Stander Symposium Projects

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  Dental Health Beliefs of Chinese College Student based on the Health Belief Model

  Peijun Hou

  Dental health problem is a serious and underexplored topic in China. This study used Health Belief Model to investigate the health belief of dental health promotion behavior among Chinese college students at University of Dayton. The results indicated that laziness is the biggest barrier for daily brushing behavior, while most of them also lack knowledge about flossing. The barriers to annual dental check-ups include expensive cost and disregarding the importance of oral health. The study also examined the preference of information seeking and scanning channel about dental health-related information. Most respondents come across information about health-related knowledge through social media and mass media, though they prefer to search such information through dentist and social media. Most participants think their dental health-related knowledge is moderate. One the most interesting findings is about self-efficacy, as most of Chinese students answered they have no idea when they were asked self-efficacy related questions such as “What can improve someone’s confidence on flossing daily?”. Consider the concept “self-efficacy” was built under Western culture and society, even though self-efficacy has been shown to be a strong predictor of performance with Western populations, whether self-efficacy can predict performance with non-Western populations is still not clear.

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  Depression, Suicidality, and Sleep Disturbances: A Literature Review

  Karla Leigh Borgerding

  Past research has shown that it is common for people with depression to report sleep disturbances. However, the relationship between sleep disturbances and suicide is not as well known. The current literature review looks at several articles relating to depression, suicidality, and sleep disturbances. Specifically, how sleep disturbances increase mood dysregulation which may leads to an increased amount of suicidal thoughts (Cukrowicz et al., 2006). Specific types of dreams (e.g. a nightmare) seem to be a prominent symptom of sleep disturbance that may result in greater mood dysregulation, and consequently, more severe and frequent suicidal ideation (Ağargϋn et al, 1998). In one study, women tended to report more frequent nightmares than men and were more likely to report suicidal ideation (Ağargϋn et al, 1998). From these articles, it is concluded that sleep disturbances are a possible risk factor for suicide among depressed populations. This could imply that therapists should incorporate sleep monitoring into their treatments for depressed and suicidal patients.

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  Design of a Body-Powered, Variable Strength and Conformable Shape Prosthetic Hand

  Zhipeng Jiang

  People with below elbow amputations often wear a body-powered prosthesis due to its affordable cost and the fact that it can improve their ability to do daily activities. While this technology is functional, it poses difficulties when trying to work with a range of different objects. The focus of this work is to improve its versatility by engineering both variable grip strength and changeable gripper shape capabilities into the device. Through mechanism design, the new prosthesis will have user-selected force options, thereby being able to hold objects of different masses. Additionally, exploring conformable-topology gripper designs will enable the ability to be able to grab items of diverse shapes and textures.

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  Design of an Enhanced Cellular Model for the Assessment and Tracking of Nanomaterials

  Maggie Elizabeth Jewett

  Due to their unique physicochemical properties nanomaterial (NM)-based technologies are growing exponentially in scope and economic importance. This surge is resulting in significant degrees of NM waste and increased rates of human exposure. This has created a vital need to fully understand the potential biological consequences of NM exposure, characterize resulting NM-biological interfaces, and determine subsequent toxicological effects. The long-term goal of this project is to design, optimize, and implement an enhanced microenvironment model (EMM) to bridge this in vitro – in vivo gap and evaluate NM characteristics, pharmacokinetic/deposition profiles, and induced biological responses under physiologically relevant conditions. To date efforts have focused on the generation of the EMM which uses a perfusion plate platform containing cellular compartments interconnected by dynamic fluid movement produced via a peristaltic pump. While the EMM system can be tailored to any target organ/tissue, this proposal is focused on the flow of NMs from lungs (A549; human alveolar epithelial) to liver (HepG2; human epithelial) to skin (HaCaT; human keratinocyte), as inhalation is a primary form of exposure and NMs have been shown to accumulate in the skin. Additionally, the human monocyte (U937) cell line will circulate through all compartments allowing for immune analysis. Once complete and optimized this EMM system will be one of the first non-microfluidic models to simultaneously incorporate physiological influences and multiple cellular compartments to improve relevance and promote in vivo-like behavior.

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  Design of a Self-Orienting Solar Array for Small Low-Earth Orbit Satellites

  Eric Matthew McGill

  As electronics have become increasingly smaller and more capable, small satellites called cubesats are deployed in missions that would have taken much larger spacecraft 30 years ago. To power these satellites while in orbit, a novel solar array design is proposed by which these small satellites may harvest energy. With the inspiration of a sunflower that autonomously faces the sun as it passes overhead, a solar array possessing similar characteristics is desirable. The proposed design could generate more energy during the craft's time in the sunlight by continuously adjusting to face the sun. More energy gathered corresponds to an enhancement of the capability of these cubesats due to the ability to accomplish missions with greater scope than those currently in use.

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  Determination of Stock Prices and Interest Rate's Behavioral Movement By Utilizing the Brownian Motion

  Matthew Scott Hooper

  Below is a look into the Brownian Motion, and how it is able to portray the erratic movement over time of stock prices and interest rates. Further, is a look into how different financial models such as the Ho-Lee Model and Vasicek Model are able to utilize this brownian motion in order to describe the movement of short term interest rates and thus can be used to carry out various financial valuations, such as bond option pricing and evaluating interest rate futures.

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  Determining Recovery Response to Slips on a Slip Trainer

  Stephen Thomas McFadden

  Common injuries in the elderly population often result from slipping or falling. A slip is a loss of balance which may lead to an injurious fall. To counter these falls, proactive balance training, which focuses on preventing slips from occurring through physical therapy and environmental modifications, has been tried with mixed results. Reactive balance training, which can increase how well an individual can recover once their balance is upset by a disruption, is a novel method to decrease injuries from falls. However, current reactive balance training is conducted in academic environments with highly expensive equipment. While this training has proved productive, a need has arisen for this reactive slip training to be helpful in clinical settings and provided at a reduced cost. This project is centered around work to design, build, and test a low-cost slip trainer to measure the recovery response of individuals in terms of a reactive step.

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  Determining the Role of Membrane Fatty Acid Composition in Antibiotic Resistance

  Andrew J Deak

  Bacterial infections that can no longer be treated by antibiotics because of bacterial mutations cause many infections and deaths each year. My research conducted aims to study how membrane fatty acid composition can affect bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics. Listeria monocytogenes, a gram-positive facultative anaerobe, is the bacterium that I am testing. Listeria has 80-90% branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) which allow membrane fluidity and sufficient protection against invaders. When Listeria is grown in the presence of butyrate, the BCFAs become straight-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and make the once fluid membrane more rigid. We believe that this allows for easier antibiotic penetration of the phospholipid bilayer which lets the antibiotics affect cellular processes. By changing concentrations of butyrate I can therefore determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics for Listeria with different membrane fatty acid compositions. Moreover, as growth is a key factor in bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics. I also measure oxygen consumption rate in response to butyrate. Higher oxygen consumption rate is indicative of higher bacterial activity. Because oxygen consumption is carried out by protein complexes on the membrane, measuring oxygen consumption rate also reveal the effects of butyrate on cell membrane functionality.

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  Determining what environmental features affect waterbird diversity on the Great Miami River

  Hannah Marie Scharf

  The habitat of the Great Miami River is highly disturbed as it enters the city of Dayton, yet it still attracts many species of birds. These include Anseriformes, which are waterfowl, Charadriiformes, which contain shorebirds and gulls, Pelecaniformes, which contain herons, Suliformes which contain cormorants, and Podicipediformes, which are the grebes. This study seeks to determine which segments of the Great Miami River attract the most and the least numbers and species of waterbirds during the fall migration, and what environmental characteristics set these segments apart. To accomplish this, we divided a four mile segment of the Great Miami River into tenth of a mile intervals, spanning from the confluence of the Great Miami River with the Mad River downstream to the Tait Station low dam. For each interval we counted and identified every bird, in addition to recording environmental features of interest. After identifying the two best and the two worst intervals, we evaluated the habitat with the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) and plan to further investigate these areas with additional analyses. By identifying and characterizing these areas of the Great Miami River, sections of the river can be better managed to encourage greater species diversity and numbers of waterbirds.

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  Development and Actuation of a Shape-changing Rigid-body Human Foot Prototype

  Tanner Rolfe

  This project focuses on the actuation of a multi-segment rigid body foot prototype capable of matching the change in profile of a human foot during gait. Previous work has focused on the design of the prototype using methods of shape-changing kinematic synthesis. In order to actuate the prototype, a tendon-based actuation scheme was conceived and partially implemented. The current prototype includes a series of paired cables, each connected to a separate segment of the foot. Tension in the cables counteracts the force of torsional springs implemented at the joints keeping the segments positioned in a neutral configuration, allowing each segment to achieve appropriate plantar- and dorsiflexion to match gait-derived configurations. Current work focuses on implementing active elements to drive the cables, as well as refinement of joint stiffness to increase the functionality and biomechanical accuracy of the prototype.

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  Development of an Evidence-Based Strength Training Program for Individuals with Dementia Participating in Adult Day Services

  Jaclyn Helen Franz

  Falling and loss of mobility present serious risks for elderly adults, especially those with cognitive impairments such as dementia. These risks are shown to be significantly reduced when elderly adults participate in exercises focusing on strength and balance of sufficient intensity. Despite these potential benefits, many adult day programs do not incorporate exercise in a systematic and progressive fashion to achieve desirable improvements in function. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based exercise program, later titled Simply Strong, for reducing fall risk and improving mobility in elderly adults with dementia participating in Goodwill Easter Seals adult day services. An extensive literature review of current research into the implementation and resulting outcomes of exercise for older adults with dementia was conducted. A supplementary survey of Goodwill Easter Seals program managers regarding barriers and needs was conducted. Barriers to providing such a program were identified through the survey and addressed in the creation of the program so that this program, Simply Strong, and other programs of a similar nature, have an increased likelihood of being utilized long-term. Based on the current literature, an evidence-based training program, titled Simply Strong, was developed to meet the needs of older adults with dementia and through the results of the staff survey was specifically tailored for individuals with dementia at Goodwill Easter Seals Adult Day Service. Staff members of Goodwill Easter Seals were instructed in providing the program so that the program remained self-sustaining after the conclusion of this project. Additionally, a training manual, an accompanying video, and an equipment cart to assist in the implementation of the program was fabricated and then donated to two Goodwill Easter Seals locations.

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  Development of the Numerical Attenuation Factor for a Spiral Antenna affected by Spurious Modes

  Joseph Vinci

  This poster details the work performed in the 2017 SURE Program under Dr. Robert Penno. The objective is to improve Dr. Penno's model for the four arm, Archimedian spiral antenna in the presence of spurious modes by developing an attenuation constant. This constant is derived from the principles of a transmission line with shunt loads in the place of the arms of the antenna with spurious modes. The results are prepared to be analysed by Dr. Penno and the effectiveness of the constants on the radiation pattern of the antenna will be examined in future work.

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  Differences in the Development of Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Children of Depressed Mothers

  Hannah Simone Jackson

  This research project explores variables that may impact the outcomes of children with clinically-depressed mothers, with a focus on 14- to 17-year-old adolescents. We are interested in learning why some children with depressed mothers develop anxious thoughts or behaviors while others develop aggressive thoughts or behaviors. To do so, we are analyzing relevant variables that have potential to impact or explain the differences in development, such as relational separation and family instability, mother/child relationship, and parenting practices. Statistical analyses have demonstrated that some of these variables of interest are significant mediators between maternal depression and specific child outcomes, but not all of them. This project also uses sibling- and cousin-comparison models in order to ensure that genetics are similar and that environmental factors are the main focus. This research is important as it will give insight on what may be affecting the mental health of adolescents and teenagers, hopefully leading to better education for families and beneficial resources that allow children in these circumstances to thrive.

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  Disparities in Health Literacy Examined Through Diabetes Mellitus Resources

  Tessa Louise Farthing, Noha Jan, Taylor Nicole Vernot

  When an individual has a low health literacy level, their ability to successfully access and comprehend healthcare procedures and treatments is impaired. This resulting healthcare disparity is especially prevalent among individuals that speak English as a second language. Our team conducted a Health Literacy Load Test using the multidimensional model and a SMOG test in order to analyze the literacy of an existing Diabetes Mellitus resource published on MedicineNet.com. The goal for our team’s project was to revise the website’s content in order to accommodate the English health literacy levels of individuals enrolled in the University of Dayton’s Intensive English Program (IEP). The original documents were found to be written at approximately a 12.4 grade level. The revised informational brochure that our team created was concluded to be around a 5th grade literacy level.

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  Displacement Analysis and Rigid Body Guidance in Spherical Linkages Using SU(2) and Homotopy Continuation

  Saleh Almestiri

  This work seeks to efficiently and systematically model and solve the equations associated with the class of design problems arising in the study of spherical kinematics. To accomplish this, the group of special unitary matrices, SU(2), is utilized. SU(2) is used to analyze and synthesize the kinematics of a variety of systems including the three-roll wrist, the spherical four-bar mechanism, and the spherical Watt I linkage. Two methods of formulating the synthesis problem are considered. Specifically, the five orientation synthesis of a spherical four-bar mechanism and the eight orientation task of the Watt I linkage are solved using both the loop closure equations and an approach derived from the dot product that recognizes physical constraints within the linkage. Finally, using SU(2) readily allows for the use of a homotopy-continuation-based solver, in this case Bertini. The use of Bertini is motivated by its capacity to calculate every solution to a design problem.

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  Does self-enhancement affect spending behavior? An experimental analysis

  Mark A Matthews

  This project aims to examine the extent to which self-enhancing, bolstering one’s views of oneself, uniquely affects spending behavior. Self-enhancement is associated with both improving self-esteem (Hepper, et al., 2010), well-being (O’Mara et al., 2012), and positive affect (Bonanno et al., 2005), all variables that affect spending well-being (Babin & Attaway, 2000; Yurchisin et al., 2008). Therefore, it is likely that self-enhancing will affect one’s spending while shopping, as well as their overall well-being after shopping. Participants will complete measures of their current mood and self-esteem. Participants will then be randomly assigned to one of three conditions. In the self-enhancement condition, participants will think about their most important trait and write about how this trait is more characteristic of them than other college students. In the affect condition, participants will think about recent positive event that occurred in their life and will reconstruct how that event came to be. In the control condition, participants will not perform any task. All participants will then complete measures of mood and self-esteem again, followed by a shopping simulation in which they will be asked to shop for items from the UD bookstore. Last, participants will complete measures of their overall well-being, including measures of mood, stress, anxiety, depression, and satisfaction with life. It is hypothesized that participants in the self-enhancement and the positive affect condition will spend more money and experience higher well-being than participants in the control condition. It is also hypothesized that participants in the self-enhancement condition will spend less money than participants in the affect condition.

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  Do Normative and Pathological Personality Traits Overlap? A Conjoint Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the NEO-PI-3 and PID-5

  Lisa Eileen Stone

  Historically, personality disorders have been conceptualized as qualitatively distinct clinical syndromes, based on operational criteria. Consistent with this model, ten distinct set personality disorder criteria are outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). However, debate persists about the clinical utility of this categorical model, with many (Krueger, et al.) researchers supporting a dimensional model that focuses on pathological levels of normative personality traits. A recent exploratory factor analysis (De Fruyt et al., 2013) of the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3; Costa & McCrae, 2010) and The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5; Krueger, Derringer, Markon, Watson, & Skodol, 2012), suggests that normative and pathological personality traits may fall under the same common set of domains: negative affectivity-neuroticism, extraversion-detachment, openness-psychoticism, antagonism-agreeableness, and conscientious-disinhibition. However, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of this model has yet to be conducted. The purpose of this study is to further explore the relationship between normative and pathological personality traits and to test the De Fruyt et al. model by conducting a conjoint CFA of the NEO-PI-3 and PID-5. It is hypothesized that the PID-5 and NEO-PI-3 share the same underlying factor structure. Using mPlus, the model will be tested in separate samples of 300 undergraduate students at a private Midwestern university and 200 adults (> 18 years of age) from the surrounding Dayton community. Understanding the relationship between these two measures is important, as they are consistently used to diagnose and aid in treatment of individuals with personality disorders.

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  Dress Code Inside and Outside of the Classroom

  Caroline G Fahey, Jordan Lee Trenkamp

  This presentation will analyze dress code effects of academics, influence of the surrounding environment, and the argument for each position on the policy. Clothes are often a form of self-expression that help describe a person’s personality and culture. This presentation will explore reasons for dress code policies and conditions people feel a dress code is unreasonable and why.

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  Drivers of Post-Fire Regeneration in Larch Forests of Northeastern Siberia

  Eric Bradley Borth

  The Arctic is warming at an alarming rate, a phenomenon which has been causing more frequent and severe wildfires in boreal forests. The Cajander larch (Larix cajanderi) forests of Siberia are particularly important because they cover an immense area of carbon-rich permafrost soil, one of the largest terrestrial carbon sinks. The fate of this belowground carbon is intimately tied to the structure of these larch forests. Due to the fact that forest structure is largely determined by the establishment of new seedlings after forest fires, we seek to learn more about how these changes in fire regimes may change the factors that drive seedling establishment. We examine 6 Cajander larch stands in northeastern Siberia that have been burned in the past 15 years. We evaluate the importance of microsites that favor larch establishment (deemed “safe sites”), a concept that has been anecdotally recorded, but not rigorously studied. We analyze the strength of seedling preference by comparing the percentage of seedlings that establish on safe sites to the percentage of the land area that is covered by safe sites. This analysis is being carried out in burned sites with varying seed availability to determine whether seed limitation affects safe site preference. Based on our current data, we hypothesize that seed availability will be the most important driver of regeneration, and that safe sites will be more important where there is greater seed limitation. These results will help us understand the patterns of change in larch forests in the face of climate change.

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  Drosophila Eye Model to Investigate How Mutations in OPA1 and Drp-1 Genes Contribute to Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease

  Elizabeth Ann Borchers, Neha Gogia, Lydia Christine Payton, Ankita Sarkar

  Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no known cure to-date. This disease is caused by the extra-cellular accumulation of amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) peptides, which ultimately leads to results in neuronal cell death. In our study, we have used Drosophila melanogaster (a.k.a fruit fly) as our model organism (as its genome is highly conserved with humans and any insights generated here can be extrapolated to humans), and have developed transgenic fly model of AD where human Aβ42 peptides can be misexpresssed specifically in differentiating photoreceptor neurons using GAL4/UAS system, without affecting the reproductive ability and life span of flies. One of the hallmarks of AD is generation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) which triggers neuronal cell death. We have found that (1) there is a strong correlation between increased ROS levels and mitochondrial fragmentation and increased levels of ROS and that (2) a fine balance between both mitochondrial fusion, fission events is essential for normal mitochondrial/cellular functions. Any perturbations, in these process results in increased ROS levels which triggers neuronal death. In our study, we have found two dynamin related GTPases (1) opa1 and (2) drp1, which can regulate mitochondrial fusion and fission events respectively. Mutations in opa1 (an early stop signal), produces small unstable mitochondrial proteins, and increases ROS levels in neurons. Thus, we hypothesize that opa1 and drp1 are involved in regulating Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration. To test our hypothesis, we misexpressed opa1 and drp1 in Aβ42 background (using GAL4/UAS system) and checked for resultant phenotypes in the eye. Our results showed that (1) up-regulating and downregulating opa1 rescues Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration only in female flies and in male flies eyes respectively, (2) down-regulating drp1 rescues Aβ42 mediated neurodegeneration only in female flies, while (3) up-regulating drp1 did not result in any eye rescues phenotypes. This study has significant bearings on mitochondria’s role in neurodegeneration. Keywords: Alzheimer’s Disease, Neurodegeneration, Reactive Oxygen Species, Mitochondrial fragmentation

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  DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER IMAGINAL DISC MODEL TO IDENTIFY AND DETERMINE THE REGENERATION POTENTIAL OF NOVEL NOTOPHTHALMUS VIRIDESCENS (RED-SPOTTED NEWT) GENES.

  Amr Abdulkarim Alghamdi, Abijeet Singh Mehta

  Notophthalmus viridescens possess amazing capabilities to regenerate their organs but molecular-genetic mechanism driving regeneration have been hindered due to lack of genetic tools. However, Drosophila imaginal discs, the primordia for adult fly structures, exhibit stem cell like potency and serve as powerful genetic tools to address fundamental problems in regeneration. Using this system, we demonstrated the regenerative role of 5 novel newt proteins. These proteins, having new sequence motifs, have no counterparts in public databases, were identified by denovo assembly of newt transcriptome combined with proteomic validation. Using transgenic approach these genes were misexpressed in Drosophila, and RNA seq was performed on mRNA sample from third instar larva. Gene ontology terms related to development, apoptosis and cell cycle were highly enriched in the group of differentially regulated Drosophila transcripts. To determine their regenerative potential, we misexpressed candidate genes in the early eye mutant background. Surprisingly, these genes exhibit robust potential to replace missing tissues by inducing compensatory proliferation and blocking cell death. Mitotic index fold change being 6 ± 1.5, and frequency of phenotype rescue was 70%. Using Retinal determination (RD) gene expression we demonstrated that rescued mutant undergo proper differentiation. We found highly conserved Wingless/Wnt, and Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway components were downregulated to promote rescue in the domain where candidate genes were misexpressed. These pathways have been implicated in tissue regeneration in Drosophila. We further wanted to test if candidate genes can globally trigger regeneration in all tissues, and to address this question we used an established model for regeneration in wing imaginal disc. Our preliminary data from this model demonstrates that regeneration potential of candidate genes is not confined to the type of tissue or developmental stage. We therefore have identified a novel component of regeneration tool kit in newt that can trigger regeneration response in other organisms by employing highly conserved signaling pathways. In future, these studies can have a significant bearing in the field of tissue repair and maintenance. Keywords: Candidate genes, Newts, Drosophila, Regeneration, Imaginal Discs.

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  Dynamic Analysis of Alternative Mechanical Press Linkages

  Hardik Hasmukhbhai Viradiya

  The goal is this project is to compare the dynamic characteristics of alternative linkages for a mechanical press. Mechanical presses are the most common machine used in the mass production of sheet metal parts. Forming sheet metal parts, such as a car door or a tin can, involves striking a flat piece of metal with a die that shapes the part and punctures holes. A conventional press uses a slider-crank linkage and flywheel to provide a high energy strike for a short time period. A motor delivers torque to a flywheel that in turn, provides the rated capacity (tonnage) during the strike. Certain operations, such as deep drawing, require a longer dwell time than is possible with the slider-crank design. Various alternative linkages are proposed that have the ability to provide long dwell times. A dynamic analysis of each linkage is essential to understand motor demands, joint loads, and efficient design options. The linkage analyses are performed using SolidWorks multi-body dynamic simulation software.

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  Economic Restructuring in Dayton

  William David Rice

  Dayton Ohio use to be a huge and growing blue-collar community. In the past 30 years, several large factories have moved away, leaving former employees struggling to find new jobs. Drawing on Facing Project Narratives in Dayton and social science literature, this project will examine the causes and effects of economic restructuring that occurred between 1980 and the 2000s. In addition, this poster will provide an overview of efforts to overcome the unintended consequences of economic restructuring in Dayton.

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  Educating ELLs Beyond the Regular Classroom

  Frances Michaela Rogan

  Currently, there are around five million ELLs in the public school system of the United States. To be successful, many English Language Learners (ELLs) may need additional opportunities for instruction outside of the regular school day. After observing at El Puente, an after-school program for ELLs, I wanted to learn more about what makes the programs effective for ELLs. I conducted a review of the research literature to determine which strategies make the after-school programs for ELLs successful. In order to effectively support ELLs after-school, the programs need to utilize the student’s primary language, engage the parents/families in the process, have the instructors collaborate, allow time to practice what is taught, conduct the after-school session at a school but in an informal environment, and create unique ways of learning.

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  Effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on Drosophila glioma model

  Kaitlyn M Alleman, Oscar Antonio Barnes Valldejuly, Dudley Kiefer Campbell, Claire Marie Feller, Karishma Sanjay Gangwani, Michael Moran Gilbert, Katie Katherine Parker, Kirti Snigdha

  Glioma are glia-derived primary brain tumors with very poor prognosis. The standard of care is surgery followed by radio- and chemo/immuno-therapy, or combinations thereof, however, all patients with glioma ultimately die. Thus, there is a need to test if recently approved drugs can inhibit the growth and progression of this tumor. We have developed a Drosophila glioma model based on the two genetic/ oncogenic pathways known to be most frequently activated in patients viz., the Ras/MAPK pathway and the PI3K pathway. Inhibitors of these two pathways do not help to limit the progression of glioma. Therefore, it is thought that other oncogenic pathways induce glioma growth and progression. We designed a chemical screen involving drugs targeting Tyrosine kinases (Selleck Biochem Chemical library) – key enzymes that are activated by oncogenic pathways. The chemical screen involves feeding glioma containing larvae 10uM and 300uM drugs from the library at early third instar stage, then allow these larvae to grow and mature to the third instar stage (120h of development), and then dissect the brain to study effects on glioma growth and track survival on days 5-7 when other glioma positive larvae die. Here, we present our progress from this screen focusing on chemicals A2-A11.