Graduate Research Posters

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  Contextual Emotion Expression: Profiles of African American Report in the Family and on Campus

  Deon Brown, Fantasy Lozada, Zewelanji Serpell, and Vivian Dzokoto

  Background: African American culture has long been known for its emphasis on emotion expression (Boykin, 1986). However, African Americans have learned to restrict emotion publicly due to pervasive stereotypes (Consedine & Magai, 2002). It’s likely that such behavior is learned in the family, in which parents alert children to racial discrimination that is typically associated with context (Dunbar et al., 2017). Thus, African Americans are likely to vary emotion expression according to context. The current study explored emotion expression in the family and public context.

  Methods: 188 African American/Black college students from 3 different types of college campuses. The sample was 62.4% female, 35.4% male, and 2.2. genderqueer/gender non- conforming. Data were collected via an online survey with all self-report measures. Contextual differences in emotion expression were explored via latent profile analysis (LPA).

  Results: Five profiles emerged: More Positive and Negative Submissive Expression (n = 49; 26%), More Family Expression (n = 8; 5%), Low Family and Campus Expression (n = 24; 13%), More Campus Positive and Negative Dominant Expression (n = 45; 24%), and More Positive and Less Negative Dominant Expression (n = 63; 33%). Racial discrimination significantly predicted profile membership for the More Campus Positive and Negative Dominant Expression profile in particular.

  Conclusions: African American youth express emotion differently in the family context compared to campus, particularly in the face of racial discrimination. The patterns of emotion expression revealed here are helpful in terms of evaluating outcomes of African American’s emotion-related behavior as taught in the family.

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  The Culture of Capital: Theses on Discipline & Embodiment

  David Bussell

  Background

  I am a cultural theorist focused primarily on capitalisms as cognitive, behavioral, and productive conditions. I have self-published two books on this topic, titled ‘Distruments’, and ‘Assemblies & Other Essays’. I am currently working on my third, titled, ‘Everything A Waiting Midnight’.

  Methods

  Interdisciplinary inquiry into political, poetic, and philosophical texts by Ana Tsing, Sylvia Wynter, Yannis Ritsos, Sylvia Wynter, and Christina Sharpe.

  Results

  A book length series of essays and theses, which bridge the gap between my second and third major texts, ‘Assemblies’ and ‘Everything A Waiting Midnight’.

  Conclusions

  This work attempts to create a constellation of the works before it, while declaring an additional sphere of nuanced critique into the works on and against capital which came before it: that is, that the culture of capital is a culture of discipline-of-life, entirely, and develops, first and foremost (even before that which is the ‘commodity’) a cinema of discipline, which sets the scene for the reproduction of a world where everything has a price. This price is nothing less than life, itself.

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  Multilevel variance components and brain volume mediation of life stress on post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children via regularization

  Daniel Bustamante and Michael C. Neale

  Alterations of volume in brain regions of interest (ROIs) are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most of the extant neuroimaging research in PTSD has studied adults. The present study extends this research by using data from children (N=11,869, M age =9.92) from the ABCD study, a multisite longitudinal long-term study of brain development and childhood health in the U.S. Traumatic events (TEs) and PTSD symptoms were measured through the K- SADS for DSM-5. Values of brain ROIs were assessed using structural MRI measures. The unidirectional model was able to detect the small differences from site variance in sMRI mediators (subc: VS<.009, SE<.004; cort: VS<.009, SE<.004). Additive genetic factors explained 23.49% of the variance in TEs, 41.73% in subcortical and 19.94% in cortical mediators, and residual 21.01% in PTSD symptoms. Environmental factors explained most of the variance in TEs (C=.61, E=.16) and PTSD symptoms (resC=.19, resE=.21), as well as unique environmental factors in the cortical mediators (cort=.66). TEs highly influenced PTSD symptoms (.92). However, the indirect effect of TEs on PTSD symptoms through the mediation of volume in brain ROIs was small to non-influential at this age (subc=-.0003-.001, cort=-.001- .002). Several estimates of mediation effects were notably higher than most. Regularization via elastic net is implemented to train the mediation model to reduce bias and noise from overfitting, and to select the ROIs with mediation effects that explain the data with increased sparsity.

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  DYRK1A and the Cell Cycle

  Holly Byers and Larisa Litovchick, MD, PhD

  The ability to halt the cell cycle is critical for cells to maintain tissue and organ size, to suppress tumors and abnormal growth, and exists as a helpful mechanism to pause the cell cycle for DNA repair. DYRK1A is (dual specificity tyrosine-(Y)-phosphorylation regulated kinase 1A) a human gene found on the long (q) arm of chromosome 21, which is known to be involved with nervous system development, cell growth and division, and neuronal differentiation. In glioblastoma cells grown in vitro (T98G cell line), there are three copies of DYRK1A, which have dosage- dependent effects on the cell, including association with cognitive delays in Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), and relevance to cancer (loss of DYRK1A leads to oncogenic transformation of fallopian tube epithelial cells by Ras and p53). In terms of DYRK1A’s role in the cell cycle, it is known as a putative tumor suppressor, mainly through its critical role in phosphorylating a Serine 28 residue on protein LIN52, leading to the formation of the DREAM complex. DREAM promotes exit from the cell cycle and cell quiescence (arrest in G0 phase). Surprisingly, DYRK1A-KO (knockout) cells actually slowed down cell proliferation, which is an unexpected result when knocking out a tumor suppressor. Through several experiments, involving cell cycle flow cytometry, western blotting for protein cell cycle markers, and EdU staining to determine whether these cells were actively undergoing DNA synthesis, we were able to determine that DYRK1A-KO T98G cells were entering the cell cycle and undergoing DNA synthesis more slowly that control cells.

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  Guadecitabine, in combination with Cyclophosphamide, promotes anti- cancer immunity in BALB/c mice bearing 4T1 mouse mammary carcinoma

  Carmen Camarena, Timothy M. Smith, Rebecca K. Martin PhD, and Harry D. Bear MD

  Background: The extremely high mortality rate of patients diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer makes it one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Due to the heterogenous nature of tumors, complete clearance is not achieved and clonal selection occurs resulting in tumor cells evading the immune system. I aim to design a therapeutic intervention that is able to elicit an effective immune response against the tumor and instill immunological memory to eradicate primary and metastatic lesions. I hypothesize that the combination of Guad and Cyp will synergize and promote anticancer immunity via increased expression of neo-tumor antigens and depletion of MDSCs and T-regs. Methods: Guadecitabine (Guad), is a second-generation DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DMNTi) that has been reported to increase antigenicity and deplete myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC’s). Cyclophosphamide (Cyp) is a chemotherapy that has been shown to deplete regulatory T-cells (T-regs). Both MDSD’s and T-regs suppress antitumor immunity. BALB/c mice were challenged with 4T1 tumor cells subcutaneously in the mammary fat pad region. 4T1-bearing mice were administered low-dose Guad and Cyp for ten consecutive days. Tumor growth curves, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were measured and MDSC’s and T- regs levels were assessed by flow cytometry. Results: Results from this experiment showed significant synergy between Guad and Cyp with both drugs reducing the tumor size over monotherapy. Conclusions: Further analysis of the data along with future experiments will elucidate if this synergy is driven by the depletion of MDSC’s and T-regs alone or the increase in tumor antigenicity inducing increased numbers of TILs.

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  The Effects of a High Fat Meal on Blood Flow Regulation during Arm Exercise

  Alexander Chiu, Lauren Pederson, Jeremy O. Via, Natalie J. Bohmke, Jacob Richardson, Aaron Autler, Hunter Reed, Eric Henderson, R. Lee Franco, and Ryan S. Garten

  A diet high in saturated fats results in endothelial dysfunction and can lead to atherosclerosis, a precursor to cardiovascular disease. Exercise training is a potent stimulus though to mitigate the negative effects of a high saturated fat diet; however, it is unclear how high-saturated fat meal (HSFM) consumption impacts blood flow regulation during a single exercise session.

  PURPOSE: This study sought to examine the impact of a single HSFM on peripheral vascular function during an acute upper limb exercise bout.

  METHODS: Ten young healthy individuals completed two sessions of progressive handgrip exercise. Subjects either consumed a HSFM (0.84 g of fat/kg of body weight) 4 hours prior or remained fasted before the exercise bout. Progressive rhythmic handgrip exercise (6kg, 12kg, 18kg) was performed for 3 minutes per stage at rate of 1 Hz. The brachial artery (BA) diameter and blood velocity was obtained using Doppler Ultrasound (GE Logiq e) and BA blood flow was calculated with these values.

  RESULTS: BA blood flow and flow mediated dilation (normalized for shear rate) during the handgrip exercise significant increased from baseline in all workloads, but no differences were revealed in response to the HSFM consumption.

  CONCLUSION: Progressive handgrip exercise augmented BA blood flow and flow mediated dilation in both testing days; however, there was no significant differences following the HSFM consumption. This suggests that upper limb blood flow regulation during exercise is unaltered by a high fat meal in young healthy individuals.

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  Empowering Latina/o Families to Navigate College Access

  Maria de Jesus Cisneros-Elias, Gabriela Chavira, and Karen Alvarez

  Background

  With the education crisis of Latinas/os, it is important to understand ways to increase access to college for the most vulnerable youth (Gándara & Contreras, 2009). To investigate strengths that promote college accessibility in underserved Latina/o families, the current qualitative study assessed the following: (1) Prior to beginning the intervention program and after the intervention program what forms of capital did families possess? (2) How did participating in the program change adolescents’ perception of their parents’ capital? (3) How did adolescents use agency to apply what they learned in college information intervention over time?

  Methods

  Latina/o parent-adolescent dyads (N = 11) participated in a college knowledge program in California. Sample included girls (67%) and 11-16 years of age (M = 14.0, SD = 1.78). Five of 11 families were interviewed 6-months post-effects of the intervention program. Research study used grounded theory inductive analysis approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2015).

  Results

  Question 1, Latina/o adolescents expressed aspirational, familial, navigational, and social capital before and after the intervention. Question 2, After participating in the intervention, adolescents expressed familial support through a combination of tangible (drop me off at school) and intangible (want me to be a good man) acts. Question 3, focused on the 6-month post-effects of the intervention program. Adolescents expressed agency by actively meeting requirements to apply to college, and understanding the path they need to reach their educational goals.

  Conclusion

  Discussion will focus on the importance of college information intervention programs in increasing Latino/a youth’s education experiences.

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  Relevance of Health-Related Hashtags on Twitter: A Text Mining Approach

  Mauli Dalal and Kweku-Muata Osei-Bryson

  BACKGROUND

  Social media platforms facilitate user interaction and impact decision making. Users prefer to use hashtags while sharing posts. Knowing the sentiment towards diabetes, bloodpressure, and obesity is fundamental to understanding the impact of these information on patients and their families. The study seeks to determine the relevance of health-related hashtags on Twitter and analyze sentiments about diabetes, obesity, blood pressure.

  METHOD

  Tweets were retrieved using synonyms for “diabetes”, “hypertension” and “obesity”. The extended knowledge discovery in data mining (KDDM) model guided our research with research objectives defined in the ‘research problem understanding’ phase. The ‘information seeking’ from Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) determined the success and text mining assessment criteria. Text pre-processing was done using tokenization, stop word removal, and stemming. The research objectives, text mining goals, and success criteria were answered using ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory’ (UGT).

  RESULTS

  Total 6749 tweets were extracted using RStudio. 36.41% were about blood pressure, 0.25%- diabetes, 24.43% -obesity and 6.99% -combination of two or more terms. Additional topics such as cholesterol, chia seeds, postpartum, diet, exercise were identified. Upcoming conferences like ‘#ipna’, ‘#review’, ‘#APCH2019’, ‘#cardiotwitter’ were identified. Increased user engagement – about managing blood pressure, diabetes, obesity across different age groups, as well as the consequences of increased cardio exercise for obese and diabetic users were encouraging. Tweets about advertisements specific to clothing for oversized individuals-initiated conversation among users about monitoring self-health.

  CONCLUSIONS

  Sentiment analysis can thus increase our understanding about user engagement on such platforms and potentially help improve managing public health strategically.

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  Determining the Impact of Increased Physical Activity on Improving Sleep Quality in Young Adults

  Ashley Darling, Alex Chiu, Eric Henderson, Aaron Autler, Jennifer Weggen, Kevin Decker, and Ryan Garten

  Determining the Impact of Increased Physical Activity on Improving Sleep Quality in Young Adults

  Disturbed sleep, defined as any alteration to normal sleep patterns, has been linked to poor cardiovascular health and an increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. These negative sleep patterns are highly prevalent with 35% to 41% of individuals in the United States reported some form of disturbed sleep. Although high amounts of physical activity (PA) are often associated with high sleep quality, little is known about PA’s effectiveness to improve different aspects of sleep (e.g. duration vs quality) and the mechanisms to which it can improve sleep quality.

  Purpose: The study sought to determine the ability of increased PA to improve sleep efficiency in healthy young adults.

  Methods: Nineteen young adults (25±4 yrs) were recruited for this study. Subjects wore an accelerometer (Actigraph GT3x-BT) for a total of three weeks to record daily physical activity (step count; low, moderate, and vigorous physical activity) and sleep variables (efficiency, wake after sleep onset, number of nightly awakenings, time per awakening, and total sleep time). Subjects maintained normal physical activity levels for the first week (BL), then increased their step count by an average of 5,000 steps/day across the next two weeks (W1 and W2). Heart rate variability (HRV) and venous blood draws were collected weekly to assess sympathetic activity and inflammation, respectively.

  Results: The physical activity intervention resulted in significant increases (p < 0.001) in step-count for both W1 (13163 ± 3184) and W2 (12168 ± 3619) when compared to BL (8648 ± 2615 steps/day). No significant differences from BL were observed when examining sleep efficiency (BL: 83.8 ± 6.4; W1: 85.5 ± 4.0; W2: 84.2 ± 6.1 %), sympathetic-vagal balance, and inflammatory marker concentrations in W1 and W2. A significant correlation was revealed when assessing the change in sleep efficiency from BL to W1 (r = 0.81, p < 0.001) and BL to W2 (r = 0.52, p = 0.02) when compared to initial sleep efficiency values.

  Conclusion: This study revealed that although young healthy individuals appear to lack improvements in sleep efficiency with an increase in physical activity, those who reported the lowest sleep quality had the greatest improvements in sleep efficiency following an increase in physical activity. Therefore, the findings of the study suggest that although increasing physical activity can improve sleep quality, a potential “ceiling effect” may occur, as when sleep quality is adequate, augmenting physical activity no longer has a substantial effect.

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  Effects of Dietary Sodium Intake on Blood Flow Regulation During Exercise in Salt Resistant Individuals

  Kevin P. Decker, Morgan T. Kimmel, Hunter L. Reed, Alex H. Chiu, Austin C. Hogwood, Jennifer B. Weggen, Ashley M. Darling, and Ryan S. Garten

  PURPOSE: Dietary sodium intake guidelines is ≤2,300 mg/day, yet is exceeded by 90% of Americans. This study examined the impact of a high sodium diet on blood flow regulation during exercise. METHODS: Six males (25 ± 2 years) consumed dietary sodium intake guidelines for two weeks, with one week salt-capsule supplemented (HS: 6,900 mg/day of sodium) and the other week placebo-capsule supplemented (LS: 2,300 mg/day of sodium). At the end of each week, peripheral hemodynamic measurements [blood flow (BF), shear rate (SR), and flow mediated dilation (FMD)/SR)] of the brachial and superficial femoral artery were taken during handgrip (HG) and plantar flexion (PF) exercise, respectively. Each exercise workload was 3 minutes and progressed by 8 kilograms until exhaustion. RESULTS: There were no differences between LS and HS in blood pressure (82 ± 4 v 80 ± 5 mmHg; p = 0.3) or heart rate (56 ± 6 v 59 ± 10 bpm; p = 0.4). HG and PF exercise increased BF, SR, and FMD/SR across workload (p < 0.03 for all), but no difference between diets (p > 0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: Despite previous reports that HS impairs resting vascular function, this study revealed that peripheral vascular function and blood flow regulation during exercise is not impacted by a HS diet.

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  THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION AND HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG LGBQA COLLEGE STUDENTS: EXAMINING THE MODERATING ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT

  Eryn DeLaney; Chelsea Derlan Williams; Della V. Mosley; Sage E. Hawn; and Danielle M. Dick, PhD

  Sexual victimization is a prevailing public health concern that differentially impacts sexual minority populations (i.e., people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, or queer) compared with their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts (McCauley et al., 2018). Studies have shown that sexual violence is associated with depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and alcohol use (Aosved et al., 2011; Bedard-Gilligan et al, 2011; Carey et al., 2018) among heterosexual college students. However, we know less about the potential effects of sexual victimization on health outcomes among sexual minority college students. Understanding these relations are especially important because sexual minority college students often experience unique challenges and are at increased risk of sexual victimization in comparison to their counterparts (Cantor et al., 2015; Edwards et al., 2015). Moreover, few studies to date have examined the moderating role of social support in buffering the links between sexual victimization and health outcomes. Guided by the minority stress framework (Meyer, 2003), the current study examined the extent to which sexual victimization influences health outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and alcohol use disorder) among sexual minority college students. Furthermore, we examined whether social support moderated the association between sexual victimization and each health outcome. The current study included 234 students who identified as being part of the Queer community (e.g., Gay, Lesbian, Asexual, and Queer) from a larger university-wide study (i.e., Spit for Science; Dick et al., 2014). The participants in the present study were 18-22 years old (M = 18.46, SD = .412) and majority female (i.e., 74%). Fifty-six percent of the participants self- identified as White, 16% as Black or African American, 13% as Asian, and 15% as American Indian, Latinx, Pacific Islander, or Multiracial. Students provided online self-reports of their sexual victimization experiences (Blake et al., 1990), social support (Hays et al., 1995), depressive symptoms (Derogatis et al., 1973), post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (Weathers et al., 2013) and alcohol use (DSM-V). We used a series of regression models in Mplus v 7.2 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998–2014) to test our research questions, with multiple imputation to handle missing data. Findings indicated that sexual victimization was positively related to depressive symptoms (b = .21, p = .00), post- traumatic stress disorder symptoms (b = .43, p = .00), and alcohol use disorder (b = .45, p = .00). Furthermore, social support significantly moderated the association between sexual victimization and depressive symptoms, however, in a direction contrary to hypotheses. Specifically, greater sexual victimization was associated with greater depressive symptoms among sexual minority college students with higher levels of social support (b = .29, p = .00), and the association was not significant for sexual minority college students with lower levels of social support (b = .13, p = .26; Figure 1). Discussion will center on the detrimental effects of sexual victimization on health outcomes among sexual minority college students, as well as providing potential explanations and future directions for the nuanced ways social support functions in the lives of sexual minority college students.

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  Expressed Emotion, Mental Health, and Functioning in Families of Children with and without Asthma

  Katherine W. Dempster; Julia Scheidemantel; Jessica Greenlee; Marcia A. Winter, Ph.D; and Robin S. Everhart, Ph.D

  Introduction: Expressed emotion (EE), the affective attitudes and behaviors of one toward another, can affect caregivers’ behaviors toward their child. Research examining associations between EE and child/family outcomes is mixed; these associations may be affected by other influences such as the presence of a chronic disease or parent mental health. In this study of families living in an urban area, we examined associations between EE and child outcomes (anxiety/depressive symptoms) and family functioning, with parent anxiety as a covariate. We evaluated child asthma status as a moderator in these associations as the presence of a chronic illness may strengthen the association between EE and child/family outcomes.

  Methods: 96 children (mean±SD age=8.83±2.03 years, 48.9% female, 92.6% African American; 47 with asthma) and their parents (81.3% annual household income<$25,000) completed an observational study including interviews and questionnaires. Measures included the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), Children’s Depressive Symptoms Inventory (CDI), Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) coded for EE. To examine study aims, regression analyses were conducted using PROCESS macro version 3.1. Asthma status (yes/no) was examined as a moderator.

  Results: EE was associated with child anxiety symptoms, child depressive symptoms, and family functioning, controlling for parent anxiety symptoms (F(1,70) =6.74, p=.011; F(1,69) =7.803, p=.007; F(1,68) =8.637, p=.004). Asthma status did not moderate any of the associations.

  Conclusions: Results suggested that high levels of caregiver EE were associated with child mental health symptoms and family functioning, but asthma status did not moderate associations. It is possible that regardless of additional family demands related to asthma, EE is associated with child mental health and family functioning. Further examination into other systemic stressors that may moderate these associations is warranted, as well as the impact that minimizing parent anxiety might have on overall EE.

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  Daily Sleep Quality is Associated with Daily Cognition in Late-Life

  Emily K. Donovan, Joseph M. Dzierzewski, Constance H. Fung, Karen R. Josephson, Cathy A. Alessi, and Jennifer L. Martin

  Background: Older adults often face sleep disturbance or cognitive decline that goes beyond the scope of normal aging. The present study examined the relationship between self-reported sleep quality and self-reported daytime attention in a community-dwelling sample of older men at the between-persons and within-persons levels of association.

  Methods: Thirty-eight participants (M age =75.36 years, SD age =7.51 years, range=66-90 years) completed a twice-daily sleep diary for one week. Sleep quality and attention were assessed using a single-item 0-10 rating scales from the morning diary (“How was the quality of your sleep last night?”) and from the evening diary (“How was your attention today?”). A two-level multilevel model was parameterized with days nested within individuals to examine whether nightly sleep quality predicts an individual’s daily attention rating.

  Results: A multilevel model predicting self-reported attention revealed (1) older individuals who reported better sleep quality reported having better daily attention [Beta=0.64, t(248.15)=10.12, p<0.001] and (2) following a day of above-average sleep quality, older individuals experienced above-average attention [Beta=0.16, t(259.79)=2.75, p=.006].

  Conclusion: Not only was overall sleep quality associated with self-reported attention, but a good night's sleep was associated with better self-reported next-day attention. Results point to the potential importance of fluctuations in sleep quality for daytime functioning. Interventions aimed at improving nightly sleep consistency may be worth exploring as methods to improve daytime cognitive functioning in older adults.

  Support: This work was supported by the Sleep Research Society Foundation/Jazz Pharmaceuticals (001JP13, PI: Dzierzewski) and by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K23AG049955 (PI: Dzierzewski), and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health under award number K24HL143055 (PI: Martin). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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  The future of returning genetic test results for psychiatric conditions

  Morgan Driver, Sally Kuo, and Danielle Dick

  Background: Genome-wide association studies are rapidly advancing our understanding of the genetic architecture of complex psychiatric conditions. In order to use findings from these studies for enhanced clinical prediction, we need to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding the return of complex genetic results.

  Methods: We review the current literature on genetic literacy in the population, the public’s interest in receiving genetic test results for psychiatric conditions, how individuals react to and interpret their genetic results for psychiatric conditions, and gaps in our knowledge that will be critical to address before returning genetic results for psychiatric conditions.

  Results: We find that in hypothetical scenarios genetic test results indicating increased risk for a psychiatric condition lowers an individual’s confidence to control behavior, reduces self-agency, and negatively impacts affect. Individuals may believe that a change in behavior is important, but there is little evidence that genetic test results indicating increased risk for a psychiatric condition are associated with behavior change. The negative impact of results indicating an increased risk may stem from common misconceptions of complex disorders that exist in approximately 25% to 35% of individuals studied.

  Conclusions: Individuals with these misunderstandings about the role of genetic factors in complex disorders may have a belief in genetic determinism, the idea that behaviors and characteristics are determined solely by one’s genetic information. Regardless of one’s genetic knowledge, a majority of people are interested in receiving genetic feedback for psychiatric conditions, highlighting a need for effective communication of these genetic test results.

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  A Facile, Fast, and Low-Cost Method for Fabrication of Micro/Nano-Textured Superhydrophobic Surfaces

  Amir Esmaeili, Noshin Mir, and Reza Mohammadi

  Background

  Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) is frequently used in paper industry as an inexpensive sizing agent. The formation of a fractal structure after curing the solidified AKD for an extra-long time (4 - 6 days) results in superhydrophobicity. In this study, a facile and low-cost method was utilized to turn AKD’s surface superhydrophobic in a very short period of time.

  Method

  We fabricated a superhydrophobic layer by dipping glass and paper substrates in molten AKD and then treating them with ethanol after solidification. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Confocal laser scanning microscopy, and dynamic contact angle goniometry.

  Results

  The results show that briefly treating the coatings, obtained from isothermally heated AKD melt at 40°C for 3 min, with ethanol leads to superhydrophobicity with an advancing and receding contact angle of 158.7±1.4° and 156.8±0.9°, respectively. By increasing the melt temperature to 70°C and heating time to 6 h followed by ethanol treatment, the advancing and receding contact angles increased to 163.7±1.3° and 162.6±1.2°, respectively.

  Conclusions

  This enhancement in superhydrophobicity is due to the formation of entangled irregular micro/nano textures that create air cushions on the surface resulting in droplet state transition from Wenzel to Cassie. In this method, ethanol can be used several times, and the energy consumption becomes very low. Based on the other techniques in this field, our method has eliminated the complex equipment and procedure applied in the fabrication of a superhydrophobic AKD.

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  Development of a targeted and controlled nanoparticle delivery system for FoxO1 inhibitors

  Andrea Ferrer Vega, Michael Imondo, Andriy Mulyar, Bridget T. McInnes, Zhiyong Cheng, and Nastassja Lewinski

  Background: Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) are polymers approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration. Drugs for various medical treatments have been encapsulated in PLGA-PEG nanoparticles for targeted delivery and reduction of unwanted side effects.

  Methods: A flow synthesis method for PLGA-PEG nanoparticles containing FoxO1 inhibitors and adipose vasculature targeting agents was developed. A set of nanoparticles including PLGA and PLGA-PEG-P3 unloaded and drug loaded were generated. The particles were characterized by DLS, fluorescence spectroscopy, TEM, and dialysis. Endotoxin levels were measured using the LAL chromogenic assay. Our approach was compared to over 270 research articles using information extraction tools.

  Results: Nanoparticle hydrodynamic diameters ranged from 142.4 ±0.4 d.nm to 208.7 ±3.6 d.nm while the polydispersity index was less than 0.500 for all samples (0.057 ±0.021 to 0.369 ±0.038). Zeta potentials were all negative ranging from -4.33 mV to -13.4 mV. Stability testing confirmed that size remained unchanged for up to 4 weeks. For AS1842856, loading was 0.5 mg drug/mL solution and encapsulation efficiency was ~100%. Dialysis indicated burst release of drug in the first 4 hours.

  Conclusion: PLGA encapsulation of AS1842856 was successful but unsuccessful for the two more hydrophilic drugs. Alternative syntheses such as water/oil/water emulsion or liposomal encapsulation are being considered. Analysis of data from published papers on PLGA nanoparticles indicated that our results were consistent with identified process-structure relationships and few groups reported endotoxin levels even though in vivo testing was performed.

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  Legal Status Effects on Parent-Child Relationships and Parent Well-Being

  Isis Garcia-Rodriguez, Tamara Ribas-Camargo, Ronald L. Blackwell, and Amy K. Marks

  Despite heightened levels of parenting stress and psychological distress experienced by many immigrant-origin families in the United States, little is known about the resiliency of Latinx families, particularly in today’s political climate. This research presents the results of a pilot study examining the effects of legal stressors on parent-child relationships and parent well-being in Latinx immigrant families. Taken from the Latinx Immigrant Family Stories and Strengths project, this mixed-methods study was informed by the integrative risk and resilience model for understanding the adaptation of immigrant-origin children and youth (Suarez-Orozco, Motti- Stefanidi, Marks, & Katsiaficas, 2018). The pilot included a sample of 30 adult parent participants with various legal statuses and migration experiences. Qualitatively, participants shared their experiences of legal vulnerability, fears or concerns of deportation, and coping mechanisms. Quantitatively, scores for parental stress, psychological distress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and resilience were collected. Following a, sequential explanatory design (Creswell et al., 2003), quantitative data were analyzed for relationships among study variables. A case-oriented research comparative strategy (Eckstein, 1975; Mahoney & Goertz, 2004; George & Bennett, 2005; Gerring, 2006) was then used to qualitatively examine the migration and resiliency experiences of the two cases with lowest and highest levels of resilience according to the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS; Smith et al., 2008) scores. Results suggest that, on average, parents experienced normal to high rates of parenting-related stress, low levels of psychological distress, moderate to severe symptoms of PTSD, and low to average levels of resiliency. Parents identifying as undocumented experienced higher rates of parental stress (r = 0.49, p<.05) and psychological distress (r = 0.41, p<.05) compared to their liminally

  legal and documented peers. Although the trauma experienced by many immigrant-origin parents in the study was markedly high, resilience was fostered and expressed, and was exemplified through our high-resilience case analysis. Participants’ stories expressed throughout this study spoke volumes about the complex and often times traumatic lived experiences that many foreign- born parents face. Implications for comprehensive, detailed, and longitudinal future research is discussed.

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  Paroxetine is Pro-inflammatory in Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells

  Syeda Hashimi, Sulay Patel, Omar Hassan, and Bukola Odeniyi

  BACKGROUND: Paroxetine is an antidepressant that is widely used. However, Paroxetine possesses anticholinergic properties which may contribute to cognitive decline in older adults. Surprisingly, the mechanisms of the cognitive decline of anticholinergic drugs in older adults remains elusive. A hypothesis is that a loss of cholinergic signaling is pro-inflammatory in the brain. We designed experiments to determine if Paroxetine is pro-inflammatory in Normal Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells (NHBMECs).

  METHOD: NHBMECs were grown at 5% CO2, 37C and 95% relative humidity until 90% confluent. NHBMECs were treated with the RNA free water as control, Paroxetine as 1.67x 10 4 mM/mol, IL1B 2ng/ml for 24 hours. RNA was isolated, converted into CDNA, and gene expression determined via RT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed via ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey’s with a significant p-value < 0.05. Experiments were completed on 10-04-19. The mRNA expression studies were performed on 11-01-19.

  RESULTS: NHBMECs exposed to Paroxetine for 24 hours demonstrated elevated expression of CCL2 and CXCL5. NHBMECs exposed to Paroxetine + IL1B demonstrated synergistic elevations in CCL2 and CXCL5.

  CONCLUSION: Our result suggests that Paroxetine may have pro-inflammatory properties within this subset of human brain cells. Therefore, our preliminary data suggests the possibility of pathological pro- inflammatory mechanisms associated with Paroxetine. Further evaluation of different populations of normal human brain cells are warranted.

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  Why Them: The Informal Caregiver's Transition to a Cancer Diagnosis

  Rebecca Hoppe, Marcia A. Winter, and Tara A. Albrecht

  Background: Hematologic malignancies (HM) are life-threatening cancers associated with high mortality, numerous symptoms, and lengthy hospitalizations. Informal caregivers (family or friend; IC) of adults with various diseases experience negative quality of life and poor psychological well-being. However, there is scant research exploring the IC experience.

  Objective: To learn how ICs adapt to patients’ diagnosis of HM and their caregiver role.

  Methods: The current study used a qualitative descriptive design to analyze the semi-structured interview responses from ICs (N=28) within six weeks of the patients’ HM diagnosis. A content analysis was conducted to generate common themes.

  Findings: Several themes emerged related to the IC’s psychological adjustment to their loved one’s illness (HM). Markers of positive adaptation included accepting help, preparedness for caregiver roles, and feelings of empowerment. Markers of poor adaptation included perceived powerlessness, rumination over discomforting thoughts, and struggle with illness transition. Reports of positivity and hope were accompanied by endorsements of easing stress about the patient’s survival and aiding the IC coping. Findings suggest that IC’s are uncomfortable with uncertainty for their future and the logistical challenges associated with the diagnosis.

  Implications: Results foster understanding of the psychological complexities of caregiver burden as ICs adapt to the diagnosis and their new supportive role as a caregiver for their loved one with HM. This highlights the need to assess and support ICs during this time. For example, palliative care principles can be leveraged to promote healthy acceptance of the diagnosis, preparation for caregiving, burden prevention, and targeted coping strategies.

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  An Examination of Virginia WIC Staff’s Attitudes and Knowledge Towards the Brush, Book, Bed Oral Health Program

  Tia Jackson, Tegwyn H. Brickhouse, Lizbeth Snead, and Natalie Pennywell

  Introduction: Families who are low income and have low oral health literacy tend to have poor oral health. The Brush, Book, Bed (BBB) program helps caregivers establish a consistent night routine for their children that includes brushing teeth, reading, and an age-appropriate bedtime. BBB has been shown to increase oral hygiene behaviors and therefore oral health outcomes. Studies have shown that children who participate in Women, Infants, and Children, (WIC) programs are more likely to access dental services. This study examined local Richmond, Virginia (VA) WIC staff on their current oral health knowledge and views on implementing BBB.

  Methods: A 10-question the pre-assessment survey was administered to 11 WIC staff. The pre- assessment evaluated WIC staff’s knowledge of children’s oral health and their confidence levels toward counseling clients on dental care. After the pre-assessment, a short presentation on BBB and children’s oral health was given. Following the presentation, a 19-question post-assessment was conducted to determine how much information WIC staff retained and changes in their confidence levels.

  Results: All participants improved their scores on the post-assessment after the BBB presentation showing a 17% improvement. The percent of staff that felt very confident in advising clients on their children’s oral health grew by 19%. Across the sample, 100% of participants reported that BBB would benefit their clients and implementing it in their office would be feasible.

  Conclusion: Findings from the current study demonstrate that WIC staff are receptive to the goals of BBB and believe that its implementation could help their clients.

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  Metal-Oxide Nanostructures Fabricated from Laser-Assisted Synthesis Technique

  Mallory John and Katharine M. Tibbetts

  Background

  Rising levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere such as CO 2 are contributing to global rises in temperature, acidification of the oceans, and more extreme weather conditions. Hydrogenation of CO 2 to form carbon-based products is of great importance to reduce CO 2 levels and generate carbon-based compounds that can be used for industrial purposes. Copper- and nickel- based nanocatalysts have promising catalytic activity toward CO 2 hydrogenation, and have great interest to replace expensive and rare Pt- and Pd-based catalysts.

  Methods

  Focusing high powered laser pulses onto the surface of a silicon wafer immersed in liquid solutions containing nickel nitrate or copper nitrate in alkaline media leads to the formation of Cu, Ni or copper-nickel phyllosilicates (PS). The laser pulses remove Si atoms from the wafer, allowing them to interact with the surrounding liquid where the Cu 2+ or Ni 2+ ions incorporate themselves into the forming phyllosilicate structure. The well-dispersed Cu and Ni atoms throughout the structure lead to a highly catalytically active material.

  Results

  The Cu-PS and Ni-PS nanostructures were synthesized, and the formation mechanisms from different experimental parameters were investigated. The Cu-PS selectively converted CO 2 to methanol below 500ºC, and formed methanol and methane above 500ºC.

  Conclusions

  The synthesis of Cu-PS and Ni-PS nanostructured catalysts were achieved using a reactive laser ablation in liquid technique, and the products displayed catalytic activity toward the hydrogenation of CO 2 , with temperature-dependent selectivity toward methanol and methane.

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  Scoring Sound: Explicating the Role of Musical Notation

  Marie Kreck

  Background:

  While art, entertainment, and technology trend towards the audiovisual, towards the synesthetic, it remains difficult to encompass multi-sensory media in any single analytical framework. Sound studies has always grappled with sound’s apparent subjugation to image. Eidsheim's “music as vibrational practice” accounts for music as a “thick event,” thereby bridging some gaps between the senses, but she declines to incorporate musical notation into her model.

  Methods:

  Drawing on Helmreich's theory of transduction and on focused studies on composition, notation, and interpretation, I examine the role of notation in the composition and performance of Western art music in order to revise the model of music as a thick event to encompass notation.

  Results:

  As a transformation of temporal sound into fixed image, notation is naturally limited. It also carries the baggage of colonialist attitudes in early ethnomusicology. However, in Western art music, notation is essential to the process of composition and therefore to the act of music making. The cultural weight of the score creates an illusion of objective representation which is emblematic of Western art music’s problematic belief in the werktreue – an original, ideal form of a musical work accessible to a performer with sufficient historical knowledge – and a wider culture of naïve listening. By positioning notation as the means of composition (rather than transmission), we can untether ourselves from the idea of a work existing prior to the score.

  Conclusion:

  For musical analysis, this model implies a focus on how the cultural context of a performance shapes the work.

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  Richmond City Health District (RCHD), Bon Secours Richmond City Hospital (RCH), and Virginia Commonwealth Universities (VCU) Department of Health Behavior Policy (HBP): Partnering with Community Health Workers (CHW) to Improve Community Health Outcomes and Reduce Emergency Department (ED) Use

  Anita M. Kumar, MPH; Stephanie Toney, RN BSN; Tamera Langhorne, MBA CHW; and Bassan Dahman, Ph.D.

  Background: Frequent ED users (5%) are sicker, poorer, not satisfied with the health system and cost 20% of total ED charges.

  Objective: A pilot study of feasibility of partnering with CHW to improve health knowledge and outcomes and reduce ED use in low income community.

  Methods: RCH ED utilizers were randomized to intervention and control groups. CHW contacted intervention group within 10 days of ED visit, surveyed about access to care, healthy living, and knowledge about chronic disease, and offered education, referrals to insurance and social and economic support. ED utilization and cost were recorded for all patients for 6 months. Preventable ED visits were classified according to Johnston et al1 and high utilizers have 2+ ED visits. Intervention and control characteristics and ED utilizations and cost were described and compared using t-tests, ANOVA, and Chi-square at alpha=0.1. Adjusted analyses were performed using linear and logistic regressions.

  Results: 91 and 61 randomized to intervention and control with 29 and 23 high utilizers respectively. Drop-in percent of patients with all and preventable ED visits was higher among intervention (12 and 17 percentage points, respectively). 65% of the total ED cost is preventable in the pre-intervention period. That dropped by 17 and 7% in intervention period among the intervention and control groups. The intervention estimated cost savings were $120K. Intervention group had significant improvement in self-reported general health, regular exercise, understanding of health benefits and chronic disease.

  Conclusions: hospital, academic, and CHW partnership reduces ED utilization and cost and improves health.

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  Shedding Psychological Light on the Racial Disparities in School Disciplinary Measures: The Role of Dehumanization as a Potential Mechanism

  Ebony Lambert and Nao Hagiwara

  Schools should be safe and supportive spaces for all students, yet Black students tend to face biased treatment in the education system, which often results in harsh disciplinary measures. This research examined the role of animalistic dehumanization (i.e., perceiving others as animal- like and uncultured and denying uniquely human characteristics), in predicting choice of harsher disciplinary measures for Black students as opposed to White students. It was hypothesized that individuals who dehumanize Black students to a greater degree would be more likely to believe that Black students need to be disciplined through harsher measures. Both Study 1 (in which dehumanization was assessed) and Study 2 (in which dehumanization was experimentally manipulated) failed to provide evidence supporting the role of dehumanization in differential choices of school disciplinary measures for Black vs. White students. However, both studies provided evidence suggesting that dehumanization of, and negative attitudes toward, Black Americans are still prevalent and related in American society, and that animal learning perceptions and paradigms influence participant perceptions of threat from students and disciplinary decisions. These findings indicate a need for continued investigation of racial stereotypes about students when assessing racial disparities in school discipline.

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  Six Weeks of Resveratrol Improves Cardiovascular Health in Patients with COPD

  Rebekah Lavender, Kolton Cobb, Kendall Goldman, and Paula Rodriguez-Miguelez PhD

  BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide. One-third of people diagnosed with COPD die of cardiovascular (CV) complications as opposed to pulmonary. Despite these odds, there are no therapies that mitigate this important health issue. Resveratrol, a naturally occurring antioxidant, improves CV health in other populations. However, there is currently no literature on resveratrol in patients with COPD. The purpose of this pilot study was to test if six weeks of resveratrol supplementation could improve CV health in patients with COPD. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, pilot trial was completed in 8 patients with COPD. Participants were given either resveratrol (n=5; 500 mg) or placebo (n=3) for six weeks. CV health was measured before and after treatment through arterial stiffness and 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). RESULTS: Six weeks of resveratrol improved arterial stiffness in patients with COPD through reductions in augmentation index and pulse pressure amplification. Improvements in total 6MWT distance were also observed after six weeks of resveratrol. No changes after placebo were observed in any of the measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that six weeks of resveratrol improves markers of CV health in patients with COPD. Future studies are warranted to expand this pilot study and understand the potential role of resveratrol in COPD CV health.