Life Sciences Commons^™

Nmda Receptor Inhibition On Rodent Optimal Decision-Making In The Diminishing Returns Task, Seth Foust

Research Psychology Theses

There has been growing interest in using N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists as treatments for mood disorders, but there is still much to learn about their cognitive effects. Research shows NMDA receptors can affect decision-making, and the antagonist MK-801 has had varying effects in rodents. Specifically, some have reported impairments in working memory while foraging behaviors remained intact, while others have demonstrated changes in choice behavior related to delay or risk in behavior tasks. We investigated the role of NMDA receptors in the specific paradigm of optimal decision-making to further confirm MK-801’s effects and to explore whether inhibiting NMDA receptors alters …

Identity And Body Image: How Bicultural Influences Affect The Development Of Negative Body Image And Disordered Eating In Korean American Adolescents, Abigail G. Brown

Honors Projects

The objective of this research project is to examine the existing literature related to culture, body image, and disordered eating in Korea and the United States as they are related to the identity and body image formation of Korean American adolescents in the United States. Because there is not much existing literature specifically investigating the experience of Korean American adolescents, this paper aims to synthesize the current research regarding Korean and United States culture to create a summary of factors that contribute to the development of negative body image and/or disordered eating in this population. In addition, these factors will …

Humanity In Animals: A Exploration Of The Complexity Of Elephants As Intellectual Beings, Xing Z. Huang

Honors Projects

Loxodonta (Elephants) are endangered species with only around 40,000-50,000 left in the world. They are part of the Elephantidae family with only three known existing species. Known for their cognitive capacity in their ability to recognize themselves in a mirror among many other actions, such as using self-made tools to aid them in their daily lives. Through past studies, it can be seen that vocalization and physical touch are the key steps of communication. Elephants have demonstrated their ability to distinguish between different frequencies and utilize them to communicate changes in the environment or indicate the absence of a herd …

Creating Project Contrast: A Video Game Exploring Consciousness And Qualia, Pierce Papke

Honors Projects

Project Contrast is a video game that explores how the unique traits inherent to video games might engage reflective player responses to qualitative experience. Project Contrast does this through suspension of disbelief, avatar projection, presence, player agency in storytelling, visual perception, functional gameplay, and art. Considering the difficulty in researching qualitative experience due to its subjectivity and circular explanations, I created Project Contrast not to analyze qualia, though that was my original hope. I instead created Project Contrast as an avenue for player self-reflection and learning about qualitative experience. While video games might be just code and art on a …

Social Creatures: The Impact Of Solitary Confinement On Psychophysiological Health And How Inmates Percieve Their Humanity And Social Well-Being, Julia Austin

Honors Projects

This paper will define and examine the use of solitary confinement within the United States prison system and review its mental, physical, and social impacts. As social creatures, human mental and physical well-being depends on meaningful social interactions absent in segregation units. As it currently stands, vulnerable populations, including racial minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and those with developmental disabilities or psychological disorders, are at risk of irrevocable harm and abuse within these facilities from staff as well as other inmates. With a rotating 80,000 inmates held in solitary confinement every day, the current structure of the prison system deemphasizes rehabilitation and …

Human Trafficking And Nutrition: Assessing The Effects Of U.S. Public Policy On Food Security And The Malnourishment Of Refugees, Moxie R. Mccandless

Honors Projects

This research paper aims to assess the challenges associated with human trafficking within the lived experience of refugees, specifically focusing on food security, and the resulting system shaped by existing United States policies and programs. By examining this complex relationship, the study seeks to shed light on the influence of power dynamics on fulfilling basic human needs and to propose more effective strategies for improving food security among marginalized populations.

A comprehensive literature review is conducted, and a community nutrition needs assessment is performed in King County, Washington. Qualitative interviews are conducted with human trafficked organizations, government officials, and experts …

Overexpression Of Foxf2 In Prostate Cancer Cells Causes An Increase In Cancer Cell Apoptosis And A Decrease In Proliferation, Vaughn Poon

Honors Projects

FOXF2 is a transcription factor that plays a crucial role in organ development, and recent studies have shown that it suppresses tumor growth and progression in mouse prostate models by attenuating the cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) phenotype and transcriptionally downregulating Cxcl5. However, the effects of FOXF2 overexpression in prostate cancer cells have not been extensively studied. Here, we investigate the impact of FOXF2 overexpression in prostate cancer cells and demonstrate that it leads to a significant increase in cell apoptosis and a decrease in proliferation. These findings suggest that FOXF2 may have potential as an immunotherapy drug target for prostate …

An Analysis Of Mesophotic Macroalgal Species Richness And Abundance In Puget Sound, Mathea Kurtz-Shaw

Honors Projects

Mesophotic ecosystems are important, light-dependent communities that act as an area of transition for shallow and deep-water organisms. Macroalgae are prominent members of these communities whose growth is influenced primarily by depth and light levels. Even though they are important community members and habitat-builders in these mesophotic ecosystems, macroalgae are highly understudied, especially in temperate environments. To examine these understudied communities, macroalgal coverage, richness, and light intensity at 3 different depth levels across 4 sites in Puget Sound, USA were compared using videos collected during SCUBA diving. All but three of the transects were within the surface irradiance limits classified …

Survivorship Of Columbian Black-Tailed Deer In A Predator-Free Environment, Grace Hope Barthelmess

Honors Projects

Future management of Columbian black tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) populations requires an understanding of survivorship and potential drivers of mortality. Little is currently known about the survivorship of O. h. columbianus, specifically in a predator-free environment. Analyzing the survivorship of deer in these contexts may be crucial for wildlife conservation efforts throughout the United States, as it could provide insight into how deer populations may be impacted by lack of population control by predation. Here, I present age analysis of O. h. columbianus based on the cementum annuli of the lower first molar in 489 males …

The Development Of A Global Shoreland Information Database May Help Determine The Appropriate Bacteria And Nutrient Technology Needed To Remediate Oil Contaminated Shorelands, Tiffany Ann Veeder

Honors Projects

The use of oil and its derivative products is well known world-wide. The benefits of oil are many and its products, for example, range from gasoline used in our automobiles to its use in plastics, building products, and medical supplies. Oil spill hazards associated with oil extraction, production, and transportation can have devastating impacts on the environment and local economies. When oil spills happen in the water, for instance, major shorelands are placed at risk of significant harm. As oil contaminates shorelands, the impacts can range from killing sea creatures and seabirds to destroying entire ecosystems. To help mitigate the …

Heterogeneity Of Gene Expression In Peanut-Allergic Cells May Be Related To Differing Cell Subpopulations, Sophia R. Tekorius

Honors Projects

Peanut allergies can have severe and life-threatening complications. By understanding the biology of individuals struggling with this disease, better treatments can be developed. This project explores the possibility of two phenotypically distinct cell types within CD154+ cell types in patients with peanut allergy. Previous studies show that there is a Th2 cell subpopulation associated with allergies, and within effector CD4+ memory populations two distinct phenotypes have been found. This project expands upon this research at the genetic level and through bioinformatic analyses, including the production of heatmaps, the project has found evidence for differing gene expression in two cell subpopulations. …

Salicylic Acid Response To Simulated Herbivory In Geographically Distinct T. Heterophylla And H. Discolor Populations, Amy E. Castle

Honors Projects

It is commonly known that plants may produce salicylic acid as a chemical defense response to wounding, although the phenomenon has usually been observed with regard to insect herbivory. Stem and leaf tissue of two species, Tsuga heterophylla and Holodiscus discolor, which are often eaten by deer, were extracted in methanol and analyzed by HPLC to quantify salicylic acid concentration in experimentally wounded or control samples. No salicylic acid response was detectable in T. heterophylla, suggesting it is a less useful candidate species for future study. Some but not all H. discolorsamples had a measurable salicylic acid …

The Kinetic Signatures Of Antibody Binding To M. Genitalium Adhesin Protein Fragments, Margaret C. Lunn

Honors Projects

Mycoplasma genitalium is a sexually-transmitted bacterial pathogen that persists in patients by adherence to cells through matrix glycoproteins and evasion of host antibodies. The MgpB and MgpC adherence proteins consist of variable and conserved regions. Variable regions undergo antigenic variation to avoid specific antibodies. However, the C-terminus (MgpB-4a) does not vary, is highly immunogenic, and antibodies to this region inhibit attachment and promote bacterial killing in vitro. To better understand how M. genitalium avoids clearance by antibodies to MgpB-4a in vivo we used surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to measure kinetic values of binding events. Binding of polyclonal rabbit antibodies (3935 …

Determining The Genetic Control Of Neural Tube Malformation Through Genetic Interactions With Idgf3, Elli N. Fox

Honors Projects

Genetic mutations disrupting human neural tube formation can lead to birth defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly. Defects can result in lack of neural tube closure in either the caudal (spina bifida) or cranial (anencephaly) regions. Little is known about the genes that cause these malformations. Researchers have been using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster in an attempt to determine genes responsible for neural tube malformations. Recently, an ortholog of human chitin-like protein, imaginal disc growth factor 3 (Idgf3), has been identified as important in the proper formation of Drosophila egg dorsal appendages. However, the molecular mechanism responsible for …

How Music Therapy Effects The Traumatized Brain: Neurorehabilitation For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Through Music Therapy, Jordan Winter Payne

Honors Projects

This review discusses the neurological components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how both structures and processes in the brain are altered in individuals with the disorder, specifically the neural network that includes the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. This impacts awareness and responsiveness to stimuli. After examining these aspects, invasive and non-invasive treatment approaches are examined, with a specific emphasis on the treatment approach of music therapy. Musical stimuli are processed in many areas of the brain, so it has therapeutic potential for modulating neurological changes. Music therapy applies music clinically to address a variety of goals …

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …

Epigenetics Of Host-Pathogen Interactions: The Effect Of Acetosyringone On Ti Plasmid Methylation Patterns In Agrobacterium Tumefaciens C58, Genevieve Roberts

Honors Projects

The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 can transfer a portion of its tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid to plant hosts in response to the plant wound signals, including Acetosyringone. The portion transferred is aptly titled Transfer DNA (T-DNA) which encode genes involved in tumor production and biosynthesis of a unique bacterial food source called opines that provide an advantage to the inducing Agrobacterium. The Ti plasmid contains a number of genes, including the virulence region that enables T-DNA transfer. Epigenetics investigates how chemical modifications to DNA that don’t alter sequence are used to control gene expression (for example, genes involved in pathogen …

Costs Of Group Locomotion: How Infant-Carrying And Group Members Mediate Walking Speed Decisions In North American And East African Populations, Leah M. Bouterse

Honors Projects

A major portion of humans’ activity-based energy expenditure is taken up by locomotion, particularly walking. Humans can offset the energetic expenditure of walking in numerous ways, both evolutionary (such as changes in body shape) and culturally. Behaviorally, people can choose to walk in a variety of ways, including alone or with a group, carrying loads, and walking quickly or more slowly. All of these behaviors have energetic outcomes and as such can be important windows into how populations and groups adjust to different constraints. While sex differences in speed of paired walkers have been established by others, the dynamics of …

Exploring The Impact Of Olfaction On Short-Term And Long-Term Maternal Recognition In Peromyscus Californicus, Mariah F. Conley

Honors Projects

Previous studies have established a connection between social behavior and olfaction, in that as anosmia causes a decrease in perception of social cues, social behavior itself decreases. Studies investigating maternal behavior specifically have focused on foster care, in which the behaviors formed during parturition are conserved and displayed with unrelated pups. The combination of long-term retention of maternal behavior, maternal recognition, and olfaction has yet to be explored. In this study, I induced anosmia in Peromyscus californicus, a monogamous, biparental species, and analyzed their behavior with their own pups and with foreign pups in the days after birth, as well …

Human Locomotion: Examining Energy Costs And Human Behavior Associated With Load-Carrying, Gailynn Benjamin

Honors Projects

The energy expenditure during load-carrying depends on the mass of the load, the position of the load on the body, and if tools are used to help transfer the load. When the load being carried is a human child, strategies employed to cope with the increased energetic burden should include males carrying older and heavier children, arm use decreasing as children become older, and tool use increasing as children become older. To uncover whether people make energetically-mediated decisions to carry children, 236 adult males and 314 adult females were observed walking around parks in Seattle, WA, while carrying a child. …

Changing Climates, Fading Cultures: A Study Of Place Annihilation As A Result Of Climate Change, Brooks A. Bolsinger

Honors Projects

Abstract

Research has established the phenomenon of cultural annihilation: the notion that the members of cultures can perceive a sense of loss when the geography upon which their culture is built undergoes a dramatic destructive change. This review examines prevailing literature to uncover existing and expected ways that climate change will impact cultures, specifically damaging the shared history that is infused into the geographic traits that make up a culture’s homeland. It examines three case studies - Native American tribes in Alaska, the island nation of the Maldives, and the country of the Netherlands – to highlight vulnerabilities that these …

The Effects Of Arginine Vasopressin On Maternal Behavior And Aggression In Peromyscus Californicus Mothers, Nathaniel Ng

Honors Projects

Research studies since the 1950s have shown that a chemical within the brain called arginine vasopressin (AVP) is associated with the modulation of many different social behaviors in mammals. Some of these behaviors are related to parenting, such as parental care initiation, aggression, social recognition, depression and anxiety. Understanding the physiology behind AVP regulation could allow for the creation of new therapies for treating human social disorders, such as using an AVP receptor antagonist to attenuate anxiety. This project examines how neural injections of AVP and an AVP receptor antagonist affect both maternal care and aggression in female Peromyscus californicus …

Comparing Population Density Estimation Techniques For Columbia Black-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus Columbianus): Fecal Standing Crop And Distance Sampling Methods, Jubilee D. Brenneman

Honors Projects

I estimated deer density and population size on Blakely Island, WA, using the fecal standing crop (FSC) method described by Martin et al. (2011). I compared the FSC method with a well established and broadly applicable estimation method, distance sampling. Additionally, architecture of a commonly browsed shrub, Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor), was measured as an indicator of browsing pressure. Fecal standing crop was estimated by counting pellet groups along 26, 100 x 2m line transects. Deer density was estimated using these data and the equation derived by Martin et al. (2011). Distance sampling consisted of recording perpendicular distance …

Relationships Between Equine Management Practices And Intestinal Parasite Infection, Abigail Pagel

Honors Projects

Parasitology is an important area of veterinary medicine, but the risk factors for high parasite loads are not well-understood. Equine intestinal parasites can cause extensive disease and death. In the current study, the relationship between equine intestinal parasite loads and adherence to veterinary guidelines for equine management practices was studied. Satisfactory adherence to guidelines regarding food, pasture, and flooding management was related to lower parasite loads. Adherence to guidelines regarding deworming, quarantine, bedding, and water did not appear to lower parasite loads. Still, adhering to these guidelines has been shown to improve equine welfare, even if they are not related …

Split-Spinach Monitoring Of Rna Aptamer Assembly, Tucker A. Rogers, Grant Andrews

Honors Projects

As insights into RNA’s many diverse cellular roles continue to be gained, interest and applications in RNA self-assembly and dynamics remain at the forefront of structural biology. The bifurcation of functional molecules into nonfunctional fragments provides a useful strategy for controlling and monitoring cellular RNA processes and functionalities. Herein we present the bifurcation of the preexisting Spinach aptamer and demonstrate its utility as a novel split aptamer system for monitoring RNA self-assembly as well as the processing of pre-short interfering substrates. We show for the first time that the Spinach aptamer can be divided into two nonfunctional halves that, once …

Emergence, Scale, And The Layered Model Of Biological Systems, Katie Morrow

Honors Projects

The layered model of the world—the view that the physical universe is in some important sense ontologically stratified into levels—has commonly been applied in a variety of philosophical contexts, particularly in discussions of reductionism about causation, properties, or theories in science. In this paper I question whether this model, as traditionally understood, adequately reflects a contemporary scientific understanding of the world. Utilizing the layered model, philosophers have tended to focus on composition as the salient interlevel relationship, and to describe systems at temporal instants; while biologists stress the importance of the spatiotemporal scale of description and the environment in governing …

Brainstorm: Violence, Videogames, And Learning To Say “I Don’T Know” – Part 2, John J. Medina Ph.D.

Brainstorm

This is the second (and final) installment in a series examining the effects of videogames on aggressive behavior in the people who play them.

We just finished looking at a study suggesting that violent videogames represent a deep, causal risk factor for inciting violent behavior in kids — a loving parent’s worst nightmare. We are about to look at a second article, published right after the first, which says exactly the opposite.

Brainstorm: Violence, Videogames, And Learning To Say “I Don’T Know” – Part 1, John J. Medina Ph.D.

Brainstorm

Confirmation bias is a term I have been thinking a lot lately, especially as the familiar gun­control/ gun­freedom pugilists take their respective corners on the far sides of our televisions.

One particular subject has to do with the role violent videogames play — or do not play — in creating aggressive tendencies in the people who play them (particularly young males).

Brainstorm: Experiences Are Better Than Things, John J. Medina Ph.D.

Brainstorm

My friend wanted me to explain the following comment, and quickly, because it was making him feel guilty.

“You’ve got three months with this gift,” I had just told him. We were out Christmas shopping for our spouses, and he was contemplating the purchase of a set of kitchen knives for his wife. “Just a quarter’s worth of goodness. After that, any blessing goes away.”

Brainstorm: How To Take A Multiple Choice Test, John J. Medina Ph.D.

Brainstorm

In this blog section, we are going to explore the science behind study habits. Most of these topics will concern myth busting, and we begin this segment with a whopper.