Poster Sessions

Students who do not have a sense of belonging in the classroom are more likely to become disheartened and give up when faced with new challenges. Furthermore, with the sudden growth of remote learning due to COVID-19, it may be even more difficult for students to build those necessary connections with others in the course. We propose a recommendation system to suggest solutions to students' challenges. This system aims to help foster a sense of belonging by showing students that they are not alone in their challenges. This pilot system utilizes students' reflections from previous semesters to generate recommendations for current students. Students were asked to reflect on their learning challenges and potential solutions in a course. The system uses sentence transformers, a machine learning method to convert text to vectors, and cosine similarity to calculate the similarity between the challenges of current and prior students. A current student is then recommended solutions written by previous students who had the most similar challenges. The system used a dataset of 186 previous students from the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters of a software engineering course with a total of 1,199 anonymous student responses. To evaluate the system, we ask participating students to complete a survey before and after reviewing their recommendations to measure their sense of belonging. Various belonging factors were measured, such as membership, affect, acceptance, trust, and seclusion. The post-survey also asked participants to rate the recommendations received. We performed this study in a software engineering course in the summer semester of 2021. A total of 16 students responded to both of the surveys. Results showed that participants rated 70% of the recommended solutions as useful. The comparison of students' belonging before and after use of the system suggests an increase in their sense of membership and acceptance and a decrease in the desire to withdraw. Research has shown that self-reflection in the classroom encourages students to think deeply about their learning experiences and benefit both the learners and instructors. This system can then allow reflections to help future learners by recommending solutions and increasing students' sense of belonging through sharing experiences.

The third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States is pancreatic cancer, >95% of which is Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma or PDAC. In the last 40 years there has been no improvement in therapy for PDAC. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: MUC1 is a transmembrane protein with a large number of sugar residues, and is expressed on normal glandular epithelial cells. In PDAC, MUC1 is overexpressed and has less and aberrant sugar residues attached to it and is designated tumor-associated MUC1 (tMUC1). Over 80% of human PDACs express tMUC1. In an NCI initiated study, out of 75 tumor antigens, MUC1 was ranked the second most targetable antigen to develop cancer vaccines. Furthermore, the 72 amino acid cytoplasmic tail of MUC1 (MUC1 CT) is reported to aid in oncogenic signaling leading to tumor progression and metastasis by blocking cell death. A novel monoclonal antibody, TAB004, has been developed specifically against tMUC1. TAB004 detects tMUC1 with a high rate of specificity and sensitivity and spares recognition of normal epithelial MUC1. Treatment with TAB004 curbs PDAC cell survival by blocking MUC1 CT associated oncogenic signaling and renders the cells more susceptible to standard chemotherapy drugs. Several human PDAC cell lines based on their tMUC1 expression were grown in media with heat-inactivated serum to ensure that it is devoid of complement proteins. Cells were treated with various concentrations of TAB004 antibody, control IgG, 5-FU, Paclitaxel (PTX), or Gemcitabine and the IC50 was determined using colony forming assay. Once IC50 was determined, cells were treated with combinations of TAB004 and the drugs. CFPAC and MiaPaca2 cells were treated with IgG or TAB004 for 24 hours and transcriptomics analysis was performed. To determine apoptosis, treated cells were stained with Annexin V-FITC and PI, and analyzed by flow cytometry and expression of cleaved Caspases by western blot. Data analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism 9.1 and a p value of <0.05 was considered significant. CFPAC cells were injected in nude mice and treated weekly with IgG or TAB004, and tumor growth was monitored. TAB004 treatment alone inhibited the colony forming ability of most of the human PDA cell lines. In addition, when combined with Gemcitabine, PTX, or 5-FU, TAB004 significantly increased anti-tumor efficacy of the drugs. Transcriptomics data revealed a number of differentially expressed genes in IgG vs TAB004-treated cells which are possibly responsible for inhibition of colony forming potential in these cells. Annexin V-FITC and PI staining and increased cleaved Caspases confirmed induction of apoptosis in these cells. TAB004 treatment significantly slowed tumor growth and reduced tumor burden in nude mice compared to IgG treatment. TAB004 inhibits colony forming potential of PDAC cells and enhances the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs. TAB004 phosphorylates MUC1 CT and activates apoptosis in PDAC cells. TAB004 slows tumor growth in vivo. Further analysis of the transcriptomics data will determine the mechanism of TAB004 induced apoptosis and sensitization of PDAC cells to drug-induced killing.

Cathemerality is a unique and flexible activity pattern found mostly in lemurs. Cathemeral lemurs exhibit relatively evenly distributed activity across the 24-hour period. Although some species are broadly recognized as being cathemeral, other species have activity patterns that are still undetermined. The activity patterns of animals are largely influenced by environmental cues such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, and lunar illumination. However, the ways that animals respond to these cues are dependent on their own morphology and adaptations to a particular niche. This study examined the activity patterns of three species (Eulemur mongoz, Lemur catta, and Varecia rubra) of semi-free ranging lemurs living in the same 5-acre forest enclosure at the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Myakka City, Florida. Cross-species studies on captive and semi-free ranging populations can control for environmental variables and allow for inferences to be made about the driving forces of these activity patterns. Two individuals from each of the three species were fitted with accelerometers and activity was recorded in one-minute intervals for 45 days. Hourly temperature, hourly humidity, daily rainfall, day length, and nightly illumination index (NII) were also recorded. The mean daily activity divided by the mean nightly activity was obtained for each individual (DN ratio) and used in GLMM, ANOVA, and ANCOVA analyses. Daily mean activity and nightly mean activity were also used for some analyses. Due to the failure of an accelerometer and the introduction of a newborn into the V. rubra group, this species was excluded from cross-species analyses. Results suggest that daily temperature, rainfall, and humidity have little influence on semi-free ranging lemur activity when compared to their wild counterparts. However, day length and NII had a significant influence on E. mongoz activity and some influence on L. catta activity, although it was not significant. ANCOVA analyses controlling for the influence of day length and NII revealed that there was a significant difference in activity patterns between species, but that temperature, humidity, and rainfall still had no significant influence. Overall, mongoose lemurs were found to exhibit a more cathemeral activity pattern (DN ratio = 1.13) than ring-tailed lemurs (DN ratio = 1.67) and were found to exhibit more nocturnal activity than diurnal activity when NII was high. An understanding of the behavioral flexibility of lemurs and the evolutionary context of cathemeral behavior would allow us to make inferences about the impending impacts of climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances and provide us with insight on how we could mitigate or minimize these impacts on endangered lemur species. This knowledge also helps us to make informed decisions about relocations, breeding programs, animal welfare, and the release of a previously captive animal. Primates provide many ecosystem services to humans and are important members of their ecological communities. However, they face many threats and populations worldwide are continuing to decline despite current conservation efforts.

Although the military claims its diverse makeup as one of its greatest assets, the authentic voices of diverse servicemen and women have rarely been presented in the current public discourse and scholarly research. Therefore, it is important to highlight the unique experiences of the women of color student veterans that have served and honored our country every day. The purpose of this study is to identify the major challenges experienced by women of color student veterans pursuing their civilian transition through higher education. This study intends to reveal the ways that institutions may better serve and support their holistic development throughout their transition years in higher education. Through in-depth personal interviews, I explored the experiences of eight women of color student veterans who served in three different military branches. The years of their service ranged between two and 20 years. While each participant’s individual experience was quite unique, the entire data set reveals that minority women veterans shared similar life experiences and emotions throughout their most pivotal transition period. The participants demonstrated a strong sense of independence at a young age, leading up into adulthood. The participants exhibited some notable personal characteristics, such as being ambitious, goal-oriented, and resilient. The participants detailed how the lack of structure during their civilian and college transition posed a challenge. Most importantly, the participants discussed their racial experiences as women of color in the military and higher education contexts. Details of their perspectives suggest that each participant acknowledges their identities of race and gender at least once during their transition, with some alluding to the idea that one identity appears more or less salient, depending on the situation. Through this study, we continue to investigate women of color student veterans’ unique experiences, which will generate pragmatic suggestions for institutions of higher education trying to find more efficient ways to extend their support for diverse groups of student veterans on campus.

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) comprised of a reverse transcriptase (TERT) and an RNA template (TR) for extending linear chromosomes to preserve genomic integrity and address the end replication problem. The TR catalytic core, responsible for executing reactions to extend linear chromosomes, resides near the 5’-end of the telomerase RNP and is functionally conserved amongst eukaryotes. Until recently, studying the conformation of cellular telomerase RNP has been challenging due to its complex structure and low abundance in vivo. We employed a new approach coupling structure-specific in vivo chemical modification with mutational profiling, followed by next-generation sequencing to elucidate the conformation of the TbTR catalytic core. We investigated whether proper assembly of catalytic core components of telomerase is required for RNA folding and function through affinity purification of the telomerase RNP complex from T. brucei, then probed the native RNA structure using mutational profiling. Immunoprecipitated telomerase demonstrated telomere repeat addition activity, suggesting that this RNA is vital to the active telomerase complex. We observed that T. brucei TR exists in two distinct folding states in discrete developmental stages within insect and mammalian hosts. The described work provides a detailed analysis of in vivo folding architecture of telomerase RNA at nucleotide resolution. Because telomerase is the key mechanism employed by the parasite to preserve telomere integrity and thus, maintenance of sub-telomeric virulence genes, we anticipate that developing a greater understanding of TR dynamics in telomerase function will provide crucial insights into T. brucei telomere synthesis, sub-telomeric virulence gene regulation and parasite survival.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued since 2020 because of the emergence of the multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concerns (VOC) giving rise to different transmissibility, infectivity, and lethality. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the newly evolved Omicron as SARS-CoV-2 VOC on 26th November 2021 because of its high transmissibility, capable of evading the immunity developed from either vaccination or naturally developing from previous infections or antibody-drug therapies. Monitoring of the COVID-19 infection in the community through wastewater surveillance was reported last year in multiple articles, and recently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of the USA adopted this method for monitoring the COVID-19 infection pattern throughout the country aiming to prevent outbreaks through quick administrative response. In this study, we aimed to ascertain the first appearance of the Omicron variants at the Mecklenburg County area and how these variants outcompeted other strains over time by analyzing wastewater samples collected from different residence halls from UNC Charlotte and nearby wastewater treatment plant (Mallard Creek). We applied Digital Droplet Polymerase Chain Reaction (ddPCR) technology to detect and quantify Omicron variants using three different mutation assays targeting the S gene (N764K and N856K) as well as N gene (Del 31-33). First, we determined the specificity of the three assays to detect Omicron accurately in a controlled study containing Omicron and Delta positives. Both N764K and N856K showed specificity in detecting the Omicron variant. Using these two assays, we first detected the Omicron variant on the 19th November 2021 from the wastewater sample which is earlier than the first clinical detection on 3rd December 2021 at Mecklenburg county. After this point, we have detected this variant in multiple samples throughout December 2021. During the month of January 2022, the prevalence of the Omicron variant outcompeted all other variants. This surveillance method for the variant analysis can give a real-time transmission dynamic of the Omicron variant which can help the administration to take quick necessary public interventions such as awareness, preparedness, and control measures.

Background: Bacterial meningitis is associated with devastating inflammation within the central nervous system (CNS), mediated by both resident brain cells and the recruitment of inflammatory leukocytes, including neutrophils. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of this inflammatory disorder are poorly understood. In our previous studies, we have demonstrated that the neuropeptide substance P is capable of exacerbating bacteria-associated inflammation within the CNS. In the present study, we have begun to determine whether substance P can augment CNS cell-mediated recruitment and/or activation of neutrophils in response to bacterial challenge. In the present study, we have employed human microglia (hµglia) and neutrophil (HL60) cell lines to investigate the ability of resident CNS cells to recruit and activate neutrophils following challenge with Neisseria meningitidis, a major causative agent of bacterial meningitis. Furthermore, we have begun to investigate the effects of the neuropeptide substance P on human glial and neutrophil responses to this bacterial challenge. Utilizing fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), we confirmed the expression of mature human neutrophil markers on the surface of differentiated HL60 cells. In addition, we have used specific capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to assess the inflammatory responses of both cell types to N. meningitidis and/or bacterial products in the presence or absence of substance P. Finally, we have initiated migration assays employing Transwell tissue culture plates to assess the ability of microglia-derived chemotactic factors to recruit neutrophils. We demonstrate that human microglia-like cells produce inflammatory mediators in response to the bacterial products lipopolysaccharide and Pam3Cys-Ser-(Lys)4 trihydrochloride, and whole viable N. meningitidis infection. Such responses include the production of the potent inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the key neutrophil chemoattractant IL-8. Importantly, we have found that differentiated human neutrophils (as determined by relative expression of the cell surface markers CD11b, CD35, and CD71) constitutively express the specific receptor for substance P (neurokinin-1 receptor; NK-1R). Furthermore, we have determined that substance P can augment the expression of IL-8 by neutrophil-like cells stimulated with bacterial products. These preliminary studies indicate that human glial cells respond to bacterial components and N. meningitidis to produce key inflammatory mediators, including the neutrophil attracting chemokine, IL-8. Moreover, differentiated HL60 human neutrophil-like cells constitutively express NK-1R, the receptor for substance P, and this neuropeptide can exacerbate their responses to bacterial components. Collectively, these studies support the notion that substance P can exacerbate bacteria-induced glial responses that serve to recruit neutrophils to the CNS and/or augment their activation upon their arrival. Ongoing studies employing Transwell migration assays are being conducted to determine whether substance P can directly or indirectly augment the ability of N. meningitidis-challenged microglia to induce neutrophil migration.

Background: Osteomyelitis is a serious bacterial infection of bone that is associated with progressive inflammatory tissue damage. Staphylococcus aureus is the principal causative agent of osteomyelitis and can enter bone via the bloodstream or surrounding tissues following injury or surgery resulting in disease that is often refractory to therapies such as debridement or antibiotic treatment. Furthermore, the increasing incidence of infections associated with antibiotic resistant strains of S. aureus has compounded this problem such that new treatment strategies are needed urgently. Osteoblasts can be invaded by S. aureus and serve as an intracellular bacterial reservoir for chronic infection. However, this infection can be perceived by osteoblasts via an array of microbial pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). As such, infected osteoblasts play an important role in the abnormal bone formation and inflammatory damage associated with S. aureus infection. IFN-β is released by leukocytes in the presence of pathogens and has been shown to negatively impact intracellular bacterial growth. However, it is unclear whether such production is beneficial or detrimental due to their complex roles in the regulation of immune and tissue homeostasis. Methods: We have used RNASeq analysis was employed to assess transcriptome expression in isolated primary murine osteoblasts. We have assessed the time and dose-dependent production of type-I interferons by murine osteoblasts following infection with S. aureus by specific capture ELISA. Furthermore, we have assessed the level of expression of various interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) in osteoblasts following S. aureus infection by immunoblot analysis. Finally, in on-going experiments we are assessing the effect of the STAT1 inhibitor, fludarabine, on interferon stimulated gene protein expression. Results: Our RNAseq analysis revealed an upregulation in the expression of the type-I interferon, IFN- β, as well as the ISGs, IFIT1, IFIT3, PLSCR1, SLFN2, IFI205, and IRGM2, that encode products that can confer protection to cells following infection, in S. aureus-challenged osteoblasts. Finally, Murine osteoblasts display elevated levels of IFN-β and IFIT1 protein expression following S. aureus infection in both a time- and dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Together, these data indicate that osteoblasts produce type-I IFNs following infection with S. aureus and demonstrate altered expression of key ISGs. In the present study, we have determined whether infected osteoblasts respond to S. aureus with the production of type-I interferons and/or their stimulated gene products. It remains to be determined whether such responses function to limit bacterial burden or, rather, exacerbate the inflammatory bone damage associated with osteomyelitis.

Software defined networking (SDN) has provided researchers and IT practitioners the ability to rethink how we architect computing infrastructure, manage computer networks, and introduce new network functionality. Advancements in packet programming, automated solvers and open networking operating systems allow for more robust and resilient computer networks that can dynamically manage traffic and resolve configuration conflicts and policy errors. Network security researchers continue to improve on the standard architecture that relies on varying firewall solutions for perimeter defense, security information and event management (SIEM) applications to aggregate network events and network access control (NAC) solutions to fill in the security gaps of internal network security. In this paper, we look at recent advancements of foundational networking paradigms and propose an alternative for deploying security functionality, traditionally seen at the edge of the networks, to network switches within the entire network. We attempt to show how this model will increase security and information gathering efficiency.