2018

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Correlates of Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Calculators in a HIV+ Population

Correlates of Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Calculators in a HIV+ Population

By Chuma Humphrey

HIV is reported to be associated with individuals having an increased risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). CVD risk functions [calculators] enable physicians to obtain a prognostic estimate for a future CVD related incident. Three established risk calculators: (1) Framingham Heart Study for Coronary Heart Disease (FHS CHD), (2) Framingham Heart Study for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (FHS ASCVD), and (3) American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association ASCVD (ACC/AHA ASCVD), which provide an estimated 10-year risk score. The percent average risk scores based upon these established calculators from our cohort conveys Framingham CHD at 17.4%, Framingham ASCVD at 9.9%, and ACC/AHA at 9.9%. Participants, 169 males and 54 females, made up the cohort of this study (N=223). Risk factors were shown not to be associated with (1) CD4 values – Nadir CD4/CD4 vs. Risk Scores, (2) Cognitive Performance – Learning Memory vs. Risk Scores, and (3) Volumetric Measurements – Putamen vs. Risk Scores. CVD may also capture independent measures not obtained in typical functions.
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Developing Looking Glass Minigames to Reinforce Programming Subskills

Developing Looking Glass Minigames to Reinforce Programming Subskills

By Azeeza Eagel

The Looking Glass Lab has been working on cultivating an adaptive learning system in their blocks-based programming environment designed to help introduce basic programming concepts to middle and high school aged users. This summer, we were tasked with further augmenting the adaptive learning system with minigames that reinforce Looking Glass subskills. We conducted an observational study using this system in order to identify subskills. Once we identified the subskills, we picked the four most essential subskills and developed minigames to build the skill in users. I developed Snake Statements with the intention of helping users match textual statements with their visual representations.
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Non-contact Breast Tumor Margin Assessment using Dual Wavelength Excitation of Tumor Targeting Fluorophore

By Jeremie Osaghae-Nosa

Incomplete tumor removal leads to multiple surgeries, increased cost, and increased burden on cancer patients. Fluorescence guided surgery has been able to improve on this issue by delineating the tumor with tumor-targeting fluorescent dyes. However, a method to determine the depth of a tumor has not yet been developed. Here, a noncontact margin assessment tool is tested to determine if the depth of the fluorophore can be calculated to ensure that two-millimeters of healthy tissue surrounds the tumor. Two wavelengths are used to excite a tumor targeting fluorophore, LS301, and the ratio of their fluorescent images yields the fluorophore depth. This approach was successfully tested using a breast tissue phantom and numerical simulation, and has the potential to report tumor margin status intra-operatively.
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Sensory cues and genes driving social behavior in Drosophila larvae

Sensory cues and genes driving social behavior in Drosophila larvae

By Celeste Cummings

Whether the perception or production of sensory cues plays a greater role in regulating natural variation in displays of social behaviors is not known. We used several naturally occurring populations of Drosophila larvae with differences in the extent of a simple social behavior – larval aggregation – to test whether the perception or production of sensory stimuli is more important for regulating levels of social-ness. Specifically, we assayed the attraction to both social food discs and pheromone extracts from populations displaying alternative levels of aggregation (which we termed “High” and “Low” lines). We found that a population of flies that showed low levels of aggregation (“Low”) was significantly less attracted to both social food discs and pheromone extracts taken from a control population of flies than were “High” line larvae. These results suggest that this specific population of “Low” flies may have sensory deficits which prevent them from forming social aggregates during feeding. Further, these results suggest that deficits in the perception of social cues are more important than the production of social cues in regulating social behaviors in Drosophila larvae.
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The Study of Mindfulness

The Study of Mindfulness

By Monet Davis

Mindfulness is frequently described as a way of wellbeing. Mindfulness originated in Buddhist practices. Mindfulness has been studied both inside and outside of the clinical setting. Mindfulness was studied first as a treatment option for physical and psychological illnesses, but scientists are increasingly appreciating its value in exposing the neural mechanisms underlying emotion regulation and executive. Though mindfulness is in its beginning stages in science there are developing programs that are training people to being more actively aware. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR programs, have been developed in order to teach mindfulness meditation techniques in a secularized manner proven to help individuals regulate their emotions in the present-moment. Many studies use MBSR is studied in individuals who suffer from mental or physical illnesses but uses MBSR intervention in order to study the effects of mindfulness on cognitive control in healthy young adults.
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Using Memory Tasks and the Frontal Eye Field to characterize short-term memory

Using Memory Tasks and the Frontal Eye Field to characterize short-term memory

By Katie Showers

Saccades are characterized as purposeful or goal-oriented eye movement. The frontal eye field (FEF) is located along the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a functional structure involved in higher order thinking and functioning such as planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. When stimulated with low levels of electrical current, the frontal eye field evokes saccadic eye movement. The goal of this research is to use this functional area to characterize short term working memory and identify the mechanisms of spatial working memory circuits. Two Rhesus Macaque (macaca mulatta) monkeys (K & Q) were surgically implanted with microelectrode chambers in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Electrodes were advanced for each experiment trial run. Three different types of visually guided memory tasks were randomly played for each trial. Eye position, eye movement, and status of memory task was documented and saved in a coding database. The data produced from over 39,000 trial attempts was coalesced using Python 3.7 and Microsoft Excel. Data and results from this project only represent a portion of eye movement data. The results presented are a portion of a larger, ongoing research project at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. This project will aid in the understanding of short term memory circuitry which can impact research on cognition and capacity. Ultimately, it is hopeful that this research will contribute to the treatment of memory loss.
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