Stander Symposium Projects

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  The Role of Father Involvement and Neighborhood Disadvantage on Children’s Developmental Outcomes

  Sebastian Jose Maldonado

  A positive father-child relationship is thought to make a significant impact on multiple domains of child and adolescent development. According to previous research by Keown and colleagues (2018), fathers’ involvement in children’s lives can help promote positive child and adolescent outcomes. Neighborhood conditions have also been found to be a predictor of children’s developmental outcomes. This study focuses on how father involvement as well as the neighborhood environment are related to children’s social and emotional well-being. The current study hypothesized that a positive father-child relationship will predict better child outcomes, especially in disadvantaged neighborhood environments. Hypotheses will be tested using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - 1979.

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  The Role of Propionate During the Interactions Between Macrophages and Listeria monocytogenes

  Leah Allen, Stephanie Johnson

  The human gut microbiome is recognized as an important contributor to human health. The functional roles of the gut microbiome are under active investigation to increase our knowledge in human biology and develop novel therapeutics. For example, gut microbes produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which have demonstrated regulatory and nutritional functions in the intestines and peripheral organs. However, how SCFAs contribute to defense against infectious diseases is less understood. Therefore, the overarching goal of our research is to determine the roles of SCFAs during host-pathogen interactions. More specifically, we are investigating how exposure to propionate, a key SCFA found in humans, affects the outcome of Listeria monocytogenes infections in macrophages. L. monocytogenes is an opportunistic pathogen transmitted through contaminated food. In high risk individuals, infections may become life-threatening. One unique aspect of L. monocytogenes that allows the bacterium to act as a human pathogen is its ability to grow inside macrophages without elimination by the antimicrobial arsenal deployed by the macrophages. Therefore, strategies that can compromise the bacterial intracellular growth or strengthen the antimicrobial capacity of macrophages can potentially protect individuals from L. monocytogenes infections. In this study, we investigated how propionate affects nitric oxide production, phagocytic activity, and elimination of intracellular L. monocytogenes in a cell culture model of infection. We found that propionate-treated macrophages, compared to non-treated controls, exhibited a significantly higher phagocytic activity. Moreover, activated macrophages produced decreasing levels of nitric oxide after exposure to increasing levels of propionate. Finally, the presence of propionate during infection resulted in a significantly lower intracellular bacterial numbers. Together, these results suggest that the presence of propionate can alter macrophage functions that lead to restriction of L. monocytogenes intracellular growth, an observation that will need to be further investigated to develop strategies to protect individuals from L. monocytogenes infections.

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  The Safety Impact of Raising Speed Limit on Rural Freeways in Ohio

  Oluwaseun Olufowobi

  The impacts of raised speed limits on traffic safety is an area that has generated much research, although a strong consensus has not emerged on the relationship between speed and safety. In response to the nationwide ongoing trend of raising speed limits, led to the implementation of the 70-mph speed limit on 570 miles of rural freeways in Ohio on July 1, 2013 and an additional 398 miles of rural freeways starting on September 29, 2013. The primary goal of the research detailed in this study is to investigate the safety impacts of this new speed limit using available crash, roadway, and traffic characteristics data. Statewide crash data from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018 were obtained from the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS). The study utilizes the empirical Bayes before-after study method. The intent of this method is to estimate the actual performance (in terms of crash frequency and severity) following the speed limit Increase and what the performance would have been if the increase in speed limit had not been applied.

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  The SBA B.E.S.S.T. Program: Business Experience Silicon Valley & San Francisco Today

  Laurel Aug, Liliana Capelli, Katie Dirocco, Morgan Frantz, Emma Hughes, Lauren Kastelic, Amira Learst-Ahmed, Mallory Mcavoy

  Follow students through a business and cultural experience where students worked hard to prepare for meeting professionals and their organizations with a rigorous and well-planned orientation of these leaders and their companies by faculty and each other. See companies and company culture in some of the most interesting companies (Google, LinkedIn, SalesForce, Facebook, Dun & Bradstreet, and more!) and scenery and experiences in San Francisco and more! A very comprehensive and aggressive itinerary included 6 days consisting of company visits and events with a good deal of student reflection and collaborations and meetings with alumni leaders, company visits, events with professionals, and other excursions. Come learn more about this Intersession Program!

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  The Shipwreck of the W.R. Hanna: The Significance of Scow Schooners in Lake Erie following the War of 1812

  Cassady Calder

  Lake Erie is not commonly known for its shipwrecks, yet it is one of the most shipwreck dense areas in the world, and many of the wrecks remain undiscovered. This poster session will present research that was conducted for the Ohio History Connection on the shipwreck of the W.R. Hanna. This research was in anticipation of attempting to register the wreck with the National Registry of Historic Places. The session will cover what makes the wreck of the W.R. Hanna significant as well as discuss its contributions to industry on Lake Erie. Small lake-shoring craft, while less dramatic and famous than their larger counterparts, were more important to the economy of Ohio after the release of British control on the lakes following the war of 1812. These smaller crafts deserve their places in the annals of history and this research speaks to their value in the landscape of the Great Lakes.

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  The Social Emotional Learning Language Arts (SELLA) Curriculum: A Qualitative Evaluation of Implementation

  Taylor L. Wohlgamuth

  Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process by which students incorporate skills, attitudes, and behaviors to deal effectively with life’s daily obstacles (CASEL, 2019). Social and emotional skills are predictors of school success; thus, schools are increasingly looking for ways to develop students’ social-emotional skills. SEL programs can have a long-term impact behaviorally and academically. Most SEL programs are implemented in after-school programs or added on to schools’ pre-existing daily curricula. SEL is often integrated into a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) and specifically provided to those students who demonstrate a need for it (Eklund, Kilpatrick, Kilgus, & Eckert, 2018). To date, few studies have investigated SEL programs that are delivered within the academic curriculum; programs that demonstrate alignment between SEL standards and academic learning standards remain largely unexplored. Using a qualitative inquiry design, the implementation of a social-emotional learning English/Language Arts program known as SELLA was examined from the perspective of participating teachers for its feasibility, acceptability, and alignment with the state’s learning standards for ELA. Themes fell into two categories related to teachers’ perceptions of the program experience, including: 1) areas of strength and 2) areas of suggested improvement. Additionally, three themes emerged specifically regarding alignment of the program with the state’s learning standards in writing: 1) teachers needed to independently add content to meet writing standards; 2) teachers see improvements in their students writing after the SELLA program; however, they cannot deduce if that is a direct result of the SELLA program; and 3) students who do not normally participate in the general curriculum are now participating in the SELLA curriculum. The findings are presented along with implications for future research.

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  The Sustainable Development Goals: What Do They Mean for Dayton, Ohio?

  Jessica Caroline Minichillo

  The Sustainable Development Goals seem unattainable and out of reach when just looking at them through a broad lens. After narrowing my scope and localizing many of these goals to Dayton, I was able to see where steps are being made/need to be made. Each of these goals is interconnected, and in order to see improvement in Dayton’s human rights, it is essential to find these connections within our own community. Eradicating poverty does not merely start by helping the poor, but by discovering systematic reasons behind the poverty experienced by different groups.

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  The Truth About Deception: How Social Awareness Affects Deception Detection

  Bridget Allen, Kelly Boris, Faith Plummer

  Dr. Susan Davis, Kelly Boris, Faith Plummer, & Bridget Allen The Truth About Deception: How Social Awareness Affects Deception Detection According to Ulatwski (2013), the wording of a question can bias someone’s perception of another person. The present research focuses on the differences between indirect and direct questioning in affecting a person’s ability to detect deception. Our first hypothesis is that indirect questioning as compared to direct questioning of an interviewee's dishonest responses will produce more accurate determinations of dishonesty (see Brinke et al., 2016). Data we have gathered thus far have supported this hypothesis. Female and male college students viewed four different videos of student actors giving either truthful or deceitful responses to an interviewer. The participants responded to questionnaires designed to determine the participants’ perception of the actors’ honesty. Our second hypothesis is that social awareness plays a role in the ability to accurately detect facial and body language cues related to deception. Sheldon (1996) has defined social awareness as an ability to understand others’ emotions and respond to their body language and facial expressions. Participants in this research study completed the Social Awareness Inventory (SAI) developed by Sheldon. There was a positive correlation between accurate deception detection and performance on the SAI. Despite the advantage that social awareness added to accurate detection, participants were highly overconfident in their abilities to correctly determine deception.

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  The XX Factor: Attributes of Female Leaders

  Laura Cotten Howell

  A higher percentage of women than men in the United States earn degrees from higher education institutions. Women are among the highest performers in organizations, and, in academia, earn the majority of research awards. However, women are disproportionately underrepresented in positions of leadership at all levels of higher education institutions. If this gender-based divergence of promotion is to be addressed, it is important to first understand the women who are the outliers: those who have achieved higher education leadership positions. The purpose of this literature review is to discover the characteristics and skills women in leadership positions attribute to their success. The literature suggests a high proportion of women leaders not only thrive in cultures which value collaborative teams and democratic decision-making processes, women also help to establish these cultures on campus. Women in leadership positions consider building relationships as key in creating successful change. Women also attribute their credibility and trust with the success of their leadership role. In fact, many women argued without credibility and trust, they would be unable to successfully perform their roles. The “Pipeline Theory” suggests as more educated women enter the professional workplace, more women will naturally earn top leadership positions. This, however, has not been the case. By understanding why there is a lack of women in top leadership positions of higher education I seek to examine gender inequalities and unconscious bias surrounding women leaders and preventing them from obtaining top leadership positions.

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  The Yellow Banana Paradox: Surveys and Interviews exploring Chinese Adoptees’ Identities

  Ali Tomayko

  In 1979 China created the One Child Policy in fear of overpopulation. Due to this law, families with more than one child would be forced to give up their second child or their daughters for adoption. Couples outside of the U.S. who could not get pregnant or wanted to adopt, had an opportunity to adopt babies from China. As a result the Chinese adoptees’ identities would be influenced by the adoptive country’s culture. As a Chinese adoptee, my own experiences and identities were strongly influenced by living and being raised in a white culture in the United States. I was able to reconnect with my fellow Chinese friends who were affected by this policy. I begin with the history of Chinese adoption, and previous research on adoptees’ identities. This study was accomplished by conducting 20 surveys and nine interviews. The questions asked were on how race/ethnicity, culture, and life experiences had an influence on the participant’s identities. During surveys and interviews, many of the participants expressed excitement about having this opportunity to tell their truths about living and being raised in a White culture while looking Chinese. It is important for my participants to share their stories because it adds more and different perspectives on the effects adoption has on their identities. Even though the One Child Policy in China ceased in 2015; international, trans racial, and domestic adoption will still continue to happen. Understanding how adoptees’ identity form and are influenced through their race, ethnicity and culture is important for them to understand and accept who they are in society.

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  Traumatic Experiences among Community College Students

  Taylor Roberts

  The impacts of trauma have far-reaching consequences for students’ abilities to learn. While the K-12 educational world is starting to work to counteract the negative effects of trauma, the higher education world is not responding at the same pace. While some research has been done to examine college students’ exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs), this research has primarily been conducted on four-year university students, leaving community college students, a group often more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds, out of the conversation. This mixed methods study uses anonymous survey data to examine the effects of PTEs on students at one local community college in order to understand how background factors (e.g. age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.) correlate to likelihood of exposure to PTEs.

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  Treatment of Stalking Cases in the Criminal Justice System

  Carissa M. Mitchell

  This is meant to understand the shared experiences of victims of stalking while going through the legal process. The results are intended to be shared with mayors, judges, and attorneys to inform ethical and compassionate treatment of victims of stalking.

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  Turning Dayton, Ohio, into a Human Rights City

  Alex M. Mueller

  This project forced me to view human rights standards, particularly the UN SDGs with a localized perspective. As the SDGs serve as a global blueprint that applies to every country, I commonly view them though an international lense. Conducting this research challenged me to view and then analyze them with a local perspective and see how they can be applied at the local level. In doing this, I gained a better understanding that for international human rights standards to be most fully normalized and advanced, they must be prioritized at every level of governance.

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  Understanding Chemolithotrophic Reduction Mechanisms from the Dark Marine Biosphere

  Anna Gwendolyn Blair

  As greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming and an increase in CO2 concentration in the earth’s atmosphere, the scientific community is under pressure not just to examine new technologies to reduce emissions, but also to consider the effect that increased CO2 concentration has on our terrestrial and marine ecosystems. In marine ecosystems, atmospheric CO2 dissolves and reacts with water to form carbonic acid. This diprotic acid then dissociates, contributing to a lowered pH of ocean water and affecting all levels of marine life. Fortunately, nature already has carbonate reduction mechanisms in place that can reduce the harmful effects of ocean acidification. Being able to identify individual bacteria in biological carbonate-fixing consortia can lead to adaptive systems engineered around biofilms. In this study, environmental samples taken from defined sites the dark marine biosphere (ocean depth of 2100-2300 meters) in the Gulf of Mexico will be grown in a number of selective medias with defined carbonate contents. Bacterial samples will then be analyzed using ion chromatography to measure carbonate consumption as a function of time. The data collected thus far suggests that by selectively pressuring environmental consortia from the dark marine biosphere toward the purpose of fixing carbon, mechanisms and pathways can be generated to control the level of CO2 in the marine environment.

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  Understanding Deep Neural Network Predictions for Medical Imaging Applications

  Redha Ali, Supun Samudika De Silva, Nathan Kremer Kueterman

  Computer-aided detection has been a research area attracting great interest in the past decade. Machine learning algorithms have been utilized extensively for this application as they provide a valuable second opinion to the doctors. Despite several machine learning models being available for medical imaging applications, not many have been implemented in the real-world due to the uninterpretable nature of the decisions made by the network. In this paper, we investigate the results provided by deep neural networks for the detection of malaria, diabetic retinopathy, brain tumor, and tuberculosis in different imaging modalities. We visualize the class activation mappings for all the applications in order to enhance the understanding of these networks. This type of visualization, along with the corresponding network performance metrics, would aid the data science experts in better understanding of their models as well as assisting doctors in their decision-making process.

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  UNet-based Deep Neural Network for 3D Lung Segmentation

  Dhaval Dilip Kadia

  The recent developments in the field of Medical Imaging, Deep Learning, is a crucial technology to accelerate medical tasks and perform them precisely and automatically. 3D lung segmentation has a significant role in removing the unnecessary volume of 3D CT scans and segments the actual volume of the lungs in three dimensions, to simplify the 3D CT scan for further tasks. Recently, the deep learning network such as U-Net and its variants provides excellent results for biomedical image segmentation. We propose a novel deep neural network architecture based on UNet, for the 3D lung segmentation task. The proposed model helps learn spatial dependencies in 3D and increases the propagation of volumetric information. We have investigated our network with different architectural modules, learning strategy, activation functions, optimizers, loss functions, and appropriate hyperparameters. Our proposed deep neural network is trained on the publicly available dataset - LUNA16 and achieves state-of-the-art performance on the VESSEL12 dataset and the testing set of LUNA16.

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  United Rehabilitation Services Walker

  Christina Louise Diersing

  The United Rehabilitation Services (URS) walker is a walker modified for a young girl who is blind and autistic. It reminds her to hold onto her walker with both hands by playing Disney music or vibrating in a pattern she likes when she has both hands on the walker. When she takes her hands off of the walker, the music and/or vibrations will stop.

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  Unlearning LGBTQ+ Implicit Biases on Campus

  Morgan Couture

  Just as prejudices are learned, they are also possible to “unlearn.” College is often the first opportunity students have to encounter LGBTQ+ themes and communities. Therefore, regardless of intentions, students are likely to act on biases they have formed prior to entering college. This can create a challenging environment for LGBTQ+ students to live and study in. Cognitive psychology research has identified successful strategies for reducing bias. This session proposes a customized digital learning module based on this research, aimed at helping UD students unlearn LGBTQ+ biases. This session will also be an opportunity to gain insight and feedback from stakeholders in preparation to implement this project on campus.

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  Unsupervised Real-Time Network Intrusion and Anomaly Detection by Memristor Based Autoencoder

  Md. Shahanur Alam

  Custom low power hardware systems for real-time network security and anomaly detection are in high demand, as these would allow for adequate protection in battery-powered network devices, such as edge devices and the internet of the things. This paper presents a memristor based system for real-time intrusion detection, as well as an anomaly detection based on autoencoders. Intrusion detection is performed by training only on a single autoencoder, and the overall detection accuracy of this system is 92.91%, with a malicious packet detection accuracy of 98.89%. The system described in this paper is also capable of using two autoencoders to perform anomaly detection using real-time online learning. Using this system, we show that the system flags anomalous data, but over time the system stops flagging a particular datatype if its presence is abundant. Utilizing memristors in these designs allows us to present extremely low power systems for intrusion and anomaly detection while sacrificing little accuracy.

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  Use of LU Factorization in Solving a Real-World Problem

  Zahra Hussain Al Muhaisin

  We applied the LU factorization to find the temperature distribution in a two dimensional flat rectangular metallic plate. The temperatures on the boundary are known and the interior temperature distribution will be determined. The problem will require solving a linear system: Ax = bThis system can also be solved by finding the inverse of A. However, we will show that for this problem, the LU factorization technique is more suitable.

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  Using a Genetic Mouse Model to Investigate the Role of Calcium Signaling in Mouse Behavior

  Aikaterini Britzolaki, Ben Klocke

  Ca2+ is a critical second messenger for a constellation of cellular processes, and neuronal Ca2+ signaling is no exception. Indeed, disruption of neuronal Ca2+ homeostasis has been implicated in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. Our lab has recently identified a potential new player in the neuronal Ca2+ toolkit that is expressed in the brain. Strikingly, mice that do not express this gene (KO) present a hyperactive phenotype as compared to their wild-type (WT) counterparts. However, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms by which this phenotype manifests itself are unknown. Thus, in the context of the current project, we employed high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and state-of-the-art electroencephalography (EEG) techniques to investigate the neurochemical systems and cortical rhythms that are affected by constitutive loss of this gene in mice. Indeed, our results show that KO mice exhibit neurochemical noradrenergic alterations in key brain regions associated with the pathophysiology of many neuropsychiatric disorders. Further, these mice show alterations in cortical rhythms during sleep. Overall, these data support a mechanistic role for this protein in regulating mouse behavior.

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  Using Infectious Disease Models to Study Gang Activity Through Computational Mathematics

  Allison Lenhardt, Hana Tinch

  Gang activity shows a similar pattern to infectious diseases which can be modelled using nonlinear differential equations. Using the model of infectious diseases, predictions can be made to relate gang interactions with the population and the recruitment of new gang members. By manipulating personal interaction, conviction, recidivism, and jail time, awareness of which combination of factors results in the least amount of gang activity can lead to preventative measures to see how to best minimize gang activity. We study this model using numerical solutions of systems of differential equations.

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  Using RNA-interference to Identify the Genetic Toolkit for a Fruit Fly Morphological Trait

  Jesse Taylor Hughes, Jenna Rose Rock

  Metazoan animal morphological traits result from the combined inputs of hundreds or more genes that comprise gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Each GRN utilizes various genes from the genetic toolkit of transcription factor and signaling pathway genes to control complex patterns of gene expression. However, for few traits, if any, has the full repertoire of toolkit genes been characterized for its GRN. Thus, how traits are built by regulated gene expression remains poorly understood. Here we are investigating the genetic toolkit that makes a male-specific pigmentation pattern for the fruit fly species Drosophila (D.) melanogaster. Using RNA-interference, we reduce the expression of ~588 transcription factor genes to find those necessary for the development of this trait by surveying for deviant pigmentation phenotypes. We uncovered 35 novel transcription factors involved in the development of male-limited pigmentation in D. melanogaster. Future work will focus on elucidating how each of these genes is expressed within the fruit fly abdomen as well as where each gene fits within the Drosophila pigmentation network.

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  Validation of Center of Mass Estimation in Humans

  Colin R. Theis

  Computational simulations of human movement require precise knowledge of the location of the body's center of mass (CoM). The CoM is a quantity that is impossible to directly measure experimentally. The location varies on a subject-to-subject basis and is essential for the generation of accurate simulations. OpenSim, a musculoskeletal modeling software, utilizes a built-in software function to estimate the CoM based off the geometry of the model. However, this estimation technique can be imprecise because the estimation is based solely off generic mass and geometry distributions. Since every individual is different with respect to body segment length and mass distributions, it is likely this estimation is inaccurate for all individuals. Therefore, using a new technique developed in UD’s DIMLab, we can estimate an individual's CoM more accurately than OpenSim. This estimation technique uses the statically equivalent serial chain model (SESC). The technique is based on a virtual chain, identified from a minimal amount of experimental kinematic data to be accurate. The system does not require knowledge of the total mass, or any of the individual segment mass or length properties. The SESC model is a function of the anatomical joint angles measured experimentally from the subject and terminates at the CoM. This project explores the feasibility of combining experimental CoM estimation methods with simulation based estimates of CoM. We aim to find a method to validate CoM estimates applied in simulations and improve simulation accuracy. We aim to integrate the SESC model into the OpenSim software package as the main mechanism for locating the CoM.

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  Vatican II War and Peace

  John W. Ruff

  Vatican II was the most recent ecumenical council that has been conducted within the Catholic Church. One of the most common said phrases in describing this council is that this council “updated church teachings to match the signs of our time”. Indeed, something did happen at Vatican II; many things did. A prevalent theme found within world culture around the time period of Vatican II was war. This makes sense particularly because Vatican II took place following world war II. The council did address this issue of war and peace, in one of their constitutions, Guadium et Spes. Within this presentation, I will address and analyze what Vatican II said in Guadium et Spes about war. Secondly, I will conduct an analysis on the progression of the Church’s teaching on war and peace throughout history while focusing on the Church’s peacemaking stance. Next, I will analyze the option/viewpoint of the possibility of the other argument, the argument for the legitimacy of war. Finally, I will compare and contrast the two points of views.