E&S Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium

E&SUndergraduate and Graduate

Research SymposiumOct 14, 2016

10am–12pm, High Bay

College of Engineering & Science


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Dear Colleagues and Students,

Welcome to the Annual Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium in the College of Engineering and Science at University of Detroit Mercy. We are here to highlight and celebrate the work and efforts of our talented students in research and design projects. Engaging in these activities, especially as an undergraduate, is transformational, inspirational and a major step forward in career discernment and development. Tackling tough and challenging problems sharpens critical thinking, encourages creativity and innovation. It presents students with an introduction to both challenges and rewards of discovery, invention and accomplishment on which scientists and engineers thrive.

Our College prides itself on our commitment to students and their success at Detroit Mercy and in their careers. For our visiting high school students, I encourage you to spend time with our students to learn how the work that they are presenting has influenced them and expanded their career horizons. You will also learn of the close interaction that you will find at Detroit Mercy between faculty and students and the value of faculty mentorship in preparing you for your life and career. We thank you for joining us at this event and, maybe, you too can envision yourself as a future Detroit Mercy student presenting your work at this Symposium.

Symposiums, like research, require the dedicated efforts of hard working teams to bring to realization. The College would like to acknowledge the dedicated faculty and staff who have contributed to the success of this Symposium, with a special thanks to the faculty organizers, Dr. Mary Tracy Bee (Biology) and Dr. Klaus Friedrich (Chemistry). We also acknowledge our sponsors and the many students presenting or organizing the conference. May you have an exciting and motivating day!

Gary Kuleck, Ph.D.Dean, College of Engineering and Science

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Research is a priority for our faculty, as well as our students. It is an integral part of our daily lives here at Detroit Mercy. This symposium was organized as an opportunity to share the passion we have for involving students in our research. We hope that you will learn more about the exciting work that we explore here at Detroit Mercy.

2016 Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium Organizational Committee:

Mary Tracy Bee, Co-ChairKlaus Friedrich, Co-Chair

Committee Members: Arneshia Austin, Bruce Balconi, Dennis Carlesso, Debra Phillips, John Powell, Nassif Rayess

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College of Engineering and Science Mission Statement

It is our mission to serve the Detroit area, the national and world communities through the education of professional engineers, scientists and mathematicians, through the discovery, application, and dissemination of knowledge.

That education will be personally focused on the needs of each student, value centered in the tradition of the Catholic Church, affordable, and unexcelled in quality of instruction and content. It will be characterized by a hands-on nature, which includes frequent laboratory experiences and an integrated cooperative experience for all students. It will be convenient to all students, whether full-time or part-time, on-campus or off-campus. The College will discover and apply knowledge, which effectively addresses the critical opportunities and challenges of the urban and industrial communities.

It will do so in active and intimate partnerships with industry and government. We will be helpful, courteous, and professional in all internal and external interactions.

Driven to Succeed


Panel Discussions: Room 131 Engineering

Students will discuss topics related to “Life at Detroit Mercy” and “Getting Involved in Research at Detroit Mercy” with Dr. Shuvra Das serving as the facilitator of the event. Perspective students are invited and encouraged to ask questions pertaining to all aspects of Detroit Mercy life.

Hear from a student’s perspective about what our University has to offer!

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Student Organizations

The College of Engineering and Science is proud to host many active student organizations. Read more about our different groups of students and the many activities they participate in. A few have been highlighted on the following pages.

• Alpha Epsilon (AED): Pre-Med and Pre-Dental• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) • Association for Computing Machinery• Biology Club • Chemistry Club • Chi Epsilon (EX) Civil Engineering Honorary• E & S Student Council (ESSC)• Engineering Society Detroit (ESD)• Eta Kappa NU (HKN):Electrical Engineering Honorary• Institute of Electrical/Electronic Engineers (IEEE) • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)• Pi Mu Epsilon• Pi Tau Sigma: Mechanical Engineering Honorary• Pre-Dentistry Student Association• Pre-Med Club• Pre-PA Club• Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)• Society of Hispanic Professors/Engineers (SHPE)• Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)• Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society• Theta Tau

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Chemistry Club

As student members of the American Chemical Society, Detroit Mercy's Chemistry Club exists to promote chemical education through community service in an urban setting, provide pre-professional opportunities, and engage in fellowship through social activities.

Advisors: Prof. Kendra R. Evans and Prof. Matthew J. Mio

Chem Club members presenting posters at the ACS Nat’l Mtg in San Deigo, CA

Check out our weekly thermite demonstrations on Friday afternoons outside the LS building, and come watch our demo show at Technology Discovery Day during the Winter semester!

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Pre-Physician Assistant Club

The Pre-Physician Assistant Club is a relatively new club that was founded in 2012 with the intention of assisting both Pre-PA and 5-Year PA students in preparing for various PA graduate programs. In order to do this, the Pre-PA Club holds seminars providing students with information regarding prerequisite coursework, volunteering, patient care, the GRE, the CASPA application process and the interview process. Additionally, we familiarize students with the PA Profession by inviting Physician Assistants coming from different backgrounds to speak at our meetings. Furthermore, the Pre-PA Club is active in the community and participates in service learning projects, fundraising for organizations, and different activities in the Detroit area.

Pre-Physician Assistant Club Events:

Pre-Physician Assistant Club Group

• Safety Street• Walk for Strides Breast Cancer Walk• Bake Sales• Volunteer at Urban Garden

• Haunted House• Treat Dreams Fundraiser• Cadaver Lab Visit

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Pre-Dental Student’s Association

PDSA is an organization that advances the efforts of pre-dental students who wish to gain skills and knowledge that will prepare them for success in dental school and their dental careers. PDSA is committed to informing, educating, and providing services for its members and the surrounding community.

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Biology Club

The Biology Club is a science-based student organization that is open to all biology and bio-chemistry majors attending University of Detroit Mercy. Our mission is to bring all students together, utilizing our common majors to get involved in the community. The Biology Club advocates environmental awareness, supports overseas medical efforts, and supports medical research. In addition to a science-focus, the Biology Club also has a student focus. We strive to promote collaboration amongst students by hosting campus-wide events that combine scientific fun and knowledge.

Biology Club Upcoming Events:

• Graduate School Information and Discussion Roundtable • Detroit Zoo Scientist Days• Safety Street• Gesu School Science Outreach Program• Prostate Cancer Awareness and Fund Raising Events

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Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

The Detroit Mercy SWE Club is dedicated to support our women engineers and to demonstrate the value of diversity. The SWE clubs likes to promote the role of women in engineering and leadership and helps facilitate networking opportunities and mentorships between the professional and our collegiate members.

We volunteered at different events on and off campus:• Safety Street• Lego League (grade school)• Tech Day (catapult event)• Egg Drop (grade school)• Promote STEM careers at High Schools• Regional and national conferences • Fun social events with alumni like Painting with a Twist

2016-2017 SWE Club Members

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Pre-Optometry Club

The main objective of the Detroit Mercy Pre-Optometry Club is to provide an academic, service, and social based support system for students interested in the field of optometry. We provide resources and opportunities to prepare students to become qualifying candidates for Optometry School. UDM-POC aims to help students strengthen their skills in all aspects relevant to the growth and transformation of undergraduate students into optometry graduate students. We provide meetings and workshops that are focused on providing students with information relevant to the OAT exam, opportunities to personally meet Optometrists, opportunities to share, network and experience with peers on what it takes to be a pre-optometry student, as well as providing service education to the community on basic eye care practice to emphasize how vital vision is.

PRE • O P T O M E T R Y • C L U

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THE • UNIVERSITY • OF

DETROIT • MERCY

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ReBUILDetroit is a partnership between three Detroit institutions (University of Detroit Mercy, Wayne State University and Marygrove College) supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of its national BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) program. This nationwide program is committed to ensuring that students from all backgrounds receive support during their educational experience as they pursue biomedical careers.

ReBUILDetroit at University of Detroit Mercy provides participating students known as BUILD Scholars, with hands-on research training, guided career development and access to a network of elite faculty mentors and renowned scientists. This unique program helps students develop and cultivate the skills needed to excel in college and beyond. ReBUILDetroit focuses on teaching, research and biomedical innovation that result in superior academic performance, higher graduation rates, decreased time to earn a degree and exciting career opportunities in cutting-edge, innovative biomedical research.

ReBUILDetroit

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The People Choice Award and the Entrepreneurially Minded Awards are supported by the Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) of the Kern Family Foundation.

The People’s Choice Award will be chosen by our visiting high school students. The winner will receive a $700 award.

Entrepreneurially Minded Awards will be given in the sum of $500, $300, $200 to both product-oriented and basic science types of posters. These posters are evaluated for scientific quality, presentation, and benefit to society.

The College of Engineering and Science thanks the Kern family for their significant and generous contribution to this event.

Thank you! College of Engineering & Science

THANKSSpecial thanks to our students and student organizations, our alumni and others not mentioned here.

You all have been instrumental to the success in planning this event. We thank you for all you have done.

Driven to Succeed

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HARDWARE-BASED EXPERIMENTS FOR FLIPPING THE CLASSROOM4

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ATRAZINE EXPOSURE DISRUPTS CHEMOSENSORY RESPONSES OF MALE CRAYFISH (ORCONECTES RUSTICUS)

TO REPRODUCTIVE FEMALE ODORS

Biology

Kaldoun Barawi, Biology; Noor Abraham, Biology; Rachelle Belanger, Biology

The presence of agricultural contaminants has been shown to disrupt olfactory-mediated behaviors in aquatic animals. Previous research demonstrates that exposure to the herbicides atrazine and metolachlor adversely affects foraging behavior, social signaling and appropriate responses involved in eluding predation. Crayfish play an integral role in energy transfer within the aquatic food web and between the aquatic and terrestrial food webs; therefore, healthy crayfish populations are essential to the overall viability of the ecosystems they inhabit. Expanding upon prior investigations we assessed the effects of atrazine and metolachlor on the ability of reproductively active (form I), male crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) to identify and respond to chemical signals involved in mating. Male crayfish depend on chemoreception to detect odors, released from reproductively active females. In this study, we exposed form I male crayfish to ecologically relevant, sublethal concentrations of atrazine (80 ppb) and metolachlor (80 ppb) and water only (control) for 96 hours. We analyzed the behavioral reactions of herbicide-treated and control male crayfish to two different odor sources: reproductive female-conditioned water or water (control) delivered from the proximal end of a test arena. We quantified odor localization and locomotory behaviors of male crayfish in response to female odors and water (control) from all treatments. Control crayfish spent more time in the proximal region of the test arena, whereas crayfish exposed to atrazine and metolachlor showed no preference for the proximal region of the test arena when female odor was delivered. Demarcation of a 10 cm zone around the odor source confirmed these results with increased sensitivity; however, this analysis showed that male crayfish exposed to metolachlor also spent an increased amount of time at the odor source. Lastly, no significant difference between the overall time spent moving and not moving was detected in all crayfish treatment groups. Overall, these results suggest that atrazine exposure directly impacts the ability of male crayfish to localize a female odor source. A reduction in the ability of male crayfish to locate female crayfish for mating purposes could lead to long-term reductions in population size.

1 CARBON MONOXIDE INSERTION IN A MODIFIED SONOGASHIRA COUPLING REACTION2

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Yousif M. Brikho, Chemistry & BiochemistryNadine H. Husseini, Chemistry & BiochemistryKevin M. Suiter, Chemistry & BiochemistryMatthew J. Mio, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Inclusion of carbon monoxide at atmospheric pressure in a modified cross-coupling reaction has resulted in pseudo-Sonogashira products where carbonyls have been added between aryl and acetylene functional groups. Removal of a terminal silylacetylene protecting group in situ allows for a one-pot transformation. Crucial to the reaction conditions are dual nitrogenous bases (ammonia and amidines) and water as a solvent. Copper(I) iodide is also required for the transformation, which has been shown to be applicable to a number of differently-substituted aryl halide starting materials, as well as alkyl- and aryl-acetylenes.


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Matthew Mio, Chemistry & BiochemistryKimberly M. Barbour, Chemistry & BiochemistryRachel J. Beltman, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Modified Sonogashira coupling reactions have been developed that allow for synthetic control of reactive sites based on the steric size of the terminal acetylene protecting group. An amidine base, such as 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU), the presence of substoichiometric amounts of water, in addition to Pd catalyst, CuI and organic solvent are all required for these transformations to proceed with good yield. This orthagonal approach to the generation of sequence-specific oligomers could increase the accessibility of high value-added arylethynyl structures, where highly-repetitive syntheses are common.

SILYLACETYLENE PROTECTING GROUP STERICS ALLOW FOR SYNTHETIC ORTHOGONALITY

IN A MODIFIED SONOGASHIRA COUPLING REACTION

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Nursing

Vanessa Lee, Nursing; Dr. Molly McClelland, Nursing

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of nursing discipline, which disciplines are considered a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) profession and if those perceptions vary by age, culture, gender or previous experience with a STEM professional.

Background: Nursing has been included as part of the NIH BUILD grant, yet discrepancies exist about nurses being perceived as research scientists. Currently, fewer than 1% of nurses have a doctoral degree (Feeg et. al., 2011). The nursing profession is said to have long suffered from public stereotyping and from being closely associated with femininity and powerlessness (Takase et al.,2002).

Methods: A mixed method approach was implemented. Adult participants (age 18 and over) who self-identified as American, Canadian, Kenyan or from Hong Kong were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to determine perception of nurses as scientists. Survey results were collected and analyzed quantitatively using SurveyMonkey, an online survey questionnaire. Interviews were conducted and interpreted using qualitative methods.

Results: A Chi-Square statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between how various cultures view health professions as STEM disciplines. Nurses were predominately perceived as being part of the STEM disciplines but not scientific. Nurses were viewed as “less scientific” than perceived chemists, physicians or other people in safety goggles, labs coats and beakers filled with colorful fluids. Nurses were viewed as less scientific than other health-related professions. Registered nurses were perceived as more scientific than nursing professors.

Conclusion: The discipline of nursing suffers from negative public perception and media coverage suggesting nurses are not intelligent, hand-maid to doctors or sexual playthings. More work is needed worldwide to educate the public on the scientific education and practice of the discipline of nursing.

PERCEPTIONS OF NURSING DISCIPLINE AMONG DIFFERENT CULTURE GROUPS4


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Kimberly D. Utterbeck, Chemistry & BiochemistryJonathan E. Stevens, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEFMC’s), or simply “Fuel Cells,” are expected to continue to play a role in the development of applied alternative energy sources. Sulfonated polyether (ether) ketone, or sulfonated PEEK (sPEEK) membranes are one possible candidate for fuel cell membranes, however, the chemical stability of such membranes needs to be explored further in the presence of H radicals in order to make a better assessment. Our group’s research in molecular orbital /density functional calculations aims to study the attack of H radicals on sPEEK1, a derivative of the sPEEK molecule. Our study of sPEEK thus far has illustrated that H radicals readily attach to the aryl rings of sPEEK polymers. The effect of H radical attachment to sPEEK was further studied by finding the transition states and associated energetics of bond breaking reactions of C-S and C-O occurring after the radicals attach. The barriers associated with the breaking of these bond are not high, and therefore bond breaking is likely to occur, especially at the C-S bond location.

FUEL CELL MEMBRANE POLYMER DEGRADATION MECHANISMS BY DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY6

Biology

Madeleine Reardon, BiologyArun Rishi, Wayne State University, Veterans Affiars

Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) account for 85% of all lung cancers and are a very heterogeneous disease. Despite development of number of therapies, the prognosis remains poor due in part to emergence of resistant disease. CARP-1 Functional Mimetic (CFM) compounds bind with CARP-1, stimulate CARP-1 expression, and apoptosis. Here we tested whether CFM analog 4.16 inhibits growth of NSCLC cells that express mutant Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Tyrosine Kinase (RTK), and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-resistant NSCLC cells. We utilized NSCLC H1975 cells that harbor T790M mutation in the EGFR and are resistant to first and second generation TKIs such as Gefitinib and Erlotinib, while are responsive to the third generation TKI Rociletinib. We next generated multiple, independent sublines of H1975 cells that were grown in chronic presence of Rociletinib. MTT-based cell viability assays established resistance of H1975 sublines to Rociletinib, and Western blots indicated elevated wild type EGFR. On this basis, we tested the ability of TKI Gefitinib that targets wild type EGFR as a single agent as well as in combination with CFM 4.16 to inhibit Rociletinib-resistant NSCLC cells. Our data revealed that although CFM-4.16 or Gefitinib inhibited growth of Rociletinib-resistant cells, their growth inhibition by a combination of both the agents was similar to that noted for the cells that were treated with CFM-4.16 alone. Therefore, our preliminary findings suggest CFM 4.16 alone or in combination with TKIs could be a suitable strategy to inhibit resistant NSCLCs with mutant EGFRs.

A NOVEL STRATEGY TO INHIBIT DRUG-RESISTANT NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER CELLS5


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Mechanical Engineering

Jonathan Kreska, Electrical and Computer EngineeringAngela Tuscany, Electrical and Computer EngineeringKaylah Berndt, Electrical and Computer EngineeringDaniel Burke, University of Michigan

In this work we demonstrate a new approach for formally synthesizing control software for a set of cooperating mobile ground robots. Existing discrete event system theory is applied to efficiently generate a set of modular supervisory controllers that are guaranteed to meet a given set of logical specifications (safety and nonblockingness). A subsequent synthesis step then chooses from amongst the set of legal behaviors allowed by the modular supervisors. The efficiency of this planning step is improved through a novel combination of hierarchy and decomposition. Specifically, a global plan is generated off-line based on a formal abstraction of the full controlled system’s behavior, while a local plan with a receding horizon is generated on-line based on an unabstracted model of the controlled system’s behavior. The unabstracted model is built “on-the-fly” and only the portion of the model needed for the current local plan is stored at any given moment. This work also explains how the supervisory-level of control interacts with the robot-level algorithms that control each robot’s heading and velocity. Finally, we present simulation results for a set of illustrative examples that demonstrate the scalability of the proposed approach.

SCALING THE FORMAL SYNTHESIS OF SUPERVISORY CONTROL SOFTWARE FOR MULTIPLE ROBOT SYSTEMS8


JingHan Fu, Mechanical EngineeringHardik Desai, Mechanical EngineeringWenchao Zhang, Mechanical EngineeringRichard Hill, Mechanical EngineeringNassif Rayess, Mechanical Engineering

This work presents the design and simulation-based validation of a pod-based mobility concept. The design of independent pods that can be attached to arbitrary heavy objects for movement and positioning is presented. The pods are free to rotate about a vertical axis and include two independently-driven wheels situated in an Active Split Offset Castor (ASOC) arrangement. The ASOC architecture allows the achievement of approximately omnidirectional motion with conventional wheels and minimal scrubbing, which makes the design suited to a range of terrains. Furthermore, each of the wheels in the design includes its own independent suspension, which also facilitates operation of the concept in unpaved environments. Once the pods are attached to their target, it is proposed that the object can then be tele-operated with minimal calibration. Specifically, feedback of pod speeds and angular displacements, as well as object heading and angular velocity, is employed to identify the orientation of the pods with respect to one another via a least-squares estimation technique. These feedback signals then also allow the object to be maneuvered by a remote driver, even in the presence of disturbances and wheel slip. The mobility concept is demonstrated via a dynamic simulation model that was constructed based on data from one instantiation of a vehicle that employs a similar pod-based architecture. The vehicle simulation is implemented in Simulink using the Simscape physical modeling extension.

DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF A POD-BASED MOBILITY CONCEPT7


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Biology

Ami Patel, BiologyReem Bazzi, BiologyAlaa Abu-Mahfouz, BiologyRama Zouabi, Chemistry & BiochemistryDr. Mary Tracy-Bee, Biology

The duodenum is an important part of our small intestine. It plays a vital role in the break down of chyme from the stomach, allowing for absorption of food in the small intestine. The duodenum is located distal to the pyloric sphincter and stomach. The purpose of our research was to measure the distance from the pylorus to the major papilla and the distance from the minor papilla to the major papilla. Having a solid understanding of these distances is of great importance to gastrointestinal (GI) doctors as they investigate the pathways through which bile and pancreatic juices pass upon their final draining into the duodenum. These measurements can be used for future medical studies in medicine and to allow for a better understanding of anatomical variations that occur within the small intestine.

VARIATIONS IN DUODENAL LENGTHS OF THE PYLORIS AND THE MAJOR AND MINOR PAPILLA10

Biology

Relicious Eboh, BiologyDawn Misra, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences

African-American women experience a disproportionately high rate of stress-related health problems, including adverse birth outcomes. A few studies have shown that paternal support could moderate or alleviate the stress on pregnant woman, in which in turn may decrease a woman’s chance of having a poor birth outcome. We examined the levels of perceived stress in African-American pregnant woman in relation to their relationship to the father of the baby in a cohort study of preterm birth in Black women in Southfield, Michigan (N=1411; 71% response rate). Data were obtained from maternal interviews during the postpartum hospitalization and medical record abstraction. Levels of perceived stress was measured by Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale for the pregnancy period. The instrument contains 14 items on a 5-point scale (1=never to 5=very often) that ask about feelings and thoughts during the prior month (e.g. “felt upset,” “stressed out”). The status of the mother’s relationship with the father of the baby (FOB) before and during the pregnancy was measured using a 5-point Likert Scale (1= very close to 5=very cold). Women who reported to have a close relationship with the father of the baby during pregnancy experienced less stress than women with a cold relationship. The relationship with FOB before pregnancy seemed to have less effect. Our results suggest that paternal involvement from the father of the baby before and during pregnancy could minimize a women’s stress levels to ensure a healthy, full-term birth.

ARE LEVELS OF PERCEIVED STRESS LOWER IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN PREGNANT WOMEN WHO HAVE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER OF THEIR BABY?

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Psychology (ReBUILD Detroit)

Lindsay Paupert, Psychology (ReBUILD Detroit)Monika Sata, PsychologyDr. Kristen Abraham, Psychology

These analyses were designed to assess whether or not socioeconomic status (SES) acts as a moderator between coping and social support. These data were previously collected as part of a class project for the winter 2016 ReBUILD Detroit health disparities research coordination network course at the University of Detroit Mercy. The sample consisted of 88 participants, all undergraduate students at the University of Detroit Mercy (31.8% male and 68.2% female). Previous studies have indicated that there is a positive correlation between social support and coping (Valentiner, Holahan & Moos, 1994). Studies have also shown that low childhood socioeconomic status may be associated with lower coping skills whereas high childhood socioeconomic status is associated with higher social support (Beatty, Kamarck, Matthews & Shiffman, 2011). Based on these findings it was hypothesized that socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the relationship between social support and active coping such that among individuals with lower socioeconomic status there would be a stronger correlation between social support and active coping as compared to among individuals with a higher socioeconomic status. It was also expected that socioeconomic status would moderate the relationship between social support and avoidant coping such that among individuals with lower SES there would be a stronger negative correlation between social support and avoidant coping as compared to among those of higher SES. In general, the hypotheses were not supported by the results. Regardless of level of socioeconomic status, there were no statistically significant correlations between social support and coping styles. Limitations and implications are discussed.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AS A POTENTIAL MODERATOR FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

COPING AND SOCIAL SUPPORT

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Biology

James Graves, Biology; Elizabeth Stahl, Biology; Monir Mardini, Biology; Cody Bruno, Biology; Nathan Yaldo, Biology; Steven Petrovski, Biology

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a highly antibiotic resistant opportunistic pathogen. Phage (bacterial viruses) could be considered as an antimicrobial agent for use in some types of infections. However, mechanisms may exist for bacteria to avoid killing by viruses just as has occurred with the antibiotics. In this work, P. aeruginosa survivors of phage in a biofilm assay were examined. The host strain P. aeruginosa ATCC 13388 was designated suitable for medical research and biodegradation studies. The strain was able to grow up to the edge of 3 out of 5 different antibiotic discs used in a sensitivity assay. The phage was isolated from the sediment of a tributary of the Detroit River. In the routine test dilution (RTD), to determine the highest titer of phage to give complete lysis, performed on brain heart infusion (BHI) agar, as the multiplicity of infection (MOI) decreased, opacity of the lytic zones increased even though the sites were infected by a high number of phage. The lowest number of phage to give complete lysis was about 10 raised to the power of 4 plaque forming units (PFU). Reducing the cell population density did not appear to have a considerable effect in the RTD assay. The Gram stain of bacteria from lytic zones of apparent complete lysis revealed the presence of gram-negative rods. Colonies of bacteria produced from samples from lytic zones by streak plate culture were similar in appearance to those for the original strain. In a cytochrome oxidase test colonies demonstrated the dark purple pigment characteristic of a positive reaction. The Enterotube II, which is a multiple biochemical test system made of 12 test chambers in a series, showed that the survivors were nonfermentative. Survivors could be missed target cells, phase variants, mutants, revertants or lysogens (cells that maintain the virus internally). It is Important to consider the potential significance of survivors of bacteria after phage therapy.

SURVIVOR PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA BACTERIA THAT AVOID KILLER VIRUSES12


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Biology

Ami Patel, BiologyMartha Flores, BiologyCrystal Kallabat, BiologyKaylee Kromrei, BiologyScott Barton, University of California San Diego - School of MedicineDr. Mary T. Bee, Biology

In multi-campus, multi-year study we investigated the relationship of the size of the common carotid artery versus age of death. A significant and positive correlation was identified bilaterally in the diameter of the common carotid arteries in relationship to age of death in human cadavers ranging from 24 to 101 years old (p=0.013). The diameter of the common carotid artery has been associated with the occurrence and severity of strokes. This may provide insight into circulatory-related procedures in the cervical region or may be indicative of a related genetic predisposition to a higher vascular flow.

VARIATION OF THE COMMON CAROTID ARTERY DIAMETER RELATED TO AGE13


Jessica Kuznicki, Mechanical Engineering

Dentists are always looking for the best materials to fix broken teeth, and make sure the procedure needs to be performed only once. This research was to investigate the amount of stress human teeth with posts could endure before fracturing and compare results from teeth with different kinds of reinforcements. The researcher was given different variations of teeth, immature teeth, teeth with metal post, and teeth with fiber post. Each tooth was set into a PVC pipe filled with a resin that acted as gums. An Instron 8511.40 load frame was used to simulate a uniform stress load to failure of the tooth. The samples were held at a forty-five-degree angle and a downward vertical force was applied. This was done to replicate the standard procedure followed in publications on similar topics. a published research article focusing on stress load on teeth. The results show that there was insignificant difference in force to fracture the tooth, regardless of post design. Experimental results are presented.

COMPARING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS AS REINFORCEMENTS FOR HUMAN TEETH14


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James Baker, Chemistry & BiochemistryJonathan Stevens, Chemistry & Biochemistry

The market for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells is going to grow with the push for alternative energy resources. The main problem facing these fuel cells is the degradation of their membranes. This work provides computations of the resilience of Sulfonated polyether (ether) ketone, or sulfonated PEEK (sPEEK) membrane’s resilience when an OH (hydroxyl) radical attaches to the polymer. Comparing the calculation of the model molecule sPEEK1 with the OH variants allows us to see the enthalpy of attachment of OH to the polymer and the enthalpy of bond breaking reactions following attachment. Activation energies for likely reaction paths will be the subject of future research.

DEGRADATION OF SPEEK POLYMER BY OH RADICALS; MODELING BOND BREAKING REACTIONS16


Demitra Mantzopoulos, Chemistry & BiochemistryKatherine Lanigan, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Over the course of Summer 2016, Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric Analysis (FAAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Mass Spectrometry were used to measure the physiological uptake of copper by Ocimum basilicum (basil herb). Basil herbs have been tested for their potential to be classified as hyperaccumulators, which would allow them to be used for phytoremediation of contaminated soil. Basil seeds were planted in pots containing soil of various copper concentrations. The shoots were harvested, ashed in a muffle furnace, and digested using nitric acid. The shoots were then analyzed using FAAS and ICP to measure the amount of copper uptake in shoots in micrograms per gram of ashed plant material. The soil from each pot was also analyzed using FAAS and ICP, as well as a control soils without basil plant and without the addition of copper. The soil was measured to determine if there was a reduction in copper concentration when plants were present. The physiological uptake values via FAAS and ICP were then subjected to a paired t test, and it was concluded that the differences in the two methods for soil with plants, soil without plants, and for the shoots were not statistically significant. The data indicated that for each specific copper exposure level, the presence of basil plants corresponded to the lower copper levels in the soil detected by the instruments. Further results will be presented.

MEASUREMENT OF COPPER UPTAKE BY OCIMUM BASILICUM PLANTS BY FAAS

AND ICP FOR PHYTOREMEDIATION

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JingHan Fu, Mechanical Engineering

Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machines are an indispensable part of any modern manufacturing system and their performance directly affect the quality of the parts produced. An important component of any CNC machine is its control system which plays a key role in the accuracy and precision of the entire machining system. This work is focused on design and implementation of an open-architecture control system for CNC machines with multiple-axis of motion. The hardware and software architecture of the controller are developed and implemented. The open environment of the control system allows implementation of various interpolators for synchronizing axis motion and various control strategies. In this regard, linear and circular interpolators as well as Fuzzy control system are implemented and the results are presented.

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN OPEN-ARCHITECTURE INTERPOLATOR FOR

CNC MACHINES CONTROL SYSTEM


Wendy Bair, Chemistry & BiochemistryShelby Maurice, Chemistry & BiochemistryMark Benvenuto, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Throughout the years, many types of dietary supplements have been brought to the market. The supplements range from energy boosting shakes, to protein powders, and vitamin supplements, and all claim to be better than the others. In order to determine what elements are present in these supplements they were tested via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF).

18ANALYSIS OF A SERIES OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS VIA ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY

FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY (EDXRF)

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Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering

Ashley Casey, Civil, Architectural & Environmental EngineeringJanasia Johnson, Mechanical Engineering

Livernois Avenue is a north and south running road that has two lanes and a parking lane or shoulder on both sides. The north and south sides are divided by a grass median with some shrubbery and small trees. Between McNichols and Eight Mile road there are six traffic signals for north bound traffic and seven traffic signals for south bound traffic. Recently the north and south bound lanes between Seven Mile Road and St. Martins Ave have been converted to one lane of traffic, a parking lane, and a bike path. Since this traffic shift is not permanent, a traffic study has been conducted to determine the impact of this traffic configuration on traffic flow. GPS based equipment was used to log travel speed, number of delays and number of stops. Data was collected during noon and after-noon peak hours between the signals. This data was used to compare the travel attributes of the journey between the newly configured segment with other segments (both North and South bound). Information related to number of parking spaces as well as business traffic was also collected. This study will highlight the relative level of service of the newly configured segment.

TRAVEL PROFILE OF LIVERNOIS

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Christopher Harness, Electrical and Computer EngineeringZhiguo Zhao, Wayne State Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringEric Kim, Wayne State Department of Biomedical EngineeringYong Xu, Wayne State Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

For biomedical devices, the purpose of an electrode is used as a means of gathering/recording data from different systems. The following research focuses on characterizing the properties of various electrodes [Gold (Au), Iridium Oxide (IrOx), and Silver/Silver Chloride] that can be used in biomedical applications such as a customized micro-device. Several tests were performed to characterize the three different types of electrodes including: measuring impedance, cyclic voltammetry, and measuring potential levels signifying different pH levels for this micro-device. The impedance measurement test was performed through an open circuit to detect resistance measurements through a set range of frequencies resulting in the Au electrode containing an average impedance of 5.79×10³ Ω while the electroplated IrOx electrode had 8.71×10² Ω, picking up less background noise due to its higher electrical resistance. The Cyclic Voltammetry test (used for measuring charge capacity) resulted in the IrOx electrode’s capacity falling in between the range of -2.31×10-⁷ to 4.80×10-⁸ Amps/cm². Lastly, a test to evaluate the performance of the electrodes’ stability and durability in different pH buffer solutions was given to show any differences in potential when compared to a commercial electrode. These electrodes managed to remain stable throughout the duration of the tests, despite minor differences. With the classification of these various electrodes, devices can be properly suited for biomedical purposes and are able to receive sufficient data without causing any harm or other technical faults.

THE CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTIPLE ELECTRODES FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS19 20


25

TRAVEL PROFILE OF LIVERNOIS


Wendy Bair, Chemistry & BiochemistryMichele Bhagwagar, Chemistry & BiochemistryJustin Pothhof, Chemistry & BiochemistryGrace Nguyen, Chemistry & BiochemistryMark Benvenuto, Chemistry & Biochemistry

A series of follis and half follis coins of the Byzantine Empire, determined by the ‘K’ or ‘M’ on their reverses – generally considered to be copper coins – were examined via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) in order to examine major and minor components in the metal. The results indicate some minor elements that are consistent throughout the set of coins. Results will be presented, as will possible implications of the findings

ANALYSIS OF A SERIES OF COINS OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE VIA ENERGY DISPERSIVE

X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY (EDXRF)

21 EXAMINING ATRAZINE ACCUMULATION AND HISTOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE HEPATOPANCREAS

OF CRAYFISH POST-EXPOSURE

22

Biology

Kathrine Yacoo, BiologyDaniel Dayfield, Marygrove CollegeDaniel Maxwell, Chemistry & BiochemistryKaldoun Barawi, BiologyNoor Abraham, BiologyDr. Kendra Evans, Chemistry and BiochemistryDr. Elizabeth Roberts-Kirchhoff, Chemistry and BiochemistryDr. Rachelle Belanger, Biology

Many herbicides, including atrazine (ATR), are known to have long-term adverse effects on aquatic organisms. It is of interest to quantify how ATR accumulates in aquatic organisms. This was done by developing a method to quantify the amount of ATR in the hepatopancreas of the virile crayfish (Orconectes virilis). Crayfish were treated at different environmentally-relevant (80 and 300 ppb) and control concentrations (0 ppb negative control) and 1000 ppb ATR (positive control) for 15 days. Following exposure, hepatopancreas tissue was collected. ATR was extracted from the hepatopancreas using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method. Following the extraction, the ATR recovery was analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The LC-MS method allows for the analysis of ATR and its metabolites. A standard solution of ATR was prepared and analyzed using LC-MS. The amount of ATR in the tissue was determined by using the standard curve of ATR (range - 5-5000 ppb). Additionally, histological changes in the hepatopancreas, including increased vacuolization, were visualized following sectioning and staining with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E).


26

Biology

Meghan Polack, BiologyNolan Patel, BiologyKirby Swan, BiologyKhanh Nguyen, Biology

The goal of our study is to understand tumor growth in humans by studying a knockdown of a cell cycle regulator and tumor suppressor protein named Cables 1. Mutations in the Cables 1 gene have been observed in human colon, lung, endometrial, and ovarian tissue tumors. The downstream effect of a loss of functional Cables 1 protein and tumor suppression that may lead to the development of cancer has yet to be defined. This lab uses a small-interfering RNA (siRNA) approach to disrupt the transcription and translation of the Cables 1 protein in a mammalian cell-line and mimic naturally occurring mutations in this tumor suppressor protein. This siRNA approach will allow us to identify loss of the Cables 1 protein and determine downstream influence of Cables 1 on other cell cycle regulator proteins that may be involved in preventing the development of tissue-specific tumors. Understanding how disruption of the production of Cables 1 drives tumor growth could help to identify novel molecular markers that can be utilized in diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of cancer.


Al baraa Abdul khalek, Chemistry & BiochemistryKaitlan F. Vossen, Chemistry & BiochemistrySabina Kurtovic, Chemistry & BiochemistryKayla C. Lapworth, Chemistry & BiochemistryShahad Zoma, Chemistry & BiochemistryDr. Kendra Evans, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Forced degradation studies are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to investigate the degradation pathways of drugs to indicate the stability of the drugs. Forced degradation reactions are often monitored by stability-indicating assays using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), which enables the quantitation of reactants, intermediates, and degradation products and aids in the identification of unknown species. Because degradation reactions may proceed for many hours, and because frequent sampling allows more precise determination of reaction time course, the investigations would benefit from automated analysis. Traditionally, aliquots of a degradation reaction are sampled into vials and are analyzed later by LC-MS. Disadvantages of this approach include the need for manual sampling from the reaction vessel and the delay in analysis of several hours or longer that necessitates reaction quenching and could result in further degradation in the autosampler vials. We have developed a simple instrument for online monitoring of forced degradation reactions which can be adapted to any commercial LC-MS equipment. The system allows automated, continuous sampling of reaction mixtures by low flow rate vacuum aspiration followed by continuous, computer-controlled injections for online LC-MS analysis. The stability of the automated sampling and injection system was excellent, with 3% relative standard deviation in peak area over a 24-h period. The system was used to examine the forced degradation of a common antiseptic, chlorhexidine, for 24 h with 15-min temporal resolution. Additionally, the development of a stability-indicating assay for the new-to-the-market cancer drug, palbociclib, will be presented.

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF TUMOR SUPPRESSOR PROTEIN CABLES 1 IN CELL CYCLE REGULATION

STABILITY-INDICATING ASSAYS USING LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY23 24


27

Biology

Ana L. Barajas, BiologyMontasir Rahman, BiologySteven Chang, Biology

Nucleic acids extraction from tissues is the first step toward sequencing and quantifying gene expression. This work is part of a larger project that seeks to understand changes in gene expression in zebrafish olfactory tissues in response to treatment with 11-keto-testosterone (11-KT), a steroid hormone. Previous work has shown that exposure of juvenile zebrafish to (11-KT) results in sexual behaviors that mimic those of mature zebrafish. Our interest lies in characterizing the expression of a novel family of olfactory receptors (oras) that have been shown in teleost fish, and have sequence similarity to pheromone receptors. In this study, we extracted RNA from treated and control zebrafish samples olfactory epithelia and olfactory bulbs using an organic extraction method. The RNA samples will be sent to an outside company for sequencing and bioinformatics analyses, which typically require a minimum of 20 ug of RNA. Simultaneously, we extracted RNA from fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) larvae and compared yields. It should be noted that other methods exist for isolation of nucleic acid (i.e. column-based methods), however, the use of organic solvents to isolate RNA is preferred in this case, as column-based methods typically lose about 20% of RNA. Our proximate purpose is to characterize and quantify expression of specific olfactory receptors (oras), however, we are also seeking to create a transcriptome library of gene (messenger RNA) expression. Our results show that the yield of RNA from juvenile zebrafish olfactory epithelia and olfactory bulbs is very low and so, we may need to pool RNA samples.

EXTRACTION AND QUANTIFICATION OF RNA FROM ZEBRAFISH (DANIO RERIO) OLFACTORY

BULB AND OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM

26

Biology

Genevieve Eickholt, BiologyRachelle Belanger, Biology Mathew Heintz, Detroit Zoo

In 1968, the Detroit Zoo opened their first Penguinarium, a building designed specifically for penguins to live and be viewed by the public. It houses four species of penguins: gentoo (Pygoscelis papua), rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome), macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus), and king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), of all different ages. The current Penguinarium provides three habitats for penguins to roam, connected both by land and a continuous pool of water at depths of about 6 feet. In April of 2016, the penguins will be moving to the newly built, 33,000 square-foot Polk Penguin Conservation Center. This building will be much larger than the current Penguinarium, provide areas of water at depths of 25 feet, and will also have more stimulating environmental features. All of these factors will promote the species appropriate behaviors of the penguins in order to promote their optimal welfare. Twenty-seven penguins from the zoo penguin population are part of a large study on the transition of the penguins to the new building. The penguins are observed at specific periods of the day and each penguin can be identified by a specific sequence of beads worn on each flipper. This insures that the data is being collected on the correct penguin. Data is collected using scan sampling in which a given penguin’s location, proximity, and specific behavior (listed on an ethogram) is recorded every sixty seconds for a ten minute period. Also, all occurrence sampling is used, in which specific behaviors from the ethogram (displayed by the focal penguin) are recorded when they occur at any point during the ten minute period. The observations collected from this major change in habitat are for the purpose of a larger, ongoing study being conducted by the Center for Zoo Animal Welfare (CZAW) at the Detroit Zoo. This data will be important in allowing the CZAW to determine how captive penguins deal with a considerable change in environment after living in the same habitat with a similar routine for many years. The study will also be important in determining what types of environmental features promote the best welfare for captive penguins.

OBSERVING THE BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS OF ZOO PENGUINS AS THEY TRANSITION

TO A LARGER AND NEW ENVIRONMENT

25


28

Psychology

Jennifer Nava, PsychologyAnnmarie Cano, Wayne State University

Much of the research looking at implicit gender bias in letters of reference has been for faculty positions in STEM related fields, however the purpose of this study is to examine gender bias in letters of reference being used for the graduate admissions process. We will test whether gender differences are consistent across disciplines (e.g., STEM, social and behavioral sciences), race, and age. We will also attempt to examine letter writers’ gender as it pertains to language usage and potential bias. Letters of reference will be de-identified and then coded through the use of the text analysis application Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). Through LIWC the letters will be analyzed word for word and placed into one of eighty word categories after being compared to the pre-existing internal dictionary (Pennebaker et al., 2001). After coding, all data will be entered into a de-identified database that will not be linked to a master list. Currently the present study is under review and pending approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). It is hypothesized that, in comparison to male applicants, letters for female applicants will be shorter, include more personal attributes and fewer performance attributes as well as containing more references to weaknesses. The current study will serve as a means of achieving equitable access throughout the graduate admissions process.

AN EXPLORATION IN THE GRADUATE ADMISSIONS PROCESS: GENDER BIAS IN FACULTY LETTERS OF REFERENCE

Biology

Montasir Rahman, Biology; Steven Chang, Biology

Organisms process xenobiotic compounds via the cytochrome P450 gene family. These genes are present in the genomes of an organism and are inducible, meaning that they are only expressed upon exposure to the appropriate compound or related substrate. Every organism has the ability to detoxify, meaning they can change a toxic compound to a less- or non-toxic version or into a version that is easily and quickly excreted. The complement of cytochrome P450 genes in an organism depends on its environment and evolutionary history, as organisms in different ecological niches are exposed to different compounds. Sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) are vertebrates of the class Agnatha that appeared about 560 million years ago and so lie at the base of the vertebrate lineage. The genome of the sea lamprey has been sequenced and its unique phylogenetic position allows for comparative analyses with more recently evolved vertebrates to study the evolutionary history of vertebrates. Cytochrome P450 genes have not been well studied in sea lamprey and the sea lamprey genome is not well annotated with respect to P450 genes. Our interest in this gene family arose from the fact that the sea lamprey is invasive to the Great Lakes and efforts to control their population include administering a toxic chemical to infested streams. While selective and effective, little is known about how this chemical works. Previous work has identified the complement of P450 genes in sea lamprey, however, the evolutionary relationship between these putative sea lamprey genes to those characterized in other vertebrates is not known. The preliminary work here shows the alignment of sea lamprey P450 genes with those validated in select, model vertebrate species in an effort to shed light on how P450 genes evolved in vertebrates. We obtained P450 sequences from other vertebrates species (e.g. Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus etc.) and have aligned these sequences with putative sea lamprey P450 genes using MEGA software to create neighbor-joining trees to better visualize the evolutionary relationship of taste receptor genes in vertebrates.

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF CYTOCHROME P450 GENES IN VERTEBRATES27 28


29

AN EXPLORATION IN THE GRADUATE ADMISSIONS PROCESS: GENDER BIAS IN FACULTY LETTERS OF REFERENCE

Psychology

Anna M. Julien, PsychologyLara Jones, Psychology

Abstract: Relational integration refers to the process of inferring a relation between two nouns in which the first noun describes a subtype of the second noun. Integrative priming occurs when word recognition of the second noun or target, (ball) is faster in a lexical decision task (LDT) following a related first noun or prime (beach) in comparison to an unrelated prime (phone). Integrative priming can happen prospectively which means that the target word is anticipated prior to presentation. Or it can happen retrospectively which means that the target word is still facilitated but only after its presentation. The purpose of this ongoing project is to investigate the extent to which integrative priming occurs prospectively. In a continuous LDT, participants decide whether each prime (beach), target (ball), or letter string (frup) is a real word. Consequently, prime and target pairings are not explicit and thus any facilitation of the target would be prospective. Therefore, we used a continuous LDT in our study to determine whether integrative priming is prospective. In Experiment 1, equivalent priming was obtained for integrative pairs (peach – pie), strongly associated integrative pairs (pumpkin – pie), and strongly associated non-integrative pairs (piece – pie). However, the priming for the weakly associated integrative pairs (peach – pie) may have been due to list effects (i.e. inclusion of strongly associated pairs). Thus, for Experiment 2, we have developed a stimulus set that consists of pure (only weakly associated) integrative pairs in order to determine whether prospective integrative priming will occur in the absence of the more robust strongly associated pairs.

IS INTEGRATIVE PRIMING PROSPECTIVE?30


Tierra Modock, Marygrove CollegeBrian Curtis, Chemistry & BiochemistryKlaus Friedrich, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Annulations of pyridinium ylides via Michael additions typically lead to indolizines, bicycic aromatic compounds. The reaction sequence consists of two major steps, a [3+2]-cycloaddition followed by aromatization. The goal of this project was to find substitution patterns on the starting materials and reaction conditions, that would allow for the study of the unstable cycloadducts. Substituted pyridines were N-alkylated using bromoacetates, then reacted with Michael acceptors like ethyl acrylate, acrylamide or N-substituted maleimides to obtain the corresponding tetrahydroindolizines. Reaction conditions, temperature and the nature of the base used to initiate the Michael addition appeared to have little influence on the yield of the indolizines, many of which were isolated in good to excellent yields. The project is ongoing.

THE REACTION OF PYRIDINIUM YLIDES WITH MICHAEL ACCEPTORS29


30

Biology

Christina Jones, BiologySuleyman Felek, Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of DentistryJoshua J. Thomson, Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences,University of Detroit Mercy School of DentistryEric Krukonis, Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, utilizes plasminogen activator (Pla) to activate the host’s circulating plasminogen into plasmin via proteolysis as well as adhere to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and host cells. Once generated, plasmin degrades fibrin clots at the point of infection and allows the bacteria to disseminate to regional lymph nodes and eventually the bloodstream. Pla-mediated cell adhesion on the other hand can facilitate delivery of cytotoxic Yop proteins to host cells via a type 3 secretion system (T3SS). Pla has a β-barrel structure containing five short extracellular loops. We altered various amino acid residues in two of these loops to determine their roles in proteolysis, ECM binding and Yop delivery. While some Pla residues previously defined as critical for cleavage of plasminogen were also important for plasminogen binding (D86, S99, H101, D206), other residues maintained relatively strong plasminogen binding despite being largely or completely unable to cleave the substrate (T96, D97, H208, R211), suggesting those residues are especially critical for proteolysis. Binding of Pla mutants to the ECM protein laminin indicated some distinct residues important for binding. Finally, some residues required for the proteolytic activity of Pla hinder Yop delivery (D86, R211) suggesting these residues, while locking proteolytic substrates in place for cleavage, may impede binding to other substrates.

DISTINCT RESIDUES OF PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR AFFECT PLASMINOGEN CLEAVAGE AND YOP DELIVERY IN YERSINIA PESTIS32RULE ABSTRACTION IN A

HONEYBEE T-MAZE: A PILOT STUDY31


Victoria Torres, Chemistry & BiochemistryArthur McCray, NursingDesiree Austin, Marygrove CollegeDr. Karen Doyle, Marygrove College

Animals have demonstrated cognitive abilities in past experiments, but do honeybees possess a working memory strong enough to use a sequential rule abstraction in a T-maze? Honeybees are very complex, job oriented species that are often observed as a super organism. In past studies honeybees have demonstrated a flexible working memory and rule learning with the use of a Y- maze. A group of honeybees (Apis mellifera) were kept in an observation hive, but to exit foraging bees had to navigate a PVC T-maze with correct and incorrect arms. The incorrect arm was capped and the correct arm lead outdoors to allow for foraging. On both of the arms, a LED emitter-detector pairing was added to record the “choices” made by the bees. The PVC components were altered nightly to create a sequential pattern (day 1 – left, day 2- right, day 3 – left…). The number of correct and incorrect choices for each day were compiled into hours and compared. In the earlier data, honeybees displayed a slight left-turn bias despite which arm was correct, but later data showed an increase in the proportion of correct choices when the right arm was the correct pathway. The win-stay strategy proposed by the left-turn bias directs future manipulations to the orientation of the T-maze in relation to the window, changing the direction of light eliminating any possible associative light cuing.


31


Bianca M. Jones, Chemistry & BiochemistryNolan Kirkman, Chemistry & BiochemistryKlaus J. Friedrich, Chemistry & Biochemistry

The prolonged presence of heavy metal ions or radionuclides in the human body can have deleterious effects. Should it be necessary to treat large numbers of patients for heavy metal or radiological contamination, orally available drugs are necessary that lead to a prompt and as complete as possible removal of the contaminants. Metal ion complexation with e.g. diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) is an approved method to accomplish this. The pentaethyl ester of DTPA has been investigated as a prodrug for metal decorporation, but the low lipophilicity of the chelant itself leads to little or no removal of metal ions from fatty tissues. This projects deals with the synthesis and testing of amino acid-based chelants. Structural variations of the amino acid side chains modify the lipophilicity of the drug. The synthesis is convergent by combining three building blocks to form the prodrug. The central unit consists of a C- and side chain-protected α-amino acid; serine and tyrosine derivatives have been successfully used. The introduction of one building block on either side completes the polydentate chelant. Physiologically innocuous protecting groups have been chosen to make the compounds druggable. Once the chelants have been sufficiently purified, their complexation constants with transition and other metals will be determined.

DECORPORATION: BUILDING BLOCKS FOR CHELANTS34THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL FACTORS, BEHAVIOR, AND NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL INDICATORS

AMONG TEENS WITH ASTHMA

33

Biology

Carmella Goree, BiologyCheryl Miree, BiologyDr. Christine Joseph, Biology

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames ad narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. Asthma has no cure. However, with today's knowledge and treatments, most people who have asthma are able to manage the disease. African American teenagers ages 15-19 have higher asthma-related death rates than white teens and children younger than 14. As in other urban areas, the prevalence of asthma in Detroit Public Schools is higher than that of US children,which is currently around 10%. Asthma can affect the overall quality of life of a young person. Quality of life is defined as the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual. Despite asthma being a burden on so many youth there are few programs to help young people better manage their asthma. And this is why the Puff City program was created. Puff City is a mobile asthma program developed by Henry Ford Hospital and University of Michigan. This program is for teens ages 13-19 who have the opportunity to learn ways to better manage their asthma and live healthier lifestyles. Through the surveys given in this project we find out about social support and smoking habits of teens, and their caregivers.


32


Julia Babecki, Civil, Architectural & Environmental EngineeringDr. Alan Hoback, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering

The Institute of Medicine has estimated that around 20% of serious car accidents are caused by drowsy drivers. According to a series of National Sleep Foundation surveys, only 22% of drivers pull over to sleep if they become drowsy while driving. The surveys uncovered that 23% of people personally know someone who has been involved in a fatigue related crash and that one out three drivers admit to driving while drowsy on a regular basis. With the aforementioned findings, the question remains as to why more drivers do not pull over to sleep when they start to feel tired. The purpose of this survey is to explore if perceptions can impact driving decisions and behavior. The survey first attempts to explore whether or not there is a connection between the perceived ease with which a driver can fall asleep on an average night and the likelihood that they will pull over to sleep if they become tired when driving. Secondly, the survey explores how many participants who stated that they were not likely to pull over from driving believed that they could, in fact, drive safely on a monotonous highway for 90 minutes or more.

THE EFFECTS OF PERCEPTIONS ON DRIVING BEHAVIOR36SYNTHESIS OF A SERIES OF PODAND LIGANDS ALL

INCORPORATING LONG-CHAIN ALIPHATIC MOIETIES35


Sara Tinawi, Chemistry & BiochemistryJustin Pothoof, Chemistry & BiochemistryGrace Nguyen, Chemistry & BiochemistryMark Benvenuto, Chemistry & Biochemistry

A series of podand ligands has been produced, in attempts to create new chelating agents to extract metal ions from aqueous solutions. Common starting materials include 2,6-diaminopyridine and diethylenetriamine, each combined with octanal, decanal or dodecanal via a Schiff’s Base condensation. The goal of the project is to determine if novel, inexpensive ligands can be produced to remediate polluted water streams. Thus, the ligands are designed to be non-specific to various Lewis acids.


33

THE EFFECTS OF PERCEPTIONS ON DRIVING BEHAVIOR

Biology

Mona Hammoud, BiologySameh Shella, BiologyStokes Baker, Biology

Giant duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) is a common aquatic plant that is used for phytoremediation. The subfamily Lemnoidae, unique to other monocotyledonous species, is comprised of morphologically simple flowering aquatic organisms existing just beneath or on the surface of slow-moving bodies of water. A symbiotic microbial community may play a major role in the plants' capabilities in absorbing nutrients and other pollutants. Our goal is to identify the bacteria species that grow as a biofilm on the surface of the plant by using a metagenomic approach. Bacterial species will be identified by sequencing variable region 4 of the 16S rRNA gene and comparing the DNA sequencing to the sequencing store in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). This will be accomplished by constructing libraries through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing the products using next generation sequencing technology (i.e., by Illumina MiSeq). To successfully meet this goal, isolation of bacterial DNA without contaminating plant DNA is crucial. The approach we used was to treat wild duckweed plants with multi-enzyme cleaning solution that hydrolyzes bacterial biofilms. Plate count assays and SYTO 9 fluorescent staining techniques showed that the majority of the bacterial micro-colonies embedded in the biofilm can be extracted without rupturing the plant cells. The bacterial DNA has been isolated and sent out for next generation sequencing. Our current plan is to assess the viability of the bacteria growing in the biofilm by double staining with SYTO 9 and propidium iodide double staining. In this assay, viable bacterial cells will fluoresce green, differentiating with unviable cells that will fluoresce red.

INVESTIGATING BACTERIAL SYMBIOSIS OF SPIRODELA POLYRHIZA

Social Work

Elizabeth Moak, Social WorkScotti Smith, ReBUILDetroit, Wayne State UniversityMarjorie Beeghly, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether child male sex, child externalizing behavior, and child attachment behavior, assessed at age two years, were significant predictors of family negativity observed during a shared book reading task in a low-income, urban sample of 85 mother-secondary caregiver-toddler triads. To evaluate potential covariates, associations of the study variables with demographic factors (i.e., parental marital status, education, family income, and residential status of the secondary caregiver) were also evaluated. It was hypothesized that child male sex and externalizing behavior would each be significant predictors of family negativity during the shared book reading task. It was also hypothesized that child attachment behavior would be negatively associated with family negativity, even after variance attributed to male sex and child externalizing behavior was accounted for. Results of hierarchical regressions confirmed our hypotheses. While significant, the three predictors evaluated in the study accounted for only a small amount of the variance in family negativity. Thus other unmeasured variables are likely playing a role. This possibility will be addressed in future research in the TEDY project.

CHILD SEX, EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR, AND ATTACHMENT AS PREDICTORS OF FAMILY NEGATIVITY DURING A

SHARED BOOK READING TASK

37 38


34

Liberal Arts & Education

Harold H. Greene, PsychologyAleksandar M. Tasich, PsychologyYunus Ayodeji, Marygrove College

Suppression of the magnocellular system hinders spatial attention, which is linked to the eye movement/saccadic pathway. It is not known whether or not aforementioned magnocellular suppression also affects the saccadic pathway. Prior research has shown that diffuse red light suppresses the magnocellular system, especially in the lower visual field (LoVF). Assuming that suppression of the magnocellular system affects the saccadic pathway, we hypothesized that fixation durations would be longer in red as compared to grey light, and that these durations would be even longer for saccades directed towards the LoVF. Eighteen participants were utilized to test this hypothesis by using an EyeLink II eye-tracker, programmed to compare eye movements when searching for a target that was hidden in red and grey noise. It was revealed that fixation durations were indeed longer in the red light trials as opposed to the grey ones, but the effect was not significantly bigger in the LoVF. Emotional and cognitive responses are influenced by the visual system. Therefore, this research not only contributes to our ability to predict performance in spatial-attention guided tasks (e.g., visual search, reading, scene viewing), but also our ability to better treat neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

VISUAL SEARCH IN RED LIGHT: A TEST OF MAGNOCELLULAR SUPPRESSION


Yuncong Pang, Civil, Architectural & Environmental EngineeringAlexa Rihana-Abdallah, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering

The world’s largest plume of trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination, extending about 6 miles over 4,000 acres, has polluted drinking water wells in Mancelona, a rural, low-income community in northern Michigan. The contaminated aquifer is estimated at 13 trillion gallons. Currently, Mancelona residents have a municipal water system to provide safe drinking water. The TCE plume is venting into the Cedar River which flows into Lake Bellaire, which ultimately discharges into Lake Michigan. The aim of this study is to model the extent of the TCE plume and assess the environmental impact on the aquifer. BIOCHLOR v2000 from EPA is used for modeling the solute fate without decay. The model simulates a three-dimensional advection transport based on the past movement of plume. The results show that the model follows closely the sampling data previously collected. Modeling the plume is of vital importance as it predicts the time it takes for TCE to reach Lake Michigan and contaminates the drinking wells along its path. The ultimate goal of the research is to investigate innovative technologies that can help contain or retard the spread of the plume and prevent further damage to the area and aquifer.

MODELING TCE GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION IN MANCELONA, MICHIGAN39 40


35


Daniel Kolpasky, Mechanical EngineeringMelissa Kutchey, Mechanical EngineeringBrice Thelen, Mechanical Engineering

We created Titan Motorsports Racing at UDM in 2014 in order to compete in the Shell Eco-marathon and the SAE Supermileage competitions. These multi-national competitions in Michigan were created to challenge students to design and create vehicles that reach maximum fuel efficiency. In order to do this, teams creatively design very small, single person vehicles that are lightweight, very aerodynamic and use engines fit for a weed wacker. In our first year (2014-15), we achieved 380 mpg and had the best performing rookie car at the SAE Supermileage competition. Coming into the 2015-16 academic year, the goal was to achieve 500 mpg. In order to do this, the team completely rebuilt our vehicle, changing most design elements and adding a fuel injection system. We completely designed and built the entire vehicle ourselves. The front frame is welded aluminum and the rear engine mount is made from a steel Terratrike frame. The body is made of carbon fiber and corrugated plastic, and the engine is a fuel injected Briggs and Stratton Jr 206. We finished the SAE competition in 8th place out of 17 teams with 581 mpg. Next season we plan on using a smaller engine and having a carbon fiber monocoque in order to reduce overall vehicle weight. Our goal for next season is to achieve 800+ mpg.

SAE STUDENT CHAPTER- TITAN MOTORSPORTS RACING

PRELIMINARY PREPARATION AND SET-UP FOR TESTING OF PROTON EXCHANGE FUEL CELL41 42


Yussef Awin, Mechanical EngineeringNihad Dukhan, Mechanical Engineering

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy stored in fuel (hydrogen) into DC electricity. Fuel cells have high energy efficiency (over 80%) and no emissions; they have been considered for powering cars. Unlike batteries, fuel cells operate continuously as long as the reactants are supplied, and they continuously generate heat. One of the prime technical challenges of fuel cells is the management of the generated heat- an issue that adversely affect performance and durability and leads to degradation. Metal foam is highly porous with web-like internal structure. It has high thermal conductivity and large surface area. As such, the foam is an excellent heat transfer medium. It is proposed to investigate a metal-foam cooling system for fuel cells. As a first step, a commercial fuel cell must be characterized in terms of power, reactants flow rates, temperatures and water flow rate (as a product). The purpose of this poster to highlight work that has been done in the road towards characterizing the performance of typical proton exchange fuel cell.


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Mikael Paulik, Electrical and Computer EngineeringRafael Orantes, Electrical and Computer EngineeringVarkey Periyappurathu, Electrical and Computer EngineeringMarcus Barnett, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Our goal in this project was to use the Pioneer Robot chassis in conjunction with a TechArts HCS12 microcontroller board and the Pixy Cam 5 to develop a robot capable of autonomous motion in avoiding obstacles and following color codes. To accomplish this we developed four movement modes each with different levels of priority to allow the robot to search for a color signal, follow a located color signal, pass through color marked doorways, and avoid obstacles. Significant aspects of the project include use of the Pixy Cam to detect colors, use of sonar sensors within the robot chassis to detect obstacles, a system to display the current mode of operation, programming the microcontroller using basic C, and the integration of the components.

AUTONOMOUS COLOR GUIDED ROBOT


Pedro Munoz, Mechanical EngineeringNassif Rayess, Mechanical Engineering

The suspension is one of the principal systems responsible for a number of dynamic handling functions on an automobile. One such function is to isolate the passengers from road excitation. A quarter car suspension test rig has been developed to allow engineering students to experience firsthand a suspension at work by simulating the road excitation as well as the car mass. The test rig includes two movable platforms: a first emulates the road and consists of a plate on which the tire rests and that is driven by a hydraulic cylinder; and, a second platform that emulates the vehicle and provides the attachment points for a commercially available vehicle suspension. The two platforms are connected in the same manner as the vehicle is connected to the ground, by the suspension. This poster will provide details of the design, construction and assembly of the quarter car as well as the associated curriculum and the planned use in engineering courses.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A QUARTER CAR TEST RIG FOR USE IN THE ENGINEERING CURRICULUM43 44 A VISION DIRECTED AUTONOMOUS ROBOT

FOR OBJECT COLLECTION


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Qi Peng, Electrical and Computer EngineeringShidi Zhang, Electrical and Computer EngineeringHongjie Yu, Electrical and Computer EngineeringYamei Xiao, Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this project, we are supposed to work with a CrustCrawler Nomad wheeled robot and an associated AX12A Smart Robotic Arm to develop an autonomous robot who can scan, track and pick up a specific colored-target in a flat ground and then drop it off at a specific place. The main component is the TechArts 9S12 board with which we program the embedded C language to implement the control and communication with the robot. This project is aiming at developing a 9S12 microprocessor based autonomous robot that can finish some specific action. We are supposed to explore the interior intelligent units of the MC9S12DP512 with which we were going to control and communicate with the Nomad robot and get it friendly response our instructions then realize the corresponding action such as tracking the specific colored target and pick it up. To develop a deep understanding of the features associated with the 9S12 Interrupts, Serial (SCI), PWM, and Timer modules while working with the robot, we were provided a 9S12 board from Technological Arts (provided by UDM), a Nomad wheeled robot, an AX12A Smart Robotic Arm, and all other necessary elements. We implement couple of the communications with the 9S12 microprocessor. In general, SCI0 is used to communicate with the Arm so control its gesture and coordinate, SPI0 is used to talk with the Camera, the ECT module combined PWM is used to generate the proper motor drive signal and get the corresponding feedback so as to adapt the mobility of the robot. In addition, we use ATD module to collect the ultrasonic sensor’s distance data to implement the obstacle avoidance.

AN IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIFIC COLORED-TARGET TRACKING ROBOT: BASED ON 9S12 MICROPROCESSOR


Gerardo Olivares, Electrical and Computer EngineeringAmadou Kane, Electrical and Computer EngineeringHengyang Zheng, Electrical and Computer EngineeringHao Jiang, Electrical and Computer Engineering

We utilized an adaptec HS12 board from Technological Arts (provided by UDM) with a CrustCrawler Nomad wheeled robot and a AX12A Smart Robotic Arm to develop an autonomous robot. The robot is programmed to work in a few different modes. The robot roams around in random walk mode and switches to obstacle avoidance mode when it detects obstacles. When no obstacle is present the robot will search for a colored object and once the object is detected, the robot navigates towards it and picks it up. Once the object has been collected, the robot scans for a colored drop-off area using the camera system. Finally, the robot drops off the object and starts the sequence all over. The main task was to program using embedded C and that the robot should be autonomous.

A VISION DIRECTED AUTONOMOUS ROBOT FOR OBJECT COLLECTION45 46


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Kaylah Berndt, Electrical and Computer EngineeringAngela Tuscany, Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most dominating ideas in today’s networking research. It assumes a full connectivity of all today’s devices through different types of networks; such devices include automobiles, personal electronics, and home electronics (e.g. coffee makers, fridges, home furnaces… etc). This project is a peek into the implementation of IoT systems in terms of device control, data collection, and data communication. A monitoring and warning system is developed to alarm home owners of the water level in their sump pump pits. Google’s text messaging services are used to send status alerts to users making the communication free or at very low cost. Furthermore, the system allows users to control switched devices remotely from any WiFi/cellphone -enabled network through smartphones or any web browser-enabled device.

UTILIZING IOT FOR HOME MONITORING AND CONTROL APPLICATIONS


John Petrykowski, Mechanical EngineeringChristian Espinoza, Mechanical EngineeringJessica Kuznicki, Mechanical EngineeringJonathan Soriano, Mechanical EngineeringNassif Rayess, Mechanical Engineering

The DreamFit V2 is a product that is being developed at Detroit Mercy to act as a personal trainer for those using dead weights or those in the martial arts. The basic premise is to imbed accelerometers into workout gloves along with an Internet of Things (IoT) communication system that together with a mobile device application will inform the user about critical aspects such as energy expenditure, hand trajectory and form. The benefits of such a technology is that it allows the user to stay engaged and optimize the workout while remaining safe. This product can be sold to individuals or it can be incorporated in gyms. The DreamFit V2 and application will track workouts, perfect form, count/track calories, and bring attention to the finer details of workouts that are overlooked.

DREAMFIT V2: AN ELECTRONIC FITNESS TRAINER FOR USE WITH DUMBBELLS4847 FLEXTECH: A SMART SLEEVE TECHNOLOGY

FOR MONITORING REHABILITATION PROGRESS AFTER KNEE SURGERY


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Nayan Patel, Electrical and Computer EngineeringTheodore Chase, Electrical and Computer EngineeringRyan Welsh, Electrical and Computer Engineering

The primary task of this project was to use an HS12 microcontroller to program the Pioneer 3DX to be able to wander randomly and avoid obstacles that may be present in a given space. This involves developing an algorithm that allows the robot to assess the present situation and respond in an effective manner. This is accomplished by the use embedded sonar sensors and a Pixy Camera. The HS12 processor module is an external device that will bridge the communication between the robot and other peripheral devices. The processor can receive inputted data from the external sensors and output data to the robot’s motors. This is the brain of the robot and contains all of the algorithms that enable dynamic movement based on the functions. The algorithms for this contain switching of tasks from a wander mode to a color following mode to reach the goal of looking for the door color codes and plan a path to drive through it autonomously.

HIGH-BAY-MAN ROBOT50FLEXTECH: A SMART SLEEVE TECHNOLOGY FOR MONITORING REHABILITATION PROGRESS AFTER KNEE SURGERY

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John Belanger, Electrical and Computer EngineeringPaulina Torres, Mechanical EngineeringEmmanuel Mosley, Mechanical EngineeringNassif Rayess, Mechanical Engineering

About 700,000 people in the United States require knee surgery every year. These people go through a long and painful process where they have to monitor how much and how often they can move. The FlexTech Smart Sleeve gives therapists live-feedback and a log of how much and how often their patients move. With this information therapists can better monitor and adjust a patient’s therapy. FlexTech’s end goal is to reduce the time it takes for a patient to be rehabilitated by having your therapist monitor their patients movements and activity levels. The FlexTech Smart Sleeve is a flexible sleeve that is instrumented using an Electroactive polymer sensor coupled with a wireless internet-based communication device. When worn by the patient, the FlexTech Smart Sleeve records the movements of the knee and generate a log that can be viewed by the therapist for improving the rehabilitation regime.


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Sara Thomas, Chemistry & BiochemistryGrace Nguyen, Chemistry & BiochemistryDiamond Stokes, Marygrove CollegeMark Benvenuto, Chemistry & BiochemistryElizabeth Roberts-Kirchhoff, Chemistry & Biochemistry

The sale and use of cosmetics is an enormous business throughout the world. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C) gives authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. The FDA does not approve cosmetic products in the same way as it monitors food and food supplements. This study examines the components of thirty-eight powdered cosmetics including foundation and eye shadows often referred to as mineral makeups with a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer to determine what elements are present The response of the XRF instrument was evaluated by comparing the results from the XRF analyzer with certified values in two soil standards. With one of the standards, the percent error was less than 14% for iron, lead, titanium, manganese, zinc, strontium, and copper. In the makeup samples, the presence of the different elements was determined by analyzing the XRF spectra for each sample. Most samples contained titanium, and one eyeshadow sample had significantly more chromium than the other makeup samples. Future work will include the analysis of other elements in the makeup samples.

ANALYSIS OF MINERAL COSMETICS WITH A HANDHELD X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYZER


Jean-Luc Pierre-Louis, Mechanical EngineeringNassif Rayess, Mechanical Engineering

There are very few things in life that rival the positive feelings engendered by impending parenthood. However, for the disabled parents-to-be, this joy gives way to worries about the "mechanics" of baby care, i.e. transportation and handling of the baby. A central concern is finding a crib that can be used safely by a parent in a wheelchair. There are few options, not all of them safe but all fairly expensive. This dilemma is addressed by creating a design where a best-selling commercially available crib is modified by raising it eighteen inches, reinforcing the frame and changing the door mechanism to allow it to slide sideways. The design employs simple woodworking operations using common tools and easily purchased hardware and is fully documented. As such, it can be implemented by any person with modest woodworking facilities. This poster will present the main design features as well as plans and procedures for widespread sharing and dissemination.

DESIGN OF A SIMPLE AND SAFE WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE BABY CRIB51 52 ANALYSIS OF COCOA POWDER SAMPLES WITH A

HANDHELD X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYZER


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Zinb W. Wehishi, Chemistry & BiochemistryYusra B. Al Abdulla, Chemistry & BiochemistryMark A. Benvenuto, Chemistry & BiochemistryElizabeth S. Roberts-Kirchhoff, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Investigations were conducted to evaluate various elements in sixteen different powdered cocoa samples and four Standard Reference Materials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology using a handheld X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. This method was rapid, simple and inexpensive in comparison to other techniques that are used for the same purpose. As indicated by XRF analysis, all samples included approximately the same components but in different amounts. Among the studied elements in the sixteen sample of cocoa, the most abundant mineral was potassium followed by iron, zinc, copper and manganese. Calcium was also there, but the concentration was not verified. In addition, nickel and rubidium were detected in some of the samples. No cadmium was detected in any of these samples.

ANALYSIS OF COCOA POWDER SAMPLES WITH A HANDHELD X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYZER53 54


Colin Cashner, Mechanical EngineeringNassif Rayess, Mechanical EngineeringShuvra Das, Mechanical Engineering

Muscle atrophy and contractures is a degenerative condition that is aggravated by lack of physical movement. Daily physical therapy is a solution from a medical perspective but is not one from an economic perspective. Most often, a client quickly runs out of allotted time with a physical therapist which causes the existing condition to worsen and for emotional difficulties to set in. Developed is an automated device that will substitute for an actual therapist in the repetitive tasks of exercising the muscles. The device is designed to be used independently and in one’s home albeit under the supervision of a licensed medical professional. This device makes use of positive and negative air pressure to either inflate or deflate a bladder that is attached to a glove-like wearable apparatus. Finite element methods are used, along with an iterative technique to tailor the wall thickness of the bladder in order to achieve desired shape. Details and examples of the bladder design are presented.

DEVELOPMENT OF A TAILORED INFLATION BLADDER FOR USE IN AN AUTOMATED, PERSONAL HAND REHABILITATION DEVICE


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Sabrina R. Baghaie, BiologySara L. Thomas, Chemistry & BiochemistryMichelle Y. Wu, Chemistry & BiochemistryMark A. Benvenuto, Chemistry & BiochemistryElizabeth S. Roberts-Kirchhoff, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Samples of ground spices (turmeric, onion powder, garlic salt, and mustard) were analyzed with a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. The soil fundamental parameters calibration method was employed for the analysis of thirty-seven elements. The presence of the different elements were verified looking at the XRF spectra for each sample. The concentrations of elements found in each sample were reported. In over 80% of the samples, potassium was detected. In all samples but one, iron was detected. Five samples contained bromine above the limit of quantitation. Other elements detected in the ground spices include zinc, calcium, copper, manganese, and titanium.

ANALYSIS OF GROUND SPICES WITH A HANDHELD X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYZER56


Tamia Waller, Chemistry & BiochemistryAna deCarvalho, Henry Ford Hospital System Hermelin Brain Tumor Center Margaret Martinez, Biology

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most prevalent and aggressive primary central nervous system tumor, which is highly resistant to the current therapies. Most somatic genomic changes driving these tumors are infrequent. MET oncogene is amplified in 4% of GBM cases. MET gene codes for a receptor tyrosine kinase involved in embryogenesis and wound repair in healthy cells. Activation of MET in GBMs contributes to proliferation, survival and invasion of cancer cells. Increased rate of mutations and occurrence of fusion genes commonly observed in association with oncogene amplification. Patient-derived tumor models have been shown to capture the genomic make up and represent the molecular diversity of the patient population. Our study focuses on verifying the expression of MET and of MET fusion with the adjacent gene CAPZA2 gene in glioblastoma samples from 3 patients presenting MET gene amplification. For each patient, we analyzed the original tumor biopsy tissue, matched cultured cancer stem cells (CSC), and tumor xenografted into mouse brains. Through RT-PCR and Gel-electrophoresis, we demonstrated that wild-type MET was present in the biopsy and xenograft samples from all three GBM cases. The fusion transcript was present in two of the three biopsy and xenograft samples. We then tested the sensitivity of the MET-expressing CSCs to the multi-kinase inhibitor cabozantinib (Exelixis). The MET tyrosine kinase protein is known for promoting the survival, proliferation, and invasion of not only GBM, but many tumorigenic cancers, making this research applicable to a wide variety of cancer fields.

MET EXPRESSION IN GLIOBLASTOMA55 RULE ABSTRACTION IN A HONEYBEE T-MAZE: A PILOT STUDY


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Psychology

Zia Muntford, Psychology

Intimate partner violence is a serious health and social problem in the United States, causing both short and long term consequences in which could be detrimental to the victim. Screening rates for intimate partner violence are inconsistent and low.

The expectation by The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is justified by the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence (NIPSC) and Victimization of Sexual Orientation survey (VSO) that found one in three women (36%) and on in four men (29%) surveyed reported having experienced IPV, including physical violence, rape and stalking. More specifically, 57% of women and 92% of men experienced physical violence alone. Furthermore, 44% lesbian, 61% bisexual and 35% of heterosexual women, as well as 26% of gay men, 37% of bisexual men, and 29% of heterosexual men have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking in their lifetime.

This qualitative grounded theory study used national sample of newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) to conduct individual interviews. The interviews focused on (a) the perceived beliefs and attitudes of NLRNs regarding screening for DV, (b) how these perceived beliefs are influenced by pre-licensure education and additional training in the workplace, (c) how and why these NLRNs would use existing pre-selected screening tools for domestic violence.

Seventeen NLRNs were interviewed. Each BUILD student coded three manuscripts using grounded theory with guidance from the principal investigator. Four themes were identified: taboo, intuition, preparedness, and comfort level. Many NLRNs admitted they weren’t educated enough on domestic violence or how to screen nor were aware that screening tools e available beyond “Do you feel safe”. All participants were strong in their suggestions regarding educational needs that included role play, hands on learning and simulation. Also reeducation, yearly, in this area would be highly recommended for all nurses that work directly with patients.

READINESS OF NEWLY LICENSED REGISTERED NURSES TO SCREEN FOR INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE58RULE ABSTRACTION IN A

HONEYBEE T-MAZE: A PILOT STUDY57


Victoria Torres, Chemistry & BiochemistryArthur McCray, NursingDesiree Austin, Marygrove CollegeKaren Doyle, Marygrove College

Can foraging honeybees learn and use an abstract rule in a T-maze? Bees have previously demonstrated a flexible and proficient navigational system along with the creation and adaption of abstract rules. A colony of bees was maintained indoors with access to the outside to allow for foraging. To exit, foraging bees were presented with a PVC T-maze equipped with both a correct and incorrect pathway arm. Both pathways included an LED emitter-detector pairing to track movement. The correct location led to the exit and the incorrect location did not allow bees access to the outside. To test for alternating rule abstraction, experimenters changed maze components so that the correct pathway alternated daily (e.g Day 1 – Left, Day 2 – Right, Day 3 - Left). Maze components were also placed in a planned randomized fashion to control for navigational pheromones. Disruptions in emitter-detector pairings were recorded and counted as behavioral choices. The amount of correct and incorrect choices were compiled each day and compared across the experiment. From early data, bees chose the left arm of the T-maze proportionately more often than the right regardless of correct arm, but most recent data suggests this may be a transitive effect. As previous literature demonstrates that bees can navigate a Y-maze using a rule, the absence of rule abstraction in this current study may be due to associative cuing. Future manipulations include changing spatial location of the T-maze so arms are equidistant to the exit and examination of bees’ natural instinct towards win-stay strategies.


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University of Detroit MercyCollege of Engineering & Science

4001 West McNicholsDetroit Michigan 48221-3038

http://eng-sci.udmercy.edu/

Driven to Succeed

60. VITAMIN D AND VITAMIN K EFFECTS ON GENE EXPRESSION IN HUVEC Nursing Royce Swasey Francesca Luca Many studies indicate hypovitaminosis D (Artaza, Mehrotra, Norris 2009) and hypovitaminosis K (Asmar, Naoum, Arbid 2014) as risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and complications. Here we studied the effects of vitamin D and vitamin K on gene expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Prior to this investigation, gene expression changes had been studied in the Luca lab in HUVECs treated with vitamin D and LCLs treated with vitamin K. From these previous results, we selected genes that were either up-‐ or down-‐regulated following vitamin D or K treatment as compared to control samples. We then treated HUVECs with a high dose of vitamin D (1mM), low dose of vitamin D (0.1uM), low dose of vitamin K (1uM), and ethanol, as a vehicle control. Cell lysis and RNA extraction was performed with Qiagen’s RNeasy Plus Mini Kit on the QIAcube instrument (Qiagen). We determined RNA concentration after isolation by spectrophotometry using a NanoDrop 1000 and synthesized cDNA through reverse transcription with the SuperScript® III First-‐Strand Synthesis System. Primers were then designed using UCSC Genome Browser (for gene sequences and primer sequence database) and NCBI’s Primer-‐BLAST (to find primers specific to our PCR template) which uses Primer3 and BLAST. Primers must sufficiently cross an exon-‐exon junction and contain a melting temperature (Tm) minimum of 59°C, optimum of 60°C, and maximum of 61°C. cDNA samples and primer designs are now prepared to be used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to quantify gene expression. By studying these compound’s effects on gene expression in HUVECs, we can further understand their effects on the cardiovascular system and the organism as a whole.

61. REGULATION OF TOXIN GENE EXPRESSION BY TCDC FROM CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE Chemistry & Biochemistry Anthony Croft, Chemistry & Biochemistry Adam Boyden, Chemistry & Biochemistry Andrew Fieg, Chemistry & Biochemistry The human body is crawling with tons of microorganisms, throughout the digestive tract there are 1000s of different species of bacteria. Although most go unnoticed some can attack the body and result in fatal infections. Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) is a spore-‐forming anaerobic bacteria that causes colon inflammation and severe diarrhea in humans. People are generally exposed to C. diff. during hospital visits. Virulent strains of C. diff. carry Toxin A and Toxin B that cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract once released. Regulatory genes TcdA and TcdB control toxin expression and are located on the bacteria’s pathogenicity locus together with tcdR, tcdC, and tcdE. TcdR acts as a positive regulator for toxin release, tcdE works to enhance the release of tcdA and TcdB ultimately allowing toxin release into host cells, and tcdC is believed to act as a negative regulator for toxin release. Although C. diff. can be killed by some antibiotics little is known about why some virulent strains can be treated while others cannot so the use of antibiotics proves to be rather difficult. My research focuses on tcdC proteins and how they bind to G4 quadruplexes found in DNA. G4 quadruplexes are tertiary structures that form between Guanine base pairs in DNA and RNA. Prior research has shown that truncated versions of both tcdC proteins and DNA with G4 quadruplexes can successfully bind together. In my research I am using naturally occurring versions of tcdC and DNA oligonucleotides, which are short nucleic acid chains commonly used in research, so that my results can be directly relatable to regulation of toxin release in vivo. So far I have worked to grow E-‐coli bacteria that has the ability to express tcdC proteins and isolate a culture to harvest those proteins. I then worked to purify those proteins so that the isolated tcdC protein could be used for binding. I used oligonucleotide to bind with tcdC proteins, unfortunately in the trial binding there was no evidence that any binding occurred so I also tested G4 folding capabilities in oligonucleotides mixed with Triton x-‐100 to make sure G4 quadruplexes are not denatured. Enabling these oligonucleotides to express tcdC gets us one step closer to being able to inhibit toxin release in Clostridium difficile. The human body is crawling with tons of microorganisms, throughout the digestive tract there are 1000s of different species of bacteria. Although most go unnoticed some can attack the body and result in fatal infections. Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) is a spore-‐forming anaerobic bacteria that causes colon inflammation and severe diarrhea in humans. People are generally exposed to C. diff. during hospital visits. Virulent strains of C. diff. carry Toxin A and Toxin B that cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract once released. Regulatory genes TcdA and TcdB control toxin

expression and are located on the bacteria’s pathogenicity locus together with tcdR, tcdC, and tcdE. TcdR acts as a positive regulator for toxin release, tcdE works to enhance the release of tcdA and TcdB ultimately allowing toxin release into host cells, and tcdC is believed to act as a negative regulator for toxin release. Although C. diff. can be killed by some antibiotics little is known about why some virulent strains can be treated while others cannot so the use of antibiotics proves to be rather difficult. My research focuses on tcdC proteins and how they bind to G4 quadruplexes found in DNA. G4 quadruplexes are tertiary structures that form between Guanine base pairs in DNA and RNA. Prior research has shown that truncated versions of both tcdC proteins and DNA with G4 quadruplexes can successfully bind together. In my research I am using naturally occurring versions of tcdC and DNA oligonucleotides, which are short nucleic acid chains commonly used in research, so that my results can be directly relatable to regulation of toxin release in vivo. So far I have worked to grow E-‐coli bacteria that has the ability to express tcdC proteins and isolate a culture to harvest those proteins. I then worked to purify those proteins so that the isolated tcdC protein could be used for binding. I used oligonucleotide to bind with tcdC proteins, unfortunately in the trial binding there was no evidence that any binding occurred so I also tested G4 folding capabilities in oligonucleotides mixed with Triton x-‐100 to make sure G4 quadruplexes are not denatured. Enabling these oligonucleotides to express tcdC gets us one step closer to being able to inhibit toxin release in Clostridium difficile.

62. THE EFFECTS OF SUSTAINING A SPORTS RELATED CONCUSSION ON PERCEPTION OF RISK TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SPORT Psychology Jasmina Cunmulaj, Psychology Molly McClelland, PhD, RN, ACNS-‐BC, CMSRN, Nursing Introduction: Contact sports have been prevalent in society for years. However, not until recently have researchers and doctors found that sustained concussions can have harmful, life-‐altering post-‐concussion effects, often permanent. There is limited research done comparing the effects that sustaining a concussion has on athletes’ decision to remain in the sport. Additionally, more research needs to be done in order for contact sport athletes to continue to be able to participate in the sport they are so passionate about while preventing concussions. Background: The effects of participating in a contact sport (ie…football, hockey, rugby, boxing, etc…) as well as sustaining a concussion as an outcome is an influential factor in deciding whether to continue participating further in the sport. A vast majority of contact sport athletes are aware of the hazards of concussions and the potentially negative health outcomes. New rules and regulations have been implemented to prevent concussions but many athletes are still experiencing traumatic brain injuries. Objective: The purpose of this concussion study was to understand contact sport athlete decision to remain playing despite the risk for sustaining a concussion. Additionally, a second objective was to determine if sustained permanent negative health outcomes would alter the decision to remain playing the sport. Method: Approval was obtained from UDM’s institutional review board (IRB) prior to beginning the study. Purposive sampling was implemented. Contact sport athlete volunteers included athletes over the age of 18 who had: 1.) Sustained concussions and were retired, or 2.) Were currently playing and had sustained one or more concussions, or 3.) Current contact sport athletes who had not sustained a concussion. Each volunteer was issued a survey of questions regarding their past history and knowledge of concussions. Follow-‐up discussion-‐type interviews were also implemented which allowed for more in depth conversation of participants feelings and past experiences with concussions. All volunteers were given a flow-‐chart questionnaire to determine if the volunteer had sustained a concussion(s), the severity of the concussion(s), number of concussions sustained, and any follow-‐up treatment done post-‐concussion. **Additional qualitative information regarding concussions was also received from NHL professional athletic team trainer**

Results: A total of 12 volunteers participated in the study from a variety of contact sports. 6 out of 7 hockey players interviewed had sustained one or more concussions. All participating contact sport athletes who sustained concussions admitted noticeable health-‐related changes afterwards. These changes included, but were not limited to; changes in memory (most commonly reported symptom), slowing of cognitive, irritability, and depression. All athletes stated that they would continue to participate in the sport regardless of the known risks for concussion. Athletes were also aware of the association between number of concussions and length of time playing although this knowledge did not deter the athlete from leaving the sport. One volunteer who had experienced an excessive amount of concussions, reported suffering from multiple post-‐traumatic disorders including; memory loss, irritability, depression, and epilepsy. The volunteer stated “It is sad because I don’t remember half of my life that happened to me at a younger age”. Conclusion: Knowledge of risk for sustaining concussion and potential significant health-‐related negative outcomes do not deter contact sport athletes from participating in high-‐contact sports. Therefore, scientists, researchers and sports administrators need to determine improved ways to prevent athletes from sustaining concussions while still being able to participate in the sport.

63. NON -‐SHINE -‐DALGARNO TRANSLATION INITIATION AND REGULATION MECHANISMS Chemistry & Biochemistry Nathaniel Nunez, Chemistry & Biochemistry Nadra Alhusini, Department of Biological Science, Wayne State University Jared Schrader, Department of Biological Science, Wayne State University It is generally accepted that prokaryotic translation is governed and initiated through base paring of the Shine-‐Dalgarno sequence on mRNA with the anti-‐Shine-‐Dalgarno sequence on the 16s ribosomal subunit. Despite this foundational translation model proposed through work in E. coli, recent studies have shown that a myriad of bacterial species, including many clinically important species such as Mycoplasma genitalium utilize Shine Dalgarno mediated translation in as little as 8 percent of their genome but these organisms have slow doubling times and lack genetic tools. Caulobacter crescentus is a fast growing, genetically tractable, non-‐pathogenic organism with Shine-‐Dalgarno sites in <24% of its genes making it an ideal model organism to study non-‐Shine-‐Dalgarno translation. This research aims to quantify the role of initiation factors and ribosomal proteins on non-‐Shine-‐Dalgarno translation in C. crescentus. These initiation factors and ribosomal proteins will be purified for an in vitro and in vivo analysis of translational efficiency on non-‐Shine-‐Dalgarno mRNAs.

64. AUTOMATED TWEET ANNOTATION FOR OPINION MINING AND SENTIMENT ANALYSIS Mathematics & Software Engineering Jalil Dennis, Mathematics & Software Engineering Colton Wirgau, Mathematics & Software Engineering Shadi Banitaan, Mathematics & Software Engineering Machine Learning, Data Mining, and Big Data are major focuses of the Software Engineering Realm. Machine Learning for Sentiment Analysis can provide very useful insight, however most methods of creating a predictive model for machine learning require manual intervention through annotation. Studies show that emojis and emoticons can be associated with Ekman’s six facially recognizable emotions and that accurate predictive models have been built for other languages using emoji’s, not manual annotation, as the base. Further studies show that humans do, in fact, express emotions in text with consistency. Hence the goal of the research is to show that automatic annotation of English text, obtained from Twitter, through observations about emojis and emoticons can yield an accurate predictive model which allows for an increase in size and speed of the creation of training sets.

Documents

E&S Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium