Stander Symposium Projects

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  3D Scenes for Visual Attention Data Collection

  Conner Eugene Klawon

  Fixation datasets are commonly used for machine learning. By studying how humans actually look at objects we can help teach computers to look at objects similarly to humans. Additionally, understanding the way human attention works allows us to know and predict biases formed in human attention, such as a blind spots, through computer vision. However this requires teaching computers vision skills first. The method of doing this requires fixation datasets from human subjects. Currently most research is done using 2D fixation datasets, which is where this project looks to step in. The future is computer vision in our 3D world, and it therefore needs fixation datasets with 3 dimensions of space. In this project, we build a dataset of 3D scenes which can be use to extract human fixation data.

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  41 Years of Historical Canopy Gap Dynamics in Hueston Woods Old-Growth Preserve

  Grace Katherine Attea

  Late-successional forests development takes place on the scale of centuries and, therefore, understanding long-term dynamics requires research techniques that unfold over decades. Species-specific data collection in repeatedly sampled permanent plots provides researchers and land managers with a toolset for understanding how forests shift with global change drivers. In this project I will leverage nearly 30 years of numerical and spatial data of Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve. This site is amongst <1% of land in the eastern United States classified as old-growth, making it a relic of midwestern landscape history. It has been the subject of several studies due to its steady, infrequent natural disturbances, known as gap-phase dynamics. This is a process of tree regeneration that happens when a canopy tree falls, puncturing the overstory with a gap that becomes a center for the establishment of seedlings and the growth of extant trees as they vie for new resources of nutrients and light. Archetypes of late-successional forests are theorized to be structured on gap-phase dynamics, as they create a unique mosaic of young and aged forest patches, emblematic of old-growth. Miami University professor Dr. Vankat established our study site in 1981 and resampled it in 1988, 1994, and 2000, for woody species diameter, height, species ID, and location providing a unique standard for exploring shifts in distribution, canopy gap development, and recruitment. Field maps will be georeferenced and digitized in ArcGIS software. Next, we will estimate canopy gaps by using the buffer tool with diameter-based size-classes in ArcGIS. Gap ingrowth and recruitment will then be quantified to better understand long-term forest turnover. Findings will contribute to ongoing research, provide context to manipulative studies, and lay a baseline for land managers, investors, and research ecologists in creating strategic conservation plans in a time of increasing biological pressures on natural systems.

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  Accepting Privilege: Considerations of a White Music Therapist

  Lauren Elizabeth Drzewiecki

  Music therapy is a growing field in the medical and mental health system. As a white identifying student music therapist, I explore the way I can accept my white privilege and use it for advocacy without taking the space of people of color in the field.

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  Access to Proper Sanitation and Water in Impoverished Communities

  Alexandria E. Battaglia, John Paul A. Yoseph

  The importance of handwashing has recently become a growing topic of interest due to Covid-19, but this has always been an issue in undeveloped countries. Hotels across the world throw out bars of soap which have been seldom used every day. For developing countries, these scraps of soap could mean life or death. According to the World Health Organization, the eighth leading cause of death globally is diarrheal diseases, which occur from disease-ridden water and poor sanitation habits. This problem arises from both lack of potable water and lack of soap. The Borgen Project and the Sundara organization are just two of many organizations that gather used soap and shampoo bottles from hotels then sanitize and redistribute them to developing countries to address the lack of soap (Williams 2020). In addition, in developed countries, homeless and impoverished individuals often lack access to bathrooms and showering facilities which cause an increased risk of disease and illness (Leibler). Catholic Social Services and the Miami Valley Housing Opportunities are organizations located here in the Dayton area that provide these resources to those experiencing homelessness and poverty. This poster explores affected populations in developing countries and homeless populations, possible solutions, and critiques problems found with their proposed solutions. These solutions include increasing access to communal showers and survival kits (including soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, etc.), teaching proper washing techniques, and promoting their services, where these establishments can be found, and how to contact them. These projects would lead to a decrease in illnesses acquired due to living circumstances and would reduce this issue.

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  A Comparative Analysis of Federal and State Sex Trafficking Laws and Legal Framework

  Donya D. Mills

  This research explores the current sex trafficking laws in the United States. Sex trafficking is a current form of modern slavery because people engage in sexual activity by force, coericon or fraud. To combat this issue the federal law Trafficking Victims Protection Act was created to prevent and protect victims while prosecuting sex traffickers. The safe harbor law was also created which protects minors from being treated as criminals by the criminal justice system. The problem is that the law differs from state to state. The current study examined how states having different interpretation of sex trafficking laws can make it difficult to address what sex trafficking is and the services that come with them. The design of this study addresses the Trafficking Victims Protection act and safe harbor laws in states while comparing them to the federal law. The sample is of the laws and legal framework of sex trafficking laws. The results showed that some Trafficking Victims Protection act need to be more detailed because some states deal with sex trafficking at a higher rate then other states and it makes it easier to prosecute offenders when the law is worded differently. The results demonstrated that the safe harbor law is not a federal law so it is only in 36 of the 50 states. The safe harbor law was essentially the same in all of the states my research addressed. However, in all of the state's research and federal laws both the specialized services that are included in the laws differ from state to state based on the funding provided.

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  Activation of hippo pathway enhances Tau mediated neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease

  Prajakta D. Deshpande, Caitlin R. Masters

  Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder, marked by memory loss and cognition issues, has no cure till date. AD is caused by extracellular accumulation of amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) plaques and intracellular accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). NFTs are formed from the hyperphosphorylated forms of Tau, a microtubule-associated protein (MAP). The biological function of this MAP is determined by its degree of phosphorylation. The dephosphorylated version of Tau is responsible for promoting the assembly of microtubules and maintaining their structure, while hyperphosphorylated Tau becomes toxic and loses its ability to assemble microtubules. Intracellular accumulation of NFTs trigger aberrant signaling resulting in neuronal cell death by unknown mechanism(s). We employed the Gal4/UAS system in Drosophila melanogaster to misexpress human Tau mutant (TauR406W) within the developing fly retina, exhibiting AD-like neuropathology. Using candidate based forward genetic screening, we identified hippo (hpo) as one of the genetic modifiers of GMR>TauR406W reduced eye phenotype. Gain-of-function of hpo in GMR>TauR406W background worsens the neurodegenerative phenotype, whereas the loss-of-function of hpo in the GMR>TauR406W background rescues it. Here, we propose that modulating hippo pathway members will affect Tau mediated neurodegeneration in AD.

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  Adaptation controls the 60 million-year stasis of the Drosophila spermtail protein beta 2 tubulin.

  Alexander James Kirkby

  Why do some features evolve while others do not? A fundamental component of Drosophila spermtail, the beta2 tubulin protein, has not evolved in sequence in 60 million years. Is the beta2 protein an ideal configuration maintained throughout the eons by natural selection? Or is beta2 the only configuration able to support the extreme length of the Drosophila spermtail axoneme? Previous tests in which chimeric versions of the beta2 protein were tested for their ability to support a spermtail found that even small changes in beta2 sequence render it non-functional, supporting the hypothesis that beta2 is the only configuration capable of making a spermtail. But it is possible that there are alternate forms capable of supporting function, and beta2 has won competitions over these for 60 million years. Here we test this hypothesis by replacing beta2 with the human spermtail-generating tubulin H. sapiens beta 3, and determine its ability to support a fly spermtail. Preliminary results indicate beta 3 can replace beta 2 function, indicating beta two’s stasis is due to winning competitions through its ability to template exceptionally long spermtails.

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  Advocating for all medical professionals to be trained in geriatric mental health services

  Angela Catherine Galluzzo, Kathryn Mary Pfeiffer

  As HELP volunteers, we have witnessed patients suffering from various mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, or even suicidal thoughts; however, these older patients often do not express these hardships. Various studies have revealed that around 35% of hospitalized elderly patients show depressive symptoms throughout their hospital stay (Koenig et. al). Being able to recognize any signs of struggle allows for the initiation of assistance that patients might need, increasing the quality of their stay and overall quality of life, as supported by a study that found that counseling improved depression scores for depressed hospitalized elders (Mossey, et. al). Backed by this research, it is essential that healthcare professionals receive training, including how to administer a mental health screening tool, that enables them to recognize signs and symptoms of distress, specifically in elderly patients. Currently, many health professional schools, such as medical, PA, and nursing, do not include this type of extensive training on mental health in their curriculum (“Behavioral Health Training for Primary Care Providers”). In this poster, we evaluate the curriculum at the University of Dayton’s PA school and Wright State's Boonshoft School of Medicine to determine what training is included. Then, we determine if this training is incorporated in a hospital setting, specifically in Miami Valley’s HELP program, and we conclude whether there are practical changes to education and implementation that should be made.

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  A Factor-Mimicking Portfolio Weighting Model for the Information Technology Sector: An Empirical Analysis of Information Technology Portfolio Returns (2009-2021)

  Cameron Grant Beachler, Hayden Lee Gray, Kevin McLeeson

  We developed a portfolio weighting model for the information technology sector with consumer spending as the state economic variable and revenue per share as the principal factor loading using the top twenty stocks in the information technology sector as our portfolio. We test the hypothesis that our portfolio weighting model will outperform the market (S&P 500).

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  Africa in the Modern World

  Elyce C. Aldridge, Kylie Jones, Emma K. Mason, Cameron Nowlin, Jada Wamsley

  This panel builds on the last Global Voices Symposium to continue to engage the campus community on Africa in Our Century. It is a topic which is emphasized in the history of modern African course. Presenters in this session address different research topics to help us to understand contemporary Africa. In doing so, they challenge us to more understand the complexity of this continent, and Africa’s contribution to the contemporary world. Topics to be addressed include human trafficking, gender roles, Islam, and more.

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  Ain't no sunshine when they're gone: Pollinators in a solar prairie

  Nicolette A. Engelmeier, Brigid Maeve Morgan

  The solar array at Curran Place in Dayton, Ohio is home to many communities of pollinators and wildlife in the restorative prairie that was planted under the panels in 2019. My research aims to answer the following questions: What is the composition of pollinators using this solar prairie? How are the solar panels affecting the pollinators? Routine maintenance of the solar prairie may also be affecting the pollinator community. The results of my research will be able to show how renewable and sustainable energy resources are impacting the wildlife in the area. So far, it seems like the distribution and abundance of pollinators differ between locations in between rows of solar panels and outside of the panels, but solar panels are not harmful to the pollinators. Instead, the area under the panels went from being unused to a pollinator habitat.

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  Allison Amos: Capstone Artist Presentation

  Allison Nicole Amos

  My presentation will cover my approach to my art making practice:My art practice evolved out of my natural tendency towards overthinking. Painting is a contemplative practice for me; one that has a tangible start and stop, helps to create order out of perceived chaos, and turns intangible thoughts and ideas into real-world creations. Through painting I am able to explore my thoughts as they relate to themes of existentialism and psychology. I often contemplate meaning and purpose.Within existentialism I am particularly drawn to themes of meaning or purpose, and individual experiences. My interest in psychology comes from a desire to understand myself and others. I realized truly objective art is impossible, and there was no way to separate my work from myself and my experiences. My work now focuses a lot on subjectivity, existentialist thought, and memories and moments from my personal life. I approach my painting practice as a time for contemplation, and a way to question the world around me.

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  Anaerobic propionate exposure and its effect on the virulence and pathogenesis of Listeria monocytogenes Strain 07PF0776

  Allison Elizabeth Herceg

  Listeria monocytogenes is a prevalent food-borne pathogen, and a clear understanding of its pathogenesis can enhance our capability to treat infections. L. monocytogenes is ingested through contaminated foods, enters the intestinal lumen, and is able to spread throughout the rest of the body. While the pathogen spreads to tissues outside of the intestines, it resides in macrophages and travels through the bloodstream. It is currently understood that L. monocytogenes is able to disseminate into heart tissues from the intestines, however this aspect of infection is not clearly understood. A cardiotropic strain of L. monocytogenes, 07PF0776, that can cause life-threatening endocarditis has been isolated and can be used to understand pathogenesis in the heart. Dr. Erica Rinehart from Dr. Sun’s lab previously found that short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have an effect on the pathogenesis of both strains 10403s (a commonly used laboratory strain) and 07PF0776, but there are distinct differences in bacterial growth and efficiency of infection in these two strains. Therefore, I intend to determine the effects of prior anaerobic exposure of SCFAs, specifically propionate, on strain 07PF0776 by using hemolytic assays to measure the activity of secreted LLO as an indication of bacterial virulence. If propionate treatment results in an increase of LLO production, there would be a higher red blood cell lysis in the mixture. Ultimately, this research will help us better understand the role of propionate and its potential applications in promoting cardiac health.

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  Analysis of “St. Joseph Trusting in Dreams” Using Symbolic Convergence Theory

  Karly Ruzicka, Maeve Madden, Ella Doyle, Grace McGinley

  The statue of Joseph and Jesus represents the stories of the humanity of Joseph and the Divinity of Jesus as told in the bible and throughout generations. Dramatism The symbolism of Jesus stretching his arms represents his future of reaching out to the world and mimics the future of the cross. Dramatization could be represented in this statue by Jesus holding out his hands, which depicts that he is open and there for his people to save them from sin. In addition, the way his hands and arms are positioned foreshadows Jesus hanging on the cross.

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  Analyzing Connection Barriers Among Parents and Adjudicated Juveniles in a Midwestern Treatment Center

  Mara Joan Niccoli, Rachel Elizabeth Recker

  Parents of adjudicated juveniles face numerous issues while attempting to maintain communication with youth offenders in treatment facilities. The current study seeks to highlight the various barriers these parents endure. Although previous research has uncovered some of these limitations by analyzing juvenile offenders through surveys and observations, little has been examined from the perspective of the parents. Understanding the parents' experiences of barriers or challenges in their attempt to communicate with their adjudicated children has the potential for contact changes within juvenile correctional settings. A convenience sample of 90 parents of adjudicated male juveniles in a treatment facility was surveyed to examine their experiences in maintaining contact. Results suggest that there are a variety of difficulties that inhibit communication between youth offenders and their parents within treatment centers. Parents reported that work, health, transportation, issues within the treatment center, family, money, and other reasons impair their ability to communicate with their child. Of all responses, work was reported the most as being a limitation. These findings support the notion that there are deterrents concerning communication among parents and youth offenders within treatment centers, and further research must be conducted.

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  Analyzing Mandatory Minimum Laws and their Effects on Incarceration Rate.

  John Andrew Mercs

  The current study aimed to examine four types of mandatory minimum laws (i.e., truth in sentencing, determinate sentencing, presence of mandatory minimums because of drug possession, and the presence of a mandatory minimum because of a drug sale with a firearm) and its effect on incarceration rates. Data: Data used for the study was the Impact of State Sentencing Policies on Incarceration Rates in the United States from 1975 to 2002. For the purposes of this study, only year 2002 data was used. Analysis: T-Tests for independent samples were used to examine the association between each independent variable and the outcome. Results: The statistical results show that there is no significant correlations between the variables suggesting that mandatory minimum laws do not have the desire effect on crime rates. Discussion: Legislators considering this punitive approach should consider further research to see if it has an effect in their specific jurisdiction before implementing these laws.

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  Analyzing the Intersection Between Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Romantic Relationships on PWIs

  Amira Celeste Fitzpatrick

  The intersection between race and gender is important because it makes romantic experiences unique based on which identities individuals hold and which groups they belong to. Because Black women face racist, sexist, and classist oppression simultaneously, their concerns and needs are distinct from white women and Black men. My research explores the intersection between race, gender, and sexual orientation and its impact on romantic relationships on college campuses. Although there is research surrounding college students’ dating preferences, much of this research neglects the experiences of people of color, particularly Black women. The purpose of this study is to analyze the unique ways Black women experience romance and relationships, and how they are impacted by other identities and college demographics. The participants include undergraduate participants at UD who are over the age of 18 and self-identify as Black, female, and heterosexual. Four separate focus groups, held at the Women's Center, were recorded through a handheld recorder then transcribed via Temi, a speech recognition software. The data were coded using an inductive approach and then assigned different codes to different excerpts. Results explore the ways that female African American college students’ dating and sexual experiences have been impacted in regards to their racial identity.

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  Analyzing the Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records

  Joshua R. Besl, Lindsey Renee Mayer

  Since the early 1970s electronic health records have been an alternative option to paper documentation. Nowadays, more than 95% of hospitals across the United States use electronic health records (American Hospital Association). Originally, EHRs were intended to improve quality of care through reducing time spent documenting and increasing direct patient time. Additionally, EHRs enable collaborative communication between healthcare professionals. However, studies from the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found that EMR are significantly less accurate compared to paper documentation. Despite their original intentions, EHRs have been correlated with an increased burn-out rate and elevated stress levels. Although EHRs have been known to save space in the office, they also carry the risk of medical records being lost, “Medical records of at least 173 million of people, gathered since Oct 2009, have been breached and might have adversely influenced over half of the population in the USA” (Koczkodaj, et al, 1). The goal of this poster is to demonstrate the pros and cons of both electronic and paper documentation methods.

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  An Exploration of Mathematical Mad Veterinarian Scenarios

  Christian Steven Hemsath

  A mad scientist has disguised themselves as a veterinarian and stolen away a non-empty collection of animals. Each animal in this ill-gotten collection corresponds to a distinct species. For each distinct species, the mad scientist has constructed a corresponding machine, capable of taking one member of the corresponding species as input and transforming that member into a finite, non-empty collection of animals from any number of species. The situation described above is known as a mad veterinarian scenario, with characteristics defined by the machines used. Gene Abrams and Jessica K. Sklar explored these concepts in “The Graph Menagerie: Abstract Algebra and the Mad Veterinarian”, as published in the Mathematics Magazine. Several connections to graph theory and group algebra piqued our interest in this paper, for which we now present a brief exploration.

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  An Exploration of Taxicab Geometry through Conic Sections

  Hayley Elizabeth Carroll

  How do you get from point A to point B? Most would say to draw a straight line from one point to the other, or the distance as the crow flies, which is the Euclidean ideology. However, if you are discussing how to get from point A to point B in New York City, we need to consider the route using roads and walkways which run vertically and horizontally. This idea uses a special kind of geometry called 'Taxicab Geometry'. This project will compare Euclidean and Taxicab geometries, discuss conic sections formed using Taxicab, and provide answers to questions such as where to live so that you have the shortest walking distance to work in your city.

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  An Investigation of MOCVD Grown Gallium Oxide

  Carlos DeLeon

  Optimizing Gallium Oxide growth conditions will allow better quality material to be used in high power devices. Ideal thin-film Gallium Oxide material improves upon the tradeoff relation between the breakdown voltage and the specific on resistance which results in better performance than ordinary silicon transistors due to Gallium Oxide’s ultra-wide bandgap of 4.8 eV. To improve upon growth parameters, defects within Gallium Oxide must be minimized or prevented. The 100 meV donor defect is a recently new defect detected within the material that currently has no known basis as to what causes its presence. The purpose of this experiment was to see whether increasing the silane flow concentration within the Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) growth process influences the presence of the 100 meV donor. Both Hall measurements and Thermal Admittance Spectroscopy (TAS) data were used in conjunction to uncover the results of the hypothesis. While some of the samples did have the 100 meV donor appear in the Hall data, there seems to be no systematic trend with the silane flow and the defect according to Hall Effect data. Furthermore, there was not clear evidence of the 100 meV donor in the TAS data, which is still under investigation. The data may suggest no direct relation between Silane flow and the defect regardless of concentration used. An alternative origin for the 100 meV defect could lay in extrinsic impurities or a lattice defect within antisites or intersitials of the substrate, however, further testing is recommended to verify that no relationship between the silane flow concentration and the 100 meV donor exists.

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  Anomaly Analysis in Medical Images

  Kim Anh Phung, Nileshkumar Sadanand Wangad

  Deep learning provides smart alternatives and efficient algorithms on data-driven models for data processing. The approach of learning from medical image data can deliver reliable findings and analysis which in turn can give us more accurate results in less time with low utilization of resources. Through neural network implementation, we can get much better results in classification which other methods fail to replicate. Deep learning based methods have shown to be beneficial in a variety of fields, and its application has aided us to consider the implementation of the COVID-19 epidemic. One challenging task observed is the recognition of COVID-19 symptoms. The most relevant type of detecting the symptoms is from human lung X-ray images without manual intervention. For this purpose, we implemented a novel algorithm to classify the positive epidemic cases from the dataset consisting of human X-rays labeled under covid and non-covid. The dataset is used for training through a series of different deep learning models to extract the feature and classify the images respectively, and then finally feed into a classifier to get the desired output. The training yielded an accuracy of 95% from this approach and can be considered for further implementation on different research topics in the near future.

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  Antibiotic discovery in soil

  Joseph T. Garman

  Increasing antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria has complicated the treatment of bacterial infections. This has led to the increased mortality and morbidity of infections that were once manageable using common antibiotics. This can make simple surgeries very dangerous if were to become infected with bacteria that are resistant to our current antibiotics. There is an urgent need for the discovery of new antibiotics, thus in this study bacteria were isolated from soil samples to test for the presence of antimicrobial compounds against safe relatives of EKAPE pathogens by isolating bacteria cultures from soil found on the University of Dayton’s campus in hopes of finding some that produce antibiotics. soil samples were isolated and specific colonies were chosen to be purified and identified through an array of biochemical tests. Colonies were then sequenced to determine the exact species isolated. Antimicrobial compounds were extracted and tested for efficacy against safe relatives of the EKAPE pathogens. In addition, compounds were tested for toxicity against eukaryotic cells to confirm the safety of isolated antimicrobial compounds. This research provided a hands-on experience that enhanced the discovery of antibiotics in the field of microbiology.

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  Antibiotics in the Environment: Isolating Antibiotics for Medical Purposes

  David Robert Bowler

  Bacteria isolated from the soil can be indicators of the health of an environment and its residents. Unfortunately, due to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics both in environmental and clinical settings, many strains of pathogenic bacteria have become resistant to common antibiotics making the treatment of infections much more challenging. The urgent need for new strategies at antimicrobial management has led our study to evaluate antimicrobial compounds extracted from soil bacteria. Isolating these antibiotics gives us a pure colony These antibiotics that we can then use for medicinal purposes as well as creating new antibiotics for bacterial diseases. This study started by collecting a soil sample from the side of a student house near the downspout of the gutter. Samples were diluted in water and purified using the streak plate technique. Colonies were tested through a series of biochemical tests such as gram staining and were genetically sequenced to determine the exact identification of the bacteria. Antibiotics contribute to the medical field and the area of prescription drugs and medication used before and after treatments. A new discovery of antibiotics could help eliminate current and future bacterial infections.

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  A Numerical Study of Radiative Fin Performance with an Emphasis on Geometry and Spacecraft Applications

  Natalie Starr Douglass

  Radiative fin technology is used in a wide variety of applications: automotive, electronics, and space. However, radiative fin is generally only analyzed along the thickness profile. This work analyzes radiative fin planar geometry and thickness profile in tandem. From there, the findings are used to investigate a novel dynamic spacecraft radiator system. Fins are analyzed to optimize for a variety of performance criteria, including maximum heat transfer, tip temperature, or fin efficiency. For analysis of both static and dynamic fins, a two-dimensional mathematical heat transfer model is developed. It is found that a triangular thickness profile is most critical for heat rate maximization. A fin with a triangular thickness profile increases heat rate by 38.8% when compared to a fin with identical planar geometry and volume, but with a uniform thickness profile. Planar shape is also found to influence fin performance. A fin with a rectangular planar geometry has a 6.8% increase in heat transfer as compared to a fin with a triangular planar geometry and identical thickness profile and volume. Additionally, it is also found that triangular thickness profiles produce the maximally efficient fins. Following these results, a novel design for a dynamic spacecraft radiator with annular geometry and varied thickness is presented. It is found that turndown ratios of 3.33 are capable with the novel system. Furthermore, it was found that fins with tapered thickness profile have the highest efficiency and turndown ratio. Finally, it is shown that turndown ratio and fin efficiency decrease as operating temperature increase.