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  Damn Hard! The Truth of Parenting a Child with Autism

  Jessica N. Carter

  According to the CDC about 1 in 6 children were diagnosed with developmental disability in the years of 2009-2017 and 1 in 54 of the children were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This is the backdrop of my research on the Truth about Parenting a Child with Autism. This survey research reached out to parents who are involved in a play project, as well as parents associated with a school for autistic children and those reached through a Facebook group. I found from the survey that many parents tend to feel a sense of worry for their child as well as judgement from other parents. Some parents emphasized things like Autistic kids want friends too. One parent summed it up: “It’s hard. Damn Hard!” In conclusion I found that parenting for autistic children is very difficult, but also very worth it. A major finding was that resources are needed for the parents in addition to the resources for the children.

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  Data Analysis on Classifying the Severity of Genetic Mutations

  Kelly Laureen Pleiman

  Cancer tumors can have thousands of mutations but determining which of those mutations actually contribute to tumor growth is critical in understanding the disease. Through the use of productive models in machine learning, this capstone project focuses on determining the severity of different genetic mutations using available data from Kaggle on the mutation’s gene, variation, and clinical text evidence. By performing data analysis and applying different models on this complex data set, the class or severity of genetic mutations on a scale from 1-9 can be predicted. Decision tree, random forest, SVD, logistic regression, and K nearest neighbor are among the models that were used to classify genetic variation. Obtaining higher model accuracies allows for better classification of genetic mutations and could eventually expedite the time pathologists spend manually classifying mutations.

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  Dayton Civic Scholars 2021 Cohort Capstone Project

  Adam Gregory Kaye, Kate Gerling, Nick K Williams, Seaniece Denee Richardson, Erin Marie Cavrak, Kelly Elizabeth Howard, Sarah N Kuhns, Kathleen E Schweninger, Jacqueline J Chmiel, John Frederick Schaller, Erin Elizabeth DeCero John Currie Dickson, Mauricio Hernandez, Widad Mukhar

  The mission of the Fitz’s Center’s Dayton Civic Scholars Program is focused on "shaping a Social Science Excellence identity within the social science programs by creating an intentional pathway from the classroom to community leadership and public service.” The 2021 Cohort focused their time over the last three years on building community relationships which has served as the foundation for their capstone project partnering with Dayton Public Schools. The intent of the project is to develop an after school curriculum to be implemented at a Dayton area elementary school. The curriculum has four focus areas to enrich student learning: Social Emotional Learning, Financial Literacy, Civic Engagement, and Health & Wellness. Each of these topics consist of 3-4 activities which builds students' knowledge of the subject area and allows for collaboration between students. It is our hope that this project will create a lasting impact on students living and learning in the Dayton community.

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  Dayton Regional Cyber Range

  John P. Auer, Margaret Lavelle Hutter, Emily A. Reynolds, Andrew Jacob Smolek

  Cyber Range assessment and scoring portfolio for OCRI

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  Decriminalization of Marijuana and how it impacts incarceration rates

  Alexander J. Roberts

  My research project looks at the decriminalization of marijuana and how it impacts incarceration rates. My belief is that the incarceration rates will decrease due to the decriminalization of marijuana and less people being incarcerated for marijuana offenses. I have chosen to look at ten different states where the policy has gone into effect and those states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Although I believe that the decriminalization of marijuana plays a major role in the decrease of incarceration rates, I cannot say that this is the main reason.

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  Delinquency and Psychopathy in Juveniles

  Lauren Kathleen Moore, Darian A. Ramirez

  Although prior research has shown that there is a correlation between psychopathic traits in youth and the propensity to commit delinquency, there is very a lack of research linking it to aggressive offending. The current study aimed to understand the association between specific psychopathic traits such as callousness and grandiosity and aggressive offending among adjudicated juveniles. Data used for the study was the Pathways to Desistance Study that followed 1,354 juveniles from their adolescence into their young adulthood years. 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. A bivariate correlation was conducted to test the relationship between these two specific traits and aggressive offending. Findings show that only callousness was statistically significantly correlated with aggressive offending. Implications of the study will be discussed.

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  Design and Creation of PB1-Peptide Fusions to Solubilize Recombinant Influenza PA Protein

  Sara M. Hubbell

  Preliminary data estimates there were about 60,000 deaths and 800,000 hospitalizations due to the influenza virus for the 2017-2018 season (CDC.gov). With the ultimate goal of alieving some of this disease burden, current research in our lab focuses on developing a new antiviral treatment for influenza, since there are very limited options for battling influenza infection besides seasonal vaccination and non-ideal medications like Tamiflu. The Polymerase Acidic (PA) influenza protein is an appealing target for drug design due to its low genetic drift and requirement for influenza replication. The first step in designing a drug to inhibit PA is to isolate and purify a soluble version of the protein to enable structure-based drug design. Recombinant PA expressed in bacteria in our lab has demonstrated very low solubility. We hypothesized that by protecting a hydrophobic binding site, a fusion of PA and its natural binding partner, Polymerase Basic protein 1 (PB1), would be more soluble than PA alone. Mutagenic PCR primers were designed and used to attach the sequence coding for a PB1 peptide to the 5’ and 3’ ends of PA’s coding sequence, resulting in two different protein fusions in cloning vectors. Golden Gate Assembly was then used to insert this recombinant DNA into expression vectors containing fusion partners to increase the solubility of PA even further. A collection of eight expression vectors with varying protein fusions have been successfully designed and cloned. Small-scale solubility testing of these constructs is underway.

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  Designing Energy Efficient & High-Speed Mechanical Presses for Improved Ram Motion using Advanced Algebraic Techniques

  Tianze Xu

  A mechanical press is a machine that shapes parts by driving a ram into metal and deforming the material into a desirable shape. As this is an incredibly common process for forming metal parts, from pop cans to car fenders, presses see significant use in industry on a global level. Two local companies, Aida Press and Nidec Minster, are serious contenders in this global market. The objective of the proposed research is to generate alternative drivetrain designs for mechanical presses that produce specialized ram motions, which is appealing to industry. The focus of this work is on mechanical presses due to their faster speeds, lower cost, greater accuracy, higher precision and energy efficient operation as compared to other pressing options. Due to their ubiquity, even small improvements yield huge savings in terms of processing time and energy consumed. The research work under this proposal is formulated to generate designs with practical dimensions and encountering forces in line with industry expectations. Moreover, these new designs will either improve dwell or improve the range of constant forming velocity, both strongly desired in industry.

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  Design of a Performance Tricycle for Persons with Paraplegia Powered By Functional Electrical Stimulation of Leg Muscles

  Nicholas Andrew Lanese

  The goal of this project is to design a performance tricycle for paraplegics whose leg muscles are stimulated to pedal via Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). FES stimulates muscle contraction with small electrical currents and has proven useful in building muscle in patients while relieving soreness and promoting cardiovascular health. An FES-stimulated cyclist produces approximately 25 Watts of power, nearly 20 times less than a typical rider. At these reduced power levels, the challenges of pedaling are amplified. For example, as the pedal follows the traditional circular path, there are portions referred to as inactive zones, where neither FES-stimulated leg actively propels the cycle forward. One possibility for reducing or eliminating inactive zones is to redesign the circular path of the pedaling motion. Bicycles have recently been marketed that feature mechanisms that employ alternate pedaling motions. In addition to addressing inactive zones, these bikes also optimize the muscle capacity of the rider to deliver torque to the wheels. The alternative pedaling paths are achieved in our tricycle design optimization by developing quasi-static models to explore traditional, crank rocker, and coupler-driver mechanisms. These mechanisms allow for a comparison of torque generation which facilitates selecting the optimal design. Rider comfort and muscle capability are future steps taken for FES riders on the optimal design. Such a tricycle is seen to be beneficial for the health, mobility, and independence of the end user.

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  Determination of a Freeze Point Blending Rule for Jet Fuel Range Hydrocarbons

  Allison Ann Coburn

  Sustainable aviation fuels are the near term solution for greenhouse gas emission reduction associated with the aviation sector. There are extensive safety requirements established by an ASTM committee that the alternative aviation fuel must meet in order to achieve approval. Freeze point is one of the safety requirements that allow fuel to remain in liquid state under severe weather conditions. Methods and models to predict the freeze point of hydrocarbon blends are scarce in current literature. In the model that is currently being used, the validated temperature range for freeze point prediction is higher than the typical range for the jet fuel hydrocarbons. For other existing prediction models, an interaction coefficient determined by an experimental result is needed in the calculation to improve the accuracy of the prediction. The goal of this study is to develop an accurate freeze point blending rule for the jet fuel range hydrocarbons to evaluate eligibility for sustainable aviation fuel purposes. Here, a wide range of hydrocarbons with various freeze points were tested. Binary and ternary blends containing Bicyclohexyl, cis1-2 Dimethylcyclohexane, and an alternative jet fuel were tested. The experimental values obtained from varying compositions of each component for the binary and ternary blends were compared with linearly predicted values by volume percent and mole percent. While the linear prediction was comparable to the experimental values, there is still an aspect hindering more accurate predictions. The speculated missing aspect is the molecular structure. From other sources, it is known that molecules with the same chemical composition but varying structure can exhibit starkly different freezing points. Due to this, further testing is being conducted on molecules with these traits.

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  Determine the Effect of Propionate on the Interactions Between Macrophages and Listeria monocytogenes

  Stephanie Marie Johnson

  Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic and intracellular food-borne pathogen that can be deadly in high risk populations. During infection in the human body, L. monocytogenes may encounter macrophages, a type of white blood cell that is critical in innate immune response both by directly targeting invading pathogens and by eliciting adaptive immune responses. During intestinal as well as peripheral infections, both L. monocytogenes and macrophages may encounter propionate, a common gut microbiome metabolite. Although propionate is shown to have various regulatory and nutritional functions, its effects on infection outcome is not well understood. Therefore, the goal of this research is to determine how the exposure to propionate by L. monocytogenes and macrophages may affect subsequent infection outcomes. Specifically, the effects of propionate on phagocytic activity of macrophages have been quantified by measuring macrophage uptake of fluorescently labeled L. monocytogenes after exposure to different propionate concentrations. Additionally, the effects of propionate on the bactericidal activities inside macrophage phagosomes was determined by quantifying the number of intracellular L. monocytogenes mutant deficient in listeriolysin O remained inside phagosomes instead of escaping into the cytoplasm. The findings of this research will provide more information on how the immune response is regulated by propionate and offer a mechanistic insight into the vast role of the gut microbiome.

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  Determining Macronutrient Needs Among Insects in UD’s Environmental Research Area

  Peter Butterfield, Brigid Morgan

  Different compositions of nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, and fat are important to sustaining insect life and maintaining functions such as moving resources or structure, building nests, and regulating pheromones. Knowledge of limiting nutrients in certain environments for different species of insects is crucial to understand further the makeup of the habitat and what could be done to mitigate a potential lack of nutrients in other similar environments. To observe how different dilutions of nutrients may affect species of insects, GUD (giving up density) vials were used. GUD vials are a method used to capture insects using various baits to attract them. We had 4 different treatments: tuna (protein rich), strawberries (carbohydrate-rich), 10% sugar dilution, and a 20% sugar dilution. These different treatments allowed us to test which nutrients the insects in the area are lacking or which substances they are attracted to. The vials were placed in 4 different areas of interest within the Old River Environmental Research Area. We picked up 1 vial of each treatment at different time intervals (1, 5, and 10 minutes). These trials were run in locations twice, and at the end of each trial, each vial was snapped shut to capture the arthropods inside. We sorted insects to order, and determined how different baits affected insect abundance. We predict that the strawberries and sugar vials will be most attractive to insects as this is a very efficient energy source to produce ATP quickly. Some grasshoppers, beetles, and insects that mostly eat plants may prefer the tuna vials however, as they may need more protein than surrounding plants can give them. The correlation between nutrient deficiency and location is important for ecological management and research, and this study should help in building the link.

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  Determining the Comparative Efficacy of Adenosine Analogues in Reducing Coronavirus Replication by Interfering Viral RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase Activity

  Juliano V. Aquilino

  Vaccines against infectious viral diseases are good in preventing those illnesses, however their application is not recommended in curing the ongoing infection. Antiviral drugs such as nucleotide analogs have been successfully used in treating various viral infections. Taking this background, current study is designed to evaluate the antiviral efficacy of adenosine analogues such as Remdesivir, Galidesivir, and 2-Chloroadenosine in inhibiting the human (HOC43) and animal coronavirus (Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus: Colorado strain) replication by interfering viral RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) activity. Molecular docking was performed to determine the interaction of adenosine analogues with viral RdRp. While In vitro efficacy for these adenosine analogues in reducing RdRp activity will be performed using affinity purified, mammalian expressed recombinant RdRp protein. The antiviral efficacy for these adenosine analogues will also be measured by determining their effect on virus titer and virus plaque assay along with their effect on cellular toxicity.

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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.