Stander Symposium Projects

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  Developing Cancer models to study signaling interactions in Drosophila

  Matthew T. Bilotti, Karishma Sanjay Gangwani, Nathan J. Holthaus, Kathleen Theresa McCaslin

  Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States, with an estimated 147,950 new cases in 2020 (Siegel, 2020). Some of the most common mutations found in patients with CRC are Ras, APC mutations, p53 dominant negative mutations. We plan to develop a Drosophila CRC model by combining mutations in the Ras/MAPK, Wnt and p53 pathways in Drosophila intestinal stem cells. The goal is to generate multiple models (one-, two- or three-hit) that can help understand the interactions between the direct pathways affected by the mutations (e.g., the MAPK and Wnt/Wingless pathways) and also on other tumor promoting pathways like the Hippo and PI3K pathways. These particular mutations do not respond effectively to chemotherapy or radiation, so this study attempts to create a genetic model using Drosophila to identify better therapeutic targets for treatment. Drosophila are an effective genetic model due to their combination of quick repopulation time, ability to ingest cancer drugs in vivo, and the similarities they share with humans in regards to their molecular pathways make them a practical tool. To create this model, we will (a) develop a CRC model in flies (b) test the levels of Hippo, Wnt and other pathways in this model, and (c) use drugs to find inhibitors of these pathways. Our progress and review of current published models will be presented.

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  Development of an Expungement Clinic in Dayton - From A Community Engaged Perspective

  Livia M. Billen

  This presentation provides an overview of a community-engaged senior capstone project in Montgomery County. I have worked with the Montgomery County Jail Coalition since early October. Throughout my time with the team, we have brainstormed, and with the help of the Public Defender's office, developed a warrant clinic for Dayton. The clinic will be launching tentatively in the month of June. I had the opportunity to listen, reflect and give input during these meetings and have formally developed an outline for the clinic. This process has not been easy, as the team have faced many uncertainties and complications while working on the clinic. In this presentation, I discuss the creation of the warrant clinic and challenges faced during development.

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  Development of Nucleic Acid Aptamers to Inhibit Bacterial Efflux Pumps

  Emilie A. Moses

  Multidrug resistance in bacteria, defined as the ability of a bacterial strain to resist the killing effects of more than one antibiotic, represents a major threat to global healthcare. Every year in the United States, two million people are infected with a multidrug resistant strain of bacteria. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), out of those two million people, about 35,000 will die from their infection. Thus, these multidrug resistant diseases are considered by the CDC to be the most dangerous diseases in the world. While multidrug resistance can occur through several different mechanisms, a major contributor to multidrug resistance are the bacterial efflux pumps. Efflux pumps are transporters that reside in the membrane of a bacterial cell, and they function by pumping out toxic organic compounds, including antibiotics, from the cell. These efflux pumps often lack specificity for the compounds that they can expel from the cell which means that a single type of efflux pump can confer resistance to many types of antibiotics all at once. When bacterial cells produce high levels of these efflux pumps in their membranes, it can give rise to a multidrug resistance characteristic. I intend to inhibit the efflux pump using single-stranded DNA aptamers that I developed using a CELL-SELEX procedure. Any aptamers that can successfully inhibit the efflux pump will be analyzed to determine their potency, their specificity, and to identify their specific nucleotide sequence. These aptamers should either clog the pump opening and/or bind to the Tol C region of the pump, making it inactive so antibiotics are not expelled from cells. This would allow antibiotics to once again be effective and work to their full potential.

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  DHL Supply Chain

  Patrick M. Breitenstein, Peyton Andrew Huth, Robert Thomas Pearson, Matthew David Westman

  Locus Robotic Optimization Review

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  DIFF: An Inaugural Year in Review

  Melanie Christine Reindl, Abby Rose Rutan

  DIFF is an event born out of adversity. In 2020, the first inaugural Dayton Independent Film Festival chose to make a DIFFerence by persevering as a socially-distanced, online film festival. Through coordination with a staff made up of University of Dayton faculty members and students, the festival was brought to life. In a year where our community came together like never before, DIFF represented the willingness of Dayton natives to innovate and the resilience of the human spirit.

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  Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) Simulation to understand the Nanoparticle Dispersion and Aggregation behavior in Polymer Nanocomposites

  Ashish Gogia

  Polymeric systems such as natural rubber used in car and truck tires require the addition of suitable additives for the enhancement of numerous properties, including reinforcement and durability. The behavior of such fillers, (carbon black, silica, and metal oxides and some combination thereof), and their influence on nanocomposite effectiveness, depends on the filler structure, the interaction between filler-polymer matrix as well as the processing history. To understand this problem, we perform Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) simulation of these blends, varying polymer-polymer, filler-filler, and polymer-filler interaction energy. We will discuss the effects of interaction strength, the scaling of polymer chains, and methods to quantify the filler percolation threshold and mesh size as a function of filler concentration. The simulation results are also validated against small angle x-ray scattering data. Additionally, the effect of such agglomerates on the structural and dynamical properties of the nanocomposites, measured via the radial distribution, mean square displacement, and autocorrelation function are also explored.

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  Diversity and Inclusion in Music: The Inclusion of Underrepresented Music

  Trinity Peace Hines-Anthony, Emily Elizabeth Hunt, Cameron Jacob Page, Declan Michael Phelps, Daniel V. Sheldon, Anna Jean Simmons, Dont'e Christopher Scott Stevenson, Alexander Charles Wilhelm

  The University of Dayton Music Performance (MUP) Majors present a showcase of Diversity and Inclusion in Music. This presentation will explore a vast array of genres, composers, and musics that are underrepresented in our culture today. For each piece performed, there will be a brief discussion contextualizing the diverse and inclusive aspects of each. Performances will include music from Ireland under British rule, music utilizing quarter tones and multi-phonics, atonal music, and composers of less represented backgrounds.

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  Do Cognitively Stimulating Activities Benefit Brain Function of Individuals with Neurodegenerative Diseases?

  Olivia Ann Defoggia, Caroline Elena Grace Frazee, Michelle Marie Greenwood, Nicole Marie Kozak

  Studies have shown cognitively stimulating activities including puzzles and games are beneficial to individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. The studies concluded that cognitive functioning was improved with daily cognitive engagement that included different puzzle and game type interventions. The aim of our study is to find how interventions of brain training through cognitively stimulating activities could potentially increase cognitive function for those with family history of neurodegenerative diseases. At the beginning of our study, participants will take a six question questionnaire to determine whether they will be in the control or experimental group. Once the groups have been separated, each group will complete three pre-tests, a week of interventional brain stimulating games, and then a post-test to compare the results. The results of the pre and post tests are based upon time, while the results of the interventional aspect are a combination of time and highest level achieved. Results of the study will be given during the presentation.

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  Does Height Matter? Determining Frugivore Seed Preference by Elevation Level

  Grace E. Oldfield, Christopher Evans Peck, Anna Marie Peterson

  Frugivorous animals are known to drive seed dispersal—an essential ecological function in most ecosystems—and an understanding of these animals’ seed preferences for different types of seeds allows us to identify which types of frugivores are responsible for the dispersal of what seeds.While it is largely understood that seed preference varies by species, we sought to identify if seed preference differed based on elevation. Do tree dwelling species have different seed preferences than those on the ground? We hypothesized that seed consumption would be highest at the ground level, especially for the hard-shelled sunflower seeds, because seeds at the ground level are accessible to all species.Those species that are active on the ground in the spring are known to consume primarily hard nuts and seeds due to their abundance and high nutritional content. To determine the respective consumption rates of the sunflower seeds and peas, we arranged six feeding pans (3 pans on the ground level, 3 pans suspended from low tree branches) at three different locations within the University of Dayton’s Environmental Research Area. Each feeding pan contained equal parts sunflower seeds and peas by mass (5:1 sunflower to pea ratio) and were set out for three-day intervals for each trial, for three trials in March. At the end of each trial, we recorded the remaining amount of each seed type and compared preference between elevation and location.Because the role of frugivores in the dispersal of seeds is significant in ecosystems, understanding their seed preference patterns may help us to predict the ongoing dynamics of seed dispersal and germination within an ecosystem.

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  Does Social Media Affect the Psychological and Physical Well-Being of College Students?

  Caroline G. Larkin, Eleni Papastratakos, Megan V. Petric, Cierra Danielle Sanders

  Social media has become increasingly popular in today’s society, particularly among young adults. There has also been an increased effort to break the stigma surrounding social media usage and one’s health, both mental and physical. Current research provides information regarding mental health, physical well-being, and social media usage by undergraduate college students. However, there is a lack of research examining the impact of social media usage on the mental and physical well-being of undergraduate college students. In order to expand upon current research, we will evaluate the physical and mental variables through a cross-sectional study design that will measure individuals’ physical satisfaction, sleep, stress levels, and exercise activity. This Google Form questionnaire will be sent out to students from various schools within the University that have at least one social media account. Once data is collected, it will be analyzed using a multiple regression test. The results will be provided during our presentation at Stander Symposium.

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  Does state partisanship affect the level of "strictness" regarding solitary confinement policy?

  Meghan Strite

  I researched the connection between state partisanship and thespecific levels of “strictness” within solitary confinement. This issue is being addressed becauseI intended to discover a pattern between state partisanship and more or less strict solitaryconfinement policies. The methodology being utilized will a secondary data collection method.From what was previously gathered, states that hold a more “blue” or Democratic stance holdless strict rules and regulations in regard to solitary confinement. Partisanship will be accountedfor based on how each individual state voted at the state level in 2012. In conclusion, I hopeto discover a trend amongst state partisanship and solitary confinement policies.

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  Domination and F-Domination

  Noah Jacob Kilps

  This project is for MTH 466, Graph Theory and Combinatorics. A graph is a mathematical object that consists of two sets, a set of vertices and a set of edges in which an edge between two vertices denotes a relationship between those vertices. A dominating set of a graph G is a set of vertices S such that every vertex of G is a neighbor of some vertex in S. The domination number is the minimum number of vertices in a dominating set S. Let F be a graph whose vertex set is partitioned into two sets: blue vertices and red vertices. Let v be a designated blue vertex of F. An F-coloring of a graph G is a red-blue coloring of the vertices of G in which every blue vertex u belongs to a copy of F rooted at v. The F-domination number is the minimum number of red vertices in an F-coloring of G. We will compare the properties of the domination number and the F-domination number.

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  Don’t Tell Me How To Relax: Navigating Burnout Among Female Student Affairs Professionals

  Michele Margaret McDonald

  Student affairs professionals (SAP) report incredibly high levels of burnout, with women burning out at disproportionately higher rates than men. Although there is an abundance of research about what causes work stress and burnout among women in the field, there has been less analysis on how female SAPs are dealing with stress to prevent burnout, as well as if they believe their coping strategies are helping or not. This study seeks to answer the following questions: (1) How are female SAPs navigating burnout in their professional lives? (2) How effective do female SAPs consider their stress-reducing and coping strategies to be? Using a constructivist phenomenological approach, I interviewed 11 female SAPs who have worked in the field for more than five years from a variety of institutional types, functional areas, and position levels. Data analysis shows that several of the most effective coping strategies include setting boundaries, exercise, and having a supportive supervisor; however, COVID has impacted many female SAPs’ ability to manage their stress and burnout. This study has implications for both current and future female SAPs to find effective and healthy ways to navigate burnout and work stress.

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  Drosophila Eye Model to Study the Role of NAT 9 in Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementia (ADRD)

  Prajakta D. Deshpande, Emily M. Snider

  Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive form of dementia that presents itself in individuals aged 65 years or older. AD is characterized by a decline in memory and cognitive function. Currently, there is no cure for AD though symptomatic treatments are available. One of the hallmarks of AD is the accumulation of β-amyloid plaques formed in the brain due to improper cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein. The extracellular accumulation of β-amyloid plaques triggers the hyperphosphorylation of tau, a microtubule-associated protein that helps stabilize microtubule structures in neurons. In its hyperphosphorylated form, tau loses affinity to bind to the microtubules and can oligomerize. This results in the formation of tau tangles and the destabilization of axons and dendrites (necessary for cellular communication). We employed the GAL4-UAS system in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to misexpress human Aβ42 within the developing fly retina. Using forward genetic screening, we found N-acetyltransferase 9 (NAT 9) as one of the modifiers for the Aβ42 phenotype. NAT 9 is an enzyme that acetylates microtubules and supports the regulation of microtubule stability. This study aims to understand the role of NAT 9 in Aβ42-mediated neurodegeneration. The overexpression of NAT 9 in GMR>Aβ42 background suppresses the Aβ42-mediated neurodegeneration whereas loss of function of NAT 9 in GMR>Aβ42 results in depigmentation, necrotic spots, and a reduction in eye size as compared to GMR>Aβ42 eye. Our hypothesis is Nat9 may play a role in Aβ42-mediated neurodegeneration.

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  ECE568 Detection and Estimation Final Project Presentation Live Poster Presentations

  Prathiksha Chikkamadal Manjunatha, Cory L. Heatwole, Jeremy Michael Olivar Hill, Achour Idoughi, Ranjani Kripashankar, Hsuan Lin, Sarah Miller, Luc Luc Tinch, Zhiyang Zhang

  The final project is an undertaking of a detection or estimation task of the student's choice. It may involve telecommunication, signal processing, or anything else so long as it is relevant to statistical analysis we studied in class and makes use of real world data.

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  Effective Curriculum and Teaching Strategies for Twice-Exceptional Students

  Morgaine F. Armstrong

  This presentation seeks to explore the most effective teaching methods for allowing twice-exceptional learners to reach their full academic potential. What exactly is a twice-exceptional student? Twice-exceptional students, or “2e” students, have both gifted ability and disability. They have many strengths in one subject area, but learning or developmental difficulties in another. Examples could be children with autism, ADHD, dyslexia or any other condition that impairs learning. Despite the high number of children who could be considered 2e, school systems often struggle to properly identify and support these students. Through educational strategies such as team based instruction and an integrated curriculum, teacher’s can more easily accommodate the unique learning needs of every twice-exceptional learner.

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  Effects of Cold Pressor Test on Cerebral Blood Flow and Motor Control

  Sarah M. Collins, Kiersten Michelle Duffy

  Motor control can be divided between gross and fine motor skills, which are impacted by environmental and genetic influences. Although the population of interest was pilots, the subjects involved in the study were male and female college students. The aim of the study was to explore the impact of stress on motor control, and gain helpful physiological information to improve the performance of pilots. Both men and women were selected for the study, then completed three phases: familiarization, control, and experimental. The experimental trial included a cold pressor test (CPT). A CPT involves a participant placing their limb in a container of ice water, which acts as an acute physiological stress and activator for the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The results between the three trials were measured and compared to determine a relationship between motor control and physiological stress.

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  Effects of Health and Sports Science Classes on the Students’ Body Image Perception and Behaviors

  Emily Frances Harnen, Allison J. Ladd, Emilia Jelski Porter

  There are a number of individual and personal factors that contribute to poor body image and corresponding health-related behaviors. The influence of social media and Western culture on body image has been well examined; however, less is known about how the study of behavioral, dietary, and medical health interventions affects body image perception in health professionals. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between taking health-related classes and personal behavior and body image perception among students at a 4-year university. We will recruit both male and female participants of sophomore standing or higher at the University of Dayton who were enrolled as full-time students taking undergraduate classes. First year and graduate students will be excluded from the study. This cross-sectional study will be conducted using a self-administered survey sent to undergraduate students via google forms. We referenced the previously validated Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory (MDDI), and Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIA-Q) in order to generate original questions for the study. The results from our questions will yield a body image score for each participant. This score will be used to run an independent t-test to compare body image perceptions between health majors and non-health majors.

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  Effects of State Legalization of Recreational Marijuana on Young Adult Usage Rates

  Hunter Kathryn Soumar

  The research in this presentation is covering usage of marijuana by young adults. It is specifically looking at how usage rates changed from years 2002 to 2018, focusing on young adults ages 18 to 25. From the year 2002 to 2018, certain states included in the research have legalized the usage of recreational marijuana for ages 21 and above. The research question is evaluating if this legalization had an effect on the yearly usage rates. The sample population contains a geographical variety of states across the United States which both have and have not legalized recreational marijuana. The research was conducted using a regression method to evaluate the relationship between variables. The quantitative data used is from secondary sources, looking at values of young adult usage rates from 2002 to 2018 in specific states. The significant findings portray a national trend of increasing usage rates by young adults. However, the consistent increase in national usage rates cannot be attributed to the legalization of recreational marijuana. Both legalized and non-legalized states included in the research show higher usage rates as years progressed. Some possible future hypotheses may explore the generational differences of marijuana usage, as opposed to research focusing on ages 18 to 25. As society changes, trends, beliefs and values will adjust as well. It is important our data stays up to date so we as a society can better understand the past, present and future trends.

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  Effects of Substance Use on Juvenile Delinquency

  Abbigaile A. Ehrenborg

  Juvenile substance use throughout the United States has consistently been an issue. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that are enabling substance abuse among juveniles. The focus of the current study is to examine the link between juveniles’ use of sedatives and shoplifting. The current study used the Pathways to Desistance data, a longitudinal study of 1,354 serious juvenile offenders between ages of 14 years old to under 18 years old from Philadelphia and Phoneix. The sample consisted of 86% males, 41.4% African American, 20% White, and 33.5% of the rest of the sample consisted of other races, who had been found guilty of at least one serious violent crime, property offense or drug offense. The relationship between sedatives and shoplifting was analyzed using a bivariate correlation. Findings show that there was no correlation between these two variables, therefore making them nonsignificant. Findings and implications will be discussed.

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  Empirical Research Presentations in Economics

  Thomas Abrams, Brandon D. Adams, Brian Patrick Allspaw, Carleigh Joy Baum, Gavin Alexander Bicknell, Christopher J. Birck, Ethan M. Bogan, Benjamin Bussen, Antonio J. Concha, Natalie M. Coppolino, Michael Anthony Cortese, Kyle Joseph DeSantis, Allison Ann Edwards, Mitchell Scott Erickson, Michael Andrew Fields, Hunter R. Folan, Michael E. Francis, Kaitlyn M. Fullenkamp, Benjamin Romohr Furash, Nicholas William Garth, Joseph W. Guehring, Tia Anastasia Hachwa, Maeve Murnane Harrington, Allison Rose Keith, Maximilian B. Kirk, Bridget Bozena Krysztopa, Benjamin F. Lally, Amira Elizabeth Learst-Ahmed, Ethan Thomas Letsch, Lauren E. Luechtefeld, John Kameron Milliken, Matthew F. Mittelstaedt, Jacob Robert Pieniazek, Dillon J. Pietrangelo, Hamza Nasser Majid Mansoor Rumhi, Danielle M. Savovich, Matthew Brian Shea, Madison Sinclair Sheets, William Henry Sloyan, Conrad Harrison Tubbs, Adam L. Uhlenbrock, Mitchell Alexander Walsh, Osa M. Wheeler, Lauren P. Williams, Nolan Patrick Yager

  Four years of coursework culminate in a written and oral presentation of an empirical research project during the senior capstone course. Students apply economic theory and econometric techniques to analyze data in order to answer an original research question.

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  Environmental Racism, Urban Ecosystems, and the Pursuit of Solutions that Enfranchise Communities of Color

  Niani Brown

  Environmental justice is a social justice issue concerned with equity of protection, involvement, and consideration of all people and communities regarding environmental regulation from development to enforcement. Environmental racism, then, is the idea that historical discrimination has limited access to environmental benefits for some members of the population based on race. This includes access to healthy food options, disaster protection, relief, and greenspace--issues that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. This study focuses on greenspace access, in particular, using the City of Dayton and surrounding areas as a model. I looked at previous research that focused on the uneven distribution in poor and minority communities as a whole and compared this to what is seen in the model system as well as the ways in which access to greenspace benefits the community and the environment. I focused the latter part of the study on community involvement and engagement. This project specifically focused on how environmental injustice has impacted residents in North and West Dayton and the ways that environmental justice initiatives can engage the community and work alongside other social justice initiatives to bring about positive change.

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  Examining the Link Between Community Policing and De-escalation Techniques

  Daniel Joseph Bandelaria, Colby Michael Tuttle

  One characteristic of community policing is the defining role of positive police-citizen relationships. Researchers and police alike have posited that this feature of community policing may influence de-escalation techniques during police-citizen interaction. However, empirical research testing this assumption is lacking. As such, the current study aims to explore the relationship between community policing and de-escalation techniques among one police agency in a Midwestern state. The current study used a cross-sectional online survey to ask a series of questions about community policing techniques and de-escalation. The sample consisted of 15 police officers who were mainly Caucasian (90%) and males (60%) and had served approximately ten years in the service. Due to the small sample size, univariate descriptive statistics were conducted. Findings show that many of the officers (73.3%) believe their department puts a great amount of focus on community policing. Furthermore, 86.7% of the participants strongly agree that community policing includes collaboration, with 66.7% of them believing that community policing includes problem-solving with community members. Out of the 15 participants, 46.7% of them somewhat agreed that community policing techniques increase their use of de-escalation techniques. Approximately, 40% of the participants said that they may feel safer knowing that their community policing techniques are being used to de-escalate situations. Findings and implications will be discussed in the results section.

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  Experiences of Students with Learning Disabilities

  Andrew John Sellers

  Students with learning disabilities (LD) are required to self-identify at higher education institutions. This study sought to see how self-identification impacts the student’s perception of connection to their campus. Using a constructivist narrative approach, the researcher interview four students at a private midwestern institution whom had identified with the disability services office. The results of the study show that the LD student motivation for success overrode any perception of potential negative campus perception. This study provides implications in how students in learning disabilities perceive their campus connections.

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  Experiential Learning Reflections From Human Rights Students

  Katelyn Hallie Barnes, Anna Elizabeth Beebe, Bailee K. Boland, Liliana Melissa Busic, Grace Elizabeth Cannon, Morgan Morgan Cox, Lydia Rita Fatime Diabate-Tonne, Grace Elaine Gibson, Hannah Elizabeth Gibson, Bridget Therese Graham, Tongyu Guo, Lauren Marie Higgins, Laura Ann Hughes, Aileen Marisa Hull, Kate Mulvihill Jones, Kelsey Marie Kamil, Samuel S. Laird, Maya Rose Leibold, Kaitlin B. Lewis, Brandy Megan Lynch, Anna Mumma, Cameron Cristina Nowlin, Meredith N. Robinson, Steven Stalnaker Shamblen, Jennifer Ann Sobnosky, Lauren Elizabeth Tobal, Nicole Ann Vanvoorhis, Angela Kay Weiland

  This course involves an experiential learning project with two NGO partners, Counterpart International and Miss Able-Humura. Students, working in teams of 4-5, are engaged in a range of projects from social media and marketing to strategic visioning and fundraising to programming and alumni networking. For this Stander Presentation, students will present their work and will reflect on the challenges and opportunities of partnering with NGOs in the context of a course, particularly one focused on human rights.