Life Sciences Commons^™

How Prosthetic Ankle Stiffness & Load Carriage Affect Metabolic Energy Expenditure During Walking, Erica A. Hedrick, Philippe Malcolm, Jason M. Wilken, Kota Z. Takahashi

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The ankle structures play a key role in body support, forward propulsion and leg swing. One important property of the human ankle is its ‘quasi-stiffness’, or resistance to angular motion. The ankle joint stiffness can play a role in aiding the lower leg as its rocks over the foot. Human biological ankle stiffness changes in response to changes in the mechanical demands of walking (e.g. added load or changes in speed), using active muscle contractions. However, the role of ankle stiffness in regulating metabolic energy across walking conditions is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine how …

Pregnancy In Zoo-Managed African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana): Investigating Possible Hormonal And Metabolic Indicators Of Successful And Unsuccessful Pregnancies., Chelsi Marolf

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Female African elephants (Loxodanta africana) in zoos in the United States currently have high rates of ovarian acyclicity and if they do become pregnant, the calf is often lost before or during birth. This issue likely stems from various metabolic and reproductive factors, including obesity, advanced age, and stress. While this is a complicated problem, analyzing certain hormones related to reproduction and nutrition in elephants might reveal biological indicators for successful and unsuccessful pregnancies in African elephants. The goal of this study is to create a range of hormone levels throughout a typical successful pregnancy, and to compare …

Isolating And Characterizing Novel Bacteriophages From Freshwater Samples, Mackenzie Conrin, Avery Misfeldt

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Bacteria are responsible for many Healthcare-Associated infections each year and are evolving to become multidrug resistant (MDR). Bacteriophages, also called phages, are naturally occurring bacterial viruses. These phages infect and kill their bacterial hosts. It is estimated that there are 10 different phages, per bacterium. This makes phages the most abundant entity in the biosphere. Isolating and characterizing these naturally occurring bacterial killers offers the potential for strain specific treatment of MDR infections. Such treatments, coined Phage Therapy, can be used in the fight against evolving bacterial infections. Pseudomonads are a classification of bacteria that infect a variety of plants …

Meta-Analysis Of Characteristics In Upper Missouri River Fishes: Prediction Of Invasiveness, Steph Purcell

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Invasive species are often considered a global threat due to their association with biodiversity loss and novel diseases. The Missouri-Mississippi River Watershed, including the Missouri River Basin, is particularly vulnerable to invasive species because of low species diversity following historic glaciation events. Management of invasive species is imperative in this watershed but continues to be challenging in that there are over 100 invasive species currently present in this region. The goal of this project is to identify characteristics associated with successful invasions that may assist in developing management strategies to reduce the negative outcomes caused by the establishment of invasive …

Effects Of Chronic Ethanol Exposure On Stress Coping Style And Genetic States Of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Alexander Goodman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Neurotransmitter systems are important in regulating the stress response. If a behavioral response is disproportional to a stressor it is characterized as anxiety-like behavior. Many anxiolytic compounds, such as ethanol, increase stressor engagement, but how these compounds interact with an organism on a neurogenetic level is less understood. In this study, I assessed the impact of chronic ethanol treatment on behavior and gene expression of GABA_Areceptors subunits on two strains of zebrafish. Each strain was selectively bred to display the proactive or reactive stress coping style where proactive individuals will actively engage a stressor more than reactive individuals. …

A Compartmental Network Model For The Spread Of Whooping Cough, Kimia Ameri

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Outbreaks of pertussis have increased over the past few years, drawing the attention of health care providers. Understanding the transmission mechanisms of contagious disease is critically important, but depends on many intricate factors including pathogen and host environment, exposed population, and their activities. In this work, we try to improve upon the prediction model for the exposed population. The number of whooping cough reported cases in Nebraska between 2000-2017 was gathered. The standard SEIR model is used to predict the infected numbers. The results show that the Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model prediction for the number of infected individuals is much higher …

Visual Contributions To Balance Control During Gait, Kyle Brozek

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

We propose to isolate the contributions of continuous OF to the orthogonal relationship between balance and gait control during treadmill walking using a series of conditions. Manipulating the direction of OF using a CAREN (Motek Medical, Amsterdam, Netherlands) virtual reality treadmill environment will isolate these visual contributions in human subjects as they walk. We plan to tease out the effect of OF direction on the relationship between gait and balance control by having healthy young adults perform a series of treadmill walking trials while immersed in a VR environment. This will be done by manipulating the direction of walking and …

Physiological Response To Exercise With Naturally-Occurring Carbon Dioxide Exposure, Megan Johnson

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

BACKGROUND: Carbon dioxide (CO₂) plays a normal part in gas exchange and acid-base equilibrium in the human body. With added stress or exposure, CO₂ levels can accumulate in the blood and tissues, causing hypercapnia. Research has shown that exposure to CO₂ at 4% or 40,000 ppm will cause cardio-respiratory changes, both at rest and during exercise. Lower levels may still cause changes under conditions of added stress, but this has not been elucidated. Preliminary data from our laboratory chamber suggests physiological changes at levels of CO₂ reaching 0.08% or 8,000 ppm during experiments with exercising …

Targeted Therapy For The Future: The Use Of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides Against P. Aeurginosa, Matthew Froid

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Pathogenic bacteria, such as the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are becoming resistant to our current arsenal of antibiotics at an alarming rate. P. aeruginosa is a leading cause of nosocomial acquired infections and is a primary co-morbidity in patients with compromised immune systems. One potential source of new antibiotic agents is antimicrobial peptides. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small proteins, and some have shown a high degree of efficacy and broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. An experimental AMP that has been developed by Dr. Wang at UNMC, DASamp2, has shown to be effective against virulent bacteria, including P. …

Precision Medicine: Bioinformatics Assists In Finding Accurate Treatment For Her2+ Breast Cancer In Humans, Elizabeth Russman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a gene located on chromosome 17q12 (Ferrari et al., 2016). A HER2 mutation is known to cause breast cancer, and is responsible for approximately 20% of all breast cancers.

In this project, HER2 positive breast cancer will be examined. The goal of this project is to understand the complicated gene, HER2, and how treatment needs to be more individualized and precise using bioinformatics.

Analysis Of Clustering Algorithms, Ethan Summers

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In Bioinformatics, choosing the right algorithm for a problem is very important. Choosing the wrong algorithm or one that is less efficient can make or break a project. Analyzing algorithms beforehand is key. The goal of this project is to analyze three clustering algorithms for protein protein interaction networks and compare their function and results. A clustering algorithm takes a dataset, in this case a simulated PPI (protein-protein interaction) network and groups together similar data points based on some similarity criteria. It is important to know the difference between these algorithms to get the desired results.

Effects Of Rangeland Management On Milkweed Grazing And Monarch Conservation, Brittany Poynor

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Cattle typically avoid consuming milkweed plants that contain high levels of toxic defense compounds, and therefore many people assume cattle avoid all milkweeds. However, common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) contains only moderate levels of toxic compounds, and observations suggest that cattle regularly consume common milkweed and may even preferentially graze flowers and leaves of this species. These observations directly relate to efforts to add over one billion stems of milkweed to the central USA for monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) conservation. If cattle intentionally consume common milkweed and other milkweed species, and if certain management practices can reduce …

3d Prosthetics Effects On Standing Posture In Unilateral Upper Limb Deficient Children, Keaton Young

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

3D Prosthetics Effects on Standing Posture in Unilateral Upper Limb Deficient Children

Keaton Young

Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Introduction

Upper Limb Reduction Deficiency (ULD) is a congenital disability that affects the upper limb, which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1,500 babies are born with ULD in the United States yearly ^1,2. Prior research has focused on functional treatment of the upper limbs but has lacked observance of the effects that prosthetics and limb loss incur to the trunk. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the acute effects …

Effects Of 7°C Environmental Temperature During A 3-Week Training Period, Robert J. Shute

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Approximately three weeks is required for cold temperature acclimation to occur. However, the effects of cold temperature acclimation on fitness and performance remain unknown. Purpose: To determine the impact of cold environmental temperature on training adaptations, fitness measurements, and aerobic performance. Methods: Two groups of twelve inactive male subjects completed 1-hour of cycling in fourteen temperature acclimation trials of either a cold (7°C) or room temperature (20°C) environmental temperature. A performance trial and tolerance trial occurred pre- and post-acclimation. The performance trials assessed VO_2peak and body composition. Skin and core temperature were recorded during the 1-hour tolerance trials. Tympanic …

Data Analytics Pipeline For Rna Structure Analysis Via Shape, Quinn Nelson

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a cardiovirulent enterovirus from the family Picornaviridae. The RNA genome houses an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) in the 5’ untranslated region (5’UTR) that enables cap-independent translation. Ample evidence suggests that the structure of the 5’UTR is a critical element for virulence. We probe RNA structure in solution using base-specific modifying agents such as dimethyl sulfate as well as backbone targeting agents such as N-methylisatoic anhydride used in Selective 2’-Hydroxyl Acylation Analyzed by Primer Extension (SHAPE). We have developed a pipeline that merges and evaluates base-specific and SHAPE data together with statistical analyses that provides confidence …

Large Scale Dynamical Model Of Macrophage/Hiv Interactions, Matthew M. Froid

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Properties emerge from the dynamics of large-scale molecular networks that are not discernible at the individual gene or protein level. Mathematical models - such as probabilistic Boolean networks - of molecular systems offer a deeper insight into how these emergent properties arise. Here, we introduce a non-linear, deterministic Boolean model of protein, gene, and chemical interactions in human macrophage cells during HIV infection. Our model is composed of 713 nodes with 1583 interactions between nodes and is responsive to 38 different inputs including signaling molecules, bacteria, viruses, and HIV viral particles. Additionally, the model accurately simulates the dynamics of over …

Pilot Study Of Empathy In Adults, Libby Moberg

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Empathy is of critical public health importance due to its association with relationship satisfaction and well-being (Davis & Oathout, 1987; Davis, 1983). There is growing evidence that bilingual individuals may have higher levels of empathy (Javor, 2016). One potential mechanism for this relationship is that bilingual individuals tend to have higher levels of executive functioning (Costa et al, 2008), which is linked to higher empathy because individuals are able to more easily adopt others’ perspectives. Previous studies examining this question have largely relied on self-report questionnaires assessing empathy as a general tendency (i.e., trait). No studies have examined differences in …

Gene Co-Expression Networks Analysis Reveal Novel Molecular Endotypes In Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, Jen-Hwa Chu, Wenlan Zang

Yale Day of Data

Rationale:Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is a genetic condition that predisposes to early onset pulmonary emphysema and airways obstruction. The exact mechanism through which AATD leads to lung disease is incompletely understood.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of AAT genotype and augmentation therapy on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) transcriptome, while examining the link between gene expression profiles, and clinical features of AATD.

Methods: We performed RNA-Seq on RNA extracted from BAL and PBMC on samples obtained from 89 AATD patients enrolled in the Genomic Research in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and Sarcoidosis (GRADS) study. Differential …

Exploring The Ipf Lung Through The Lens Of Single Cell Rna Sequencing, Taylor Adams, Jonas Schupp

Yale Day of Data

This poster illustrates the differences between the IPF disease-specific variety of lung macrophages and the two varieties of macrophages known to reside in the normal human lung.

Monitoring Biodiversity Using Aquatic Environmental Dna And Nanopore Sequencing, Jordan Callahan

SURE (Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience)

This project aimed to detect wetland organismal diversity on the Stonehill College campus by sequencing free aquatic eDNA collected from water samples in the seasonal wetland behind O’Hara Hall and Shields Science Center. The Oxford Nanopore MinION DNA sequencer offered real-time data collection at a relatively low cost and demonstrated an “in-the-field” workflow. DNA was extracted from water samples collected using a pump-filter collection apparatus. Protocols for Nanopore sequencing were established and surveys plan to be conducted in order to measure standing plant diversity around the sampling locations. Plant reads from each sample yielded plants primarily from the Brassica, Callitriche, …

Effectiveness Of The Smallholder Sustainability Assessment Of Food And Agricultural Systems App For Subsistence Farm Systems In Ecuador, Carter D. Allred, H. L. Boman, S. J. Clawson, C. A. Freestone, S. N. Hockett, C. A. Holden, E. R. Phipps, C. N. Quigley, M. M. Rupard, N. C. Hansen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2019

Small-scale agriculture is the primary source of food for the majority of the developing world. It is a vital component of the total global land usage for agricultural production, and sustaining and improving subsistence farms is critical for meeting global food demand as well as maintaining the integrity of agro-ecological systems. Due to the important role that smallholder farmers play in global agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN developed the Smallholder Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agricultural Systems App (SAFA), a 100-question survey tool created for simplicity and wide-reaching applicability. SAFA is flexible in nature in that …

Intro To Rna-Sequencing Lecture Slides, Ray A. Enke

Ray Enke Ph.D.

Rna-Seq Bioinformatics Analysis Using Cyverse Discovery Environment, Ray A. Enke

Ray Enke Ph.D.