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Effects Of Diet, Body Weight, & Supplementation On Human Fertility, Alexa Bryant

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Infertility, defined by the World Health Organization as “a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinic pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse” is an increasingly common condition, affecting about 10% of the population of reproductive age. This condition can have many causes but is often affected by obesity, which can render a woman anovulatory making it very difficult for her to conceive.

Weight loss has been shown to be an effective method of helping to restore menstrual cyclicity and increasing conception rates. This weight loss is best achieved through …

Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1 (Nrf1) Coordinating Changes In The Transcriptional And Epigenetic Landscape Contribute In The Progression Of Invasive Ovarian Cancer, Ana Ruas

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Despite tremendous progress in understanding of ovarian cancer, gaps remain in our knowledge of the molecular basis underlying the aggressiveness of ovarian cancer. Recently, we have shown that NRF1 (a transcription factor) contributes in the development and progression of invasive breast cancer, the role of NRF1 has remained largely unexplored in ovarian cancer. In this study, we have extended our efforts to examine the role of NRF1 in human ovarian cancer. We used a systematic approach integrating ChIP DNA-Seq computational analysis, NRF1 protein-DNA motif binding analysis, cancer signaling pathway analysis, and discovery of NRF1 regulated genes involved in ovarian cancer. …

Examining Outcome Expectations Of Wearable Performance Device Users: A Case Study Of Recreational Athletes, Tomas Medina

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

The information era has given birth to a new breed of sport management, which uses new technologies (e.g., performance apparel, wearable devices, data analytics) to improve athletic performance. Previous studies have established an individual adopts new technologies in 4 phases: Anticipation, Orientation, Incorporation and Identification. Additionally, these studies stated the most critical stages are Anticipation and Orientation, which are characterized by outcome expectations and user experience, respectively. However, there is minimal information available to sport managers describing or quantifying athletes’ expectations and experiences with wearable performance devices (WPD). The objectives of our project were to examine the relationships between WPD …

Effect Of Relaxin Signaling On Erbb2- Induced Breast Cancer, Elizabeth Ferrer

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Relaxin, a small peptide hormone, has been found to be highly expressed in several human metastatic cancers. Suppression of the relaxin/RXFP1 (Relaxin/Insulin like Family Peptide Receptor 1) signaling pathway decreases cancer progression in prostate cancer models in vitro and in vivo. However, there is contradictory published data on the role of relaxin/RXFP1 in breast cancer. Data collected in our laboratory has shown that the small molecule ML290 is a biased agonist of RXFP1 with anti-fibrotic properties. We are testing this compound in several preclinical models of fibrosis, as the therapeutic agent. The question remains whether ML290 treatment affects breast cancer …

Use Of Nuclease Digestions To Prove Dna Structural Alterations Produced By N-Methylpyridyl Porphin Binding, Edilmary Urdaneta

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Porphins have been one of the most study compounds in biochemistry since they tend to bind and to alter DNA structure. In particular, the para-N-methyl pyridyl isomer has been shown to stabilize quadraplex structures in telomeric DNA. The binding of N-methyl-pyridyl porphins to DNA was previously studied using restriction enzyme activity assays. With certain restriction enzymes, e.g., Mlu I, these compounds produced enhanced enzyme cleavage rather than the expected inhibited cleavage. These results suggest that the binding of these compounds may distort the structure of DNA. Mung bean nuclease and Bal 31 nuclease are specific for activity at locations of …

Prevalence And Predictors Of Bacterial Vaginosis (Bv) Among Pregnant Women In Rural South India, Meera Prasad

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), a common condition in women of childbearing age, is an imbalance in the levels of Lactobacillus bacteria in the vagina. Among healthy woman, Lactobacillus is the primary colonizing bacteria. The levels of Lactobacilli decrease in women who have BV. Research has found an association between BV and spontaneous abortion, low birth weight of infants, and premature rupture of the membranes. This study evaluated data from the ‘Saving Children, Improving Lives-High Risk’ (SCIL) program in India, which was initiated to conduct human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing among rural women in South India. SCIL provided antenatal care as well …

Know Your Fascia – A Review Of How Understanding Fascia Can Aid In Posture Restoration And Injury And Pain Prevention Among Various Populations, Michaela Francis

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Technology has now integrated itself into the everyday lives of modern society. With the use of computers and smartphones becoming widespread into the day to day lives of humanity, comes a drastic shift in the physiology and development of the human body to that lifestyle change. Human beings, who through evolution were optimally designed to live life as free-moving hunter-gatherers, are now destined as sedentary office workers in front of computers. In the medical world, this change is observed through the rise in cases of neck and back pain, respiratory problems, and poor cervical and thoracic mobility every year. These …

Gene Positioning In Chemosensitive And Chemoresistant Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines, Jessica Cobb

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Ovarian cancer is aggressive, silent (hidden for the majority of its development) and often resistant to cisplatin chemotherapy. Often, each cancer type has unique aneuploidy and gene repositioning, but patterns prevail; therefore, the focus of this study is to find the differences in patterns between sensitive and resistant ovarian cancer cells. If cells are resistant to cisplatin chemotherapy, then they will have specific gene repositioning and an increase in ploidy. Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) will be utilized to track repositioning and count ploidy on three different ovarian cell lines, two sensitive to cisplatin and one resistant. Twenty-two different commercially …

The Cerebellum’S Relationship To Language Function, Sophia Tchir, Carolina Vias, Jairo Munoz, Jefferson Salan

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

The idea that the cerebellum impacts language function and development is currently supported by a small but increasing number of empirical studies. This theory is further strengthened by the recognized cerebellar-ponto-cerebellar connectivity between the left perisylvian cortex and the right cerebellar hemispheres, particularly lateral regions Crus I, Crus II, and VIIb. To study the relationship between tissue volumes of manually parecellated sub-regions of the cerebellum in structural MRI and a variety of receptive and expressive language measures, we looked at 18 typical individuals (aged 9-38 years). This initial data indicated a relationship between expressive language and the volume of lateral …

How The Retrosplenial Cortex Changes Throughout The Process Of Associative Learning, Amelia Leon

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

The retrosplenial cortex, located in the posterior midline of the brain, is a small but important region that plays a role in memory and spatial processing (Vann, 2009). In fact, it is one of the first regions to undergo pathological changes in Alzheimer’s Disease. The functional role of the retrosplenial cortex in learning remains unknown. In this experiment, we evaluated patterns of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activations in the retrosplenial cortex during associative learning. We recruited 27 participants, who performed a conditional visuomotor associative learning task while we collected fMRI data. During the task, …

See The Bigger Picture: A Systematic Review On Vision Screenings And Quality Of Life, Nina Perdomo

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is one of the most common forms of vision impairment (VIs) in children. Degrees of amblyopia can vary as some cases may cause a slight distortion in aesthetic appearance while more severe cases of deprivation amblyopia can completely obstruct vision in the affected eye. As amblyopia develops, it may affect children’s quality of life in many ways. This paper covers studies done on quality of life and vision screenings to show a possible correlation between the two. This investigation refers to quality of life as area-level socioeconomic status (SES), and mental health, such as depression and …

Academic Strain And Nonmedical Prescription Stimulant Use Among High School Students, Sabrina Macias

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

With limited options and ever-increasing levels of academic strain, today, more than ever before, students across America find themselves misusing prescription stimulants for academic purposes. The growing issue of nonmedical prescription stimulant use (NPS) has been primarily studied among college student populations, where the highest rates of NPS are found. Consequently, there is a lack of research that scrutinizes NPS induced by academic strain among high school students. To help fill this gap, the extent to which academic strain is a determinant of NPS consideration/engagement among a sample of 111 twelfth-grade students from a suburban high school was studied. Survey …

Irritative Zones In Focal Epilepsy: An Eeg-Fmri Case Study, Fernando Gonzalez

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

In the absence of seizures, epileptic patients present the so-called Interictal Epileptiform Discharges (IEDs) in their EEG recordings. IED-based fMRI analysis has been successfully used for locating brain regions responsible for epileptic seizures [1,2]. This is very important to non-invasively aid the pre-surgical planning for the extraction of the epileptic foci, especially in focal cortical dysplasia, a very aggressive type of epilepsy in children, where it is usually difficult to locate the epileptic region by means of conventional clinical tools. However, clinical protocols using this approach in the United States have been barely evaluated in the past. We present the …

The Epigenetic Eeffects Of Alcohol, Am630, And Jwh-015 On Mmonocyte-Derived Dendritic Cell Function, Gianna Casteleiro

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Previous studies have demonstrated that substances of abuse such as alcohol (Aroor et al., 2014) and marijuana (Yang et al., 2014) play a role in epigenetically modifying gene expression in immune system cells through site-specific histone modifications. Interestingly, THC, the main psychotropic constituent in marijuana, is also known to interact with differentially associated genes responsible for cellular functions such as cell cycle regulation and metabolism (Yang et al., 2014). THC and related synthetic cannabinoids such as JWH-015 and AM630 are functionally similar in that they all bind to the two main cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2 (Fattore & Fratta, 2011). …

Does Obesity Affect Outcomes In Children Admitted From Trauma Centers?, Prashanth Shanmugham

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Introduction and Research Objectives: Pediatric obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. In the critical care setting, obesity has yet to be fully studied. We sought to evaluate the effects of obesity in children who are admitted to a hospital from trauma centers using Kid's Inpatient Database (KID) during 2009.

Methods: The study examined inpatient admissions from pediatric trauma patients in 2009 using the Kids´ Inpatient Database (KID). Patients (n=27599) were selected from the KID based on Age (AGE>1) and Admission Type (ATYPE=5) and assessed on Race, Sex, Length of Stay (LOS), Number of Diagnoses and Procedures, …

Hiearchies Of Eating Disorders: Fat-Phobia And Internalized Beauty Ideals In Online Communities, Aida Cardenas

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Research and discourse on Eating Disorders (ED) have a tendency to perpetuate certain

stereotypes regarding women of color, however unintentional or innocuous it may appear. The research conducted, does show that the prominent ED within communities of minorities or of lower social status is Binge Eating Disorder (BED). A Foucauldian discourse analysis of

online forums by young women with ED, such as myproana.com, would be the primary method of documenting how these women form a hierarchy of the community's ED, and analyze if it correlates with the social status primarily associated with the Eating Disorder. Within these forums, and ED …

The Immunomodulatory Role Of Alcohol On Hiv-Infected Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells, Gianna Casteleiro

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Alcohol is known to induce inflammation in the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In our previous studies, we revealed that alcohol induces cannabinoid receptors which play a role in the regulation of inflammatory cytokine production in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC). However, the ability of alcohol to alter MDDC function during HIV infection has not been clearly elucidated yet. To study the potential impact of alcohol on HIV-infected MDDC (confirmed by p24 ELISA), monocytes were isolated from commercially available buffy coats and cultured for 7 days with GM-CSF and IL-4. MDDC were infected with HIV- 1Ba-L and treated with …

Comet Assay Automation For Dna Testing, Patrick Vega, Joseph Dray, Chris Sanchez, Michael Jantz, Nicholas Noda

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Single cell gel electrophoresis, also known as comet assay, is a process used to study the formation and repair of DNA damage. Comet assay is gaining popularity as industry and academic institutions begin to use the process more for single cell analysis. Some of the limiting factors to Comet Assay’s increased implementation is its’ low sample throughput, inherent inaccuracy, inconsistency due to human error, inaccurate temperature control, and laboratories’ long sample workup procedure. In order to increase the effectiveness of comet assay, it is necessary to achieve accurate temperature control and remove human intrusion in the process while maintaining consistent …

A Meta-Analysis Of Neuroimaging Studies Of Mental Rotation”, Tatiana Barriga

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Mental rotation is a mental process of rotating an object around some axis in three-dimensional space (Zacks, 2008). While behavioral studies have been fairly consistent in their results associated with sex differences, age of the participant, angle of rotation and object complexity, neuroimaging results have not consistently replicated the regions of the brain implicated in mental rotation. In the present project, we conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to investigate the regions of activation during mental rotation, irrespective of task complexity and experimental paradigm. Studies investigating the neural correlates of a mental rotation paradigm were isolated by a Medline …

A Neurovascular Decoupling During Ictal Activity In Rats With Focal Epilepsy, Rafael Torres

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

The spatiotemporal profiles of neuronal activity, hemodynamics and metabolic rate in epileptic cortices during focal ictal activity were recently evaluated using modern imaging techniques in acute situations (4-aminopyridine). However, no studies have verified these profiles in chronic models of focal epilepsy. In this study, we combined electrophysiology and optical techniques to untangle the relationships between neuronal activities and hemodynamic responses during ictal periods in the cortices of rats with chronic focal epilepsy.

13 Wistar rats with focal epilepsy were used in this study. Candidate regions for a craniotomy were obtained from EEG source imaging and BOLD effect associated with interictal …