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  Culture and Popularity: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Dystopian Texts

  Joseph A Spieles

  The past two decades have seen a surge of dystopian novels aimed at teenaged and young adult audiences. Many of the novels have been so well received that they were rapidly adapted into films. I am investigating the cultural obsession with dystopian stories and their popularity in young adult audiences through a critical analysis of The Hunger Games trilogy, novels and films, with references to additional contemporary dystopian novels and films. My work draws from the psychology of popularity as well as studies of popular culture aimed at predicting and explicating film and novel success. I also aim to explicate the differences between dystopia as a literary genre and other forms of society demonstrated in literature that show civil unrest. I am analyzing the novels, films, and social movements behind these contemporary texts to account for their popularity in young adult culture.

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  Culture as Context: Effects of Cultural Polarization on Chinese International Student Adjustment

  Geordan L. Burress

  Due to the fact that Chinese international students are such a significant population within American universities across the country, it is worth investigating how this population typically adjusts to living in the United States and what stresses or issues are unique to them. However, it is also important to investigate whether or not Chinese international students experience positive transformations within themselves as a result of the adjustment challenges that they are faced with. This qualitative inquiry examines these vital questions surrounding Chinese international student adjustment, in order to contribute to a more holistic understanding of the complex experiences of Chinese international students.

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  Cyberbullying on UD Campus

  Kaitlin Marie Bell, Samantha M Cook, Tyler E Jasensky, Hannah Catherine Lindesmith

  An alarming statistic from the US Department of Health and Human Services states that 52% of students have been a victim of cyberbullying. More than half of students are experiencing the physical and mental threats that follow them constantly in the cyber world. Our world today is filled with the use of internet in a majority of tasks, whether in an office building or in a classroom full of students. With so many people using social media and the internet comes consequences. The idea of cyberbullying is that the internet provides an anonymity that allows a vicious comment to be said without placing the blame on a direct person. In addition, the internet is filled with fake accounts that interact with a person on a daily basis. In contrast to traditional bullying at school, cyberbullying has created an environment where a photo or statement can be shared continuously. At the University of Dayton, students have social media on their phones or computers constantly. Some of the more popular social media sites used are Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, YikYak, and Instagram. An article conducted by Flyer News expressed the concern that YikYak posed because of the ability to post racist or awful comments about others without your identity being exposed. With the increased use of social media here on UD’s campus, there is a heightened chance that cyberbullying will or already has presented itself as a serious issue. Sixty-eight percent of teens report cyberbullying as a serious issue and 81% think it is much easier to bully someone via social media/online rather than in person (dosomething.org, 2016). In conclusion, whether or not we see it often here on our campus, cyberbullying is an issue and it is up to us students to be educated on it and attempt to stop it.

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  Data Evaluation and Control of Pollutants in the Air

  Hassaan Fahim

  This project is about the data evaluation of the pollutants in the open atmosphere such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, etc. The main aim of this project is to evaluate the data for the pollutants mentioned above as well as to generate different curves with the help of data obtained for past couple of decades and to develop some curve-fit equations to predict the approximate emission values of the pollutants for upcoming future years. As environmental pollution is one of the biggest challenges we are facing now-a-days in the current technology-based world,this work also shows the different allowable exposure limits of the pollutants as per regulations provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Also, this work presents the air quality index specifications with its (U.S.EPA) different zones, providing the ways to protect our health from the long term exposure of the pollutants which can cause various diseases and disorder for living organisms, especially, human beings.

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  Depth Perception for Obstacle Avoidance using Robust Artificial Intelligence-based Defense Electro Robot (RAIDER)

  Brandon M Hampshire

  All robotic navigation requires an awareness of surrounding environment to avoid potential collisions. To help aid the navigation of the Robust Artificial Intelligence-based Defense Electro Robot (RAIDER), we employ the use of a three-dimensional depth sensor (Xbox Kinect) to detect obstacles present in the path of the robot. The depth map created from the Kinect sensor provides necessary information to the obstacle locations. Navigation commands are then computed based on these locations to allow the robot to slow when approaching the obstacles and turn away from the obstacles. Communication is established with the robot using a wireless local area network and processing of Kinect is done on an off-board computer. This allows navigation processing requirements to be communicated to the robot remotely for communication and interaction with other robots and sensors.

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  Design and Fabrication of Fourier Spectral Filter Array for Multispectral Imaging

  Chuan Ni

  Multispectral imaging has the capability to identify the state of objects based on their spectral characteristics. These are features not available with conventional color imaging based on metameric RGB (red, green and blue) colors alone. Current multispectral imaging systems use narrowband filters to capture the spectral content of a scene, which necessitates different filters to be designed and applied for each application. We have demonstrated the concept of Fourier multispectral imaging which uses filters with sinusoidally varying transmittance by time multiplexed switchable filter array in our previous paper [1, 2]. In this paper, we designed and built a five channel, spatially multiplexed pixel filter array. This enables single-shot images and makes it possible to capture scenes containing moving objects. [1] J. Jia, C. Ni, A. Sarangan, and K. Hirakawa, Fourier multispectral imaging, Optics express, Vol. 23, Issue 17, pp. 22649-22657 (2015). [2] C. Ni, J. Jia, K. Hirakawa, A. Sarangan, Design and fabrication of sinusoidal spectral filters for multispectral imaging, in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9556: Nanoengineering: Fabrication, Properties, Optics, and Devices XII.

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  Design and Prototyping of a Variable Geometry Extrusion Die to Exhibit Significant Alteration in Shape

  David C. Bell

  Extruded parts are conventionally made by forcing melted plastic through a steel die having a fixed opening that matches the shape of the part. Plastic parts made by extrusion include weather stripping, PVC pipe, and composite lumber. Variable geometry dies can change their opening shape during the extrusion process. Developing shape-changing dies technology offers the possibility of making parts with varying cross-sections that currently need to be made through injection molding. This is desirable as, compared to molding, extrusion tends to be faster and less expensive. Variable geometry extrusion dies have been designed and prototyped by the University of Dayton research team that confirms the validity of the concept. This research explores the limits of this new technology by creating a die that has substantial movement of components that form the die opening.

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  Design, Fabrication and Testing Multi-Layered Metal Wire Grids Polarizer and Its Application in Polarization Imaging System

  Pengfei Guo

  Sub-wavelength wire grids have a potential to be used in in micro-polarizers since they could provide information about the state of polarization of an image in a compact format. At the same time, the fabrication process for wiregrids is compatible with semiconductor technology. In this project, theoretical analysis, computation simulations will be conducted to investigate the influence of the design parameters on the performance of polarizers manufactured using a deep UV interference lithography. Simulations were also performed to determine if acceptable performance could be achieved using a CMOS back-end-of-line metallization process. In this process, multiple layers of the metallization could be used separated by dielectric films. In the experimental process, we will demonstrate the pixelated polarizers with 0, 45, 90, 135 degree polarization orientations as a ‘super pixel’ which repeat over entire array and integrate it with a photo-detector array. The transmission, extinction ratio, spectral and angular bandwidth will be measured to evaluate the polarization imaging system and compare to the single layer polarization imaging system.

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  Destined for Trouble? : A Prospective Analysis of the Effects of Temperament and Parenting on Externalizing Problems

  Sarah A Wilhoit

  Researchers have suggested one developmental pathway of behavior problems in childhood from infant irritable temperament eliciting negative parenting behaviors (e.g., Bell, 1968; Paterson & Sanson, 1999; Patterson 1986; Rothbart & Bates, 2006). Children and infants with an irritable temperament evoke more negative or hostile reactions from both their parents (Van den Boom et al., 1994) and parents of other children (Dumas & LaFreniere, 1993). In middle childhood, an irritable temperament predicted negative parenting, and negative parenting predicted behavior problems, although these variables were not fully prospectively assessed (Lengua & Kovacs, 2005). The present study improves on prior studies by using a fully prospective design. To do so, we used a subset of data from a large, nationally representative sample of mothers and their offspring. We first hypothesized that infant irritable temperament would predict externalizing behavior problems in mid-childhood. Second, we hypothesized that negative parenting practices (e.g., lack of maternal warmth, lack of learning stimulation, and harsh practices) would mediate the relationship between infant temperament and externalizing behaviors. Finally, we tested this mediation model both between families and within families, as a sibling comparison. Results indicated that maternal warmth and lack of learning stimulation mediated the relationship between infant temperament and behavior problems between families, but not within. Specifically, within families, infants with an irritable temperament evoked lower levels of maternal responsive, but these lower levels of responsiveness were not predictive of behavior problems. Regarding learning stimulation, neither step of the mediation was significant within families. Finally, harsh parenting did not mediate the relationship between temperament and behavior problems within or between families. However, within families, harsh parenting predicted later behavior problems. These findings suggest that passive gene-environment correlations account for much of the variation observed between families in the role of temperament and parenting in the development of behavior problems.

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  Developing Trend Equations for CPI:As Empirical Analysis 2001-2015

  Daniel J. Whitehead

  Since the 2008 recession, overall inflation as measured by CPI has been perceived to be almost non existent. In recent months, however, inflation is picking up, which in a perverse sort of way is seen as good for the economy. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to more clearly understand CPI trend inflation. To that end, I looked at a long term trend, 2001-2014, two intermediate term trends, 2001-2007 and 2009-2014 and a short term trend, 2013-2014. Monthly and yearly linear trend equations were developed for the long and intermediate term time periods. For the shorter time period both a simple monthly year-over-year comparison and a sequential monthly comparison of the change of inflation were calculated. Three key findings were discussed: 1) since 2001, the long term trend has risen close to the target rate of 2%. 2) There has been a decline in the inflation rate from 2001-2007 period to the 2009-2014 period. 3) Short term inflation rates are more robust indicating a bottoming out in the decline in inflation.

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  Dissecting the Sex-dependent Neurochemical Effects of the Rapid-acting Antidepressant Drug Ketamine with In Vivo Brain Microdialysis in Mice

  Jonathon P. Sens, Connor F. Thelen

  Major depression is a devastating mental disorder that affects nearly 20% of the world’s population. Notably, women experience major depression at roughly twice the rate of men and respond differently to different types of antidepressant drugs. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this sex-differentiated responsiveness remain a largely neglected area of experimentation with current treatments based almost exclusively on research conducted in males. Most importantly, currently marketed antidepressant drugs take anywhere from weeks to months in order to elicit their therapeutic effects, thus leading to increased drop-out rates. Ketamine is a unique, rapid-acting antidepressant drug that alleviates depressive symptomatology in both treatment-resistant depressed patients and in animal models of depression. Despite data regarding the antidepressant efficacy of ketamine in the male sex, there is scant evidence of its neurobiological effects on females. Herein, we implemented an in vivo microdialysis approach to investigate the kinetics of glutamate release in the mouse medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a brain region implicated in ketamine’s antidepressant mechanism of action. Specifically, male and female mice were administered a single dose of ketamine (10 mg/kg) following stereotactic implantation of a microdialysis probe in the mPFC. Samples were collected every 10 min in a microcentrifuge tube for one hour and glutamate was assayed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with coulometric detection. Furthermore, we identified the temporal molecular effects of ketamine on the expression of two prominent presynaptic proteins implicated in neurotransmitter release (i.e. Synapsin I and Syntaxin I). Mice were administered a single dose of ketamine (10 mg/kg) and were sacrificed at specific time-points (i.e. 0, 2, and 4h or 1, 3, and 7 days post-administration). Collectively, this study revealed that there is an important time-factor that distinguishes the neurochemical responses of the two sexes to a single dose of ketamine, thereby illustrating that different neurobiological mechanisms underlie its rapid antidepressant actions.

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  Distinctions Between Primary and Secondary Psychopathy: Gender-Match as a Facilitator of Victim Empathy?

  Reilly K Kincaid, Cody Stitzel

  Due to inconsistent findings in the literature regarding the relationship between psychopathy and empathy, this study uses a between-subjects design to examine the relationship between the constructs of psychopathy and victim empathy in 120 jail inmates. Specifically, this study seeks to identify whether primary and secondary psychopathy subtypes experience empathy for victims of their own gender (i.e., gender-matched) or for victims of the opposite gender (i.e., gender-nonmatched) differently. Thus, various types of empathy measures are used. To assess implicit affective victim empathy, participants are randomly assigned to one of two conditions, wherein they listen to a voice recording of either a male or female victim describing a physically violent attack. While listening to the recording, participants wear a heart rate monitor and measurements are taken to determine if participants experience a change in heart rate in response to the empathy provoking stimuli. To assess explicit victim empathy, both affective and cognitive, participants complete self-report questionnaires regarding how they felt while listening to the recording and how they believe the victim felt, respectively. Participants also complete self-report measures that assess for psychopathy, along with its primary and secondary variants, general empathy, and trait anxiety. It is hypothesized that secondary psychopathy will be positively related to implicit and explicit measures of victim empathy for gender-matched victims, yet will be negatively related to implicit and explicit measures of victim empathy for gender-nonmatched victims, as well as the measure of general empathy. Additionally, it is hypothesized that primary psychopathy will be negatively related to implicit measures of affective victim empathy and positively related to explicit measures of both victim and general empathy, regardless of the victim’s gender in relation to their own.

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  Do High ROE Stocks Outperform the Market with Persistence: An Empirical Analysis, 2009 - 2014

  Andrew M. Imhoff

  Academic studies by Eugene Fama and Kenneth French as well as Robert Novy Marx identify profitability as one of the factors determining the variation in excess returns in the cross section of stock returns. Using return on equity (ROE) as my measure of profitability and the S&P 500 as my universe of stocks, I examine the impact of ROE on S&P 500 stock performance for the period 2009 - 2014. I test the following hypotheses with respect to ROE: (1) Portfolios of firms with high ROE's (40% or higher) outperform the market with persistence i.e. over long periods of time, (2) Growth firms with high ROE's outperform value firms with high ROE's, (3) Portfolios of high ROE firms outperform portfolios of low ROE firms.

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  Drosophila Eye Model to Study the Role of Steroid-Responsive Ecdysone Pathway in Alzheimer's Disease

  Matthew Richard Riccetti, Ankita Sarkar

  Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is a chronic neurodegenerative condition that affects nearly 44 million people worldwide. The hallmark of Alzheimer’s pathology is the accumulation of extracellular Aβ-42 protein plaques, which cause inflammation and neuronal death in the brains of affected patients. Currently, no proper early detection methods or cures exist, but promising evidence is arising from studying the development of nervous tissue in model organisms like Drosophila melanogaster. In order to better understand the mechanism by which this disease progresses and its interactions amongst the unique nature of nerve cells, we misexpressed human Aβ-42 in the eye of Drosophila, which forms amongst the differentiating photoreceptor cells. This results in a strong neurodegenerative phenotype, which we strive to rescue through genetic and developmental techniques. This project focuses on two signaling pathways that have important implications in the development of AD. The Hippo pathway is a conserved signaling cascade that that is essential for the proper regulation of organ growth in Drosophila and vertebrates. Previous research has shown that downregulation of this cascade causes an increase in cell proliferation in developing somatic epithelium and nervous tissue, exhibiting neuroprotective effects. Recently, research has shown that the related Ecdysone signaling pathway modulates Hippo transcriptional activity in imaginal disc cells. The Ecdysone coactivator Taiman forms a unique transcriptional complex with the Hippo transcription factor Yorkie, suppressing expression of canonical Hippo targets and inducing transcription of germline stem cell factors in regions that have already differentiated. We have tested two new modulators of the Hippo signaling pathway, a downstream target protein called Ajuba and the related Ecdysone pathway, to study their interactions, ability to induce germline-like growth, and prevent the degradation of eye tissue during development in an AD Drosophila eye model. We will present our progress and future direction.

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  Dynamic Holography using Photorefractive Materials: Applications to 3D Visualization and Image Processing

  Akash Kota Kota

  Digital holography (DH) has many applications in science and engineering, especially in the recreation and display of 3D images of objects. DH is able to reconstruct the three-dimensional surface by processing holographic data recorded on a charge coupled device (CCD). Holographic data can also be recorded in a photorefractive (PR) material. In fact, dynamic real-time holographic interferometry (RHI) can be implemented by using PR materials. To implement RHI using PR materials, two beams, one called a pump and one called the object beam are introduced onto a PR material to write the hologram of the object. During the hologram writing process, these beams can couple in intensity and/or phase which thereafter are responsible for self-diffraction of these incident beams, and can also give rise to Bragg and non-Bragg orders. In this work, the exact solutions to the interaction equations of Bragg and non-Bragg orders in a PR material for the case of interacting angular spectra are obtained by numerically solving them in MATLAB©. An iron doped lithium niobate crystal is used as an example of a PR material and an incident wavelength of 514 nm is assumed. Experimentally, it has been observed that when the angle between the two incident beams is small, typically a few degrees, multiple non-Bragg orders are generated. For numerical simulations, only the interactions between the spectra of two incident optical beams (Bragg orders) and two non-Bragg orders are considered. Different beam profiles such as Gaussian and flat-tops are considered as incident beams and the spatial evolution of both Bragg and non-Bragg orders as well as their relative phase shifts are numerically obtained.

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  Effect of Combination Ice and Compression Socks on Resting Calf Blood Flow in Trained Male Athletes

  Michael J. Hudock

  Compression socks are common tools that are utilized in the realm of athletics. The purpose of the compression is to increase blood flow to the lower extremities, thereby increasing oxygen and energy sources needed for increased skeletal muscle function and/or recovery. Recently, a product has been marketed that combines the compression element and cryotherapy, with the goal being increased blood flow to the lower extremities while reducing inflammation post-workout to quicken recovery. However, to our knowledge, direct measures of blood flow using this type of product have not been performed. Thus, this study looks at the effects of compression with and without cryotherapy (e.g. icing) on the blood flow of trained male athletes. The hypothesis was that compression would increase blood flow, ice would reduce it, and a combination of both would produce an intermediate result. The present results indicate that compression, alone or in combination with ice, does not increase CBF as measured by venous occlusion plethysmograph, at rest in trained males. Furthermore, CBF was not attenuated during the ice alone condition. Taken together, the marketed effects of this product are questioned in the present experimental setup.

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  Effects of Acute Stress and Ethanol Consumption on IL-1β in Female Long Evans Rats: A Pilot Study

  Kristin Rose Creel

  Background: Acute stress may elicit many physiological, behavioral, and neuropathological responses, and studies aim to better our understanding of these responses and their effects on human behavior. However, a majority of preclinical studies that involve Long Evans rats are currently using male test subjects. This study thus aims to evaluate the physiological response of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) to various acute stressors in adult and adolescent female Long Evans rats. Methods: Female Long Evans rats were exposed to three acute stressors over the course of three consecutive days. In order, these stressors were Swim Stress (SS), Open Field with High Light (OF-HL), and Predator Odor (PO). Plasma samples were collected both prior to and following each stressor, and IL-1β levels were measured using a 96-well ELISA. For the two weeks that followed, EtOH self administration was assessed in an intermittent access two-bottle choice design, followed by a final measure of IL-1β levels. Results: No significant difference was found between the pre-stress and post-stress levels of IL-1β for any of the acute stressors. However, the general trend of our data suggests that IL-1β levels decreased following the stressor for both adult and adolescent subjects. IL-1β levels were also lower at final measure than compared to pre-stress baseline, suggesting that ethanol consumption may impact basal levels of IL-1β. Conclusion: The goal of this pilot study was to assess the physiological reactivity of female rats to various acute stressors with the hope of finding behaviorally meaningful stressors that allow us to further study the neurobiological substrates of anxiety-like behavior, stress, and ethanol consumption. Though these data are preliminary and would require further replication, they do suggest that acute stress and alcohol consumption may decrease IL-1β levels. Future studies will assess how IL-1β is affected by chronic stress in female subjects.

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  Effects of Body Weight Loading on Arch Height

  Anastasia Bjelopetrovich

  Foot functionality is integral to normal human locomotion. The most commonly assessed area of the human body studied during locomotion is the medial longitudinal arch and its deformation. The Arch Height Index Measurement System (AHIMS) is the most reliable tool to measure this arch. This system typically measures arch deformation in two baseline conditions, sitting and standing. The sitting condition is considered unweighted and approximately 10% of a person’s body weight. The standing condition is considered a loaded condition and represents 50% of body weight. The first aim of this study was to see if the baseline measurements traditionally taken with the AHIMS were valid assessments of their perspective body weight conditions. The second aim was to characterize the body weight load and arch deformation relationship. This study used the AHIMS to replicate loaded body weight conditions during gait, from 10-120% of a subject’s body weight. The subjects’ arch height was measured at twelve different body weight measurements of 10% increments (10-120%) using a real-time force data stream. The subjects were also loaded with a weighted vest that contained 20% of their body weight in order to aid them in achieving the higher loads of weight. Their arch deformation was recorded at all 12 conditions. The results will further the understanding of how the foot and specifically the arch change during ambulation.

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  Effects of single-dose dietary nitrate on oxygen consumption during and after maximal exercise in healthy humans

  Genevieve M Kocoloski

  Dietary nitrate (NO3-) has been shown to impact oxygen consumption (VO2) as well as exercise performance in a number of prior studies. To date, previous investigations have observed NO3- effects at moderate to high-intensity (e.g. time to fatigue, time trials) exercise and often in trained athletes. However, less is known in regards to maximal and prolonged exercise and the potential impact of NO3- on post-exercise excess oxygen consumption (EPOC), particularly in untrained individuals. Here, we tested the hypothesis that acute dietary nitrate supplementation would attenuate VO2 during and following cycle ergometry at maximal efforts. Six young, moderately active, healthy males (age: 26±2 years, body mass index: 23.5±0.5 kg/m2; VO2max: 37.7±5.1 ml/kg/min) performed step-wise maximal cycle exercise (8±1 min) in control (anti-bacterial mouthwash) and acute NO3- supplemented conditions [70ml concentrated beet root juice (0.4g NO3-), 2 hrs prior to exercise] on separate occasions. Measurements of VO2 (indirect calorimetry), arterial blood pressure (MAP; sphygmomanometry), and heart rate (HR; ECG) were made for 45 min prior, during, and 60 min following exercise bouts. NO3- reduced MAP at rest ~1-3mmHg and this was accompanied by reflex-mediated HR increases (2-4 bpm). Additionally, NO3- slighty attenuated VO2 max during exercise (Ctrl: 30.9±3.4 ml/kg/min vs NO3-: 29.4±3.2/kg/min) and post exercise energy expenditure (Ctrl: 112.9±22.1 kcal/min vs NO3-: 94.1±15.7 kcal/min). While NO3- supplementation may have performance benefits, especially in elite athletes exercising at high intensities, it would not be an ideal choice of a supplement to aid in weight loss and increased energy expenditure.

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  Electrical Characterization of Tungsten Oxide Based Memristor for Improved Resistive Switching

  Ayesha Zaman

  Memristor,the forth fundamental circuit element, has opened new phase in the realm of thin film semiconducting device. The non-volatility of memristors, used as Resistive switching RAM, is promising for applications such as DRAM, hard disks etc. The implementation of a memristor device with Tungsten Oxide (WOx) is presented in this work. The presentation addresses fundamental electrical characterization of the memristor devices for their switching performance. Resistive switching in WOx is bipolar in nature. The Pd/WOx/W made memristors become more conductive (resistive) when applied with a positive (negative) bias voltage. The conductance or resistance change is controlled by the re-distribution of oxygen vacancies (VOx) within the WOx film creating or removing conductive regions between the two electrodes. Here switching is analog type that refers to the incremental modulation of the device conductance. As a result the total change of resistance within the device goes higher which is in the range of 100. With the practical implementation of the suggested work we will be able to fabricate memristor devices with faster switching capability. Such Tungsten oxide based memristor provides better switching, assures non-volatile memory effect and also gives precise analog nature of a memory device for advanced neuromorphic application.

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  Encounter and Kinship: Lessons from the Marianist Universities LA Immersion

  Elizabeth A. Abrams, Timothy K. Fasano, Brandon Paluch, Kristine T. Perez

  Campus Ministry panel discussion: Students from all three Marianist Universities (Chaminade in Honolulu, St. Mary’s in San Antonio and the University of Dayton) lived together in community for a week in Los Angeles, learning about its cultural richness as well as issues of poverty, homelessness, immigration and criminal justice. They served on Skid Row, at a domestic violence shelter and urban Catholic schools, praying and reflecting on how to be leaders advancing social justice in the Marianist spirit. Hear what lessons they learned about encounter and kinship.

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  Evaluation of Mammalian Stress and Inflammatory Response to a Novel Porphyrin

  Thomas L. Bennett

  Porphyrins are a specific class of aromatic, heterocyclic compounds that are either naturally occurring or artificially synthesized. Porphyrins have demonstrated robust antibacterial properties, which arise from the generation of singlet oxygen. However, most porphyrins are photodynamic, meaning they require activation by light at an optimal wavelength. A novel porphyrin, developed by Dr. Shawn Swavey (UD Chemistry Department) has shown exceptional antibacterial efficiency against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, even without photoactivation. As P. aeruginosa infections are often the root cause behind lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, identifying a way to safely control bacterial presence is a major concern. The ability of this novel porphyrin to effectively work in the dark identified this molecule as belonging to the rare group of porphyrins that hold potential for lung therapeutics. Therefore, this project evaluated the response of human lung co-culture model following exposure to the synthesized porphyrin. The lung co- culture was comprised of A549 epithelial and U937 macrophage cells, thereby allowing for the detection of inflammatory responses, in addition to cellular viability and stress induction. The viability of the lung co-culture model was assessed after a 24 hour exposure to the porphyrin at multiple concentrations, with no induction of cellular death identified. Looking beyond toxicity, the stress and inflammatory responses were investigated through evaluation of reaction oxygen species (ROS) levels and secretion of target cytokines, respectively. Taken together, these results will help support the development of novel porphyrins for lung therapeutics through determination of their safety within enhanced mammalian models.

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  Examining Factors Associated with High Leadership Self-Efficacy Among International Women College Students in the U.S.

  Chanel M. Winston

  Leadership self-efficacy is an area of self-efficacy related to the level of confidence one has in his or her knowledge, skills, and abilities to lead others (Bandura, 1997). When leadership self- efficacy is placed within the context of student development, it has the ability to contribute to or negate from a student’s motivation to persist and succeed in leadership associated tasks (Bandura, 1993; Stage, 1996). The goal of this research is to explore how international female undergraduate students perceive their leadership abilities in relation to their personally constructed definition of leadership. Through qualitative interviews with six international female undergraduate students, this research identifies specific experiences that contribute to their leadership self -efficacy. Common themes associated with high leadership self-efficacy are pre-college leadership experiences, on campus involvement, and overall self-confidence.

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  Fall Risk Assessment of Older Adults with Dementia Attending Goodwill Easter Seals Adult Day Services Programs

  Jamie L. Wynk

  Older adults with dementia are at an increased risk for falls. However, little is known about what specific factors increase fall risk in this population. The purpose of this study was to assess performance based fall risk factors among older adults with dementia who attend day service programs in the Miami Valley so that more specific interventions can be designed to reduce future falls. To be included in this study, participants had to attend Goodwill Easter Seals Adult Day Service and have a diagnosis of dementia. There were 19 participants in this study (8 male) with an average age of 72 years old (ranged 64-86 years old). Participants were assessed for cognitive function by using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Testing also included gait speed, the Timed Up and Go test, a 30-second sit to stand test, and a grip strength test. The average MoCA score (16 points) was consistent with MoCA scores for the cognitively impaired or Alzheimer’s population. MoCA scores ranged greatly (0-29 points) signifying a wide range of cognitive abilities among this population. Participants scored lower than published age matched normative values for each measure, signifying an increase in fall risk by each parameter. In the future, an intervention should be designed that can be easily implemented in day service programs with an emphasis on targeting the strength of large anti-gravity muscles of the lower limbs and trunk.

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  Family Structure and Media Influences on Juvenile Delinquency

  Charles Edward Rice

  Although, in recent years, overall juvenile delinquency rates in the United States have fallen, juvenile delinquency remains a concern in today’s society. To quote a famous song, “…Children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way...” Throughout history, the family has been the corner stone in the education of our youth. Children learn a great deal about who they are and their place in society from the family unit. The structure of the family has changed drastically in the last 50 years. The once valued structure of mother, father and children is now accompanied by a myriad of alternative parental architypes. How does the family structure influence juveniles, does the structure of the family play a role in the delinquency of juveniles? Also, having a great influence on today’s youth is modern media. Have movies, the internet, video games and social media negatively influenced our youth and contributed to juvenile delinquency? The family, no matter how it is structured, is still the key stabilizing factor in the life of our youth. It is imperative that we exercise due diligence in protecting and nurturing our youth. The family structure and modern media might be one of many factors influencing juvenile delinquency. However, examination of these two factors seem to hold the greatest promise for the further reduction of juvenile delinquency.