Stander Symposium Projects

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  Research exercise: The Characteristics of Marianist Education: Finding Sustenance for Faculty Community

  Savio D. Franco, Sheryl McAndrew

  As a Marianist institution, the University of Dayton is called to sustain the characteristics of Marianist education that originate from the spirituality of its founder, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, and the legacy handed down to us through 200 years of Marianist tradition and venture. Regardless of varied faith backgrounds, faculty play a central role in sustaining these characteristics. Furthermore, they are also beneficiaries of the nourishment and spiritual inspiration that these Marianist characteristics offer. Notably, the research across various institutional types indicates that the academy is changing, and faculty are facing numerous challenges because of it. Perhaps among the most significant factors reported is a decline in the sense of community within the faculty body itself. As described in the literature about faculty life, symptoms of this decline may include difficulty communicating about work issues, insufficient mentoring and guidance, weakening collegiality, and a sense of isolation, fragmentation, and loneliness. The University of Dayton, though, offers a uniquely rich source of community and shared values in the five characteristics of Marianist education. A foundational construct in our educational mission, these characteristics are: '1) educate for formation in faith, 2) provide an integral, quality education, 3) educate in family spirit, 4) educate for service, justice, and peace, and 5) educate for adaptation and change' (Society of Mary, 1996, p. 8). To support faculty, we will share a resource document that encapsulates the essence of the Marianist educational characteristics and provides a guide to the many Marianist resources the University of Dayton provides. In this work, faculty may find a helpful resource for sustaining a supportive faculty community, one that inspires and encourages faculty as they face the challenges of the modern professoriate. Reference: Society of Mary. (1996). 'Characteristics of Marianist Education.' Dayton, OH: Marianist Press.

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  Research exercise: The History of Physical Education-Activity and Sport: Stories for the Ages and Lessons from the Legends of Memorable Moments, Events, Trends, Tales, Phenomena, and Famous Women and Men: Their Teams and Times - Semester VII

  Sean M. Collins

  The purpose of these studies was to describe and interpret major events, trends, phenomenon, and the lives and times of significant individuals in the history of sport and physical education-activity throughout the millennia. At once interesting, inspirational, edifying, and enlightening, the stories told by the students of three (3) separate sections of the course HSS 275 - History of Physical Education/Activity and Sport during the spring semester of 2013 speak powerfully to the transcendent nature of sport and physical activity across all generations, cultures, and topical interests. This year's project titles include: Modern Day Arete and Agon: The Roller Coaster History of the Cleveland Browns Joe Pilates and the Advent of Whole Body Exercise - The Salute: How Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Peter Norman Catalyzed the Civil Rights Movement and Changed the Olympics Forever - The History and Influence of Religion and Spirituality in Sport - Olympic Strides: The Life and Times of Joan Benoit - 99 Years of Futility: The History of Wrigley Field - From Pain to Podium: The Story Behind Kerri Strug's Golden Vault - Miracle On Ice: The Story of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team and How It Reignited a Nation - The Evolution of Chronic Pain Treatment in Physical Therapy These original research projects utilized an array of primary and secondary sources, including interviews, personal narrative, documents, print media, photographs, artifacts, and vintage video to bring alive the past to teach anew life's lessons from which all may learn.

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  Research exercise: The Isolation and Purification of a Structural Polypeptide from the Ascidian Tunicate Styela plicata

  Yun Liu

  Sea squirts belong to a class of organisms called Ascidians, which are sessile marine invertebrates found throughout the world attached to rocks, shells, pilings, and ships hulls. These organisms manufacture a series of compounds known as tunichromes, which have been implicated in the formation of the tough, tunic-like body covering. Ascidians are known for their bioaccumulation of metals, particularly vanadium and iron. These tunichromes contain polyphenolic polypeptides that are potent metal-complexing agents, which are found in the blood cells which circulate throughout the organism to assist in the maintenance and wound repair of the tunic. These polypeptides are contained within specialized blood cells and are released at the wound site. Iron+3 is sequestered in specialized cells containing tunichromes, which are involved in the synthesis of the tunic (a tough, leathery polymeric material). These tunichromes contain a novel amino acid: 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (L-dopa) at up to 39% by weight. Involvement of the sequestered iron atoms in the tunic are thought to participate in the cross-linking mechanism, resulting in the formation of the structural material that comprises the tunic-like body wall of this sessile invertebrate. It is this capability to bind and sequester Fe+3 that makes tunichromes attractive as possible corrosion inhibitors on steel surfaces. This current research effort focuses on the isolation and purification of the tunichromes from two tunicates: Molgula manhattensis and Styela plicata. Through the use of standard and modified biochemical isolation and purification techniques and strategies, the tunichromes have been isolated and purified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a reverese phase (RP) C-8 HPLC column using a water-acetonitrile gradient. The isolation and purification of one of the tunichromes isolated from S. plicata will be presented and discussed.

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  Research exercise: The Progression of Human Trafficking Laws on a National Level

  Brent R. Veselik

  The U.S. national system of laws for human trafficking has undergone a great metamorphosis in the recent past. This poster will explore the steps of the process to explain how the national set of laws have developed over time to create the uniform, strong code the national government has today.

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  Research exercise: Understanding The U.S. Trafficking in Persons (TIP)Report

  Hillary Fry, Andy J. Kurzhals, Rachel Phillips

  The Trafficking In Persons Report (TIP Report) was created by the United States in order to rate other counties on how well they were preventing human trafficking. A three tier system was created and evaluates these counties. Tier one is the highest rating and means that that country is in compliance with all human trafficking laws. Tier two represents some work needing to be done. Tier two watch list signifies that the country has a long way to go, but should not be placed on Tier three. Tier three means that the country is far from perfect on Human Trafficking law compliance and the United States will be placing sanctions on them. This poster explains the report and offers examples.

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  Research exercise: Understanding Veteran Needs for Academic Success

  Laura Cotten, Jason C. Eckert

  With the Post 9-11 GI Bill increasing veteran benefits for higher education, institutions have seen an influx of veteran students to campuses nationwide. Often these students have little understanding of how the college admission process operates or resources available on campus once they are admitted. Veterans returning from combat experiences may have symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health issues. As older students, they may also require services such as child care or flexible class schedules. Understanding and addressing students with these unique needs is essential to their academic success. Engaging students in the learning process requires skill from dedicated faculty members. Because of their position as educators on campus, faculty members are a direct link to our veteran students. They know whether or not a student veteran is performing successfully in the classroom. To help these students achieve academic success, it is important for faculty to understand underlying circumstances that may affect academic performance. Faculty who understand the needs of veteran students and provide access to resources outside the classroom will enable students to perform to the best of their ability. This presentation will provide resources for faculty members wishing to better understand our veteran student population. Contact information for different services across the University of Dayton's campus and a handout with suggestions on how to support this unique student population will be provided. By providing this information to our faculty members, we hope to enhance the experience of student veterans at the University of Dayton and improve their overall academic success.

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  Research exercise: What Isn't Considered in the Dressing Room: Human Rights Violations Behind the Clothing Industry.

  Samantha M. Gorbett, Theresa M. Schneider

  Human trafficking, commonly in the form of labor trafficking, is considered one of the greatest human rights violations of today. With over 27 million estimated victims of human trafficking, this is a problem that cannot be ignored. Child labor and forced labor are major problems facing the apparel industry. More is being done in reducing the use of trafficked victims in the textile exportation phase of clothing production. However, the use of forced and child labor is prevalent in the production of resources, such as cotton. While some policies have been put in place to combat the abuse of labor, there is still much more to be done. The Not For Sale organization evaluates many apparel companies and promotes the necessary changes to improve the production of clothes. The companies are rated on their efforts to combat child and forced labor, their enactment of anti-trafficking policies, the traceability and transparency of their production, and the monitoring and training in regards to workers' rights. Along with the Not For Sale organization, there is also a Fair Trade Federation that has its own Code of Practice that explains how organizations translate fair trade principles into business decisions that create sustainable change. The Federation has recently revised its Code of Practice to strengthen practices for members who sell agricultural products. Few companies ensure that their factory employees are paid higher than minimum wage and many companies are not enacting their corporate social responsibility programs.

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  Research exercise: What is the Annual US Trafficking in Persons Report?

  Joshua G. Bush, Joseph D. Leah

  This project is designed to help viewers get a better understanding of the United States Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) that was put in place by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000. The project will explain what the TIP report's goals are, what it consists of, how countries are placed on the tier ranking system that was created, and how countries are sanctioned for their actions if guidelines are not followed. The project will also include an example of a country from each Tier ranking.

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  Research exercise: What YOU can do: Human Trafficking and the impact we as students can have on this issue.

  Katherine Fawcett, Catherine J. Geiger, Joanne C. Koehler, Kelley L. Moeller, Olivia M. Paxson

  Child Human Trafficking is an issue that effects more people in the United States than it ever has in our entire history. Between cycles of child abuse continuing and dragging new children into the business of trafficking, and the million dollar industry that comes along with selling these slaves, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. That's where we come in. We argue that if enough people are informed about what they can do to help, then an impact, no matter how small, will be achieved. Through researching the history of human trafficking in the United States, we learned that the acquisition of children as slaves is the main problem. By creating a profile of the trafficked, the traffickers, and the consumers, we are committed to convincing society that the larger structure of human trafficking is the problem. Previously we as a society thought of prostitutes as being criminals, but now as we are restructuring how society views them, we refer to them as the victims. As Ohio employs a leader to start informational movements on trafficking, we want the importance of informing people of this issue to become a snowball effect. We want to tell you that there is something that YOU as a UD student can do.

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  Servant Leadership In Action: Connecting with Community as a Graduate Community Fellow

  Kristen N. Hammaker

  A graduate student in the School Counseling program reflects on her past two years of assistantship work with the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community. The Fitz Center offers a variety of assistantships and a program called the Graduate Community Fellows. As a participant in this program, Kristen worked at Ruskin Elementary School, tutoring Hispanic students there and helping children overcome language barriers by using her professional Spanish fluency. This experience has been life-changing and also challenging, teaching her about school dynamics that relate directly to her future career as a School Counselor. The poster will educate an audience about the difficulties and blessings in working in an urban school and offer suggestions for how schools can best utilize their resources.

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  Simulated Performance Analysis of Novel Automotive Spring-Starter Designs using Experimentally Derived Dynamic Engine Models

  Jonathan W. Lauden

  Automotive starting systems require substantial amounts of mechanical energy in a short period of time. Lead-acid batteries have typically been used with a motor to provide that energy. Springs have been identified as an alternative energy storage medium and are well suited to engine-starting applications due to a long service life and the ability to rapidly deliver substantial mechanical power. This research aims to explore the feasibility and potential benefit of a spring-based engine-starting system. A dynamic engine model was first developed by collecting data from a 600cc 4 cylinder engine and electric starting system. The model was used to simulate the engine response for several spring-based starting system designs. Each system was then evaluated on the basis of weight, volume, engine speed produced, and ability to crank the engine for several seconds.

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  Social Capital Development in Higher Education: A Cross-Case Analysis

  Thomas Mays

  A college student's academic experiences and post-graduate outcomes can be shaped by their social relationships with faculty, administration, staff, and fellow students. Also known as social capital, this network of relationships and resources can benefit students during and after their college careers. Social capital research involving higher education has primarily focused on measures of groups and networks, often including the roles of family, community, and institutions in social capital development. While the literature includes insight into social capital and higher education, research lacks in the area of how social capital development compares between institution types as defined by level of education (two-year and four-year) and organizational control (public, private, or for-profit). This distinction is important because of the differences in social backgrounds of students that gravitate towards specific institution types. Social capital should be identified as an additional layer of the college curriculum, adding another dimension beyond the accumulation of knowledge and experience. To research social capital development in higher education, I am designing a study that examines social capital using a mixed-methods cross-case comparison design. An instrument developed by Grootaert, Narayan, Jones, and Woolcock (2004) and used by the World Bank will be used for quantitative data collection, while interviews, observations, and document analysis will be implemented for qualitative data collection. My poster will detail the literature review, social capital model, and research methodology that are a part of my ongoing dissertation research.

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  Social Justice Club - Miracle Makers

  Kathleen R. Garcia, Jenna E. Gerstle, Elizabeth E. Grandi, Laura C. Komoroski, Emma C. Pickerill, Samantha L. Santoro

  As members of the Social Justice Service Club our mission is to support the Social Justice LLC and to advance the mission the cause literacy throughout the Greater Miami Valley Region. To that end, we are also charged with fulfilling a voluntary service learning committment for our organization. This year in order to fulfill our obligation, we worked with the "Miracle Makers" After School Program at at the Ruskin Elementary School. As a service club co-hort, we were able to complete 150 hours of community service in the fall semester by mentoring the students, helping them with their homework, and engaging them in group and one-on-one recreational games. Our presentation will focus on our work and how it reinforces our committment to the Marianist ideals of lead, learn, and serve.

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  Spatial Intelligence and Memory for Location in Athletes and Non-Athletes

  Adam Barnas, Lauren A. Ellinghausen, Eric M. Gammarino, Laura A. Janosko, Giuseppe G. Miranda

  Aside from obvious differences in training and experience between athletes and non-athletes, there are other perceptual, motivational, and cognitive explanations for differences in athletic performance. Explanations that were investigated in the present research were memory for location and spatial abilities. Thirty athletes (having 10 or more years of experience playing sports) and 30 non-athletes (having less than 6 years of experience playing sports) were given several memory tests, including a test of memory for object location, and spatial intelligence assessments, including a mental rotation task (identifying and matching two objects presented at different visual angles), spatial orientation tasks (imagining different perspectives in space), and movement imagery tasks (visualizing motor actions). The memory test of importance required that participants recall the beginning and ending location of an object that had moved. We predict that athletes will perform better than non-athletes on the memory for object location test (where a moving object is presented among a varying number of distracters). Athletes were also predicted to outperform non-athletes on several spatial abilities tasks because of their experience in tracking the location of objects in relation to objects in a spatial layout, such as the center circle and the baskets on a basketball court.

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  Spontaneous Pneumothorax

  Angela M. Sibilia

  Pneumothorax is a condition where air escapes from the lungs and it collapses. Air accumulates between the lungs and the chest cavity causing partial or full collapse of the lung. These rare occurrences can be caused by a traumatic incident, or can be spontaneous and often result from a ruptured bleb (small air sac). This disease is most common in tall, thin teen-aged males and is increasingly likely to occur with smoking as well as asthma, T.B., C.F., whooping cough, and COPD. Working with a pediatric surgeon at Akron Children's Hospital, I reviewed patients' charts to study past cases of this disease. The purpose of my studies are to find the best method to treat patients. I compared the results of different treatments including: inserting a chest tube, open thoracotomy, or a video assisted thoracoscopy. Often a blebectomy was needed as well as chemical or mechanical pleurodesis methods. The mystery is why and when this is happening. Are blebs usually present and can be detected? Mainly, what is the best way to prevent re-occurrences?

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  Studying the Evolution of Beta 2 Tubulin in Dipterans

  William J. Scharpf

  220 MYA mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae) and D. melanogaster shared a common ancestor that had the Beta 2 tubulin gene in its genome. From that time to present, the Beta 2 gene has evolved to its present form in D. melanogaster and A. gambiae. We know the sequence for Beta 2 in D. melanogaster and in mosquitoes, they differ at 40 codons. We are attempting to construct a phylogenetic tree that shows where genetic changes occurred in its evolutionary history since mosquitoes and flies shared a common ancestor. This is done by combining different sets of 3' and 5' primers constructed from the Anopheles gambiae and D. melanogaster B2 sequences in PCR, and using PCR to clone Beta 2 in fly species closely related to D. melanogaster:. Anastrapha suspense (80MYA from melanogaster), Musca domestica (110MYA ), and Chrysops spp. (130MYA). We construct this tree by plotting changes in the B2 sequence on a fly phlogeny. With a complete tree, we can better understand the nature of amino acid changes that allowed Beta 2 to evolve while maintaining its function. We can then express the B2 gene from these species in Drosophila, to determine if they support its spermtail.

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  Take Back the Tap: UD River Steward Cohort Senior Project

  Ellen L. Comes, Nicole L. Goettemoeller, Sabine Hahn, Kaitlin A. Kenny, Andrew R. Kowalski, Taylor D. Pair, Jill M. Pajka, Milena L. Pisani, Amy L. Price, Lindsay C. Rynne, Aaron V. Sprague, Emily K. Striebich, Tara E. Sulzer, Ryan J. Tuohy, Elizabeth C. Wetzel

  Every fall college students arrive on campus with preconceptions about tap water, bringing cases of bottled water onto our campus. Bottled water has been found to be unsustainable as well as harmful to the environment, communities, and human health. The City of Dayton has very high quality drinking water in abundance, a fact which makes bottled water on our campus an unnecessary luxury. Each year the River Stewards, a co-curricular program which is housed in the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, participate in a senior project that benefits the community in some way. This year, the 2013 River Stewards Cohort worked with the City of Dayton and NSO to help tackle the issue of bottled water on campus. The Stewards helped coordinate a water bottle free Fall 2012 orientation and educate incoming students about the quality of Dayton's tap water. This included collaborating with the City of Dayton to design, purchase, and give away special "Take Back the Tap" reusable water bottles to the incoming freshmen, as well as providing a water truck for students on campus to fill up their new water bottles. In addition, the senior cohort is currently partnering with Art Street in order to add a filling station on campus that will simultaneously educate about and provide access to tap water. The 2013 Cohort's Senior Project gave the Stewards the opportunity to apply the knowledge and leadership skills that they have acquired from three years in the River Steward Program.

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  Teaching Methods, Strategies, and Procedures for English Language Learners in Early Childhood Education

  Ashley E. Stoetzel

  Immigration into the United States has led to English Language Learners (ELLs) being represented in PreK-12 classrooms across the US. Students with a first language other than English are required to be proficient in English in order to gain knowledge in the classroom, communicate effectively with teachers and peers, and participate in standardized assessments which are state and nationally mandated for school-age students. Unfortunately, much of the research on effective strategies for this population focuses on older aged ELLs. This study documents strategies that the current research has deemed effective and appropriate for working with ELLs in a preschool setting. This research was then compared with current strategies reported in a survey of local early childhood educators who work with ELLs in their classrooms. The researcher documented trends in the survey data and offered suggestions for strategies and further research.

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  Temporal Analysis of Behavior of Male and Female Lucilia sericata Blow Flies Using Videography

  Allissa M. Blystone, Brian W. Skura, Casey T. Walk

  Lucilia sericata, the green bottle fly, is a forensically important insect species used in determination of the post-mortem interval (PMI) for deceased individuals. Anecdotal evidence indicates that females and males may utilize the decaying organic material differently. Reports suggest that females utilize the organic material as a food and egg-laying resource while males are present on the periphery of the site rather than on the organic material. In the present study we hypothesize that L. sericata males and females behave differently with respect to organic material resource utilization. Protein (organic material) is a required dietary component for female flies for completion of sexual development, vitellogenesis, and the production of sex pheromones while a dietary protein requirement for males has not been elucidated. Flies were maintained in mixed colonies (both males and females present) and colonies were monitored over 24 hour cycles using a Sony Handycam video recorder with night-vision capabilities. Preliminary data reveal that L. sericata, regardless of sex, are inactive during the dark (night) cycle. Females visited the protein source more frequently than males during the light (day) cycle. These results suggest that L. sericata exhibits sexually dimorphic behavior during the daylight hours with respect to protein utilization.

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  The Development, Formulation and Stability of Suds and Antifoam for Heavy Duty Liquid Laundry Detergents

  Erin J. Roark

  The use of heavy duty liquid laundry detergent (HDL) is widespread among the world, seen by the 35 billion loads of laundry Americans perform each year (Shehan). The integration of softness, brightness, freshness, cleanliness, etc. into clean clothes must take in a number of factors. The concentration of this paper is the aspect of suds and foam due to the mechanical action of the surfactants in liquid laundry detergent. While suds can be an indication of the chemicals at work, it also interferes with the performance of the washing machine. Too many suds lead to more water consumption, longer cycles and more energy use. As companies pursue more eco-friendly ways of manufacturing products, the control of suds is one way to contribute. This literature review will look at the background of foam and foam suppressors, silicone and MQ resins through scholarly articles and patents. Along the way, there will be an exploration of various ways to quantitatively measure foam data, properties and chemical compounds that are best for suds suppression.

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  The Development of a Spring Powered Starter for a Motorcycle

  Patrick M. Joyce

  In agreement with recent efforts to develop more efficient vehicles that will have less detrimental effect on the environment, research is being conducted to explore storing energy in different forms. Almost all vehicles use a chemical battery to provide energy to a motor to start its engine. Chemical batteries have inherent adverse effects on the environment, specifically biodegradation. In the case of large trucks, the batteries and starter system is quite heavy, reducing fuel economy. This project focuses on using material elasticity for storing energy. Specifically, the research involves the development of a spring starter system that will be lighter and more environmentally friendly than its chemical counterparts. This project centers on the design of a prototype concept for a spring starter system on a motorcycle.

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  The Effect of Context Upon the Perception of Egocentric and Exocentric Distances Using a Walkable Human Muller-Lyer Illusion

  Adam Barnas, Ellen J. Hart, Natalya N. Lynn, Lauren M. Pytel

  The Muller-Lyer illusion is a geometric illusion in which lines of the same length are perceived to be different because of forms (e.g. 'fins') at the ends. This influence of context upon the perception of length is well-established for 2-D illusions but has also been demonstrated in larger-scale, three-dimensional spatial tasks (Wraga, Creem and Proffitt, 2000). Across three experiments, we utilized a walkable variation of the Muller-Lyer illusion to further examine the effect of context upon the perception of egocentric and exocentric distances. Whereas the traditional Muller-Lyer illusion utilizes shapes to manipulate the context of the line, we employed human forms to manipulate context (i.e., facing direction of human targets). We predicted that the facing direction of the human target would influence magnitude estimates of target distance, similar to the way the placement of geometric forms at the ends of lines influence judgments of line length. However, we also predicted that action-based indicators of perceived distance (e.g. walking to the previously-viewed target person without vision) would not be influenced by the contextual information provided by the human target's facing direction. In Experiments 1 and 2, which are replications and extensions of previous research, participants viewed one human target that was facing toward or away and then, without vision, walked a distance that matched the perceived distance to the target person. Results from these experiments suggest that action-based indicators of perceived distance are immune to contextual influences of human target facing direction. In Experiment 3, participants will view two human targets that are either facing toward or away from each other, and will verbally estimate the distance between the two human targets in conjunction to walking the perceived distance between the target persons. The results from these experiments will speak to the role of contextual information in spatial perception.

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  The Effect of Graphic Quality in Virtual Environments on the Perception of Egocentric and Exocentric Distances

  Adam Barnas, Kar Yen Chai, Ryan P. Robie

  Virtual realities (VRs), also known as virtual environments, have been used to simulate physical presence in real environments (i.e., simulations for pilot training) as well as imaginary places (i.e., videogames). Mostly constructed as visual experiences, innovations in VR technologies now include additional sensory information, such as sound and touch, and have allowed for collaborations across diverse fields, including skills training, ergonomics, therapeutic programs, perception and cognitive psychology. Virtual realities in a therapeutic role have been applied to numerous forms of exposure therapy to address phobias such as claustrophobia, agoraphobia, and acrophobia (fear of heights), as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety disorders. Virtual reality methodology has also been used in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and physical rehabilitation. Moreover, research has been comprehensive in addressing the participant's perceptual reaction to the VR environment and has addressed the effect of the quality of the graphics of the VR environment on judging spatial egocentric distances (i.e., distances between the participant's virtual self and objects in the VR environment) and exocentric distances (i.e., distances between various objects in the VR environment). For example, participants in head-mounted-display-(HMD-)based immersive VR environments consistently underestimated egocentric distances walked to previously viewed targets in both low- and high-quality VR environments compared to estimates done in real-world environments. Interestingly, participants were more accurate in verbally reporting the distances in high-quality VR environments (Kunz et al., 2009). This dissociation between magnitude estimates of target distance and action-based indicators of perceived distance (i.e., walking to previously-viewed objects) will be further explored in the present research by using other kinds of distance estimates and judgments of egocentric distances, as well as exocentric distances. This research has implications in the use of distance perception strategies in the context of VR environments.

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  The Effect of the Inserted Sequence in the Helicase Domain of the Deinococcus radiodurans PriA Protein

  Kelsey P. Mayrand

  PriA, a replication restart protein found in bacteria, is highly conserved in almost all prokaryotes. However, it contains extra amino acid sequences in the microbe Deinococcus radiodurans. Since D. radiodurans is extremely resistant to ionizing radiation, these insertions could play a role in conferring resistance by improving the microbe's ability to continue replication after DNA is damaged. The project investigated the effects of the fifty-six amino acid insertion in the helicase domain of the PriA protein in D. radiodurans. To do this, a version of the PriA gene lacking the inserted element was cloned. The recombinant and wild type PriA proteins were over-expressed in E. coli and purified. Helicase assays were performed to compare the functions of the forms of the protein. It was hypothesized that the inserted element would enhance the helicase activity of the protein. However, helicase assays showed that the mutant unwound DNA more efficiently. This means that the inserted element inhibits the helicase activity of PriA.

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  The Glass Walls Project: Visualizing Laboratories to Facilitate Collaboration

  William J. Sember

  The Glass Walls Project is a computer-based, 3D visualization of laboratories. It allows researchers to create basic 3D visualizations of their labs--including media content such as pictures--to communicate the labs' equipment and current projects. This demonstration is a prototype; the full project would include web-hosting for easy data transfer.