The Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium recognizes and celebrates academic excellence in undergraduate and graduate education. This annual event provides an opportunity for students from all disciplines to showcase their intellectual and artistic accomplishments. The Stander Symposium represents the Marianist tradition of education through community and is the principal campus-wide event in which faculty and students actualize our mission to be a "community of learners."
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Understanding tumor metastasis in Drosophila Melanogaster model system
Oscar A Barnes
Cancer can be described as the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in an organism’s body, which occurs when the normal control systems in the body are malfunctioning. This produces a mass of the continually growing cells called a tumor. However, during tumor progression, the cancer cells through blood vessels migrate from the primary site of origin to secondary site where they affect another organ. This spreading of the cancer cells is called metastasis and makes treatment of cancer so difficult. Hence it is highly necessary to understand how the tumor metastasis happens and what is the role of normal cell in this process. Drosophila melanogaster commonly known as fruit fly has served as a useful model organism because of its well understood genome, availability of genetic tools and many evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways. Our understanding of the mechanisms regulating cell growth, differentiation and development has been considerably advanced by studies in Drosophila. Ras genes are associated with cell proliferation and overexpression of Ras protein leads to benign tumor in developing flies. Studies showed that suppressing cell polarity genes like Scrib induced neoplastic tumors. To model metastatic tumor, we co-activated the oncogene RasV12 and loss of polarity gene ScribRNAi in the wing imaginal disc. We used the UAS-GAL4 system to create the mutation in only few cells that will become invasive while remaining cells are normal in their genetic makeup. We hypothesize that these non-mutated normal cells and mutated cells interact among each other through signaling pathways to promote the tumor metastasis. To evaluate this we study the changes the key signaling pathways and metastatic markers like JNK, MMP1, Eiger through immunohistochemistry. We present our recent findings on this.
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University of Dayton Campus Safety: Eliminating student bias surrounding UDPD in hopes to reduce the health risk due to a reluctance to call Public Safety
Nicholas A Cheesman, Melanie H Craft, Julia A Ripepi
Campus safety is a quality that universities everywhere strive to improve continually. The University of Dayton is known for its excellence in campus safety, providing its own Police Department working in collaboration with a student-run EMS organization. Despite these resources, there has been a potential downfall in campus safety due to a reluctance to call for help in fear of disciplinary action. This stems from a student bias surrounding UDPD’s “mindset” of prioritizing disciplinary action over health and safety. There is a major health risk in the reluctance to call for medical attention, prompting efforts to eliminate student bias against UDPD. We went about this by interviewing the Chief of Police and providing a questionnaire for his officers to provide their thoughts on campus safety. We consulted both UDPD officers and UD EMS members about their roles in the safety of students across campus, specifically focusing on alcohol related emergencies. Additionally, we consulted current UD students about their perspectives on UDPD and UD EMS. In this presentation, we recommend there to be improved communication between the Department of Public Safety and the student body along with clarification of a more concrete amnesty policy in place. The University of Dayton provides its student body with great resources during medical emergencies. UDPD and UD EMS share the same goal of the health and safety of each student.
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Untangling Appalachia
Timothy K Fasano, Andrew M Kramer, William W Van Winkle
As a result of a semester in the Untangling Appalachia English class, this poster presentation makes an effort to illustrate, through poetry, music, art, works of fiction, and critical essays the truths regarding Appalachia, and strives to debunk misconceptions and stereotypes widely held by those on the outside looking in. We have sought to define both concrete and abstract concepts. For instance, what constitutes the Appalachian region? What are the heritages of the people of the Appalachian region? And, perhaps most complexly, why has the region developed as it has? These questions, and more, have led our discussion and have formed the bulk of our poster presentation. We conducted research by examining short stories, poetry, and both primary and secondary sources about the region and its peoples, including excerpts from travel diaries and critical views of the history of Appalachia.
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Using novel Fly-FUCCI system to evaluate tumor growth and progression
Kirti Snigdha, Mitchell L Stanley
The FUCCI system (fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicator) has been proven to be a promising approach for in vivo studies of cell proliferation. Using Drosophila-specific FUCCI system (Fly-FUCCI) allows one to distinguish between G1, G2, and S phases. Fly-FUCCI relies on fluorochrome-tagged degrons, which are degraded during mitosis or the onset of S phase, respectively. Fly-FUCCI allows one to track cell-cycle patterns in cultured Drosophila cells, eye and wing imaginal discs, salivary glands, the adult midgut, and other tissues. The FUCCI system can be utilized with Drosophilacancerous tissues to identify when tumor growth is most prominent or suppressed during cell cycles. This information can be used to understand the starting stages of cancer within cells, what stages of cell proliferation are necessary for tumor growth, and how the nutrient growth of normal cells compares to the grow cancerous cells. The Fly-FUCCI system is an invaluable tool for visualizing cell-cycle activity duringdevelopment, tissue homeostasis, and abnormal cell development. In the lab, Drosophila melanogaster is used to understand the intricacies of cancer biology using genetically induced tumors in the different imaginal discs and brain. Using Fly-FUCCI system, allows one to evaluate the cell cycle differences during the tumor growth and progression. Here are the present finding on utilization of this technique to evaluate tumor cell cycle regulation
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U.S. Monetary Policy, Monetary Aggregates and S&P 500 Stock Prices: An Empirical Analysis, 2009-2016
Alison M Berry
After the 2008 recession, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank undertook massive quantitative easing in order to shore up the financial markets and facilitate economic growth. In this study I examine the relationship between money supply growth and the expansion of financial markets with a particular focus on S&P 500 stock returns. I test the hypothesis that stock prices covary directly with money supply growth i.e. R=A+B(MS) where R is the stock return, MS is the money supply, and A and B are the equation perimeters. I expect B to be greater than zero. Three measures of the money supply are used in the regression analysis: (1) the adjusted monetary base, (2) M1 money supply, and (3) M2 money supply. The time period 2009-2016 is considered to be a period of aggressive monetary easing.
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U.S. Monetary Policy, Monetary Aggregates and S&P 500 Stock Prices: An Empirical Analysis, 2009-2016
Alison M Berry
After the 2008 recession, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank undertook massive quantitative easing in order to shore up the financial markets and facilitate economic growth. In this study I examine the relationship between money supply growth and the expansion of financial markets with a particular focus on S&P 500 stock returns. I test the hypothesis that stock prices covary directly with money supply growth i.e. R=A+B(MS) where R is the stock return, MS is the money supply, and A and B are the equation perimeters. I expect B to be greater than zero. Three measures of the money supply are used in the regression analysis: (1) the adjusted monetary base, (2) M1 money supply, and (3) M2 money supply. The time period 2009-2016 is considered to be a period of agressive monetary easing.
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U.S. Monetary Policy, Monetary Aggregates and S&P 500 Stock Prices: An Empirical Analysis, 2009-2016
Alison M Berry
After the 2008 recession, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank undertook massive quantitative easing in order to shore up the financial markets and facilitate economic growth. In this study I examine the relationship between money supply growth and the expansion of financial markets with a particular focus on S&P 500 stock returns. I test the hypothesis that stock prices covary directly with money supply growth i.e. R=A+B(MS) where R is the stock return, MS is the money supply, and A and B are the equation perimeters. I expect B to be greater than zero. Three measures of the money supply are used in the regression analysis: (1) the adjusted monetary base, (2) M1 money supply, and (3) M2 money supply. The time period 2009-2016 is considered to be a period of aggressive monetary easing.
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Water Chemistry, Biotic Factors and Their Effects on the Populations of Zooplankton and Phytoplankton in Silver Lake in New Carlisle, Ohio Compared to selected Ohio Lakes and Reservoirs.
Jacob J Clancy
The chemical makeup of a body of water can vary greatly depending on what kind of lake it is, the time of year and what kind of runoff enters the water. There are many abiotic factors that make up the water chemistry of a lake such as nutrient availability (Nitrogen and Phosphorous), pH, temperature, oxygen content and conductivity. Each of these factors plays important roles in the successes of many organisms that reside in the lake. The many species of zooplankton and phytoplankton thrive in different water chemistry conditions. Water chemistry and physical parameters (pH, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen) will be measured with YSI Electronic Probe. Secchi disk and an electronic light meter will assess light penetration in the water column that is crucial to photosynthesis. Nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous, will be sampled and sent to a lab for measurement. Phytoplankton and zooplankton species will be identified and quantified for productivity studies, ecological succession and community biodiversity. Water chemistry and its relationship to the zooplankton and phytoplankton populations of Silver Lake will be measured in the spring and fall of 2016 to assess seasonal changes in relation to chemical and environmental factors. Silver Lake has had no prior limnology studies conducted on it, so it is a novel system for this kind of study. This study can be used to compare it to other lakes, rivers and reservoirs in Ohio such as Lake Erie and Grand Lake St. Mary’s that have all had harmful algal bloom problems in the past.
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Where to Catch a Lie
Elliot D Buccieri, Michael Brannon Dosedel, Lauren E Murphy
This study in-progress explores the relationship between social awareness, deception detection, and eye movement patterns exhibited during deception detection. Specifically, we are searching for patterns in visual attention to facial/body areas during the evaluation of honesty that correspond to correct detection of lies. During this experiment, participants will complete a questionnaire to gauge their social awareness (i.e., cognizance of the indications of others’ needs and motivations in social situations). Subsequently, they will be fit with an eye-movement tracking device and watch a video of a college-aged actor pretending to be a student. In this role, the actor will be responding to questions about his personal experiences and behaviors while in college. We will instruct the actor to lie on half of his responses. While watching the video, participants will decide whether they perceive the actor’s responses to be honest or dishonest. In the results, we expect to find a positive correlation between level of social awareness and detection of deception. That is, participants who are more socially aware will be more likely to detect accurately when the actor is lying. Further, we expect to find patterns of participants’ eye movements, eye fixations, and gaze paths that correspond with the ability to detect deception. That is, these patterns will indicate consistent attention to those areas of face (e.g., eyes and mouth) and body (e.g., body language and hand-to-face movements) that have been shown to produce reliable cues for detecting deception (e.g., Bond, 2008).
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Whose Voice the Waters Heard: A Short Story Cycle
Grace E Hagan
In this collection of short stories, each short story is a unique exploration of the powerful and often enigmatic concept of loss. The common unity for the collection presents itself in two parts: place and theme. Characters of all ages, from all walks of life, go to the river to have their voices heard and to grieve a particular form of loss. The collection takes a dynamic and expansive view on loss, and each short story reflects a different idea or experience of loss. It seeks to examine not only what can be lost, but also what can and cannot be found. Some losses explored include: loss of life, control, memory, innocence and youth. While each story takes place around a different river and examines a different form of loss, the image of the river embodies the collection, as a river is both a thing in itself and a part of something much greater.
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Why is nature able to mold some phenotypes more readily than others? Investigating the evolutionary constraint of β2 tubulin in Drosophila melanogaster
Sarah R Golconda
While some traits may be able to evolve freely, others may need to await a change in a second trait before they can change themselves. The testis specific beta-2 (β2) tubulin protein, a fundamental component of Drosophila spermtail axonemes, has not evolved in over 60 million years and may exemplify this phenomenon. This study aims to examine what type of evolutionary constraint this protein is experiencing. Previous studies have shown substitutions of the paralogous (related by gene duplication) beta-1 tubulin gene for β2 tubulin disrupts the structure rendering it unable to support reproduction. Here, the substitution of an ortholog, the β2 tubulin gene in a different species which performs the same function, will be examined to see if it can produce a functional sperm in Drosophila melanogaster. Comparing the D. melanogaster β2 tubulin 446 amino acid sequence to various species, the closest relative to D. melanogaster to show a differing sequence was the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans) which differs in 17 amino acid sites. To determine if tsetse β2 tubulin could replace D. melanogaster β2 tubulin, the tsetse β2 tubulin gene was amplified by PCR, cloned into vectors, and injected in D. melanogaster embryos to be expressed in the spermtail. Its ability to function in place of D. melanogaster β2 will be tested by fertility tests, and viewed under transmission electron microscopy and light microscopy to observe structural similarities and defects from this substitution. If tsetse β2 produces a functional sperm, this could suggest nature is constantly selecting a particular sequence even though other sequences may work, an example of stabilizing selection. Or, if a defective sperm is produced, we can infer co-evolution. Additional changes in the axoneme occurred that allow it to function in G. morsitans but not D. melanogaster.
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You Have the Right to...What? A Study of Americans’ Knowledge of Their Rights in Criminal Proceedings
Anna M Marchiony
What do Americans really know about the rights they hold as citizens? How confident are they in that knowledge? This project was designed to determine American citizens' knowledge of their legal rights and protections during criminal proceedings. A survey designed by the researchers asked participants to indicate if statements about various legal rights were true or false, and to indicate their confidence in their answers. Demographic questions included information about respondents' fields of study/employment, contact with the criminal justice system, and viewership of crime-based television shows to determine if these factors are associated with accuracy and/or confidence in responses. Descriptive patterns of results will be addressed.
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3D scene reconstruction and change detection using RGB-D sensor data
Ruixu Liu
In the past decade, novel sensor systems that provide both color and dense depth images became readily available. There are great expectations that this new technology will lead to a boost of new applications in the field of 3D scene reconstruction and change detection in unstructured environments and under real-world conditions. The change detection problems are not new; however, 3D change detection is a challenging problem that has developed in recent years. In order to get the high resolution 3D model, we need more voxels in the 3D model, like high resolution 2D pictures need more pixels. We acquire a point cloud model from video captured by a Microsoft Kinect, which provides the required RGB and depth information. Instead of using ICP (Iterative Closest Point) algorithm align the target frame with the reference frame, frame-to-model registration scheme has more resistance to noise and camera distortion, and is sufficiently efficient to allow real-time applications. Then 3D change detection will be completed on the created 3D point cloud models. There are two kinds of voxels model, point model and color model. A point voxel model defines voxel as surface or free space. The threshold for the voxels which define as the surface is the number of points estimated by computing the nearest neighborhood voxels. A color model defines each voxel that has a color by the Hue value of all points’ HSV value in this voxel. Then using TSDF (Truncated Signed Distance Function) to detect surface of objects, we are able to find which voxels belong to the surface in the staggered voxel model. Combination of the point and color voxels model, and given the surface voxels more bigger weight, the difference between two scenes will presented by points in the voxels which are defined as scene changes.
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Academic Honesty from A Saudi Student’s Point of View: Dealing With Negative Stereotype
Walaa H Alhassoon
Despite all the research showing the academic dishonesty of Middle Eastern students, and Saudi students in particular, many Saudi students are working hard to obtain their degrees honestly. Unfortunately, this is causing a negative stereotype towards Saudi students in general, and this stereotype is making it difficult for these students to succeed academically in the United States. In fact, when questioned, more than half of the Saudi students at the University of Dayton indicated that they had felt the repercussions of a negative stereotype, and 80 percent of these students found it difficult to handle this negativity. Findings of the current study indicates that the negative stereotype is indeed an issue that is having a negative impact on the academic performance and the overall college experience of the Saudi students who come to study in the United States.
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A Dynamic Pricing Portfolio Weighting Model For the Industrials Sector(XLI) From 2010-2015
Rory T Houser
Because of the slow growth globally as well as in the United States after the 2008 recession, the firms in the Industrials Sector(XLI) have experienced uneven and quite volatile stock price performance. In this study, I test a new approach to Portfolio Weighting using the Top 10 Capital Weighted Stocks in the XLI Sector. In particular, I use upside and downside Capture Ratios(U/D) and give higher weights to the stocks with the higher U/D ratios. The argument here is that U/D ratio weighting dampens the price volatility for the overall Portfolio and should increase overall Portfolio returns. Using 2010-2015 as my period of analysis, I test the following hypotheses: (1) The U/D Capture Ratio Weighted Portfolio of Industrial Stocks outperforms the market, 2010-2015 (2) The U/D Capture Ratio Weighted Portfolio of XLI Stocks outperforms the overall sector(XLI) 2010-2015 (3) The XLI Capture Ratio Weighted Portftolio, performance wise, compares favorably to other portfolio weighting strategies
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A longitudinal analysis of the Information Technology Sector (XLK) performance 2010 - 2015: The Case for Capture Ratios.
William A Binnie
The Information Technology Sector has experienced very uneven price performance since the 2008 recession. Slower growth globally as well as in the United States clearly has contributed to this uneven performance. In this study I examine whether or not a different portfolio weighting scheme based on more volatile market price dynamics provides a better mean - variance efficient performance for XLK. Using a concentrated portfolio of 10 XLK mid to large cap stocks, I developed portfolio weightings for each stock based upon their upside/downside price capture ratios. I then test the following hypotheses; 1.) The 10 XLK stocks, weighted by upside/downside capture ratios outperform the market 2010 - 2015. 2.) The 10 XLK stock capture ratio weighted portfolio outperforms the sector XLK. 3.) The 10 stock XLK portfolio, performance wise, compares favorably to other portfolio weighting strategies.
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A Mathematical Model for Alcoholism Epidemic
Marina Li Mancuso
Mathematical models are widely used to study the dynamics of infectious diseases as well as the social networks. This study considers a mathematical model for alcoholism transmission for a closed population. The model is derived from the SIR model for infectious diseases. The study utilizes the Runge-Kutta method as the numerical method to solve a system of differential equations describing the transmission of alcoholism.
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An Analysis of the Educational Systems in Finland and the United States: A Case Study
Caroline Ann Goodill
The millennial trend of globalization has engulfed the field of education, creating an inter- national dialogue of educational ideologies, practices, and policies. International tests have ranked education systems, leading the world’s attention to those who achieve the highest on the tests: Finland. Finland and the United States offer similar practices and programs in terms of special education and teacher education, two dimensions of the educational system that could influence standardized test results. However, these two countries achieve quite differently on international tests. The disparity of test results may lie within the differences of scope and implementation processes for these programs. Research from the Finnish models regarding these programs create guiding vessels that, when ‘Americanized’ to fit the context of the diverse American background, could foster an equitable education system in the United States.
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A novel Computer Aided Detection for identifying lung nodules on chest radiographs
Barath Narayanan
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It usually exhibits its presence with the formation of pulmonary nodules. Nodules are round or oval-shaped growth present in the lung. Chest radiographs are used by radiologists to detect and treat such nodules but they are quite difficult to detect with human eye and are sometimes misinterpreted with lesions present. Thus, automated analysis of such data is very essential and would be of valuable help in lung cancer screening. A new computer aided detection (CAD) system in chest radiography is proposed in this paper. The algorithmic steps include (i) local contrast enhancement; (ii) automated anatomical segmentation; (iii) detection of nodule candidates; (iv) feature extraction; (v) candidate classification. In this research, we present facets of the proposed algorithm using a publicly available dataset and we explore into new set of features and classifiers. The publicly available database was created by the Standard Digital Image Database Project Team of the Scientific Committee of the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JRST). The JRST dataset comprises of 154 chest radiographs containing one radiologist confirmed nodule each. In this research, we compute a rich set of 117 features for each potential candidate. Local contrast enhancement is achieved using a Gaussian low pass filter. Anatomical segmentation is performed using an active shape model. Potential candidate nodules can then be determined by using an adaptive distance- based threshold algorithm limited to delineated lung fields. Later, a set of features are computed for each potential candidate. Based on those tailored features, a classifier/neural network system can be used to identify the candidates as either true positives or false positives. This CAD system would aid in providing a second opinion to radiologists. Algorithm will be trained using Riverain Database and would be tested later in JRST database.
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A Numerical Solution of a Model of Diabetes
Malle R. Schilling, Nathan D. Volk
Many researchers use mathematical models to understand and predict the behavior of biological systems. In this work we consider a mathematical model for diabetes mellitus presented by Hussain and Zadeng to study a metabolic disease for the regulation of glucose in the body by pancreatic insulin. The mathematical models consists of two ordinary differential equations for glucose concentration and insulin concentration. In particular, this study attempts to numerically solve the model using the Runge-Kutta methods of order 2 and 4. We will also perform a qualitative analysis on the behavior of the system
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A Particle Reflector Accounts for the Electrical Energy Saving
Jun Jun Huan, Chethan Kanth Jalli, Arjun Krishnappa
As a ceiling fan consumes 75 Watts and is used day and night, it is not possible to ignore the power consumption of the fan. With a particle reflector, air flow in a room can be seen even after the fan in the room is turned off. A discrete way of turning the fan ON after every other 30 minutes saves the power supply of 75 Watts for 30 minutes periodically. Thus the particle reflector helps in reducing the power consumption of the fan.
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A Portfolio Weighting Strategy For a Portfolio of 9 Large Cap Healthcare Stocks: The Case for Capture Ratios, 2010 - 2015
Mitchell V. Schleyer
The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) indicates that individual stocks are systematically influenced by overall price movements in the market. One way of measuring these systematic movements is through capture ratios. In this study I utilize upside/downside capture ratios to develop portfolio weights for 9 large cap Health Care stocks which make up the largest overall weight in the Health Care Sector XLV. I test the following hypotheses: (1) The upside/downside capture ratio weighted portfolio outperforms the market (S&P 500), (2) the upside/downside capture ratio weighted portfolio outperforms XLV. (3) The performance of the upside/downside capture ratio weighted healthcare portfolio compares favorably to other weighting strategies.
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Are We Out of the Woods Yet? Students’ Perceived Values of Outdoor Pre-Orientation Program Experiences Over Time
Victoria Heithaus
Often the first welcome to university life for students comes in the form of an orientation program. Pre-orientation camps, like Camp Blue at the University of Dayton, serve to ease the transition through a leadership development lens. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of the Camp Blue leadership lessons over time, assessing students’ perceived value of their camp experiences. A focus group comprised of six former campers, representing first-year through senior students, highlights some key themes and characteristics from the camp experience that remain relevant post-program. This study informs future practices for camp curriculum and activities, and assists orientation professionals in developing effective pre or extended orientation programs for new students.
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A Temporal View of Stormwater Chemical Levels in Dayton, OH
Shante N Eisele
Stormwater runoff has been a growing area of interest for many years. After the Clean Water Act insured that point source pollution became more regulated, attention has shifted to non-point sources of pollution, such as runoff from impervious surfaces. These surfaces, such as pavement and buildings, collect substances like oil, fertilizer, and salt that build over time. When a rain event occurs, these substances are washed off and enter into Dayton’s stormwater system, and eventually make their way to the city’s rivers via outfalls. Not only do impervious surfaces result in the collection of harmful contaminants, they also result in an abundance of runoff, because the water is not able to soak into the soil, which would also filter out many of these contaminants. It is important to monitor the stormwater entering Dayton’s rivers to be aware of any unusual concentrations and characterize the impact of the MS4 to the rivers. To do this, the Environmental Management division of the City of Dayton Department of Water regularly samples water coming from the 560 outfalls in the city. For this project, the data collected from 2000-2015 was analyzed using the statistical analysis program R. The analyses were based off of the hypothesis that stormwater quality going to each of the area’s rivers would improve through time. This is because there has been added attention given to stormwater protection over time. This long-term data set, covering the last 15 years, is an asset to understanding the health of Dayton’s rivers, and provides insight into our collective impact on stormwater quality.
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Automated Oil/Gas Leak Detection System
ALmabrok Essa Essa, Sidike Paheding, Daniel P Prince
Monitoring oil and gas leaks along pipeline right-of-way (ROW) is an important task for locating damages in pipeline infrastructures and protecting our environments from pollution. It also provides essential information for decision making in the monitoring of pipeline ROW, and taking rapid response to damaging events. Data captured by advanced sensors in manned and unmanned aircrafts provide information about oil/gas leaks. However, analyzing the massive amount of data received from these media requires extensive effort if performed by human analysts. Therefore, we propose a novel technology to detect oil and gas leaks by analyzing aerial infrared (IR) data. It is observed that the presence of oil/gas leaks are more easily detected by analyzing the IR spectrum. It is envisaged that by extracting the oil/gas leak features using advanced computer vision algorithms, the leaks can be detected automatically. The proposed technique can assist human analysts for taking further decision by reducing the search space for locating probable leaks.
