5257 research outputs found
Sort by
043 - Error Analysis of Depth to Bedrock Determinations from Gravity Surveys Across the Genesee Valley, Livingston County, New York
Full text linkCarved by glaciers and molded by modern fluvial forces, the Genesee Valley in Livingston County, New York offers a scenic environment for geophysical surveying to determine the elevation of Devonian aged bedrock below surficial Quaternary deposits. Surveying and calculations were performed with a Worden Gravimeter, a Bad Elf Flex® Mini, and the software programs QGIS, Microsoft’s Copilot and Excel, and Python v3.12. Portions of Fowlerville Road, U.S. Route 20A, and Mount Morris Geneseo Road were chosen because they are oriented nearly perpendicular to the Genesee Valley. Forward modeling methods to determine the bedrock elevation were conducted in Python as well as in Excel using the Solver add-in, and the results were referenced against publications from the New York State Museum for accuracy. Comparison of Python and Excel indicates that the Python based results are more precise. Additionally, Python provided the opportunity to conduct statistical tests to study uncertainties within the model. Initial positional variations in latitude, propagated from the Flex® Mini unit, and surface elevation, from Digital Elevation Models, were analyzed and the resulting 2σ standard deviations were calculated for all data points along each survey route. This analysis suggests propagation of uncertainties in the 3D location of the gravity measurements resulting in 2σ standard deviations for bedrock elevations of ±1.5 meters (Fowlerville Road), ±5.7 meters (Route 20A), and ±4.0 meters (Mount Morris Geneseo Road)
220 - Personal Distress and Empathetic Concern Mediate the Relationship Between Connectedness to Nature and Environmentally Friendly Behavior
Full text linkPrevious research shows that connectedness to nature and empathy predict environmentally friendly behaviors and intentions. However, mediators within this relationship remain unclear. We suspect that the role of emotions and distress is important, specifically given today\u27s environmental problems and their influence on individual’s well-being and then on their environmental actions. This leads us to the hypothesis that connectedness to nature would predict environmentally friendly behaviors through sequential serial mediators of personal distress and empathetic concern. We tested this hypothesis using a sample of college students at a public liberal arts college who completed a lengthy questionnaire with various environmental questions and measures. Results confirmed the hypothesis and indicated that this was the only significant path involving these mediators in addition to the direct effect between connectedness to nature and environmentally friendly behaviors. These results suggest that emotional response to distress from environmental problems is an important mediator and deserves more attention. This provides important information on how affect can affect behaviors, specifically what may influence individuals pro-environmental behaviors
020 - Aggression and Rough-and-Tumble Play During Sibling and Friend Interactions in Middle Childhood and Adolescence
Full text linkAs part of a longitudinal study, we conducted an analysis of physical, verbal, and relational aggression and RTP during sibling and friend interactions in middle childhood and adolescence. Age, partner, and gender all made a difference in rate and type of both aggression and RTP
224 - Understanding the influence of different intermediate filaments on the morphology of the vulvar cancer cell line, A431D.
Full text linkVulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSSC) is a rare yet aggressive cancer, primarily affecting women over 60, with early stages often masked by vulvar lichen sclerosis (VLS). VLS is typically treated with ultrapotent corticosteroids like clobetasol. Our previous work showed that clobetasol treatment of A431 vulvar cancer cells leads to a loss of the cell-cell junction protein E-cadherin and a gain of the intermediate filament protein vimentin. These changes are associated with an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process linked to cancer progression and the acquisition of a more aggressive phenotype. Interestingly, A431D cells, derived from clobetasol-treated A431 cells, do not lose expression of the epithelial intermediate filaments, cytokeratins 8 and 18. This study explores the roles of vimentin, cytokeratins 8 and 18, and adherens junction components (E-cadherin and plakoglobin) in driving the morphology of these vulvar cancer cells. Using molecular and cellular biology techniques, including plasmid transfections and immunofluorescence microscopy, we introduce E-cadherin-plakoglobin constructs into A431D cells to assess their impact on the intermediate filament network. We hypothesized that E-cadherin-plakoglobin constructs, which reestablish adherens junctions and desmosomes, will restore a cytoarchitecture pattern typical of epithelial cells. In contrast, constructs lacking essential domains for adherens junction and desmosome formation will fail to alter the distribution of cytokeratins and vimentin. This study aims to deepen our understanding of cytoskeletal remodeling in cancer progression
106 - Trait Anxiety Relationship to Attention Bias During Social Interaction
Full text linkTrait anxiety is an individual’s tendency to appraise situations as threatening, avoid anxiety-provoking situations, and demonstrate high baseline physiological arousal (Elwood et al., 2012). Attention bias (AB) is a characteristic seen in individuals with anxiety, in which they attend to threatening or negative stimuli more frequently than neutral stimuli, but no studies have examined this relationship in a real-world social setting (Bar-Haim et al., 2007). Here, we test the hypothesis that more anxious individuals have an attention bias during a real-world social interaction. Trait anxiety is tested at the beginning using an STAI-T questionnaire, with higher scores indicating higher levels of anxiety. The present study adapted methods from Kirchbaum et al. (1993) Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) model and assessed participant attentiveness to positive and negative stimuli in a stressful situation. The TSST consists of participants completing a brief speaking task in front of a panel of two confederates. For this study, participants wore Pupil Neon mobile eye tracking glasses that monitored visual fixations throughout the experiment. A pretest activity was conducted to introduce participants to the two confederates. To test our hypothesis, data from STAI-T will be correlated with pre-test fixations between the two confederates, one of which presents as attentive and affirmative (positive) and, the other as disengaged (negative)
175 - Investigating G Quadruplex Interactions in Oncogenes using Benzothiazoles, Benzoquinone, and Benzoxazoles
Full text linkG-quadruplex (G4) DNA has become of increasing interest to the scientific community as anticancer therapies. This intrigue is due mainly to the fact that G4 DNA represents viable targets to inhibit the telomerase enzyme and to block the expression of cancer promoting oncogenes such as c-MYC, RAS and BCL-2. This makes G4 DNA a viable target for anticancer therapeutics to treat previously “undruggable” genes targets. Inspired by natural products, researchers have synthesized benzothiazoles and benzoxazoles, heterocyclic compounds that have been shown to exhibit a broad range of anti-cancer, anti-pathogenic, anti-convulsant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tubercular bioactivity. The benzothiazole core represents a versatile scaffold that has been found to be a useful framework for creating many stable derivatives. Recent advances in therapeutic screening have identified the benzothiazoles as viable candidates for a novel direction in chemotherapeutic treatment with potentially high selectivity and thus reduced deleterious side effects. In the current study, we have investigated the binding of several benzoquinone-benzothiazole derivatives to a c-MYC G4 DNA sequence. This study was accomplished using a combination of circular dichroism spectroscopy and fluorescence displacement assays. Our data suggests that the identity/nature of the substituent attached directly to the benzoquinone ring component determines the degree to which our compounds bind to the G4 DNA. We have observed that both the addition of an amino group, as well as the location of the amino group influence this interaction. Our findings have implications in the SAR (structure-activity-relationship) when exploring viable drug candidates that targets and inhibits the c-MYC oncogene
040 - Hearing Fresh(water) Voices: Exploring Pond Soundscapes in Western New York
Full text linkOrganisms can create sound for many different reasons, and as such, soundscapes (the collection of all sounds in a habitat) can tell us about the biotic activity in an environment based on the quantity and characteristics of sounds being produced. Freshwater soundscapes are generally understudied compared to terrestrial soundscapes. A wide variety of species are active and vocalize in freshwater environments, and studying patterns within these soundscapes can give insight on broader ecosystem health. We explored diel and seasonal patterns in a pond in Western NY by applying the acoustic diversity index (ADI) to underwater recordings from April and July 2024. Based on the index values, we located times in recordings from each day when acoustic activity changed significantly, and examined these times in RavenPro. We noted all sounds that were audible and visible on the spectrogram, as well as compared total sounds to total unique sounds with the index values. We will report our investigation of the efficacy of the index (which was originally designed for application to terrestrial soundscapes) in freshwater contexts. With our notes on unique sounds, we’re developing a sound library that will further aid us in finding patterns in acoustic activity
163 - New York State Agriculture and Dairy Policy
Full text linkDue to barriers set in place by various state agriculture policies, small dairy farmers in New York have a hard time making a profit, and staying afloat in the industry. As a result, it can be difficult to make dairy farming a career as a smaller dairy farmer, as the labor intensive work doesn’t have as many benefits as other careers do in today\u27s society. However, the dairy industry isn’t growing, it’s just becoming more capitalized. With the rise of corporate farming, and the decrease in small/local farming, there is less diversity in the industry. This leads to a multitude of issues within the dairy policy realm, like a lack of competition in the industry and price gouging, which leads to structural issues and unfair advantages in some instances. Researching these policies and identifying issues helps promote changes in the industry to help farmers. My research aims to answer the question “what are dairy policies that create barriers within the dairy industry?” I have analyzed the intentions behind dairy policies in our state, emphasizing issues within the policy that may be unintentionally harming the industry and markets as a result; specifically price gouging, labor laws, grants for “small farms”, sustainability practices, and dairy industry promotion/advertisement, as these are most harmful today. Looking forward, I am sending out surveys and conducting interviews with small scale dairy farmers throughout the state, trying to grasp farmers opinions on these policies, and highlight what changes can be made to help them thrive
085 - Investigating Drivers of Variation in the Paleognath Wing
Full text linkPaleognathae is a group of flightless birds largely characterized by the absence of the keeled sternum. As they diverged from their flighted ancestors, most palaeognaths developed cursorial traits, such as greater body mass and elongated hindlimbs, and concomitant with this was the reduction of the forelimbs, which were no longer needed for flight. This study investigates the forelimb variation within and between different paleognathous species to determine which behaviors and environmental pressures may have contributed most to the forelimb morphologies of extant taxa. Differences in the forelimb elements of males and females, indicating sexual dimorphism in the wing, would suggest that variation results from sex-specific functions such as mating displays. Comparison between captive and wild populations could show variation resulting from the presence of competition, predation, and other environmental factors. However, initial results suggest there is no clear pattern of sex-specific variability among Struthio camelus individuals. Using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, principal component (PC) data for species representing all paleognath families were analyzed to investigate variation between forelimb elements and also to test adherence to the hypothesized pattern of limb reduction in which reduction occurs distal to proximal. These methods allow us to contrast interspecies and intraspecies variation to quantify how functional demands on the wing affect morphological variation of the bones and thus better understand the evolutionary relationship between form and function in cases of limb reduction
Characterization of Motor Performance in a Mouse Model of Autism Fed a Ketogenic Diet in Early Adolescence
Full text linkThe ketogenic diet (KD) has long been used to control epilepsy, but more recently has also been shown to improve symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a highly prevalent disorder, characterized partially by repetitive behavior. Genetics, environmental conditions, and resultant injury to the brain, have been linked to an increased risk for ASD. KD is thought to work as an anti-inflammatory and has been shown to decrease repetitive behavior in a mouse model of ASD; but, how KD works within ASD is not well understood. This project works with a mouse model of ASD to determine if early KD intervention prevents the development of ASD behaviors in mice, and explores if glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of inflammation, may be how KD helps ASD. It is hypothesized that mice that develop repetitive behavior will show altered expression of GFAP that will be restored by KD intervention