

  Axial patterning is the fundamental process of organogenesis, which entails delineation of three distinct axes: Antero-Posterior (AP), Dorso-Ventral (DV) and Proximo-Distal (PD) axes. Any impairment in the axis formation may lead to developmental birth defects in humans and therefore, getting insight of the mechanism of axis determination is crucial for better understanding of organogenesis. In Drosophila eye model, DV patterning is the primary lineage restriction event. A new member of DV patterning gene, defective proventriculus (dve, a Homeobox gene), an ortholog of SATB homeobox 1 (special AT-rich sequence binding protein 1) has been identified which acts downstream of a GATA-1 transcription factor pannier (pnr), and upstream of wingless (wg) in the dorsal gene hierarchy. Unpaired (Upd), a long range secreted ligand for JAK STAT pathway, is known to promote eye development by negatively regulating Wg expression. Here we present that Upd interacts with dve, to regulate the patterning and growth of the developing Drosophila eye. We found that activation of JAK STAT pathway in dve expression domain results in dorsal eye enlargement and downregulation of Wg expression whereas its inactivation in Dve domain results in eye suppression phenotype and upregulating Wg expression. Our data strongly imply that Upd plays a crucial role in defining the functional domain of Dve during DV axis formation of developing eye. We will present the complex interactions between these two highly conserved pathways, viz., JAK-STAT and dorsal eye fate selectors in growth and patterning of the eye.

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  Interaction Between Peracetic Acid and Common Stormwater Constituents

  Maggie Margaret Anderson

  Currently, chlorine is the standard chemical used for the disinfection process in storm and wastewater treatment. Due to environmental complications involved in chlorine usage, peracetic acid (PAA) has been proposed as an alternative. Properties such as a faster decay rate and lack of toxic byproducts allows for the chemical removal step to be eliminated, saving time and resources. The goal of this study is to perform baseline testing to quantify loss of PAA under varying conditions. Different types of sands/soils as well as filtration processes could interfere with the efficacy of PAA and must be considered when calculating proper input rates of the chemical for large scale treatment plants. In the end, water mixtures with higher nutrient demands and organic content led to a higher PAA demands, resulting in less PAA availability for disinfection. By standardizing PAA requirements based on the physical and chemical properties of stormwater influent, this alternative to chlorine could be implemented in combined sewer systems.

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  Interaction of key inflammatory pathways in the tumor microenvironment in Drosophila cancer models control tumor progression

  Kirti Snigdha

  The interaction between the tumor cells and the surrounding normal cells constitutes the Tumor microenvironment (TME). The Toll-like Receptor (TLR), Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK), and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) produce inflammatory components in the TME, and are thought to play a critical role in tumor survival and progression. However, the exact nature and mechanism of interactions within the TME remain poorly understood. These core inflammatory pathways are conserved in Drosophila. As 90% of tumors are epithelial in origin, we used a epithelial tumor model in the wing imaginal discs of Drosophila melanogaster to study the interaction of these key inflammatory pathways in the TME. We established a new TME model by creating FLP-out clones of oncogenic forms of Yki or RasV12 in polarity deficient (scribble mutant) cells marked by GFP surrounded by normal cells. These mosaic clones allow us to test changes in intercellular and signaling interactions within the tumor, surrounding its microenvironment and in distant normal cells. We studied the activity of TLR, TNF and JNK pathway using immunohistochemistry. We found that Drosophila IκB Cactus (TLR component) and activated form of JNK (p-JNK) were induced in the tumor cells whereas levels of Drosophila TNF ligand, Eiger were unaffected in both the tumor and the surrounding normal cells. We hypothesized that crosstalk between these key pathways in the TME promotes tumor survival and progression. The genetic epistasis experiments between JNK and TNF revealed that downregulation of the TNF receptors in the tumor does not affect the metastatic abilities of the tumor cells. However, similar experiments between JNK and TLR showed decrease in invasiveness of tumor cells likely due to downregulation of Cactus in the tumor cells. We are currently testing if TLR, TNF and JNK pathways genetically regulate each other or independently affect the TME to control tumor growth. Our research will help to unravel the correlation between inflammatory pathways and tumor progression in an in vivo model.

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  Investigating the Neurobiological Effects of a Novel Calcium-Handling Protein in ADHD

  Aikaterini Britzolaki, Pothitos Pitychoutis, Joey Edward Saurine

  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an extremely prevalent and debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder that affects people of all ages. ADHD symptoms include persistent inattention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity, accompanied by significant learning and memory deficits. Abnormal function of calcium-handling machinery has been implicated in the pathophysiology of ADHD in humans and in animal models. Intracellular calcium homeostasis in the brain is critical for cell function and survival. In the nervous system, impaired calcium homeostasis may lead to hyperactivity and learning and memory deficits, key symptoms of ADHD. Exciting preliminary data from our group support that a protein, which plays a major role in regulation of calcium homeostasis in the heart, is also expressed in a specific region of the brain that is implicated in the neurobiology of ADHD. Moreover, we have found that its genetic ablation in mice (i.e., knockout, KO) results in the manifestation of a hyperactive ADHD-relevant behavioral phenotype. In the present study, WT and KO mice were pharmacologically challenged with amphetamine and atomoxetine, two first-line drugs used for the treatment of ADHD in humans, to assess whether they rescue the ADHD-like phenotype caused by ablation of this gene. Additionally, a preliminary neurochemical analysis of striatal and prefrontocortical tissue punches by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed to determine baseline dopamine levels in KO and WT mice. Overall, the results of the proposed studies have shed light on the complex functions of this novel calcium-handling player in the brain suggesting it is involved in the regulation of locomotor behavior.

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  Investigating the Potential Antimicrobial Effects of Soil Isolates from UD’s Campus

  Kaylin Ann Kultgen

  Throughout this past semester, I have been doing research in BIO 411L (Microbiology Lab) using procedures established by the Small World Initiative. The goal of the research is to isolate bacteria that displays anti-microbial effects on known pathogens. This research could potentially be used to help create new antibiotics to fight against human pathogens. A dirt sample was collected from the side of my house in the UD south student neighborhood. Colonies of bacteria formed on TH and TSA plates. Ten colonies were chosen from each of these types of agar plates. The colonies were plated on dishes streaked with the known pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecium, then later Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus. The colonies that formed zones of inhibition were isolated and further testing was done to determine the species and characteristics of the bacteria. Some of these tests included a gram stain, catalase test, and various other biochemical tests to determine characteristics of the antibiotic producing bacteria. Later this semester, I will perform a chemical extraction for the metabolites of the chosen bacteria as well as observe the interaction between the extract and eukaryotic cells.

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  Investigating the Role of a p53 Mutation in Glioma Progression and Therapy Resistance in Drosophila

  Kaitlyn M Alleman

  Gliomas, which are brain tumors that arise from glial cells, are some of the most aggressive and lethal types of tumors. These brain tumors are difficult to treat because not enough information regarding the mutations present in these tumors exists. This project studies effects of a p53 mutation on Drosophila glioma progression and then will test to see if this results in resistance to current chemotherapy. Drosophila are used as model organisms to mimic these processes. The current genetic crosses that have been created will be studied, and an effective p53 knockdown will be made. In essence, this will effectively mimic a human brain tumor so the treatments tested and the data collected from this model can be applied to the current understanding of human gliomas. In addition to studying just the p53 mutation, additional mutations will be added. This will lead to an even more accurate glioma model because multiple mutations, such as the ones added are present in human tumors as well. These genetic crosses will be treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors, which are currently used to treat brain cancer patients in order to find out whether or not this mutation plays a role in resistance to current therapy. The main goal of this endeavor is to investigate the numerous defects occurring at the cellular and biochemical level in gliomas, which will give insight into why these types of tumors are so difficult to treat. Data gathered from this project will lead to further inquiry into the role of p53 mutations in gliomas and hopefully, to better outcomes for those affected by this type of cancer. Here, we present the data gathered from this project thus far.