Stander Symposium Projects

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  Density effects on Lonicera maackii leaf flushing rates

  Sarah Metz, Emma Borgert, Katie Holmes, Anna Pallone

  We studied the ecosystem process of flushing rates of Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) in the Environmental Research Area at Old River Park. We wanted to see if Amur honeysuckle stand density had an impact on leaf flushing rates. We expected to see higher rates of leaf flushing in plants with lower densities of Amur honeysuckle, and lower rates in plants with greater densities surrounding them. We collected data at Old River Park in three separate sampling events. On the first sampling day, we established twenty Amur honeysuckle plants ranging from low to high density of surrounding honeysuckle. Ten samples were on the exterior of the oxbow lake, and ten samples were on the interior of the oxbow lake. We recorded the length of ten random buds on each tree using calipers. We measured leaf lengths on these plants weekly. We also performed stem counts of woody plants in five-meter diameter transects around each sample to calculate density. Additionally, we took soil samples directly under the roots of each sample using soil cores to determine if soil properties affected leaf flushing rates. The soil samples were taken back to the lab for processing and analysis the following week. All data was then managed and analyzed using Excel and R. studio. Preliminary results from our study show a pattern of higher flushing rates in low-density areas and lower flushing rates in higher-density areas which supports our hypothesis.

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  Department of Music Honors Recital Auditions

  Marie Bliss, Amanda Bursch, Megan Carlson, Duncan Costello, Josie Gore, Trinity Hines-Anthony, Patrick Linegang, Declan Phelps, Anna Simmons, Anna Smith, Jason Swann, Luke de Villiers

  Twelve music students selected by the Department of Music faculty perform for a panel of outside judges, who will choose six finalists to perform on the Honors Recital at the end of the semester. Performances will include a variety of vocal and instrumental music.

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  Deployable Space Craft Radiator Systems

  David Warburton, Jeremy Price, Mohammed Farhan Aziz Najeeb

  Spacecrafts deal with an extreme range of temperatures where conserving and removing largeamounts of thermal energy is necessary. The most effective way to control radiative heat flux isby manipulating the surface area of a body. This project involves three separate systems that allattempt to neutralize this problem. One model is a theoretical, infinitely thin geometric sheet.Another works on the same concept except with actual body thickness and non-rigid jointsbetween them. Finally, the third is rigidly foldable geometry. The infinitely thin model is beingrun in Python, while the other two models were designed in solidworks, simulated in Ansys, andprototypes were 3D printed. To this point, Ansys simulations have been completed for the rigidlyfoldable model, while the model with non-rigid joints is undergoing more design work toimprove its kinematic feasibility.

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  Design across Culture

  Lauren Riley, Kat Brothers, and Bill Farmer

  Part of a course project on intercultural communication, which can be expressed and studied in myriad ways. The students of CMM 316.01 investigated various forms of cultural expression by comparing and contrasting the ways a particular form is used by multiple cultural groups. Specifically, each group researched and presented about the ways food, music, festivals, rituals, dance, clothing, and other artifacts communicate cultural identity in at least two different cultures.

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  Design of an Electro-pneumatic Control System for Soft Robotic Applications in Medicine and Industry

  John Wischmeyer

  The University of Dayton DIMLab (Design of Innovative Machines) is working in the area of soft robot design. In prior work, the DIMLab has investigated predictive CAD modeling of the PneuNet actuator, proposed by the Whitesides Research Group of Harvard University. PneuNet actuators are mainly used in soft robotic grippers capable of moving fragile or asymmetrical objects. The DIMLab has years of work invested in the design and production of soft pneumatic actuators, but has lacked an ability to test printed models at specific pressure increments. The basis of all soft robotic applications lies in having the ability to accurately control the pressure coming from the air supply. Digital pressure regulators exist but are costly and designed for much higher pressure applications. Furthermore, current pressure regulators are only applicable to industry as they must be connected to an external air supply confined to the work environment, which is less desirable for mobile applications. Another challenge is cataloging the relationship between the amount of supplied air pressure and the corresponding deflection of the soft robot. As of now, researchers have used a mechanical pressure regulator and have measured the displacement of soft robots by hand, which introduces significant human error in the recording of test data. This is a very time consuming process and must be repeated for every model that is to be tested. Rather, the developed system incorporates computer-based vision sensing to track the orientation of the soft robot, and allows user-interaction via a Graphical User Interface (GUI). This honors thesis proposes a working prototype which will serve as the foundation for all of the DIMLab’s soft robot testing now and in the future. In addition, research will continue in the development of PneuNet-like actuators, including their design, simulation, and printing.

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  Desserts Around the World

  Caroline Duarte and Clare Loesch

  Part of a course project on intercultural communication, which can be expressed and studied in myriad ways. The students of CMM 316.01 investigated various forms of cultural expression by comparing and contrasting the ways a particular form is used by multiple cultural groups. Specifically, each group researched and presented about the ways food, music, festivals, rituals, dance, clothing, and other artifacts communicate cultural identity in at least two different cultures.

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  Detecting the Temperature of My Car

  Isaac Ege

  The goal of my project is to leave my embedded device in my car. I will measure the temperature of my device. Then It will detect if my car is on (probably by a rapid change in temperature) and then notify me that my car is warm and ready to drive. Rather than wait to see in my car if it is warm/cold.

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  Detecting Violation of Helmet Rule for Motorcyclists

  Kunal Agrawal

  Motorcycles are one of the most popular modes of transportation, particularly in developing countries such as India, and Vietnam. Due to lesser protection compared to cars and other standard vehicles, motorcycle riders are exposed to a greater risk of crashes. Therefore, wearing helmets for motorcycle riders is mandatory as per traffic rules and automatic detection of motorcyclists without helmets is one of the critical tasks to enforce strict regulatory traffic safety measures. Due to the increase in the number of vehicles on roads, the number of injuries or accidents has also increased. According to a study, approximately 21.5% of motorcycle riders had been wearing helmets at the time of the accident. This has also made a huge impact on city development planning. Due to not wearing a helmet, there’s an exponential increase in the fatality rate during an accident. It has been observed that these fatality rates are higher during the daytime and the dark. To decrease the risk of fatal injuries, we are developing a model that will detect whether a motorcyclist wears a helmet or not. We will be using the traffic data from Vietnam from daytime and nighttime. The trained model using this data will be used further for the city planning simulator.

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  Determine the releasing probability of laser-induced nanoparticles from a soft substrate

  Xuesong Gao

  This letter presents a study of laser-induced nanoparticle release from a soft substrate in air under different conditions. A continuous wave (CW) laser heats a nanoparticle and causes a rapid thermal expansion of the substrate, which gives the nanoparticle an upward momentum that releases it from the substrate. The deformation of PMMA substrate, the releasing probability of different nanoparticles under different laser intensities are studied. The effect of the surface charges of the nanoparticles and the surface properties of the substrates on the nanoparticle release is also investigated. Finally, the nanoshells’ shape will be damaged during the transfer when the laser intensity is high. Compare to the laser induced forward transfer (LIFT), a low-cost CW laser is used in this study. Due to the simplicity of this technology and the wide availability of commercial nanoparticles, this nanoparticle release technology may find applications in nanoparticle characterization and nanomanufacturing.

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  Determining Relationships Between Bat Activity and Woody Vegetation in Natural and Constructed Wetlands on the Daniel Boone National Forest

  Katie Holmes

  Wetlands provide habitat and critical ecosystem services for a wide range of organisms, including bats. However, much about bats and wetlands is still unknown. This study examined bat activity in Myotis and non-Myotis bat species and woody vegetation in both natural and constructed upland-embedded wetlands on the Daniel Boone National Forest. To test this relationship, we surveyed bat activity and woody vegetative structure at three wetland pairs (three natural and three constructed wetlands) during two data collection periods. We used SM3 bat acoustic detectors and identified bat calls using Kaleidoscope Pro software. The data relationships between basal area, woody vegetation density and dominance, and Myotis and Non-Myotis species activity were analyzed using R studio. The results show Non-Myotis species were more active at constructed wetland sites, and their activity decreased in wetlands with higher tree density and greater basal area. Myotis species were more active at natural wetland sites, and while their activity increased as basal area increased, activity was relatively consistent across tree densities. These findings suggest natural wetlands may provide important habitat for Myotis species, which is useful information for improving management practices as bat populations continue to decline due to white-nose syndrome.

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  Determining the effects of propionate and low temperatures on L. monocytogenes survival and pathogenesis

  Elizabeth Herr

  Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen with the capability of causing severe illness in individuals who consume contaminated foods. Many foods have been found to harbor the bacterium, but dairy products, produce, and other prepackaged foods are particularly susceptible. These foods and others are commonly stored in cold temperatures to limit most bacterial growth. However, previous research has shown that L. monocytogenes has unique adaptations that promote its growth in low temperatures. To counter the negative effects of cold temperatures, L. monocytogenes alters its membrane composition to maintain its integrity. Alterations to the cell membrane of L. monocytogenes are also an effect of propionate, a common food additive and short chain fatty acid found in the human intestinal tract. In past research, propionate has been proven to reduce L. monocytogenes growth and pathogenesis by decreasing membrane fluidity. However, the effects of both cold and propionate on L. monocytogenes pathogenesis are not known. To address this knowledge gap, my research investigates and analyzes how cold temperature and propionate affect the ability of L. monocytogenes to infect and grow within eukaryotic cells. I have found that propionate has no significant influence on the optical density of L. monocytogenes cultures grown between 4°C and 10°C in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions measured over four days. To further examine the effects of cold temperatures and propionate on L. monocytogenes, I will use cell culture-based infection models to measure L. monocytogenes pathogenesis and cell-cell spread in macrophage, fibroblast, and intestinal epithelial cells.

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  Determining the Effects of Propionate on Listeria monocytogenes Susceptibility to Lysozyme

  Jeanne Paula Sering

  Listeria monocytogenes is a harmful pathogen transmitted through contaminated food. Listeriosis, the infection associated with L. monocytogenes, is rare but potentially fatal, with a twenty to thirty percent mortality rate. For that reason, the lack of safe strategies to prevent infections can be detrimental. Current infection preventative strategies rely on stringent food surveillance and recalls, but we want to determine alternative tactics to further protect the public from L. monocytogenes. More specifically, we want to identify environmental factors that can compromise the ability of L. monocytogenes to cause infections before the pathogen reaches the intestines. For example, propionate is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and is used as an additive in various food products. Our lab has previously demonstrated that propionate exposure in L. monocytogenes can lead to changes in growth and pathogenesis. To determine how propionate exposure affects L. monocytogenes survival and fitness in the gastrointestinal tract, my thesis project therefore studies the effects of propionate on L. monocytogenes resistance to the lysozyme found in our saliva. If propionate enhances L. monocytogenes lysozyme resistance, the use of propionate in food products might contribute to L. monocytogenes survival during transmission between food and our gastrointestinal tract. However, if propionate decreases L. monocytogenes resistance to lysozyme, it could be beneficial to use propionate as an efficient infection preventative strategy. To better understand the functions of propionate in L. monocytogenes lysozyme resistance, I performed a literature review in the following areas: the importance of oral health, antimicrobial mechanisms in the oral cavity, lysozyme, and Listeria monocytogenes.

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  Determining the Role of Propionate and SigB on Benzalkonium Chloride Resistance in Listeria monocytogenes

  Emma Schaefer

  Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a deadly food borne pathogen that causes listeriosis infection in humans with a high mortality rate from meningitis or sepsis. L. monocytogenes can form biofilms in food processing environments and becomes resistant to antimicrobial agents such as benzalkonium chloride (BC) and other quaternary ammonium chlorides (QACs). BC is used for cleaning and disinfection of food processing areas and is known to disrupt cell membranes of L. monocytogenes, causing cytosol leakage and the degradation of proteins and nucleic acids. Previous research shows that QAC resistance is associated with the upregulation of certain efflux pump genes (mdrL, brcABC, qacH, and emrE). Moreover, biofilm formation can also contribute to QAC resistance and subsequent persistence of L. monocytogenes in the environment. In addition, propionate is a commonly used food additive for flavoring and spoilage prevention that can potentially regulate L. monocytogenes biofilm formation. Biofilm formation and the expression of efflux pumps can both be regulated by the stress response sigma factor SigB in L. monocytogenes. However, it is not clear whether propionate affects this regulatory pathway. Therefore, my Honors Thesis research aims to investigate whether propionate can be used to increase L. monocytogenes susceptibility to BC and to determine the role of transcription factors, such as SigB, in conferring BC resistance. Results indicate that BC decreases planktonic growth in the presence of propionate in aerobic conditions, but not anaerobic conditions. Additionally, the growth of the ΔsigB mutant is significantly reduced by BC under anaerobic but not aerobic conditions. These results highlight that SigB as well as the presence or absence of oxygen all play critical roles in regulating L. monocytogenes susceptibility to BC. Therefore, environmental conditions and genetic composition of L. monocytogenes can both contribute to the efficacy of our antimicrobial efforts in the food processing industry.

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  Determining the role of propionate in macrophage M1 and M2 activation

  Hannah Derespiris

  Macrophages are one of the many essential cells of the innate immune system that help to protect the body from dangerous pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes. L. monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can cause infections, especially in the elderly, immunocompromised, and pregnant women. The antimicrobial activities of macrophages that are utilized to respond to pathogens such as L. monocytogenes include phagocytosis, inflammatory responses, and the production of antimicrobial compounds such as nitric oxide. These activities need to be regulated carefully to avoid causing unintentional damages. Typically, macrophages exist in a naive, nonactivated state, or can be activated classically (M1) and alternatively (M2) by different cytokines. Furthermore, propionate, a major gut metabolite, can also influence macrophage activities. To better understand how propionate affects macrophage antimicrobial activities, I investigated how the morphology of macrophages at various activation states are altered by propionate treatment. Using cell culture-based assays, I observed that propionate elongates nonactivated, M1, and M2 activated macrophages, indicating that propionate may modulate a macrophages response to infection. Additional experiments were performed to assess how propionate treatment of nonactivated and activated macrophages impacts infection with L. monocytogenes, glucose consumption, and cell motility. The findings from this research will help to identify ways in which propionate can enhance macrophage ability to respond and fight dangerous pathogens such as L. monocytogenes.

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  Determining the role of ZFP36L1 in reducing norovirus replication and norovirus-induced damage in the cells

  Paige Howland, Luis Martin, Madison Richardson, Tooba Shafeeque Ahmed Momin, Abiageal Newell

  Norovirus is a positive sense, non-enveloped virus. This virus is one of the most common causes of acute viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu) in humans. Norovirus is resistant to commonly used disinfectants such as 70% ethanol and currently, we do not have any vaccine against this virus. In the current study, we explored the role of ZFP36L1, a CCCH-type zinc figure protein (ZFP) in suppressing norovirus replication using murine norovirus as a model. ZFP36L1 was overexpressed or knockdown in RAW 264.7 cells. Wild type, ZFP36L1 overexpressed or ZFP36L1 knockdown RAW 264.7 cells were infected with murine norovirus. Virus titer in those cells were measured at 24 hours post-infection (p.i.). Our results show that ZFP36L1 knockdown significantly enhanced the virus titer as well as the cytopathic effect in the cells. ZFP36L1 overexpression reduced the cytopathic effect in the cells as compared to the wild-type and ZFP36L1 knockdown cells. ZFP36L1 overexpression is showing trends in reducing the virus titer which needs to be confirmed for statistical significance with a going study.

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  Developing Isolators/Circulators for Quantum Photonic Integrated Circuits using Topological Photonic Crystals

  Riley J. Barrett; other authors: Chandriker Kavir Dass, Piyush Shah, Michael Newburger, Said Elhamri, Robert G. Bedford

  Isolators and circulators are critical components in both electric and photonic systems. In optical systems, their function is to allow light travelling in one direction to pass, but any reflected light from the opposite direction to be either blocked by an isolator or redirected by a circulator. However, these functions have yet to be applied to a quantum photonic integrated circuit (PIC) because isolators and circulators are either too bulky for an integrated circuit or not compatible with quantum components. Chiral photonics enabled by topological photonic crystals with hexagonal lattice of triangles present the building blocks to overcome these issues. Such structures are patterned and etched into thin (~170 nm) GaAs using nanolithography procedures, and then an underlying AlGaAs layer is undercut using HF, resulting in a suspended membrane of GaAs. It is important to ensure the process retains the required features to sustain the topological nature of the photonic crystal and understand how each nanofabrication step impacts the pattern fidelity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) allows us to evaluate the etching process and determine the area, depth, and triangularity of the triangles within the photonic crystal. We process SEM images to determine large-scale pattern fidelity and have developed a “triangularity” metric to evaluate the pattern fidelity. We have evaluated the efficacy of our measurement techniques which has shown promise and will lead to more accurate results. Over the course of the past nine months, we have been nearing the goal of at least 85% triangularity and we plan to begin integrating isolators/circulators into PIC platforms.

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  Development of synthetic DNAs to inhibit the TolC protein in the fight against antibiotic resistance

  Alison Gossman

  Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a major threat to our public health system. Multidrug resistant bacterial infections are often acquired in a clinical setting and treatment options are often limited. Due to the ability of bacteria to reproduce very quickly and adapt to a wide variety of environments, bacterial cell evolution seems to be outpacing our ability to discover new antibiotics. While there are many ways for bacterial cells to resist the killing effects of our antibiotics, one mechanism that can lead to a multidrug resistance characteristic is the overexpression of efflux pump proteins. These integral proteins in the bacterial cell membrane, composed of AcrA, AcrB, and TolC, can export antibiotics before they can exert their killing effects on the bacterial cell. The goal of this research is to address this issue by targeting the efflux pumps with novel single-stranded DNA-based inhibitors. Similar to a cork in a bottle, single-stranded DNA molecules that can bind to the TolC component of the efflux pump could block efflux, thus resensitizing the bacterial cell to antibiotics. Here, we use a process called SELEX to select for specific sequences of single-stranded DNA from a randomized single-stranded DNA library that have a high affinity for binding to E. coli TolC. This approach could be applied to clinically-important multidrug resistant bacterial strains, which we hope will improve many antibacterial treatment options.

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  Dietary Patterns and Cardiac Risk in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

  Jamie Anne Mortimer, Margaret Scott, Katelyn McCann, Matthew Gehl, Erin Kunselman

  There is a multitude of research within the middle age and older adult population and their increased risk of cardiovascular disease that tends to increase with age. The purpose of this study is to find out how diet can affect the risk of developing cardiac disease in young adults specifically ages 18-25. This study was designed to compare the diets of young adults in the United States, specifically here on the University of Dayton's campus, to see how it affects risk factors for developing cardiac disease in the present as well as in the future.

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  Distance Calculation Device

  Lokesh Karanam

  The objective of this project is to calculate the distance from the sensor by using Arduino and to demonstrate an understanding of the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things is used to describe the overall network of connected devices as well as the technology that enables communication between devices and the cloud as well as within the devices themselves. In this project, Arduino, Ultrasonic Sensor, Node-Red, and Buzzer, are used to detect the distance from the sensor. The distance will be measured of the objects from the sensor and if the object is closer than the minimum distance bar the buzzer sound will activate and if the object is above the minimum distance bar the buzzer will deactivate. This project is useful in many ways, for example, we can use this in our car if any other vehicle is closer the buzzer will activate until it reaches the minimum distance by using this we can avoid accidents. The distance will be shown in centimeters in this project and the results will be shown in the Arduino.

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  Does being a College Athlete have an Increased Effect on Mental Health Compared to Non-College Athletes?

  Spencer Valentine, Nicolette Papavasiliou, Emily Jeffers, Hannah Steinbrunner, Olivia Witman, Christian Joya

  The goal of our research project was to determine if there is a difference between the mental health status of college athletes compared to non-athletes here at the University of Dayton. There are certain stressors that come with being an athlete that may not affect non-athlete college-aged students. This research was conducted to find out what those stressors are and if they negatively impact the mental health of athletes.

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  Does Low Socioeconomic Status have an Effect on Crime Rates?

  Daria Harris, Alexandra Murray

  Our project is going to address the increasing Incarceration rates in the United States since the 1970s. Incarceration can be defined as the state of being confined. Incarceration typically refers to those confined to prisons, however jail confinement is a form of incarceration as well. Nearly 2.2 million persons are incarcerated nationwide in the U.S, with almost half of these offenders serving time for non-violent drug crimes. (Hayes, 2020). This is important because mass incarceration is one of the biggest issues in the criminal justice system. Since incarceration rates in the U.S are the highest in the world, it is important to discuss what factors and contributors lead to the increase of incarcerated persons. The purpose of this research was to have a national representation of incarcerated persons. The population intended for this study includes incarcerated persons in both State and Federal facilities. The results of this dataset contain variables ranging from inherent factors such as race, age, and gender to extrinsic factors such as drug usage, childhood experiences and family background. The key variables from this dataset we plan on using to support our information is the age of the inmates, employment at time of arrest, their criminal record and illegal drug/alcohol abuse at time of arrest. Analyzing the relationship with each of these variables would allow us to determine risk factors and intervention methods that could prevent them.

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  Does Race Affect the Usage of Solitary Confinement as Punishment Within Prisons?

  Bradlee Elders, Christopher Miller

  The criminal justice system has faced much scrutiny in recent years due to the prejudice that police are letting, consciously or unconsciously, influence the way that they conduct their duties. Does this subjection to racism and prejudice stop with policing or does it go even further to the correctional side of the criminal justice system? The current study looks a little deeper and asks the question “Does race affect the usage of solitary confinement as punishment within prisons?”. A few prior studies have been conducted with the hope of answering this question and have found that there are racial disparities in the use of solitary confinement as punishment, however, most results were insignificant enough to make a sound conclusion. By analyzing data provided by the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities in 2004, composed of self-reported responses from 18,185 incarcerated individuals, the current study found evidence of disparities within the use of solitary confinement in prisons, however, not due to race as the results were not significant enough. The current study, however, has found that there are significant disparities in the use of solitary confinement as punishment in prisons when the mental health of the incarcerated individual is taken into consideration.

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  Does ‘The Daily Show’ Put You in the Know? Comparing the Political Engagement of Late-Night Audiences and Cable News Audiences

  Kathleen Dawson, Zoe Hill

  Previous research has assessed variables and their implications on political communication. Our research project intends to look for differences in participants' political involvement based on their viewing of late night talk/comedy shows. We are interested in finding if there are significant differences between those who watch late night shows to learn political information and those who watch cable news to learn political information. Specifically, we are interested in whether the medium of political information impacts political involvement and voting patterns. Some of the variables examined throughout the literature and the study include political party, what is learned from late night television shows, what is learned from cable news, discussion of politics with others, voting patterns, and political involvement with campaigns. Medium Theory is guiding the research study as it conveys the difference in meanings of the message conveyed with regard to the different channels used to communicate it. Based on the previous research, we’ve curated research questions that focus on a variety of influences on political communication. Our research question is: how does political information learned from late night talk shows impact political involvement compared to political information learned from cable news?

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  Does Your Faith Heal You? Spirituality and Physical/Mental Healing across Communities of Various Faith Traditions

  Dustin Teders, Jacob Szafranski, Maria Graziano, Lauren Doorley

  This project is a literature review on the correlation between spirituality and physical/mental healing across communities of various faith traditions. Our findings evaluate trends demonstrated among various religious communities, including Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Native American culture, impacted by physical and mental impairment.

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  Driving Behavior Monitoring and Analysis System Using IoT Devices

  Samuel Reynolds

  I am developing a project for my IoT class to monitor and analyze individuals' driving behavior. This will be done by using a Circuit Playground Express to record changes in velocity and a GPS device to track the vehicle's location. Both of these devices will be connected to a Raspberry Pi, which will be powered by a battery pack and connected to the internet via a phone hotspot. The Raspberry Pi will collect data from the IoT devices during a drive and transmit it over Node-RED to an online dashboard, where the data will be graphed for real-time visualization and analysis.My project aims to help drivers better understand their driving habits and patterns with feedback on their rate of acceleration and the location of sudden/abrupt turns. This allows the driver to know where they could improve their driving and serve as a potential tool for promoting safe driving to insurance companies.