Digital Commons Network^™

Single-Fluorophore Sensors For Mechanical Force In Living Cells, Sarah Kricheff

Honors Scholar Theses

Mechanotransduction is the process by which a mechanical stimulus is converted to a cellular signal. This process is heavily influential of cell morphology, differentiation, and behavior. However, altered levels of mechanical stimuli are also found in many pathological contexts. For example, cancerous cells have stiffer surrounding tissue than healthy cells, and research suggests that this alters cell behavior and promotes metastasis. Despite these findings, the cellular processes behind these signaling alterations remain widely unknown. Understanding these cascades is critical, as involved proteins can give us a deeper understanding of the role of mechanotransduction, and certain proteins can potentially be targeted …

Coding Discourse Using Distributed Communicative Principles, Andrea Polin

Honors Scholar Theses

Purpose: Research has shown the positive influence of enriched environments on neuroplasticity outcomes for brain-damaged rodents. It is possible that the successful rehabilitation of adults with aphasia following a stroke requires a rich communicative environment. It has been posited that a rich communication environment is one that makes use of the distributed communication principles salience, flexibility, multiplicity, positivity, success, and flow as described by Hengst et al. (2019). The present study examines whether these principles are indeed meaningful in the context of the home environment for people with aphasia.

Methods: Conversations of four participants (two with aphasia and …

Use Of Food Waste Activated Carbons For Wastewater Treatment, Abigale Monasterial

Honors Scholar Theses

Activated carbons are often used to remove phenol from wastewater. However, they are usually derived from expendable resources, such as coal and have high regeneration costs. In this work, the adsorption of phenol on activated carbon derived from food waste was studied to understand its kinetics, determine its maximum adsorption capacity, and compare it to commercial activated carbons. Adsorption experiments were performed at 298 K for 48 hours at various pHs and initial phenol concentrations. The adsorption data was then fit to the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and intraparticle diffusion models to understand the kinetics and to the Langmuir and …

Impact Of Different Types Of Social Support On Adherence And Treatment Outcomes In An Online Behavioral Weight Loss Program, Jocelyn Rossitto

Honors Scholar Theses

This study examined the effects of four subtypes of social support (tangible, positive interaction, emotional-informational, and affectionate) on caloric intake, adherence to reporting calories, weight, and physical activity, as well as weight loss outcomes in a 4-month online behavioral weight loss intervention. Participants completed social support measures before treatment, had their height taken before treatment, and had their weight measured before and after treatment. Baseline affectionate social support and emotional-informational support both significantly predicted mean caloric intake (p = .008, p < .001, respectively). No baseline types of social support significantly predicted adherence to reporting weight, physical activity minutes or overall adherence to the online program (p’s ≥ .50). None of the assessed types of social support predicted weight loss outcomes or were associated with BMI (p’s ≥ .52). These results suggest that social support types do impact caloric intake and adherence to reporting calories in an online behavioral weight loss program. Further studies are needed to determine the best way to better integrate these social support types into future weight loss interventions.

Language Abilities As A Function Of Lateralization Of Language-Specific Brain Networks, Jacey Anderson

Honors Scholar Theses

The strength of hemispheric lateralization appears to be a good predictor of language abilities in children with developmental language impairments. Studies of healthy adults, in contrast, have generally failed to identify any association between degree of lateralization and language abilities, perhaps due to limited sensitivity to individual differences in standardized language assessments. This study used fMRI to measure the lateralization of functional task-engaged language networks in 25 healthy right-handed adults. Linear regressions examined lateralization indices (LI) of language activation in inferior temporal, superior temporal, and frontal brain networks, as a function of syntactic complexity (via story retelling), a grammaticality judgment …

Effects Of Tetrabenazine On Work Output In Rats Responding On A Novel Progressive Ratio Task: Behavioral, Pharmacological, And Electrophysiological Studies, Danielle E. Canfield

Honors Scholar Theses

Depression is a debilitating disorder that is accompanied by a variety of motivational symptoms, many of which are only minimally treated by common antidepressants. Not much is known about the underlying brain activity that is associated with these symptoms. This study utilized several different techniques to investigate the neural processes related to an animal model of depression and the motivational symptoms that accompany the disorder. Progressive ratio (PROG) tasks have been used to assess animals’ willingness to exert high levels of work to obtain highly valued reinforcers. In this experiment, a novel version of the PROG schedule was developed to …

The Genetic Influence On Subjective Well-Being: A Review Of The Current Knowledge On The Role Of Genetics On Our Sense Of Subjective Well-Being And The Implications It Has For Future Research In Improving Well-Being At Both A Population And Individual Level., Abhishek Gupta

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis project explores the genetic underpinnings of one of the most cherished attributes in the world, well-being.¹ Specifically, it attempts to understand the influence of the genome on subjective, or experienced, well-being. An investigation was conducted into current literature concerning both the structure of measurement devices of well-being as well as association studies to determine the scope of the correlation that exists between the genome and well-being and identify genetic findings of interest. Ultimately, being able to provide evidence of causality between the genome and sense of well-being at this iteration of well-being and genome research is limited, …

George Argus’S List Of Salix References, Yulia Kuzovkina-Eischen

Plant Science Articles

This bibliographical list, containing more than 3600 publications related to the genus Salix, was compiled by Dr. Argus during his long scientific career.

Examining The Geometric And Visual Details Of High Resolution 3d Lithics, Michael J. Bennett

Published Works

A technical white paper devoted to the application of various software applications for the close visual and geometric examination of high-resolution 3D lithic points. Both linear and angle measurements of textured meshes are discussed as well as the creation of cross-sections.

Infinite Volume Reconstruction Method Qed Pion Mass Corrections On The Lattice, Michael Riberdy

Honors Scholar Theses

We use the Infinite Volume Reconstruction Method to calculate the charged/neutral pion mass difference. The hadronic tensor is calculated on the lattice using a QCD+QED framework, and the mass shift is calculated with exponentially-suppressed finite volume errors. In this paper we discuss the Feynman diagrams relevant to the pion mass difference and we recapitulate the advantages of the Infinite Volume Reconstruction Method. We then discuss the extrapolation to the continuum limit, and report a charged/neutral pion mass difference of 4.52 MeV, which is within 1.44% of the accepted value.

Wellness Through Answers News November/December 2020

Articles - Patient Care

No abstract provided.

Spirituality As A Moderator Between Ptss And Cardiovascular Reactivity, Kriti Sharda

Honors Scholar Theses

Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can be distressing and produce robust cardiovascular symptoms, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, which have been implicated in higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Identifying factors that may reduce symptoms may suggest therapeutic strategies. One such potential factor is spirituality, given that spirituality is associated with both reducing PTSS and with preventing or improving CVD. We sampled 63 young college women who indicated being exposed to unwanted sexual contact. We asked them to write about their experience while we took heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) …

Wrack Lines Volume 20, Number 2 Diverse Perspectives In The Environment We Share, Katrina Mckelvin, Gerald Torres, Judy Preston, Judy Benson

Wrack Lines

Learn about bringing more diversity to the sciences, environmental justice, the Shoreline Greenway Trail, a new diversity fellowship and the unique career of Bob Pomeroy with fish and fishermen across the globe in the Fall-Winter 2020-21 issue of Wrack Lines magazine. With the theme of “Diverse Perspectives in the Environment We Share,” the issue highlights the contributions of writers and photographers from diverse backgrounds delving into topics that are local, statewide, national and international in scope.

Wellness Through Answers News V.35:No.4 September-October 2020, Wendy Urciuoli

Articles - Patient Care

No abstract provided.

Study Of A Putative Niche Adapting Operon In Microbes Inhabiting The Gut Of Blood Digesting Animals, Marlene Abouaassi

University Scholar Projects

The sialic acid utilization (SAU) operon is a horizontally acquired gene set that allows bacteria to utilize sialic acid as an alternate source of carbon and nitrogen in the guts of blood eating animals. Sialic acid often occurs as a terminal sugar in complex glycoproteins. It functions in cell signaling and adhesion. Sialic acid is an important component of the cellular envelope of animals. Some microorganisms have evolved to decorate their own surface with sialic acid to evade the host’s immune response (molecular mimicry). The SAU operon encodes enzymes that hydrolyze sialic acid from glycoproteins, transport sialic acid into the …

Theoretical Foundation Of Solution Dehydration In Porous Media: Effect Of Microstructure And Solute Interactions, Fernanda Sulantay Vargas

Honors Scholar Theses

Retention and evaporation of water have important implications in many natural and industrial settings. Here we focus on the effect of solute components (salts) as well as system geometry on evaporation rate of water. The study of multicomponent solutions with phase changes is challenging topic because of the complex and inter-connected physical phenomena that govern its dynamics. In the present work we review the theory of water evaporation and simulate evaporation of water as a function of composition and geometry for both droplets and bulk-scale (slit-like) systems. For droplets, we studied levitated droplets and droplets over hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. …

Exploring The Relationship Between Children’S Vocabulary And Their Understanding Of Cardinality: A Methodological Approach, Justin Slifer, Emily Carrigan, Kristin Walker, Marie Coppola

Honors Scholar Theses

Is there a relationship between vocabulary and children’s understanding of cardinality? Does the way in which we classify cardinality data as tested by the Give-a-Number task affect finding such a relationship? This thesis explored these questions using a methodological approach, by testing the relationship between children’s receptive vocabulary scores and Give-a-Number scores classified in two different ways, the traditional knower-level assessment, as well as by calculating the proportion of trials answered correctly. A significant correlation was found between participants’ receptive vocabulary scores and Give-a-Number scores using both manners of classification, independent of the children’s ages. The results were compared with …

Study Of A Putative Niche Adapting Operon In Microbes Inhabiting The Gut Of Blood Digesting Animals, Marlene Abouaassi

Honors Scholar Theses

The sialic acid utilization (SAU) operon is a horizontally acquired gene set that allows bacteria to utilize sialic acid as an alternate source of carbon and nitrogen in the guts of blood eating animals. Sialic acid often occurs as a terminal sugar in complex glycoproteins. It functions in cell signaling and adhesion. Sialic acid is an important component of the cellular envelope of animals. Some microorganisms have evolved to decorate their own surface with sialic acid to evade the host’s immune response (molecular mimicry). The SAU operon encodes enzymes that hydrolyze sialic acid from glycoproteins, transport sialic acid into the …

H-Atom Ladder Operator Revisited, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

An error laden note (Am. J. Phys., 34, 984,(1966)) concerning the ladder operator solution to the hydrogen atom electronic energy levels is corrected.

Wellness Through Answers News V.35:No.3 July-August 2020, Wendy Urciuoli

Articles - Patient Care

No abstract provided.

Neoliberal Legacies: Peru, Potatoes And The Challenges Of Agricultural Reform, Emma Belliveau

Honors Scholar Theses

Peru and the potato; the two have been linked together for almost 10,000 years. This relationship has developed and born rich food, cultural heritage, and agricultural tradition. Once Spain, one of the dominant global and colonial powers, entered the mix in the 16th C, the makeup of Peru's potato growing industry changed for good. While the potato catapulted Europe's population out of hunger and allowed the Western world to modernize, Peru became merely a stomping ground for raw materials. The economy of Peru--to this day--is dependent on exporting raw materials, which means exporting agricultural goods as well. At one time …

Contributions Of Gyra And Parc Mutations And Qnrs2 Acquisition To Ciprofloxacin Resistance In Aeromonas Veronii Hm21, Daniel J. Silverstein

Honors Scholar Theses

In recent years, ciprofloxacin resistant (CpR) Aeromonas veronii and A. hydrophila strains have been isolated from the wounds of patients receiving leech therapy. Genome comparisons of these CpR isolates revealed the presence of chromosomal mutations in gyrA and parC as well as the gain of qnrS2 on either a large, 34 kb, conjugatable, low-copy plasmid, pAv42, or on a small, 6.8 kb, high-copy plasmid, pAh1471. The minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC, for Cp of these clinical isolates ranged from 1 to ≥32 µg/mL and some harbored a qnrS2 containing plasmid. We wanted to assess the contributions of these factors in an …

Applying Machine Learning To Neuroimaging Data To Identify Predictive Models Of Reading Disorder (Rd), Spencer Low

Honors Scholar Theses

Over the last 20 years, advances in computational neuroimaging and computational power have made it feasible to create predictive models (Woo et al. Nature Neuroscience 2017). Predictive modeling is an approach that uses pattern recognition techniques (machine learning) to develop models using brain data to predict clini­cal (or educational) outcomes, differential diagnosis and subtyping, and inform development of new treatments (Doyle et al Royal Society 2015, Haynes Neuron 2015, Orrù et al. NBR 2012; Woo et al. Nature Neuroscience 2017). In recent years, machine learning algorithms have been implemented to develop a model (pattern classifier) using neuroimaging data to predict …

Investigation Of Neoprene Medical Gloves: Analysis Of Material Properties, Durability, And Bacterial Barrier Efficacy, Amanda Agui

Honors Scholar Theses

This work aims to investigate the material properties, durability, and bacterial barrier efficacy of neoprene for applications in the healthcare/medical field. A special focus on material stiffness and fatigue failure will be explored. Additionally, manufacturer regulations and testing will be inspected to ensure medical gloves made of neoprene blends have a proper lifespan for its desired application in the healthcare community. The resistance of protective gloves and its ability to withstand perforation failure will be investigated to guarantee the safety of users holds extreme importance. Lastly, an analysis of the bacterial barrier efficacy of neoprene gloves will be determined.

Cultural Food Habits As A Social Factor Of Health Among Immigrants In New Haven, Connecticut: A Focused Ethnographic Study, Luke Anderson

University Scholar Projects

Diet-related health disparities are well documented in immigrant populations. This study aims to help better inform nutrition interventions. It did so by working with migrant members of the New Haven community to explore their perceptions of the nutrition of the food they eat and relate it to how this food is grounded in their cultural identity and social belonging.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-Dioxygenase Modulates The Ability Of Enterobacter Hormaechei To Induce Cryptococcus Neoformans Melanization, Amy Nelson

Honors Scholar Theses

In this study, we performed transposon mutagenesis to create a library of Enterobacter hormaechei mutants and developed a melanization assay to identify mutants that could not induce the typical melanization phenotype in Cryptococcus neoformans. Relevant phenotype labels included: “hypomelanizer”, a total lack of melanization; “hypermelanizer”, an increased melanization; or “abnormal”, an increased melanization with complete color change of the assay plate to a reddish-brown. Genomic sequencing of 47 mutants and bioinformatic analysis allowed us to pinpoint the transposon insertion site in each E. hormaechei mutant to identify the genes that were affected. A single mutant that induced the abnormal …

Kcnq2 Localization In The Brainstem, Christina Valera

Honors Scholar Theses

KCNQ2 channels are potassium channels that serve to control neuronal excitability. Loss of function mutations in these channels are known to cause various forms of epilepsy. Recently, KCNQ2 R201C and R201H gain of function mutations have been shown to exhibit an exaggerated startle response and other unique phenotypes uncharacteristic of epilepsy. These phenotypes resemble hyperekplexia, a condition in which glycine neurotransmission in the spinal cord and brainstem is affected. While KCNQ2 has widespread localization throughout the brain, its presence in the brainstem remains unknown. We used immunostaining to determine the localization of KCNQ2 in the vagus nerve and hypoglossal nerve …

Evaluating Driving Performance Of A Novel Behavior Planning Model On Connected Autonomous Vehicles, Keyur Shah

Honors Scholar Theses

Many current algorithms and approaches in autonomous driving attempt to solve the "trajectory generation" or "trajectory following” problems: given a target behavior (e.g. stay in the current lane at the speed limit or change lane), what trajectory should the vehicle follow, and what inputs should the driving agent apply to the throttle and brake to achieve this trajectory? In this work, we instead focus on the “behavior planning” problem—specifically, should an autonomous vehicle change lane or keep lane given the current state of the system?

In addition, current theory mainly focuses on single-vehicle systems, where vehicles do not communicate with …

Design Of Versatile Feedback Control System Components For Selective Laser Sintering, Thomas Chessman

University Scholar Projects

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing technique that involves using a laser to fuse powdered material together, layer by layer, in order to create a 3-D product. Despite its numerous benefits over traditional methods of manufacturing, including higher efficiency, versatility, and the ability to process many materials, selective laser sintering suffers from its propensity to generate structural errors during operation.

Feedback control has been shown to improve fabrication quality in other laser-based additive manufacturing techniques when implemented properly. Widespread exploration of applying feedback control in SLS might lead to significant performance improvements in this form of manufacturing.

This …

Wrack Lines Volume 20, Number 1, Too Big? Too Late? Acting Locally To Take On The World's Major Challenges, Tessa Getchis, Tom Verde, Syma Ebbin, Michael Pascucilla, Judy Benson

Wrack Lines

ourney from the labs, classrooms and art studios of UConn to a threatened Caribbean island to the waters of Long Island Sound in the Spring-Summer 2020 issue of Wrack Lines.

The articles deal with subjects ranging from plastic pollution to solar-electric boating to a project at a school for girls in the Dominican Republic. This issue’s theme: “Too Big? Too Late? Acting locally to take on the world’s major challenges” summarizes the common thread: the stories all give examples of people doing their part to make some daunting problems a bit less overwhelming.