Women who are targets of a positive stereotype (i.e., women are nurturing) assume that the stereotyper also holds negative stereotypes about them (e.g., women are bad at math). The present research investigates whether being the target of a positive stereotype leads women to underperform on a math test because they fear confirming assumed negative perceptions of their group. In this study, female participants were randomly assigned to either the positive stereotype condition (i.e., “why women are generally more nurturing than men”) or the no positive stereotype condition (i.e., “why some men and women are generally more nurturing than others”). Participants then proceeded to take a math test. Results showed that women in the positive stereotype condition underperformed on the math test compared to women in the no positive stereotype condition. This study suggests that praise in the form of a positive stereotype may be counterproductive, resulting in negative consequences for people who are targets of a positive stereotype. Moreover, targets of a positive stereotype may perceive negative stereotypes as being implicitly imposed onto them. Therefore, positive stereotypes may lead women to not only underperform on a math test but also accept associated negative perceptions of their group.

The study of capital punishment ultimately comes down to matters of life or death, and this fundamental concept is reflected by the ferocity of the debate over its legality. With the high stakes of this debate, national polls dating back to the 1930s have been quantitatively tracking public opinion on this issue. National poll data on capital punishment provides an excellent opportunity to examine the important relationship between state policies and public opinion over time. Currently, the vast body of research has been concentrated on identifying national demographic variables associated with support for capital punishment, and the influence of opinion on policy. However, there has been little research considering these variables at the state-level of analysis. Furthermore, few studies have researched the directional influence of policies on opinion. The objective of this study is to determine how state variables and policies including: violent crime rates, number of executions, and number of exonerations explain fluctuations in public opinion over time. The findings suggest a positive relationship between violent crime rates and support for capital punishment over time. There also appears to be a positive relationship between the number of executions and support for capital punishment; in other words, as the number of executions increases so does the support for capital punishment. Lastly, the support for capital punishment was found to decrease over time with increasing number of exonerations. The narrower focus of this state level analysis is important to examine underlying trends in public opinion, which may not be captured with nation wide studies.

Historically, if an individual entered the U.S. without authorization it was not considered a criminal offense. Today the term “illegal immigrant” is commonplace; with many simply assuming this is how it has always been. "Crimmigration”refers to the phenomenon of increasing overlap between criminal and immigration law, procedures, and enforcement mechanisms.Using newspaper articles, this research identifies the percentage share of crimmigration discussion in several major news outlets as a proxy for the climate of public opinion.This study analyzes the changing rhetoric of immigration since WWII. Through an investigation of newspaper articles, this research examines whether economic downturns have contributed to the criminalization of immigration debates in the public sphere. I expect to find that economic factors are important predictors of the prevalance of crimmigration-related articles, after controlling for the other explanations suggested by past research, such as changes in immigration law.

Public policy affects nearly every aspect of life in the United States. These policies are set largely by legislatures and originate in the policy ideas proposed by individual members. In studies of how policy ideas become law, the archetypical unit of study is the bill. However bills are imperfect indicators of the progress of policy ideas—individual policy ideas may progress even when the original bill does not. This paper uses computational methods to isolate policy ideas in the over 114,000 bills proposed since 1993 before tracing the progress of those ideas through the legislative process. The success of members in pushing individual bills is often equated with their efficacy in the legislative machine. I anticipate that a study of the progress of policy ideas, rather than bills, will demonstrate that policy influence is more widespread in Congress than existing research suggests. The results of this initial study will serve as the foundation for broader research projects examining agenda setting and representation in Congress.

Asian Americans respond negatively to being the target of a positive stereotype (e.g., Asians are smart) even though these stereotypes are often attempts at praising their group (Siy & Cheryan, under review). The current work focuses on how responses to positive stereotypes vary depending on the race of the person stating the positive stereotype. We hypothesize that Asian Americans will respond more positively to other Asians who state positive stereotypes about their race than Whites who state positive stereotypes about Asians, because Asians are assumed to have "cultural credentials" about their own race. In this case, cultural credentials are defined as the perception that a person has sufficient knowledge about a group to enable them to make comments about that group that outsiders cannot. In this study, Asian American participants imagined a situation in which they were positively stereotyped by either a White classmate or an Asian classmate. Results showed that participants responded more positively to the positive stereotype when the stereotyper was Asian, compared to when the stereotyper was White. Positive responses to Asians who state positive stereotypes about their own race were explained by the belief that Asian stereotypers had stronger cultural credentials. This study shows that taking the time to establish cultural credentials may be a useful strategy for times when one desires to praise a group for their accomplishments.

Foreign aid can be used to positively change the economic, environmental, and security realities of an individual country or region. However, the complex nature of global systems means that foreign aid can also have unintended consequences. This paper focuses on the unintended consequences of Plan Colombia for the Latin American drug trade. Plan Colombia was initiated in 1999 with the intent to disrupt the Colombian drug cartels and decrease Colombian drug production. From 2001 to 2009 drug-related killings in Mexico increased from 1,080 per year to a staggering 6,587. From 2002 to 2006, homicides in Colombia declined by 40% and kidnappings decreased by an astounding 80%. . During a similar time period, from 2001 to 2009, drug-related killings in Mexico increased from 1,080 per year to a staggering 6,587. The apparent inverse relationship of violence indicators in Colombia and Mexico suggests that a common event could have caused the change in both countries. The literature on the subject posits that Plan Colombia catalyzed the unintended shift of drug related violence from Colombia to Mexico, however these claims have not been quantitatively investigated and warrant further investigation. In my investigation of this question I analyze patterns of drug production and violence over time to test alternative hypotheses for this shift. Increased understanding of how international aid influences global systems far removed from a target country or region will enable the United States to more effectively accomplish its foreign policy goals.

I conducted a five month field experiment, from October 17th, 2011 to February 17th 2012, with the purpose of exploring the effects of prairie plant density on survival rates. I performed the experiment at the Pierce Oakwood prairie location utilizing the Mima Mounds preserve as a reference. My hypothesis was plants in moderate density will have a better success rate than those in low and high density. The methods for this design were established by plotting three polygons of 2m x 2m each. I divided each polygon divided into three sections, each containing low, moderate, and high density and plants randomly planted. Plot spatial arrangements were random at each polygon. Each plot contained the same species with an increasing number from low to high density. Prairie plants consisted of plants commonly found throughout Washington State. Each polygon contained Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape), Achillea milefolium (White Yarrow), Holodiscus discolor (Ocean Spray), Castilleja miniata (Scarlet Paintbrush), and Aruncus dioicus (Giant Goats Beard). The following variables were measured and recorded biweekly: height, width, temperature delta, human foot traffic, and faunal foraging patterns. Mahonia aquifolium, Castilleja miniata, and Achillea milefolium had high survival rates in low, moderate, and high densities. Aruncus dioicus had high survival rates in high density, and Holodiscus discolor was most successful in low density. My results highlight the need to better understand optimal planting densities of individual species in prairie restoration planning.

Cemeteries allow us to connect with our past and better understand our heritage on an emotional level. In the case of the Kennecott Cemetery, the historic landscape provides a valuable resource to interpret the social history of a mining community that has ceased to exist. From 1908 until 1938, Kennecott was a thriving copper mining town. Hundreds of men worked in the mines and many of those who lost their lives in work-related accidents are buried in the cemetery. When mining operations were terminated in 1938, the entire workforce departed and Kennecott became a desolate ghost town. The cemetery is the only landscape that provides physical evidence of religious influences being present at Kennecott and further reinforces such activities taking place throughout the entire period of the town’s settlement. To date, Kennecott is located within the boundaries of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. As an intern for the National Park Service, I partook in conducting an analysis and evaluation of the historic features present at the Kennecott Cemetery. This research contributed to producing a Cultural Landscape Report and Interpretive Plan which will provide planning, management and treatment recommendations for the cemetery. Overall, these documents will be a vital resource to improve the ability of Park managers to identify and protect existing resources and interpret the significance of the landscape to an expansive audience.

In the aftermath of the Cold War an evolving international economy brought about many changes for countries with transitioning economies. The difficult work of properly guiding transitioning economies through the radical changes required of shifting from command to market economies is not easily undertaken and many mistakes are made throughout that process. By untangling the nexus of political and economic reforms that transitioning economies go through we can achieve more accurate understandings of how transitions occur and can in turn attempt to avoid some of the mistakes made in the past. This paper hypothesizes that the greater the liberalization speed of a transitioning economy the more corrupt the economy and associated political system will be. Contrary to prior examinations of corruption, this paper contends that the nature of transition determines to a greater extent the causes of corruption than does historical or institutional factors about the state itself. The guiding theory behind my hypothesis is that reforms implemented over a short period of time are more susceptible to politically turbulent conditions which will cause elites to attempt to consolidate power via illegal means out of fear that they may lose their position of power in the near future. By comparing the speed of liberalization in several transitioning economies to the rates of corruption in those economies I attempt to demonstrate a causal link between the rate of liberalization and corruption.  

The inferior olive is heavily involved in implicit timing, the unconscious encoding of timing of sensory or motor events. Performance of these tasks relies on synchronous output from ensembles of neurons in the inferior olive, which are electrotonically coupled to one another via gap junctions. Previous attempts to understand coupling properties in the inferior olive have relied on technically challenging dual whole-cell recordings. Here, I demonstrate an optogenetic approach which provides rapid evaluation of electrotonic coupling in the inferior olive using femtosecond pulsed infrared stimulation of olivary cells expressing the light-activated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2 H134R). Targeted expression of ChR2 in olivary neurons was achieved through the Ai32 mouse line engineered at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, which were crossed with mice expressing Cre-recombinase targeted to the pancreatic transcription factor 1a (Ptf1a) locus. Parasagittal brainstem slices were prepared from young (P20-P40) Ptf1a-Ai32 positive mice. Electrodes were guided under IR-DIC for whole-cell recording of a single olivary neuron. Neighboring cells were stimulated using 920 nm light (<1 mW/µm² average power), in which a single infrared beam was split into 64 beamlets and distributed evenly over the neighboring cell's cross sectional area (100-400 µm²). Coupling properties determined by optogenetic stimulation of neighboring cells replicated previous results produced by dual whole-cell recordings (CC=1-10%). Furthermore, optogenetic evaluation of coupling following pharmacological manipulation of olivary neurons were consistent with previous findings. This optogenetic approach will provide a rapid and efficient method for future exploration of coupling properties in the inferior olive, which may accelerate the study of their involvement in pathologies such alcoholism, autism and sudden infant death syndrome.

The Cordilleran Ice Sheet filled Puget Sound during the last ice age. Its maximum extent is defined by glacial deposits, including large "erratic" boulders, near Olympia in the southern Puget Lowland. The age of maximum glaciation can be determined using the build-up of cosmic ray produced nuclides in these rocks. We sampled two large granite erratics and separated quartz for analysis of cosmic ray produced Be-10. After dissolution, beryllium was extracted and purified, and the Be-10/Be-9 ratio measured by accelerator mass spectrometry. The Be-10 concentrations (approximately 75,000 atom/g) are used to calculate the time the boulders have been exposed to cosmic rays, and thus date the retreat of the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet from its maximum extent.

There is a high need for transitional housing in areas affected by natural disasters, particularly transitional housing that is permanent, high performing, economical, and sustainable. Current solutions, predominantly large tents, do not provide a satisfactory living state for the tens of thousands of people displaced by these natural disasters. Alternate housing options have been developed and implemented, but the response of these alternatives under seismic loading has not been sufficiently studied. A promising alternative is the use of strategically stacked earthbags in combination with frictional material between the bags, strapping, and render for aesthetic purposes. The placement and configuration of these materials impacts the flexural and shear response of the entire housing system. Through modeling force versus deflection of various models, we can predict the response of the earthbag structure. Using strategic bag placements and placement of restraining components, the goal is to quantify the response of the structure. We anticipate that weaving strapping throughout the bags will provide more resistance to buckling and failure in the configurations discussed throughout this paper. By quantifying the relationship of materials and response, we can design an economical and viable transitional housing solution to respond more predictably under earthquake loading. The design of this structure can provide an economical, accessible, and easily constructible housing alternative.

In any niche occupied by multiple species, competition is inevitable; whether through killing opponents, or depleting resources first. Ecological theory posits the existence of r- and K-selected competitors. r-selected organisms colonize well and reproduce quickly (often at the expense of individual survival). K-selected organisms succeed in stable, dense environments and are typically larger and live longer; typically investing in self defense mechanisms. This observed quantity vs quality competition is the foundation for the r/K selection theory. One limitation of existing r and K models is that factors causing organisms to be either r or K selected are not clearly defined. Release of toxic substances (i.e., interference competition) is an example of a factor that could allow for a species to be good at excluding others near the carrying capacity. To study this, we created a bacterial warfare model with two antibiotic producing bacteria, Chromobacterium violaceum (Cv) and Burkholderia thailandensis (Bt). These species were competed in at a 1:1 ratio and were disturbed (re-plated via coring) at varying intervals. Both bacteria produce their antibiotics when cell density is high. Cv behaves like an r-selected organism in that it grows quickly but has a weak antibiotic. Bt shows characteristics of K-selected organisms, growing slower, but creating antibiotics that rapidly kill Cv. Our initial observations show that Cv succeeds in frequently disturbed environments by not allowing Bt to effectively reach quorum, while Bt wins in more static environments where its ability to produce potent antibiotics to pay off. Also, controls indicate while Cv's antibiotic provides an edge, its growth rate appears to be the determining factor for success. These results provide evidence that disturbance frequency acts as a primary selective force in the antibiotic mediated competition, and may provide parallels and contrasts to other systems where r and K selected organisms compete.

The volume of glaciers and ice sheets controls global sea level and plays a major role in climate change. However, it is difficult to reconstruct the history of glaciers and ice sheets from their deposits because these deposits are commonly overrun and re-worked in each successive glaciation. An alternative approach is to measure cosmic-ray-produced nuclides, such as isotopes Beryllium-10, Aluminium-26, and Chlorine-36 (in order of decreasing half-life) in bedrock. These nuclide concentrations build-up due to cosmic ray exposure during interglacial periods when glaciers are at their smallest extent. The present day concentrations are the cumulative result of exposure during ice-free periods and radioactive decay during periods of ice cover. By working with nuclides of different half-lives, we can obtain information about the long-term glacial history. We are measuring these nuclides in samples from elevation transects on mountains beside Scott Glacier and Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica. Concentrations of all three increase with elevation. Summit samples have Be-10 and Al-26 concentrations close to saturation levels, but lower Cl-36 concentrations. This suggests that ice cover during glacial periods was thicker and more prolonged in the last 0.5 – 1 Myr than the 2-5 Myr average. In contrast, samples from the base of these mountains have lower and more uniform concentrations of the three nuclides, which is consistent with glacial erosion of the surfaces. Measuring depth profiles in the Beardmore Glacier samples will allow us to test this interpretation.

We, the researchers in Dr. Wendy Stone’s Lab, examined the developmental trajectory of motor imitation from 12-18 months and its relation to social functioning and language ability at 24 months in younger siblings of children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; ASD-sibs), compared to younger siblings of typically developing children (TD-sibs). Motor imitation is the reproduction of a modeled presentation of a motor event and ASD refers to neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social-communication and the presence of stereotyped, repetitive behaviors. It is important to study ASD-sibs because they are at an increased risk for developing an ASD or sub-clinical symptoms. Young children with ASD display motor imitation deficits, but currently, studies have not examined motor imitation in ASD-sibs within the first 18 months of life. Thus, the age at which impairments emerge remains unanswered. Further investigation of motor imitation is necessary given its importance for learning and social interactions. Using the Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers (STAT) to measure motor imitation, the Mullen Scales of Early Learning to assess language, and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule to determine ASD severity, we expect to find that: a) motor imitation will show significant growth between 12-18 months of age; b) ASD-sibs will have lower baseline levels and lower rates of growth than TD-sibs; c) baseline levels and rate of growth for motor imitation will predict ASD severity and language ability at 24 months. Hierarchical linear models will be used for the developmental trajectories of motor imitation from 12-18 months of age. Linear regressions will be used to examine whether baseline levels and growth predict later ASD diagnosis and language outcomes. This study may provide information leading to earlier detection of ASD. Earlier diagnosis of ASD allows for earlier intervention, which has been shown to improve children’s social-communicative outcomes.  

AB Aur is a protostar with a surrounding protoplanetary disk. By taking coronagraphic images of AB Aur using an occulting mask to block out the star in order to get a more detailed look at the young circumstellar disk we are able to analyze the potential formation of any extrasolar planets. Because it is unclear where the exact center of the star is behind the occulting mask, we simulated the effects of mis-centered stars by shifting 24 individual images of the disk 4 times at different pixel shifts. Using 14 areas of interest we were able to compare the intensity changes for each final shifted image. Any significant variations in the intensity graph indicated the region was not an actual structure. We concluded there was a spiral arm forming on the right side of the disk and the gap above the star was real and not strongly affected by any mis-centering of the central star behind the corongraphic mask.

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (mitoUPR) is a protective mechanism that is activated when the mitochondria experience stress. mitoUPR signaling has been linked to systemic inflammation and the innate immune response in multicellular organisms as well as being an important factor involved in the etiology and progression of many diseases, especially mitochondrial diseases such as Leigh Syndrome, and in aging. We are using HSP60 and HSP6 GFP reporter expressing Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), which express green fluorescent protein when the mitoUPR is activated. By specifically inhibiting and altering mitochondrial function with different drugs, we hope to identify the signaling components of the mitochondria that induce (or inhibit) the protective mechanism. In addition, we are constructing HSP6 and HSP60 expressing plasmids to be taken up by the bacteria that the C. elegans eat. By feeding HSP6 and HSP60 to the worms we can determine if the mitoUPR can be induced through exogenous heat shock protein uptake in the gut. We are also feeding the C. elegans different strains of bacteria to observe the effect of how different bacterial proteins can affect the strength of mitoUPR induction and whether the innate immune response can induce the mitoUPR. From this data we hope to gain a better understanding of the mitoUPR, and configure a model on how this mechanism is expressed.

The purpose of this research is to gain insight into prosthetic sock thickness trends of multiple sock stacks. For amputee patients, stacked sock combinations are necessary to accommodate volume change of the residual limb in the short and long term. The thickness of these stacks is quantified by the total number of ply. For example, a 1-Ply sock and a 3-Ply sock make a 4-Ply “stack.” However, with this method of measurement, total sock thickness depends on how many socks are worn. The focus of this test is to evaluate existing standards by comparing the thickness of multiple socks to a single sock of the same total ply. The results from this research should provide useful information to prosthetists fitting patients with prosthetic limbs. As the residual limb matures after amputation and swelling decreases, there is a reduction in volume and a change in shape. From the first prosthesis, the practitioner optimizes the fit with the expectation of the residual limb size decreasing. The practitioner advises the patient to add socks to take up space when the residual limb feels loose in the socket. By adding socks, the patient can maintain a proper fit, and the practitioner can track limb change and socket modifications so as to appropriately time fabrication of a new socket. The present research brings quantitative information about sock thickness, both for single socks and for stacks of socks, to clinical care. This quantification should help the practitioner determine just how much larger the socket is than the patient’s residual limb, and should help guide design of a new socket. This research collected in the present study may also facilitate documentation to justify the need for a new socket.

A proto-planetary disk is a disk of gas and dust that surrounds a star that is still in the early stages of evolution. This disk contains the gas that accretes onto the proto-star and also contains the dust and gas from which planets form. Unfortunately the star is a much brighter than the disk and so direct imaging of the disk is difficult and time consuming, but can be accomplished using a coronagraph. To help interpret coronagraphic imagery of the protoplanetary disk system AB Aur, we created 3D models of the system using the Monte Carlo code of Whitney et al. 2002. We compared the observed the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the system, compiled from observed data reported by Robitaille et al. 2006, with predictions from our Monte Carlo model. An SED is a plot of the brightness versus wavelength of a star. We tested other variables like the composition of the disk, and the percentage of the disk that is composed of small grains and large grains, etc. We discuss how changing each of these variables influenced the resultant SED and model image of the AB Aur system; and hence influences our ability to study the process of planet formation around young stars.

In 2011, a 3 week research cruise on board the R/V Atlantis was undertaken to the Endeavor segment of the Juan de Fuca spreading ridge. The main purpose of this expedition was to determine conductive heat flow from lightly sedimented sea floor within the axial valley of the spreading center (in close proximity to an isolated hydrothermal vent system). During a series of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives to the seafloor, hundreds of heat flow time series were measured by the deployment of 13 “thermal blanket” heat flow instruments, which will enable researchers to better constrain the spatial extent of the hydrothermal fluid recharge zone. Throughout each dive, continuous video footage was recorded from several cameras on-board the ROV, along with the geographic position, altitude, heading and three dimensional orientation of the vehicle. A geological map of the sea floor across the vent field will be created using geo-referenced and orthorectified frame grabs (“flattened” onto the topography) from ROV video. The primary goal of this project is to provide a means of quantitatively measuring the porosity of spreading ridge seafloor basalt in this area of active hydrothermal venting, through the application of a technique that has never before been attempted at this scale.  A series of trigonometric algorithms were developed to use this reference information as a means of translating a still video image from ROV footage into a series of geo-referenced images.  Geographic Informatics System (GIS) software is being used to create a mosaic-like map of volcanic, biological and geological features from the sea floor near this hydrothermal vent system from these images.  An additional data layer will be produced simultaneously to provide additional information concerning the spatial extent and distribution of geologic features on the seafloor to assist in understanding the results of the heat flow study. 

A growing number of applications seek to use electrostatic effects in non-polar media. However, the science behind particle charging in such systems is not fully understood. Previous work has suggested that the presence of surface hydroxyl groups, when combined with certain surfactants, can induce charging on particles. These surfactants also serve to prevent particle aggregation through steric stabilization. However, dispersing these particles typically requires extended sonication or some other dispersive technique. One possible solution for decreasing the dispersion time is to first hydrophobically surface-treat the particles. Unfortunately, this process has the potential to remove the hydroxyl groups necessary for particle charging. Therefore, our group has investigated the effects of surface modification on particle hydrophobicity and chargeability. Silica particles on the micron and submicron scale were surface treated with tri-methoxy(octyl)silane and methoxy(dimethyl)octylsilane in order to create hydrophobic silica particles with varying amounts of hydroxide groups on their surfaces. The resulting surface energy and acid/base characteristics of these particles were then tested using Inverse Gas Chromatography, with the intent of comparing these properties to the particles' chargeability. This was assessed by measuring their electrophoretic mobilities using a Zeta Potential Analyzer. Our results indicated that particles could both be made hydrophobic and chargeable after surface treatments. However, further investigation is required in order to better understand the mechanism behind this charging. If the surface modification of these particles can preserve their chargeability while adding a steric barrier, this process could be used to reduce dispersion time for charged particles in non-polar media.

Different species within the bacterial genus Francisella are pathogenic in mammals. Recently, an emerging pathogen in fish, F. noatunensis, has been causing significant mortalities in tilapia and Atlantic cod. The Francisella Pathogenicity Island (FPI) is a gene dense region on the Francisella chromosome that encodes essential virulence factors for the mammalian pathogens F. tularensis and novicida. To determine if the functionality of virulence factors has been conserved for the genus, a gene knockout for the pathogenicity determinant protein A (pdpA) gene in the F. noatunensis FPI was generated as a potential vaccine candidate. PdpA has been shown to be essential for the ability of Francisella to cause disease for the human pathogen. The F. noatunensis knockout was generated via homologous recombination using a suicide vector containing an antibiotic cassette flanked by portions of pdpA. Since polarity can be an issue for knockouts in gene dense regions, two different pdpA mutants were generated in opposing polarity. It has recently been shown that F. noatunensis infection in zebrafish closely mimics Francisella infection in mammals implying conserved virulence strategies for the genus. Therefore, zebrafish were used to assess the level of attenuation for the F. noatunensis pdpA knockouts generated in our laboratory. In addition, iglC is another gene found in the FPI that results in attenuation after it has been inactivated in the human pathogen. Our laboratory has acquired an iglC mutant for F. noatunensis from a collaborator that has reduced virulence in tilapia and will serve as a reference for our pdpA knockout infections in zebrafish. The results from this study will show the physiological similarities within the genus relative to their phylogenetic relationships.

The American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is believed to practice facial discrimination and incorporate past experiences in its reaction to individuals. To test this neural integration of perception and memory, a pilot study performed by Dr. Marzluff and his colleagues used PET imaging methods in conjunction with an avian MRI to create a global map of the bird’s brain after performing a visual, analytical task. The initial results suggest that individual crows incorporate memory and activate distinct brain regions while evaluating different stimuli, specifically familiar human faces previously associated with either capture (dangerous mask) or feeding (caring mask). Regions of high activity were correlated with high 18F-FDG intake, a radioactively labeled glucose injected into the bird prior to a conducting the scan. These experiments are now being expanded to determine if there are different pathways for fear responses between threats such as humans and natural predators. I have exposed crows to a natural danger stimulus, a taxidermy mount of a common predator, the Red-tailed Hawk. My hypothesis is that the hawk treatment should prompt more of an innate reaction instead of the processing of contextual information; therefore more activity should be centered in the midbrain instead of the striatum and nidopallium. The second objective of this study was to find a difference in brain activity between memory storage and memory retrieval. To accomplish this, I have exposed crows to a novel person and a novel person holding a taxidermy mounted “dead” crow. The brains maps of differential activity from these treatments should highlight the fear learning pathway. My data can help distinguish the facial neural processing from that of a broader perception of danger and promote translational research by allowing parallel analyses of physiological and operative processes of the human and animal brain.

Cancer vaccines offer a promising method of manipulating the immune system to seek and destroy malignant cells. However, there have been many limitations on their ability to enhance stimulation and persistence of CD4+ Type 1 helper (Th1) and CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) necessary to promote adequate tumor regression. The long-term goal of this research is to use polymeric carriers to deliver antigens and immunomodulatory siRNA to antigen presenting cells (APCs), in order to promote anti-tumor cellular immunity. We have designed pH-responsive, endosomolytic, “smart” polymers that are capable of being conjugated to antigens and complexed to siRNA. Also, we have demonstrated the ability of these polymers to enhance class I antigen presentation by APCs. In addition, we have shown that polymeric delivery of siRNA promotes knock down of a model gene, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, in dendritic cells. We plan to demonstrate similar results with other immune cells, both immortalized and primary, and genes of interest, as well as extend this technology to relevant tumor-associated antigens. These data point to the modular nature of our polymeric delivery systems, as they provide a promising way of approaching challenges in cancer immunotherapy through multiple delivery modalities.