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The Effects of Cortisol on Blood Coagulation in Zebrafish
Get PDFIn humans, increased cortisol can lead to pathological increases in blood coagulation, in turn leading to thrombotic events such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. Cortisol appears to promote coagulation by upregulating the transcription of coagulation factors, thereby increasing the likelihood of the coagulation cascade. It is possible that cortisol has a similar effect on clotting in zebrafish, via effects on transcription of coagulation factors. If so, this would support the use of zebrafish as a model organism for testing anti-coagulant medications. I hypothesized that cortisol induces transcriptional upregulation of genes encoding coagulation factors in zebrafish, as in humans. Additionally, that transcript levels of the coagulation factor genes will be higher in stressed females than stressed males. Male and female zebrafish (n=34) were exposed to acute stressors for 7 days, resulting in an unpredictable chronic stress environment. Additional males and females (n=34) were not exposed to the stress environment and were used as control. Twenty-four hours after the seven-day treatment, the fish were euthanized, and their livers transferred to TriReagent. The RNA from the livers was isolated and cDNA synthesized for qPCR. qPCR measured transcript levels of clotting factors X and VII. Mean (SE) Factor VII transcript levels of the control group (-0.211) were not significantly different from stressed groups (-0.367), nor in Factor X control group (-0.100) and stressed groups (-0.576) (p\u3e0.05). Difference in transcript levels between each sex were also determined, with no significant difference in Factor VII control females (0.063), stressed females (-0.583), control males (-0.063), or stressed males (-0.004). No significant difference was found between transcript levels of Factor X control females (0.051), stressed females (-1.361), control males (0.1) or stressed males (0.122) (p\u3e0.05). There is no evidence that increased cortisol causes differences in the transcription of genes coding for coagulation Factors VII or X
We are Dancers
Get PDFThis project focuses on dance and what it means to different people. My goal was to explore this topic through a movement piece supplemented by text and human responses. I wanted to express that dance does not fall under one definition and that you don’t have to be a dancer to enjoy or be touched by this performing art. Anyone can appreciate dance and that’s one of the messages I wanted to share through my project. This work was a reminder to never take things for granted and that dance has a place in everyone’s hearts
Simulations of an Attack on RSA
Get PDFWe introduce a variation of Shanks’ baby-step/giant-step (BSGS) to carry out a chosen plaintext attack on RSA. The original usage of BSGS is to find a solution to the discrete log problem. Although BSGS is guaranteed to find a solution, it is not guaranteed to find the matching RSA private key. Our variation of BSGS finds the matching private key d by using the order of the plaintext message to generate a set of solutions. We then use the length of this set to determine the most likely candidate for φ(n). We use a large data set to test the efficiency and accuracy of our variation
Parameter Estimation in Nonlinear Regression: Exploring Confidence Intervals for Estimated Coefficients
Get PDFPreviously, we explored generating data using four different curved source functions with normally distributed errors and then fitting various curved models to this generated data. This research aimed to study the reliability of the goodness-of-fit measures, such as R2 and AIC, when the data originates from a curved source model. Ultimately, we found that, for logarithmic source models, AIC picks the correct source model most often, while R2 selects either the logarithmic or quadratic source models. For quadratic source models, AIC picks the power source model most often, whereas R2 selects the correct source model. Lastly, we expanded our project to investigate how AIC and R2 perform when violating the assumptions for regression analysis and concluded that the presence of an influential point impacts goodness-of-fit measures more for logarithmic than quadratic source models.
This semester, we have explored producing bootstrap confidence intervals for the coefficients of nonlinear regression models to fit generated data for a variety of different curved models. More specifically, using R, I use a command for nonlinear modeling to find the best-fit curved model given data from a known curved association and then apply bootstrap methods to produce the confidence interval estimates. The datasets will be generated for models with different levels of curvature, amounts of variation in the points around the best-fit model for normal and non-normal error distributions, and with varying numbers of data points. The observed proportion of intervals containing the true parameter values are observed
I Like To Think I’m Making Something New: An A. I. Attempts Narrative
Get PDFThe purpose of this semester-long independent study was to evaluate various methods of computer-generated narratives with the goal of creating and deploying a model that would write a literary science fiction short story on the topic of artificial intelligence. Various methods of language generation were tested before settling on OpenAI’s GPT-2 model. Narrative generation methods were also studied but ultimately not deployed due to the complex nature of narrative computation. Thus, in lieu of a computer-generated narrative with computer-generated language, human intervention was used to curate and assemble a narrative out of computer-generated text. This paper provides an overview of which methods were studied, how the project was designed and why, the results of the project, analysis of said results, and finally provides recommendations for further study
Lessons from the Pivot: Higher Education\u27s Response to the Pandemic
Get PDFThis text includes chapters from instructional designers, university faculty and staff, and undergraduate and graduate students, and the text has been divided into three sections to reflect these varied perspectives. Each section begins with research-based perspectives, but also contains more personal narratives at the end. While the context of most of the chapters is the United States, there are also chapters with a Canadian context. It is also important to note that, as of the first half of 2021, the pandemic rages on, and mentions of COVID-19 in the following chapters will be reflective of the state of affairs in North America in the spring and fall of 2020.https://scholar.umw.edu/education_books/1000/thumbnail.jp
An Exploration on How and Why People Present Online and How to Successfully Self Present on Linked-In
Get PDFPeople use social media and online platforms daily and through this use they create an online personality or digital identity. They chose specific ways in which they want to present themselves online known as self presentation. There are multiple ways in which people self present. Some of those include self presentation strategies and involve the use of impression management. The communication field has done extensive research on the topic and has come to the conclusion that people self present as a form of self expression and is motivated to fulfil a personal need. This paper will explore the ways individuals choose to self present, why people self present and how to apply those strategies of self presentation and impression management to a user\u27s LinkedIn profile
Lab Manual by a Lab Aide, for Lab Aides
No full textFor my Capstone project, I created an online lab manual. My intention with this document is to provide guidance for future lab aides of BIOL 125 and BIOL 126 - the series of introductory honors biology classes referred to as Phage Hunters. This document is online for easy access when in the lab, and contains information on where to find needed materials for labs in the spring and fall, from wet labs to observational labs to bioinformatics. Also included in this lab manual is information I have picked up as a lab aide for three years that will not be immediately obvious to newcomers to the job
Quantifying Microplastics Found in Canada Geese from Various Fredericksburg Locations
Get PDFPlastic pollution has accumulated to a concerning degree in many of the world’s ecosystems. Microplastics are some of the smallest plastic debris and are generally defined as plastic fragments less than 5mm in diameter. Given their small size, microplastic fibers and fragments can easily enter aquatic ecosystems and the species that feed in or near the water, such as waterfowl. Studies have found microplastics present in the gastrointestinal tract and in fecal samples of several freshwater bird species. Since Canada Geese are commonly found in the Fredericksburg, VA area, I decided to quantify microplastics found in Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) fecal samples in several Fredericksburg locations. I wanted to test the hypothesis that microplastic concentration was correlated to sample location. I obtained fecal samples from Ficklen Island, Old Mill Park, and the parking lot of the Outback Steakhouse in Central Park. The samples underwent digestion in 20 mL of aqueous 0.05 M Fe(II) solution and 40 mL of H2O2 and then vacuum filtrated to isolate microplastics. I then quantified microplastic under a dissecting microscope. There was no correlation between microplastic concentration and sampling location however, the majority of samples contained microplastics. Blue fibers were the most common microplastic type. Microplastics were present in nearly all of the samples supporting the evidence that waterfowl are regularly ingesting microplastics from their environment
Revising the Horror Novella
Get PDFI began my independent study project with the goal of revising an incomplete and unedited novella draft I had worked on the previous semester. I had hopes of creating something close to a finished and polished novella at the end of this semester. I approached this goal from two directions. First, the novella I am working on is an adventure/horror hybrid, so I began the semester doing research and work on how to write an effective work of horror. In the second half of the semester, I shifted to research and focused on effective techniques for editing and revising fiction drafts. Throughout the semester, I continued to edit and revise my novella, using the skills I gained in both horror and editing practices to make continual improvements. I produced several writing exercises throughout the semester, but my most important product I made was the actual drafts of my novella. The final draft showcases everything I have learned this semester and during my overall time in UMW’s creative writing program. The novella is well over fifty pages, so I have chosen to include selected excerpts that I think best highlight the work I have done. A brief description of the novella can be found alongside these excerpts