Neuroscience

Cell Quantification and Disease Progression in ALS

Ryan Chase

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the death of both upper and lower motor neurons. One hallmark of ALS is its rapid progression; 80% of patients die within the first 5 years of onset. The disease has some treatments, however, they only slow the disease progression by a few months. Although the cell types that are affected are known, the mechanism that causes the selective vulnerability of these cells remains unclear. Most genes associated with ALS are expressed through all cells, however; only specific cell populations degenerate...

Animal Science
Comparing Hunted and Non-Hunted Bison Populations Through Vocalization Patterns

Claire Chou

Bison face a significant threat from humans hunting their populations through selective harvesting or trophy hunting. Although the effects of hunting on the demography of bison is thoroughly documented, the effects on the behavior of surviving bison are not known to the same degree. In North American plains bison, ‘bellows’ are categorized as low, guttural vocalizations made by bulls during the breeding season in competitions between males. One critical area of bison behavior that hunting could affect is formant frequencies, which are peaks with a higher degree of energy...

Engineering

Classifying Hand Gestures Using a Low-Scan-Line Ultrasound Probe and a Temporal Convolutional Network

Ephram Cukier

Each year, there are more than one million amputations worldwide. However, there are currently no accurate and compact prosthetics available to patients to restore functionality to the amputated regions. Most research regarding the construction of a smart prosthetic for the rehabilitation of an upper limb amputation has revolved around the use of analyzing data from surface electromyographic (sEMG) sensors, a sensor that can detect the electrical signals that activate muscles. Although in recent years there has been researching regarding the use of ultrasound sensors (US) to identify hand gestures, prototypes have either been bulky...

Neuroscience

Motion encoding in ON alpha and PixON retinal ganglion cells

Cindy DeDianous

Motion is a significant feature of the visual world that animals depend on to survive, either by capturing prey or escaping predators. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are neurons that are responsible for processing complex features of the visual scene and transmitting that information to the brain as electrical signals called spike trains. Two pieces of visual information are needed to determine the motion of an object: its position and speed. Out of the 40 identified types of RGCs in the mouse retina, the ON alpha and PixON RGCs are most likely to encode motion, as they are abundant in the region of the retina that looks forward at prey items...

Computational Biology & Bioinformatics

Optimization of HIV Interventions in South Africa

Ali El Moselhy

Across the world, there exist over 37.9 million people living with HIV, (PLHIV) and to date, HIV has been responsible for over 35 million deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 25.7 million PLHIV, over 65% of current worldwide estimates. South Africa, out of all other countries, has the highest number of PLHIV, approx 7.7M PLHIV in 2018. There are different intervention strategies used to combat HIV. Our goal was to find the optimal combination of intervention strategies subject to budget constraints in order to minimize HIV-related suffering, also known as Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)...

Cellular & Molecular Biology

Mutation Detection for Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease in Small Breed Dogs

Tyler Handler

Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (LCPD) is a juvenile-onset hip-joint disease that occurs in an estimated 2% of small breed dogs. It is characterized by cell death to the femoral head, the part of the hip joint that acts as the ball in the ball-and-socket joint of the hip. Common symptoms include lameness, hip pain, inability to bear weight on the joint, shrinkage of leg muscles, and decreased joint function. Diagnosis is by radiograph upon clinical observation of lameness. However, the lameness does not manifest until the disease progresses, and the earlier the diagnosis, the better the recovery following treatment...

Neuroscience

The Potential Inclusion of Hemifacial Hypertrophy in the Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Criteria

Anne Jones

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a relatively common genetic disease that affects approximately one out of every 3,000 people. This genetic disease can lead to various ophthalmic conditions, tumor growth, memory deprivation, learning deficits, and several other life-threatening and uncomfortable symptoms. Genetic testing is available to confirm a diagnosis of NF1, however, differential diagnosis still requires a clinical methodology. In 1988, the National Institute of Health (NIH) synthesized a criterion of seven symptoms of NF1, of which the patient must meet two, to accurately diagnose NF1 patients...

Biochemistry

Developing and Evaluating Autobioluminescent Glioblastoma Cellular Models in 2D, 3D, and 3D astrocyte co-culture environments

Aishwarya Keerthi

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is a common and deadly brain tumor that affects 10,000-12,000 people per year. There is currently no cure for GBM, and standard cancer treatments such as surgical operations, radiation, and chemotherapy are ineffective against this disease. Studies have been conducted to help further the efficacy of treatments for GBM, however, the necessity to further understand GBM’s molecular biology has become quite evident. Autobioluminescence is the chemical self-production of light using an endogenously-supplied (self-made) substrate reacting with an enzyme and is widely used for molecular imaging...

Behavioral Science

The Protective Effect of Emotional Support against PTSD in Survivors of Childhood Trauma and the Role of Demographic Factors in Levels of Emotional Support

Anushka Kumar

While extensive research has now been conducted on how resiliency factors can protect against Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following a traumatic exposure, limited studies have focused on the protective role of resiliency factors against PTSD among survivors of childhood trauma, so I sought to determine how emotional support, widely regarded as the most important resiliency factor, can buffer the association between childhood trauma and PTSD. Furthermore, I wanted to validate previous findings on the relationship between various demographic factors and emotional support to better inform programs...

Neuroscience

Connecting Wallerian Degeneration and Ferroptosis through Kinases

Jeffrey Lee

Kinases are specific types of proteins that are able to active or deactivate other proteins within the cell. Since, proteins do all the work within the cell, kinases are extremely important. One pathway, out of many, that uses kinases is the MAPK, mitogen activated protein kinase pathway, which can help with cell death or cell growth; The outcome of the MAPK pathway depends on the stimulus. These kinases are used in wallerian degeneration, a form of axon degeneration. SARM1, a protein, plays a major role in this process of wallerian degeneration, mainly through the energy metabolism. This process of wallerian degeneration is...

Medicine & Health

The role of the gut microbiome in determining inflammatory health, using Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the Mediterranean Diet

Neil Pereira

Almost 50% of all deaths are attributed to inflammatory related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease. Recently, cardiologists have discovered the benefits of the Mediterranean diet on lessening inflammation, since it is composed of high amounts of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, seafood, beans, nuts and extra-virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), specifically, has received recent attention for its potential to positively affect inflammation. Previous research has demonstrated the drastic inflammatory changes patients can undergo when adhering to the Mediterranean diet...

Cellular & Molecular Biology

Combining PD-1 and Temozolomide to treat High-grade glioma

Avaneesh Rao

High-grade glioma is a type of cancerous tumor found in the brain that affects glial cells, which are non-neuronal cells that provide physical and metabolic support to neurons. This study specifically focuses on glial cells that are in the brain. Gliomas make up around 30 percent of all brain tumors and central nervous system tumors, and 80 percent of all malignant brain tumors. This is why it is very important to study treatments for glioma. One very researched treatment is chemotherapy, with a clinical name of Temozolomide (TMZ). Unlike many other drugs, it is able to pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB)...

Neuroscience

The Effect of UK5099 on HT22 Cell Protection from Ferroptosis

Michelle Sosner

Ferroptosis is a form programmed of cell death that can happen following injury and is receiving increased attention. It is being studied to possibly develop therapeutics for neurological diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Programmed cell death means the cell actively participates in its own demise via the synthesis of “death” proteins. It can be triggered by inhibiting the XC- transporter, a cell surface antiporter. This antiporter can import and export amino acids; in this case, it imports cysteine and exports glutamate. If this antiporter is inhibited, there will be an accumulation of glutamate in a cell causing it to die...

Medicine & Health

The Creation of a Novel Device to Improve the Evacuation of Subdural Hematomas

Jaden Tepper

A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a common brain injury characterized by a hemorrhage in the subdural space, which is situated under the skull but above the brain. SDH patients may experience symptoms including headache, dizziness, nausea, disorientation, seizure, and loss of consciousness. Subdural hematomas are extremely dangerous, and these complications result in permanent damage. In 2011, the mortality rate for patients with an acute subdural hematoma was 10.3%. There are two main surgical techniques utilized to drain SDH. The first is a craniotomy where a large section of the skull is removed, allowing for easy access...

Computational Biology & Bioinformatics

The use of random forest classifier programs in quantifying glial cells in prion-affected mice

Sebastian Verrelli

Prion diseases are a set of neurodegenerative conditions caused by prion protein (PrP). Neurodegenerative conditions are caused by misfolded variations of the normal PrP found in the brain, denoted as PrPC. Once a misfolded variant, denoted as PrPSC, is introduced to a healthy brain environment, the healthy variants are also misfolded which inhibits cells from functioning properly. The PrPSC proteins aggregate in the brain in plaque formations, inhibiting vital processes and leading to decreased mobility, memory impairment, and eventually death. Recently, ribosomal profiling has been utilized to create cell profiles of prion disease...