Life Sciences Commons^™

Standing Posture Is Reliable Across Days And Weeks In Healthy, Young Adults, Jordan Wickstrom

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This paper tests how reliable (consistent) posture is across consecutive days and weeks.

The Role Of The Chorda Tympani Nerve In The Structural Development Of Brainstem Neurons, Louis Martin

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The brain changes substantially throughout development. In the taste system, brainstem neurons undergo dramatic structural alterations after birth. Most notably, these cells’ dendrites, branch-like projections that that receive sensory input, grow 3-4 times longer by adulthood. It is not clear whether incoming signals about taste are necessary for these structural changes to occur. We have consistently found that when the chorda tympani taste nerve (CT) is cut at an early age in rats, it does not regenerate. With this manipulation, we can permanently limit the amount of taste information that reaches the brain. To determine the role of taste input …

Differences In Habenula Kisspeptin Expression And Its Effects On Stress Coping Styles In Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Andrew Wahl

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Two particular styles of stress coping behaviors have been identified as evolutionarily conserved across vertebrate species and are referred to as proactive and reactive. Reactive and proactive stress coping styles have distinct 5-HT expression profiles with greater expression of 5-HT found in proactive individuals. It was previously shown that kiss1 expression in the ventral habenula (vHb) presynaptically activates kiss-r1 which can alter glutamatergic levels in co-localizing cells in the vHb that terminate in the median raphe (MR). This can directly or indirectly increase 5-HT expression in the MR via glutamate. It is unknown whether kisspeptin expression in the vHb can …

Comparing Consistency Of Stress And Anxiety-Related Behaviors Across Time In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Matthew R. Baker, Alex Goodman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Animals are frequently faced with stressors in their environment that they must overcome to survive and reproduce. Across vertebrates, two distinct stress coping styles or ‘personalities’ have been observed known as proactive (bold) and reactive (shy). Animal personalities may be advantageous by limiting individual variation and balancing different trade-offs in unpredictable environments. When identifying animal personalities, behavioral phenotypes must be consistent and repeatable across contexts and time. Here we use selectively bred lines of shy and bold zebrafish, previously shown to have consistent divergent fear- and anxiety-related behaviors across contexts, to test the repeatability and consistency of these behaviors across …

Quantifying Static And Dynamic Stability Using Mobile Sensors, Mason Schleu

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Balance disorders impact millions of people causing substantial impact on quality of life due to psychological and physical hardships associated with poor balance. However, a clinically relevant, low cost, self-service system in detecting such disorders does not exist. Previous research has shown the built in accelerometer and gyroscope sensors of a smart phone to be valid tools in detecting standing balance performance using traditional linear analysis, however, such a system has yet to be proven useful in detecting dynamic postural variability. Indeed, more quantitative methods than are typically used in clinical settings are necessary for early detection of poor postural …

Design Of An Instrumented Cane For Real-Time Force Feedback, Samantha Sack

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Stroke is a major cause of adult disability in the United States, and many affected stroke survivors require the use of an assistive device post-stroke. Even so, the effects of these assistive devices on specific movement outcomes like propulsion in rehabilitation are not well studied. The goal of this study was to develop an instrumented cane capable of recording accurate force data and providing real-time feedback to the user. A standard, single-point cane was instrumented with a force cell that measures force applied to the cane and a motor that vibrates once a threshold value has been applied. The force …

An Investigation Into The Correlation Between Step Width Variability And Balance Deficits In Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Jordan Freeman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience a higher incidence of falls. Further, gait variability has been shown to be a useful predictor of future falls. It is unknown if balance measures and gait variability are related. Our purpose was to investigate if step width (SW) variability is related to balance deficits in patients with COPD. We hypothesized that functional balance tests will closely correlate to the step width variability as compared to subjective balance questionnaires. Nine subjects with COPD and six controls performed a series of balance measures: sensory organization test (SOT), motor control test (MCT), Fullerton advanced …

Genetic Variants Contributing To Frontotemporal Dementia With Parkinsonism, Elizabeth C. Oduwo

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism (FTDP) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by disturbances in cognition, language, and personality, which also has features of parkinsonism. This disease is associated with multiple genes including two located close together on chromosome 17: MAPT and GRN. Human and medical genetics can be used to identify the genes that contribute to the risk of this disease.

Earlier work in the Chase lab had identified a large Mennonite kindred (MEN-1) where parkinsonism and dementia were found in five members of a nuclear family. These symptoms parallel those seen in FTDP and all of the affected members share …

Movement Variability And Sensorimotor Cortical Activation During Forward And Backward Walking, Boman Groff

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Previous research has used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to show that motor areas of the cortex are activated more while walking backward compared to walking forward. It is also known that head movement creates motion artifacts in fNIRS data. The aim of this study was to expand on previous findings by examining cortical activation during forward and backward walking, while also measuring head movement. We hypothesized that greater activation in motor areas while walking backward would be concurrent with increased head movement.

Participants (N=8) performed forward and backward walking on a treadmill. Participants wore motion capture markers on their head …

Functional Genetics Of Mind-Meld In Drosophila Melanogaster, Candi R. Senior-Remsa

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a useful research tool used to localize specific antigens in tissue sections with labeled antibodies based on antigen-antibody interactions. To obtain a clearer understanding of the cellular and subcellular localization of the Mind-Meld (MMD) protein during the developing Drosophila melanogaster embryo double indirect immunofluorescence was used to colocalize MMD with other proteins found in the fruit fly. An affinity-purified antibody raised in rabbit identifying all MMD isoforms was used with the fluorophore-labeled secondary antibody Alexa Fluor 594 specific to rabbit IgG. Well-characterized murine monoclonal antibodies with known subcellular localization and function in Drosophila: Fascicilin II (FASII), Short …

Species Diversity And Relative Abundance Of Reptiles And Amphibians At Glacier Creek Preserve, Cori L. Borgheiinck

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Glacier Creek Preserve, located in Bennington, Nebraska, is dedicated to restoring land to native prairie. Restoration at Glacier Creek Preserve began in 1970. Over the years, the preserve has acquired more land, as well as acquiring more habitat diversity. This research is the first to look at the community dynamics of herpetofauna in the preserve. The sampling areas were determined by choosing seven random sites to represent the following habitats, (1) prairie, (2) non-prairie, (3) prairie burned in 2014, and (4) prairie burned in 2016.

Data sampling occurred from April 2016 to October 2016 and from February 2017 to March …

Effects Of Hypobaric And Normobaric Hypoxia On Heart Rate And Blood Oxygen Saturation, Madison Brooks Coleman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

There has been recent debate on the difference in physiological response between exposure to normobaric hypoxia (oxygen fraction altered) and hypobaric hypoxia (barometric pressure altered). Purpose: To determine the effects of normobaric normoxia (NN), hypobaric hypoxia (HH), and normobaric hypoxia (NH) on heart rate and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO₂) after exercise. Methods: Fifteen recreationally active participants (eight males and seven females) completed three separate 1 h cycling bouts at 70% of their peak aerobic capacity. Following each trial, participants recovered in the supine position for 4 h in NN (975 m), HH (4420 m), or NH (4420 m). …

Development Of Molecular Tools For Identification Of Prairie Terrestrial And Wetland Algae, Esther Mundembo Kapinga

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Algae are a diverse group of photosynthetic protists. Green algae are typically unicellular, though some may occur as multicellular colonies, and they are found across a wide range of habitats, including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. As photosynthetic producers and sometimes symbionts, algae can occupy important roles in an ecosystem; in other circumstances they can have negative impacts on environmental quality. Estimations of the number of green algal species range from eight thousand to over fifteen thousand. The identification of individual algal species can be problematic due to their small size and typically simple cell anatomy. For this reason, molecular …

Oxygen Transport In Normobaric Versus Hypobaric Hypoxia, Christina N. Angeli

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

BACKGROUND: Various physiological changes occur in the human body when ascending to altitude. Exposure to hypoxia increases heart rate and decreases arterial oxygen saturation (SaO₂), with both changes being expedited during exercise. Incremental exercise in ambient conditions decreases muscle oxygenation, specifically with increasing intensity. Previous research has examined heart rate and SaO₂ in response to normobaric versus hypobaric hypoxia. However, there is lack of research examining muscle oxygenation in response to these conditions. Therefore, additional research investigating acute responses to normobaric and hypobaric hypoxia during exercise is warranted. PURPOSE: To examine acute responses in arterial and muscle …

Influence Of Neuromuscular Fatigue On The Reliability Of Gait Variability Measures, Nicholas Reynolds

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Walking in healthy young adults displays an optimal pattern of variability from one stride to the next. This level ensures that each step taken is not stereotyped but also not completely unpredictable. Previous studies have investigated differences in stride-to-stride characteristics comparing groups of young to groups of elderly. The consistency of gait variability measures on an individual level remains to be determined. The first aim of this study is to determine the between day and between trial consistency of gait variability measures in healthy young adults. We hypothesize that there will be a high level of consistency from day-to-day and …

Identification Of Optimal Parameter Ranges In Building And Assessing Correlation Networks Built From Gene Expression., Qianran Li

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In this project, I investigate and define the range of acceptable outputs of a gene expression correlation network model. Gene expression refers to the amount of product made by a gene under a given biological condition. A correlation network is a graphical model where the nodes represent genes in an organism and the edges represent the amount of correlation between genes, based on their expression. Correlation network modeling has been used in cellular and biomedical domains to identify functional relationships between genes. The network model in general is a wonderful tool for showcasing relationships, but often times they are misused …

Human Stress Protein Response To Exercise And The Environment, Rebecca Cuthbert

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Stress proteins are molecular chaperones that protect cells from the damaging effects that can be caused by exercise and environmental changes. Cold-inducible RNA binding protein (CIRP) and RNA binding motif protein 3 (RBM3) protect cells from mild hypothermia and hypoxia. They allow cells to rapidly respond to environmental stresses by regulating gene expression. Heat shock proteins 27, 70, and 90 protect skeletal tissue from exercise and heat stress. They accelerate cellular repair and prevent misfolding of proteins. These proteins, especially CIRP and RBM3, have been studied in cell cultures and animal models, but limited data exist in humans. Purpose: To …

Docking Studies Of Isoform-Selectivity Of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (Pi3k) Inhibitors, Kaitlin Goettsch

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) and their related pathways are reputed targets for drug-based anticancer therapies. Mutations in PI3K genes, expression, and pathways are frequent among multiple cancer types. Four isoforms of PI3Ks exist: α, β, γ, & δ and studies have identified several ligands for each isoform which are capable of serving as inhibitory therapeutic compounds. However, the biochemical efficacy of these molecules varies and the isoform selectivity is not well understood. In this study, we applied in silico docking methods and free energy calculation methods to estimate the binding of reported PI3K ligands against 5 PI3K structures: PI3Kα (PBD ID: …

A Network Mdoel To Investigate Robustness Of Gene Expressions, Naresh Pasupuleti

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Correlation networks are ideal to describe the relationship between the expression profiles of genes. Gene expression is a characteristic exhibited by a particular gene. Our body has thousands of genes; each of them expresses differently, and each one of them has a particular function associated with them. When genes corresponding to a particular part of the body becomes non-functional, i.e., not expressed, then the function corresponding to that part of the body does not happen, thereby causing impairment or mutations. Co-regulation is a method involved in clustering analysis to find genes that perform similar functions. We want to identify genes …

Social Immunity In A Sub-Social Insect: Influence Of Parental Care And Exposure To Microbes During Development, Jessica L. Rerucha

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Exposure to microbes during development can have long-lasting impacts into adulthood. Positive effects include ontogenetic priming (i.e., enhanced immune response due to prior exposure), while negative effects include reduced growth resulting in smaller adults with reduced reproductive performance. Mitigating factors like parental care can reduce or even eliminate any fitness costs. The aim of this study was to determine i) whether exposure to microbes during development causes ontogenetic priming and ii) whether parental care mitigates long-term costs associated with exposure to microbes during development. As study organism, we used the burying beetle Nicrophorus marginatus which provide parental care to its …

Enhancing The Citizen Scientist Experience Through Responsive Web Design, Sydney Lintner, Douglas Stahlnecker

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Citizen science is currently employed in a variety of fields and has been enabling the collection of large swaths of data that would otherwise go uncollected. The Nebraska Watershed Network (NWN) utilizes citizen scientists to perform water tests, and currently, the results are written on postcards and then mailed to the NWN. We believe that using the proper technological tools will enhance the citizen scientist experience and the data collection process. We have developed a database and web application for the NWN that will allow citizen scientists to use their smartphones to enter their results immediately upon completing the tests …

Responses Of Appetite And Appetite Regulating Hormones To Acute Altitude Exposure, Morgan Busboom

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

PURPOSE: To determine the acute response of appetite and appetite regulating hormones after exposure to simulated altitude in resting conditions. METHODS: Seven male and six female recreationally active subjects (height 178±8.1cm, weight: 77.3±24.8kg, body fat: 18.4±5.7%) participated in two, three-hour trials in an environmental chamber with one trial simulating 5000 m altitude (hypoxic) and the other simulating 350 m altitude (control). Blood samples from the antecubital vein were collected prior to entering the environmental chamber and immediately following the three hours of seated rest. Blood samples were analyzed for serum leptin, adiponectin, and ghrelin concentrations via enzyme-linked immunosorbent …

An Investigation In Muscle Activation During Load Carrying, Sidney Baudendistel

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Carrying items is essential to everyday living, but is often reported to be a functional limitation in individuals with respiratory dysfunction. The interaction between breathing and carrying a bimanual load (i.e., carrying an evenly distributed load in each hand) is not well understood and limits the capacity to derive interventions to address functional limitations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of two bimanual loads, 10% and 5% of body weight, on gait. Fourteen healthy, young adults walked with and without a load on each wrist (2.5 and 5% of body weight) using wrist weights. The mean, …

Effects Of Normobaric And Hypobaric Hypoxia On Mitochondrial Related Gene Expression, Robert J. Shute

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Environmental stimuli such as temperature and hypoxia can influence cellular signaling in the skeletal muscle. Previously we have reported no changes in gene expression related to mitochondrial development with acute exposure to normobaric hypoxia. However, exposure to hypobaric hypoxia may elicit different physiological responses. Purpose: To determine the response of skeletal muscle mitochondrial related gene expression after 4 h of exposure to normobaric normoxia (NN), normobaric hypoxia (NH), and hypobaric hypoxia (HH) after exercise. Methods: Recreationally trained participants (8 male, 7 female) each completed three trials of 1-h cycling at 70% of W_max. Following exercise, participants sat in …