Mitochondria are essential organelles in eukaryotic cells and are most commonly known for their prominent role in energy production. In addition, mitochondria are involved in other important cellular processes such as lipid biosynthesis and apoptotic cell death. Mitochondria also have dynamic properties including fusion, division, and movement, which are all essential to maintain mitochondrial function. Given the plethora of essential cellular activities that require mitochondrial function, it is not surprising that defects in mitochondrial function are implicated in many different human diseases and disorders including diabetes and myopathies. Mitochondrial movement is important for the distribution of mitochondria, which is important in all cells, but especially important for asymmetric cells such as neurons. Transport is also required for mitochondrial fusion – the two organelles must move close enough to each other to fuse. Mitochondrial fusion in particular is required to maintain mitochondrial DNA and therefore, mitochondrial function. We are interested in the mechanism of mitochondrial movement and the connection between mitochondrial fusion and transport. Mitochondria move on microtubules using a complex of proteins. Miro 1 and Miro 2 are anchored to the mitochondrial outer membrane and interact with two adaptor proteins, TRAK1 and TRAK2. The TRAK proteins also interact with Kinesin, which binds to the microtubules and mediates microtubule-directed movement. Understanding the assembly and regulation of this complex and the stoichiometry of its components will provide insights into the mechanism of microtubule-directed mitochondrial movement. Our goal is to clone TRAK1 and TRAK2 complementary DNA (cDNA) into expression vectors for protein production in Escherichia coli cells and then to develop a purification protocol for TRAK1 and TRAK2. This will facilitate biochemical analysis of the mitochondrial motility complex.

Cardiac arrest is a serious and often life-threatening event that can result in devastating outcomes. Targeted temperature management, or TTM, is a treatment utilized after cardiac arrest which improves patient outcomes. Determining the best treatment temperature and combination of sedative and paralytic medications, whose purpose is to slow the brain’s metabolism and maintain brain tissue oxygenation, will improve this beneficial treatment for future patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the time to ‘reawakening’, defined as the patient following commands, between post-cardiac arrest patients who received different combinations of paralytic and sedative medications and who were treated at 33°C or 36°C during TTM. Time to ‘reawakening’ after TTM is a critical factor in this patient population in terms of each patient's prognosis. The sub-aims of this study were to determine if time to ‘reawakening’ was influenced by: 1) cooling patients to the target temperature of only 36°C, and 2) the patient’s temperature when signs of shivering occurred during the TTM protocol. We were interested in studying these two aims because cooling patients to the target temperature of 36 degrees is expected to decrease the incidence of shivering and therefore less sedative and paralytic will be needed. Additionally, knowing what patient temperatures increase the incidence of shivering will better direct the dosing and timing of medications. Data for this study was retrieved through a retrospective chart review of 200 patients who received TTM treatment at Harborview Medical Center. Once we determine which treatment temperature and medication protocol results in the fastest reawakening and least amount of shivering, the results may influence future TTM protocols and could influence the care that future post-cardiac arrest patients receive. TTM could change in a way which ensures patients have the best possible outcomes after experiencing a traumatic event like cardiac arrest.

Diverse lines of evidence indicate that humans have come to dominate many environmental and climate systems across the globe, prompting some researchers to declare the present part of a new geologic age known as the “Anthropocene.” Since plants form the base of many biological ecosystems (including those to which people belong) and agriculture alone covers approximately forty percent of land surface, studying how humans appropriate Earth’s plant production allows us to explore one of the most significant ways people have come to dominate Earth systems. Previous work has mapped the global distribution of plant growth supporting humans but failed to fully link this production to specific populations. To understand these connections, we begin by tracing global agricultural and forest production through a simplified representation of the global economy (containing about sixty million economic flows). To do this, we use global economic data collected by the Global Trade Analysis Project, enabling us to connect fields and forests with the often distant human populations whose lives they eventually support. Our model accounts for indirect plant consumption (for example, factory products require plant consumption by laborers) as well as plant materials people consume directly. Mapping these results and transforming them through Geographic Information Systems (software which can visually and computationally manipulate the results in diverse ways) allows us to describe major intersecting processes of globalization linking distant peoples and lands. For us to respond effectively to the increased human domination of Earth systems, improving our understanding of these socioecological relationships will be critical.

Soil moisture is a variable that is difficult to quantify due to its large spatial heterogeneity, its lack of extensive ground-based measurement networks, and its strong dependence on many meteorological and biological factors. However, records of soil moisture are essential for developing more accurate climate models and providing constraints on processes controlling plant productivity and heat fluxes. My research aims to further develop these records by determining whether maximum temperatures can be related to the amount of soil moisture in a particular region. Previous studies have shown that plant transpiration accounts for more than 80% of evapotranspiration, the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth's land and ocean surface to the atmosphere. We hypothesize that the variability of maximum temperatures in vegetated regions is determined by the amount of soil water available there. By analyzing latent heat, temperature, and soil moisture data collected from various flux measurement towers around the United States, we found that days with relatively low latent heat flux values occurring at high maximum temperatures have statistically drier soils compared to days where high latent heat flux values occur at high maximum temperatures. This relationship seems consistent only when the site under analysis is located in a wet environment that is rarely water limited.

Aphasia, a language disorder typically resulting from neurological damage such as a stroke, impacts an individual’s ability to use language, but is generally thought to leave broader cognitive skills intact. Some evidence, however, suggests that this may not be the case. In particular, Silkes (2010) asked participants with and without aphasia to complete a task that used language-based stimuli but did not require language processing. Surprisingly, most individuals with aphasia performed worse on this task than typical adults. It is possible that these findings reflect unexpected differences in broader aspects of cognitive processing, such as memory or attention. Therefore, to better understand these previous results, this study investigates differences between adults with and without aphasia in rapid perception of language vs. non-language stimuli on a computer screen. Participants include 11 typical adults and 5 individuals with aphasia seen over 1-2 two-hour sessions. Participants press computer keys to indicate whether a white rectangle, in each trial, is blank or contains linguistic or non-linguistic characters. The rectangles are masked, meaning that they are hidden among strings of letters and symbols. They are presented at various exposure durations on a computer screen, making them progressively more difficult to see as exposure duration decreases. Data collected reflect the shortest exposure duration at which participants reliably distinguish between filled and empty rectangles in each of three conditions (word, non-word, or non-linguistic filler). Comparing these thresholds between conditions lets us explore the relative role of language processing vs. other cognitive skills in this task, and how this may differ between adults with and without aphasia. If individuals with aphasia show different patterns of performance than typical adults, this will expand our understanding of the underlying processes that are impaired in aphasia. Ultimately, better understanding of these processes will lead to better treatment of this language disorder.

Arsenic (As) is a human toxin and carcinogen that can be ingested by drinking contaminated groundwater or by eating crops that are irrigated with contaminated water. In the past decade, studies have shown that arsenic contamination poses a threat to global public health. Despite the health risks, few countries regulate the arsenic content of food. With this research project, my mentor and I hope to obtain information that will be valuable for the formation of appropriate regulations about arsenic content in rice. We have chosen rice because it is a staple of the diet in Bangladesh, which is currently experiencing an epidemic of arsenic poisoning. Specifically, we are studying how the diffusion of dissolved oxygen into the root-zone of rice plants affects arsenic accumulation in rice grains. We have been able to visualize these concentrations in real time using two-dimensional optical oxygen sensors (optodes) placed on the root zone. We have also measured the concentration of arsenic in the rice grains. Oxygen oxidizes dissolved iron(II) into solid-phase iron (III), which can scavenge arsenic out of solution and reduce plant exposure to arsenic. Twelve rice plants were studied, half grown in ambient temperatures and half in elevated temperatures to simulate a warmer climate. We chose to grow half the plants in elevated temperatures because many of the world’s rice producing regions are projected to experience warmer climates in the futures. Our data have provided valuable information about how dissolved oxygen concentrations near the roots of rice plants change temporally and spatially. Additionally, we've found that when grown in elevated soil temperatures, rice plants grow larger and have proportionately larger root systems. These larger plants require more water, and thus pull more arsenic from the soil porewater toward their root system, which ultimately results in greater uptake of arsenic and accumulation of arsenic in plant tissues.

Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have been steadily increasing for decades, sparking the interest of many. In response, researchers have been studying the various components of the carbon cycle, including bodies of water as they act as both significant sinks and sources of carbon dioxide. This study examines the correlation between various water quality indicators and CO₂ flux within the Cedar-Sammamish watershed. At each site, CO₂ flux was measured and logged using an IRGA (Infrared Gas Analyzer) connected to a Plexiglas chamber dome floating on the surface of the water. Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels and pH were measured using Hach DO and pH meters, and water quality was measured using a field spectrometer.  Meteorological data and visual observations were also recorded.  Data was then analyzed for trends.  Preliminary data indicated a positive correlation between nitrate levels and carbon dioxide efflux.  Subsequent data has not necessarily followed this trend, indicating that other factors may be at work.  Understanding the various trends and possible predictors of CO₂ flux is important, as it will help create better models for global carbon cycling.

Climate change is a crucial factor that affects plant physiology, population dynamics and geographic ranges. Little is known about the effects of changing climate on conifer morphology, whether their key morphological structures have the ability to change in response to environmental differences and what the impact of these changes mean for future ecological population dynamics. Are morphological and physiological traits locally adapted within a species or do they acclimatize to specific environmental conditions? Two studies were conducted to test 1) whether morphological structures of conifers differ between source populations when transplanted across an elevation gradient and 2) whether photosynthetic levels under a light treatment differ between source populations. Tsuga mertensiana seedlings from three study sites, varying from high to low elevation on Mt. Rainier, were each transplanted across and beyond the species' elevation range. For the first study, measurements of shoot to root ratio, specific leaf area (SLA) (m²/g) and leaf mass vs. stem mass were calculated. We expect our results to show that as elevation increases, SLA and shoot to root ratio decrease, however overall values are smaller for trees at higher elevation. This indicates that within a single species, trees from distinctive ecotypes are inherently different morphologically, even though all seedlings have the ability to acclimate to changes in elevation. The second study manipulates light as a single variable and addresses whether the driving force of morphological and physiological characteristics are due to light levels at different elevations or whether T. mertensiana seedlings at different ecotypes are genetically different physiologically.

Macrophage have roles in promoting and resolving inflammatory responses in the lung, and they do this in part by their ability to polarize into M1 or M2 cells depending on environmental signals. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a microbial initiator of inflammation, activates macrophages to the M1 polarized state, which drives the inflammatory response. M2 cells, which can be induced by cytokines IL4 and IL13, are involved in promoting wound repair responses and are considered reparative cells. Macrophages maintain their plasticity, and in vivo, pulmonary macrophages switch from M1 to M2 states during pneumonia resolution. In this project, we sought to determine the functional consequences of this macrophage repolarization using an in vitro model. We hypothesized that repolarization of LPS-treated macrophages (M1 cells) to M2 cells would alter their responsiveness to further LPS challenge. We cultured bone-marrow derived macrophages from mice. We exposed the macrophages sequentially to LPS, IL4 and IL13 or media alone, and then rechallenged with LPS. We harvested cells for RNA for analysis of gene expression of M1 and M2 markers using qRT-PCR. We found that repolarization of macrophages toward M2 states potentiated the immunoparalysis seen in LPS-treated macrophages. These results suggest that M2 cells may dampen macrophage inflammatory gene expression to promote resolution of inflammation but may also contribute to increased susceptibility to recurrent infection.

There is a wide-spread belief among professionals and parents that raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in bilingual households will be detrimental to their language development. Although some early studies reported an association between bilingualism and cognitive deficits, more recent studies have called these findings into question. Furthermore, the few studies of ASD and bilingualism also support potential benefits. Children with ASD from multilingual households have been shown to demonstrate increased gesturing and sociability. Our study proposes to directly investigate the relationship between bilingual environment, social ability, and language ability in toddlers with ASD. We hypothesize that toddlers with ASD who grow up in a bilingual environment will exhibit greater social ability and increased language ability compared to toddlers with ASD from monolingual households. Thirty-eight, 12-24 month-old toddlers from the UW Autism Center who were part of a larger, multisite study were categorized based on their mother’s language ability: bilingual (BL; 18) and monolingual (ML; 20). Language measures included the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory, Communication subscale of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS-II), and Expressive and Receptive Language subscales from the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Social skills measures included the VABS-II Socialization subscale and a measure of joint attention. We will use two sample t-tests to compare social skills and language skills between the two experimental groups. This research will provide some of the first direct evidence regarding the impact of a bilingual language environment on the early social and language abilities of very young children with ASD. We hope to raise awareness towards the need for evidence-based approaches to guide professional and parents of young children with ASD.

Autophagy is the process in which eukaryotic cells selectively degrade proteins and organelles. Autophagy has been well documented in organisms ranging from yeast to mammalian cells, with demonstrated roles in response to starvation, aging, and stress. However, there has not been an effective method for measuring autophagy in C. elegans, despite C. elegans being a popular model organism for the study of disease and aging. We refined an assay that uses double-fluorescent protein tagged Atg-8/Lgg-1 to measure autophagy in both yeast as well as C. elegans. This assay reports an increase in autophagy in response to starvation in both model organisms. We then applied this to the study of nematodes containing a mutation in Rheb, an important protein in the upstream signaling cascade that regulates autophagy. Autophagy is damped by signaling through the TORC1 pathway. A mutagenesis screen revealed two different worm mutants (ENU9 and ENU10) which are predicted to hyper-activate TORC1 signaling. Using the aforementioned assay we found that ENU9 and 10 mutants have dramatically reduced levels of autophagy. This work has implications for further research in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and related diseases associated with ageing and proteostasis.

Age-related cardiac pathologies are currently endemic in most developed nations and account for a large number of premature deaths and huge medical expenditures. Although lifestyle-associated risk factors have frequently been correlated with risk of cardiac impairment, it is also clear that aging impairs heart function even in the absence of these risk factors. Caloric restriction (CR) is known to extend lifespan and offset age-related impairment in diastolic function in murine models. Rapamycin is a CR mimetic that also extends lifespan (when given throughout life) and is protective in models of cardiac hypertrophy and failure. However, the potential role of Rapamycin for treatment of impaired heart function in aging has not been established. To determine the effect of short-term Rapamycin treatment on cardiac aging, we monitored cardiac function in 25 months old C57BL6/CR mice fed for 10 weeks with a control diet or a diet containing 14ppm encapsulated Rapamycin. Analysis by tissue dropper imaging showed improvement in diastolic function in the treatment group as early as 4 weeks. Normalized heart weights were also lower in the treatment group compared to old control mice, suggesting that short-term sub-acute Rapamycin treatment can reverse cardiac aging and regress age-related cardiac hypertrophy. Proteomic analysis showed increased stability (half-life) of the cardiac global proteome, increased abundance of mitochondrial proteins, and decreased oxidative damage of proteins in the treatment group. Further analysis revealed metabolic remodeling in the glycolytic and TCA pathways that improve energy metabolism and cardiac function in 10 weeks Rapamycin treated mice. Data from murine models offer potent approaches that may be replicable in humans and may prove effective in management of cardiac and perhaps other age-related ailments. In this project, we both assist in preparing the control and treatment diets, mice handling, imaging preparation, tissues harvesting, data analysis, and experimental design for future experiments.

Disfluent speech has typically been regarded as noise in spoken language processing: aspects of speech that should be ignored in order to automatically detect and understand the intended meaning of spoken language. However, it has also been suggested that disfluencies provide information about a speaker's cognitive processes and efforts to manage the discussion. Most work on disfluencies has investigated very controlled scenarios or conversational speech. In our work, we are studying high-stakes debates, including Supreme Court oral arguments and congressional hearings on the financial crisis, in addition to informal conversations among strangers and family members. By studying disfluent speech in both high and low stress situations, we can better understand the impact of stress on disfluency rates. We use text alignment techniques to understand the relationship between the perceived mistakes and correction. We subdivide and partition disfluencies into categories by classifying inserted, deleted, and substituted words according to their semantic similarity; thus, making correlations between social context and disfluency rate more evident in addition to providing a better interpretation of speaker opinions. Preliminary results show that lawyers have a tendency to model their speech patterns off of the justices they are speaking to, but not vice versa. That is, lawyers tend to be more disfluent when the justices are speaking disfluently, which indicates that disfluent speech reflects social context. Thus, we hope to develop ways to automatically detect and understand deeper meaning in spoken language, such as defensiveness and strength of opinions, through our study of disfluent speech.

In cultures where children have regular contact with same aged peers during the first years of life, peer sociability plays a fundamental role at early stages. Currently, the only social emotional skills children are exposed to are those that they learn alongside academic learning. Additional social emotional skills are often not taught. These skills include social awareness, self-awareness, dealing with ambiguous situations, adapting to social situations, managing stress, and learning how to learn (Lindsay, 2013). It is especially challenging for English language learners (ELL), who have the additional task of learning multiple ways of communication, including both language and cultural rules. Research on social emotional learning has shown that when children are able to deal with, manage, and maneuver the social and emotional landscapes of their lives, their capacities to learn and function socially on all levels improve (Lindsay, 2013). This study seeks to compare the social emotional outcomes for ELL students with their native English-speaking peers in classroom settings. The study includes literature review and data analysis on data collected by Second Step Study researchers at the College of Education from approximately 5,000 children across 40 schools in 5 districts. One of the teacher-reported measurements used in the study is the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), a behavioral rating scale that measures skills associated with social-emotional competence, resilience, and academic success. The other teacher-reported measurement is the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a behavioral screening questionnaire which measures children’s strengths and difficulties related to behavioral characteristics. Results from the measures will be compared between native English speakers and ELL students. The aim of this study is to increase teachers’ awareness of the importance of social emotional development of English language learners.

Women make up only 25% of employees in the technology industry (e.g., computer science careers, information technology, etc.). One possible explanation for this disparity is that hiring decisions are made based off cultural fit, or the perception of similarities between employers and job candidates. The current research investigates whether perceptions of cultural fit are determined in part by the design of workplace environments, and, as a result, whether stereotypical computer science (CS) environments might influence hiring decisions and contribute to the gender disparities in the technology industry. In our study, undergraduates were asked to imagine that they were hiring a job candidate for a technology company. Participants read a description of either a non-stereotypical (e.g., art posters on the wall, etc.) or stereotypical (e.g., Star Trek posters, computer parts, science fiction posters, etc.) CS workplace, and then read the resume of either a male or female job candidate. Participants then answered questions measuring perceived candidate fit into the company environment and hiring intention. We predict that participants who viewed the non-stereotypical CS workplace environment will be more likely to hire the female job candidate than participants who viewed the stereotypical environment. This work would suggest that the design of company environments can prevent non-traditional candidates from being hired, and that encouraging companies to create inclusive, non-stereotypical environments may reduce gender disparities in the technology industry.

The Occupy Movement represented the American contingent of the populist uprisings of Spain and Egypt. It adeptly deployed popular, personalized political involvement with mobilization of networking tools and crowd tactics to create the ubiquitous meme “We Are The 99%”. The emerging, novel form of protest embodied by Occupy suggests the possible trajectory of contemporary social movements but it has been criticized for failing to assert demands and institute changes. The divergence with traditional social movements who make claims on the state extends to the realm of rights. This raises the question of whether the absence of rights-talk reflects a broader ‘exhaustion of rights.’ To investigate this claim I drew on activists’ accounts as well as academics studying the mechanisms behind movement formation and development. I sought to establish a framework to understand activist’s choices to reject demands and whether this logic was consciously extended to rights. I also incorporated academic works to understand and situate the movement in the neoliberal state to which the movement was, in part, a response. I found that activists were limited by the movement’s internal structure created out of a desire to instantiate horizontality, the absence of leadership, and inclusivity, broad participation, that were crucial to its legitimacy. More importantly, the perceived dominance of neoliberalism made activists wary of institutionalizing or making demands on a system that disproportionately favored the 1%. Consequences of the neoliberal project have intensified the critique of rights, leaving rights-talk perilous or powerless for activists. This view of rights delimits rights to state-claims and ignores their unintended and potentially transformative capacities. Consequently, although rights existed within the movement, they were not extant in broader discussions, missing an opportunity to seize upon the platform created by the movement to contextualize novel rights claims giving them political salience.

Most living systems have complex bacterial communities (microbiomes) associated with them that are essential to the host's wellbeing. Microbiomes provide their host with nutrients, protection against pathogens and stress, and influence host immunity. Microbiomes can consist of hundreds of different bacterial species making them difficult to study. However, the algal species Chrysochromulina sp. (referred to as P3) has a small microbiome consisting of less than 10 species, making it a prime candidate for studying interactions between a host and its microbiome. Chrysochromulina sp. is also of interest as a source of biofuels since it produces a variety of fatty acids, and it belongs to an algal taxa that plays a major role in global carbon sequestration. I hypothesize that the microbiome of P3 allows P3 to withstand periods of stress. I tested this by growing P3 and an axenic (bacteria-free) culture known as P5.5 in high salt medium, a known stressor, and determined cell counts by flow cytrometry and bacterial colony counts by culturing. I found the P3 grew better than P5.5, indicating the bacteria help the alga survive high salt conditions. We cultured and identified 8 different bacterial species associated with P3 by sequencing the 16S rDNA, which encodes ribosomal RNA and is unique to each species. Next I will determine which bacterial species protect P3 from high salt. I will further determine the protective role of the microbiome by growing P3 and P5.5 under other stress conditions (e.g. low nitrogen, low pH, low light, and temperature shifts) to understand how the microbiome protects Chrysochromulina sp. during periods of environmental challenge. This will allow insight into how to optimize Chrysochomulina sp. growth for biofuel production and the effects of global warming on this alga.

In many ways, our contemporary understanding of the Modern Civil Rights Movement, and its associated successes and failures, has been severely limited through socio-historical and political machinations to collapse and periodize it. Rather than situating it within or connecting it to the broader historical continuum and highlighting the rich multiplicity of forms of struggle and survival, the simplistic narratives we receive through media (and other forms of cultural production) are ones of heroes and villains—of near-infallible visionaries and separatist and corrupt radicals, one that highlights the contributions of the few at the expense of the many. Two such groups whose historical agency and significance suffer from such undertakings are the Black Panther and the Young Lords Parties. It can be said that both groups have suffered not from a crisis of denotation, but one of connotation—referring specifically to the ways in which their collective contributions have been socially diminished as they are instead associated with fear, needless violence, corruption, militancy and relegated to the margins. Thus my research asks: how did these groups function as powerful symbols of transformation during Modern Civil Rights Movement? To what end? How and why were individuals within these groups and even the organizations themselves framed as threats to the social order and how would their objectification exacerbate their struggles for equality? I seek to uncover through a careful examination of foundational documents, news articles and other print media, interviews, and film, how socially produced marginalization enabled a multiplicity of violence against them (and their associated communities) and also illuminate some of the associated contemporary consequences.

A crucial segment of sustainable jet fuel production is the fermentation of lignocellulosic-based sugars to acetic acid. Biomass from non-food sources such as wood, switch grass, and waste materials can be fractionated into their raw sugar components (glucose, xylose, mannose, arabinose, and galactose). These sugars can later be fermented to acetic acid, reduced to ethanol, dehydrated to ethylene, then oligomerized and hydrogenated to produce jet fuel. Moorella thermoacetica is an obligate anaerobe that exclusively ferments sugars to acetic acid. Thus far, fermentation using M. thermoacetica has been achieved with synthetic glucose and xylose. It is essential to investigate the fermentation of all five sugars in order to validate lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock for this process. In this work five synthetic sugars were fermented in flasks at 58°C without pH adjustment. Samples were taken every 4 to 6 hours over a period of 48 hours and were analyzed offline by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The trend of sugar consumption shows that M. thermoacetica has a substrate preference of xylose over glucose, and glucose over other sugars. The sugar consumption was 100% for xylose, 98% for glucose, and 30 - 40% for the rest of the sugars. Successful five sugar fermentation suggests a concrete potential to upscale the bioconversion process and build a feasible market for jet fuel produced from lignocellulosic biomass.

Forensic entomology uses the life cycles of insects to determine the time of death (post mortem interval, PMI) of victims of homicide and abuse. Currently, PMI is not used on bodies that have been burned with the use of an accelerant because little is known about how the accelerants affect the life cycles of insects at the scene. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether flesh flies (Sarcophaga bullata) will colonize and complete a full life cycle on charred carrion that has been burned with an accelerant. Laboratory reared adult flesh flies were provided with various substrates; one not burned, one organically burned and one burned with the accelerant, gasoline. Early results of this experiment have shown normal progression of the fly life cycle with larvae deposited on the control carrion. No progression of the life cycle of the flies has been observed on either of the charred substrates. The results of these experiments can show how carrion burned with accelerants affects the colonization and life cycle of an important forensic indicator species, the flesh fly. This pilot study can lead to further studies regarding using PMI for charred remains. The broad scope of this study is to gain insight into the use of insect life cycles to determine the time of death of victims burned with accelerants.

Diatoms are an important taxon of phytoplankton that contribute to both freshwater and marine ecosystem function. For example, marine diatoms are responsible for about 14% of global primary production. My research is focused on determining the ability of these algae to regulate the production of chlorophyll a- the core pigment component of photosynthetic complexes. The enzyme light-dependent NADPH protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR) is a key regulator of chlorophyll synthesis. Whereas most organisms have just one POR enzyme, diatoms have two (POR1 and POR2). The goals of this project are to understand how these enzymes are metabolically different from one another in: (a.) their enzymology and (b.) their regulation at the transcriptional and posttranslational levels. To this end, plasmids were constructed encoding the cDNAs of the por genes, adding N-terminal histidine tags to assist in affinity purification. E. coli, transformed with these plasmids, was induced to express the proteins; harvested, and lysed. Recovered POR1 and POR2 proteins were purified from the lysate by affinity chromatography. Antibodies raised against these proteins were used in Western blot protein identification and quantitation of the targeted proteins. Preliminary experiments demonstrate good affinity of generated antibodies for POR proteins, and indicate that POR 2 may be post-transcriptionally truncated. Developing an understanding of chlorophyll metabolism in diatoms has not only ecological implication, but also could prove important in commercial aspects of biofuel development- increasingly important issues driven by changing ocean conditions and the critical need for generating alternative fuel sources. Determining the properties of these enzymes and their regulation is just one step towards understanding the successful productivity of diatoms. Further studies may be required to determine if there are additional regulatory pathways and enzymes that are critical in photosynthetic production.

The increasing rate of suicidality and death by suicide among military service members has gained considerable attention from the Department of Defense (DOD), members of Congress, and the civilian populace as military suicide rates have surpassed suicides in the general population. Although suicide prevention has become a national research priority, it has been difficult to identify specific and modifiable risk factors contributing to the rise of military suicides. Previous research suggests that both victims and perpetrators of bullying are at greater risk for suicide, but the prevalence of bullying and its impact on suicidal ideation and behaviors within military populations in unknown. The current study will explore the relationship between bullying and suicidal behaviors among military service members using baseline data from a multisite DOD-funded suicide prevention study. Participants include 125 active duty Soldiers and Marines who have engaged in recent suicidal behavior and/or reported current suicidal ideation. As part of a larger clinical interview, participants were asked about suicidal thoughts and behaviors and experiences of bullying in the military workplace. Regression analyses will be conducted to assess whether bullying constitutes a risk factor for increased suicidality. We predict that greater instances of bullying within the military context will be associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation and increased suicide attempts. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine bullying and suicidality among U.S. active duty service members. A better understanding of this risk factor may contribute to more effective suicide assessment and prevention strategies in the military.

Parent engagement has been found to have direct implications in the academic success of students. Knowing the ways that parents are or are not engaged is vital to developing ways to improve parent engagement. Additionally, it is important to reveal the ways in which parent engagement is defined in current school settings. Increasingly, school, and community based organizations are in need of understanding how well they are doing in engaging parents. To help us understand ways to assess parent engagement, this study examines parent engagement measures found in literature from 1993 to the present with a focus on its representation in urban communities. Specifically, we examine how equitable and traditional forms of parent engagement are or are not represented in the constructs used to measure parent engagement in urban settings. We synthesized literature into Excel templates and then coded using MAXQDA software. This allows us to analyze the data and more easily view patterns, differences, and commonalities among the literature. Using our coding database, we found preliminary results that indicate that parent engagement studies of urban school settings were more frequent in comparison to suburban, rural, or mixed school settings. We found that within the urban setting, when studying parent-engagement behaviors, over fifty percent of the time the behaviors studied were home-based. These findings suggest that the quantitative measures and studies of parent involvement over the last twenty years largely reflect the traditional approaches that qualitative studies have found to be inhibiting, particularly for the participation of non-dominant parents such as minorities or parents from low-income background in school-based or community-based parent engagement. These findings suggest the need to examine beyond the scope of traditional measures in order to begin to understand the potential of equitable parent, school, and community collaboration for improving student learning and success.

The purpose of this research is to investigate hidden health narratives on campus regarding the use of tobacco products to contextualize the legitimacy of smoke-free and tobacco-free university initiatives. This academic endeavor will also reveal the structural and institutionalized violence of the tobacco industry which targets marginalized communities to entice the uptake of regular smoking habits. An analysis of biopolitical power, structural violence, and social theory will help to reveal the hidden narratives of these populations, twice-targeted by the social stigmatization of tobacco use and the manipulative advertising of the tobacco industry. By exposing, analyzing, and deconstructing patterns of profit-driven tobacco marketing directed at student demographics, it is possible to examine geographies of blame regarding tobacco use, impact of tobacco use on non-smoking populations, and the misleading agendas behind the dominant narratives of tobacco industry advertising. By identifying and bringing to light these messages, it is possible to legitimize the anti-smoking and anti-tobacco movements happening at the University of Washington, and U.S. universities at large, with a critical analysis of the health risks involved.

Art, and the process of creative expression, has been used for centuries to catalog unique cultural traditions within regions. Perspective, compostition, and style are present in unique combinations within artwork and serve to give a strong sense of trends and values within a community. By applying the study of geography to art, a richer understanding of place begins to emerge: history, inhabitants, nature, and social processes are all expressed together in the same space. I have utilized this method of analysis, by specifically examining use of materials within the art, in order to examine cultural trends within the Pacific Northwest (PNW). I began by cataloging artists of the PNW, beginning in the early 20th century, studying material use and application of such in order to build a background. Next, I observed the trends of current artists within the region in order to observe shifting trends in artistic materials and use. In the final step of my research, I used material of my choice to create a work of art: a physical manifestation of my experience as a native Washingtonian. This last step was taken as a full participant in order to connect with my research in a more significant light. The overall purpose of my research is two-fold: 1) to understand past and present regional memes within the PNW, and 2) to understand the presence of regional trends within choice of material. This type of geographic analysis, utilizing artistic expression, contributes to the current body of knowlege by examining material as the singe substance of cultural meaning. Artists within the PNW have focused their work to reflect the presence of Native Americanism, light, nature, and Asian influences, and analyzing the materials within these works will uncover yet another layer of understanding what ties the region of the PNW together.

Teams are a common temporary system that can improve working efficiency. We define efficient work as the ideal outcome the team wants. Teams tend to work more efficiently than individual because the team members can double check each other’s work and teams can better handle more complex systems. Organizations such as hospitals utilize teams because they want high working efficiency and avoid low working efficiency caused by disruptions. Disruptions, the events that stop workflow, impact people’s way of working either positively or negatively. If disruptions strike a medical team it can have deadly consequences. Daily patients suffer and die when medical teams are disrupted, our study aims to identify and reduce the negative effects of disruptions. Common forms of disruptions are failure of communication, where teams are ill equipped or do not having enough information. Medical teams are not the only teams to be disrupted; the data we collect will also be used to improve the efficiency of production and service teams plagued by disruptions. We are using an I.R.B. (an ethic board with the goal of insuring subjects safety) approved interview scripts, online surveys, interview equipment, and professionals scheduled to be interviewed. Our study is proceeding in three phases. We have accomplished the first phase that consists of interviewing and surveying teams about events that disrupted their workflow. We are currently analyzing the interview using qualitative techniques and survey data using quantitative methods to find trends that identify the disruptions. In addition, we will design methods that teams can apply to decrease the negative effects of disruptions. The potential benefits from our research will aid teams to be efficient especially in the business and hospital settings where improved working efficiency can not only create value for the organizations, but also save people’s lives.

In the classical secretary problem, an employer tries to hire the best secretary from a line of candidates. The employer considers each candidate in sequence and makes an irreversible decision to accept or reject, being able to make only one hire. A well-known result gives the optimal strategy for this problem with a probability of success of 1/e. We extend this problem by considering a setting in which there are multiple employers, which could be universities, for example, competing for the best faculty candidates. We derive the optimal strategy for this setting and demonstrate that it meets expectations because lower ranked universities tend to make earlier offers. We employ theoretical analysis using game theory and algorithms. The broader implications of this research are greater understanding of optimal stopping problems as well as better information on how employers should hire. Eric's duties include design and analysis of algorithms for solving the problem.

Pancreatic islets are comprised of ß cells that secrete insulin in response to glucose to maintain glucose homeostasis. The renin-angiotensin system is a regulatory hormone system active in many organs. Angiotensin (1-7) (Ang(1-7)), a product of the renin-angiotensin system, enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in a rat model of type 2 diabetes. Since Ang(1-7) is cleaved into angiotensin (1-4) (Ang(1-4)) by neprilysin (NEP), an enzyme present in islets, it remains unknown whether Ang(1-7) or Ang(1-4) is responsible for enhancing GSIS. We sought to determine whether under normal conditions, absence of NEP attenuates the ability of Ang(1-7) to promote GSIS, and whether Ang(1-4) per se enhances GSIS. We cultured Wild-type or NEP deficient mouse islets for 48 hours in the absence (vehicle) or presence of 1 nM Ang(1-7) or 1 nM Ang(1-4) (4-7 experiments). We then measured insulin secretion in response to 2.8 mM (basal) and 20 mM (GSIS) glucose. Ang(1-7) enhanced GSIS in wild-type islets [Ang(1-7) 93.4±10.0 vs. Vehicle 59.0±6.8 pM/5 islets/h; p<0.05] but failed to do so in Nep deficient islets [Ang(1-7) 135.4±17.4 vs. Vehicle 145.1±23.1 pM/5 islets/h; p>0.05]. Ang(1-4) also enhanced GSIS in wild-type islets [Ang(1-7) 105.3±17.5 vs. Vehicle 44.9±9.5 pM/5 islets/h; p<0.05], while neither Ang(1-7) nor Ang(1-4) significantly altered basal insulin secretion from islets of either genotype. In conclusion, NEP is required for the increase in GSIS mediated by Ang(1-7), suggesting that a NEP-derived cleavage product of Ang(1-7) is responsible for its beneficial effects on ß-cell function. The enhancement of GSIS by Ang(1-4) supports this notion, suggesting that Ang(1-4) may be a novel therapeutic approach to improve GSIS in type 2 diabetes.

The aim of my presentation is to explore a unique approach to cinema called ‘a cinema of transvergence,’ as theorized by Will Higbee, as a means to glean the effectiveness of the work of three women directors from the Middle East/North Africa region, in suggesting possibilities for challenging the fixed positionings typically offered by the hegemonic structures of knowledge and power. When applied to the films of directors Raja Amari, Annemarie Jacir and Samira Makhmalbaf, a transvergent approach provides an open ended framework for understanding of interconnections which bind the filmmaker to a given film culture/national identity, the intentions, approaches and material conditions behind the production of their films, and the international reception of these films. The understanding of these factors, in turn, reveals the difference and imbalances of power exist between various film cultures and film industries.

 Waste water and run-off from hospitals, sewage treatment plants, and homes discharge human byproducts to aquatic systems all over the world. These anthropogenic byproducts range from toxic compounds and personal care product chemicals to biological and genetic waste. When examining the microbial component of these byproducts, biomarkers such as antibiotic resistance genes can be identified by genetic techniques. Extended spectrum beta-lactam (ESBL) antibiotics are valuable in treating bacterial infections, and increased multi-ESBL resistance by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae has been detected in waste water. The Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) enzyme was identified approximately 20 years ago and the resistance gene has spread to 37 states in the US. Discovered in 2008, NDM-1 is a member of metallo-beta-lactamase family revealed in K. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, and found world-wide. Moreover, ESBL resistance genes, such as KPC and NDM-1, have been shown to move to environmental bacteria, most likely by horizontal transfer. Given the recent discovery of NDM-1 and national spread of KPC, we wished to assess for the presence of KPC and NDM-1 in nearshore pelagic waters of Puget Sound. DNA for examination was isolated from filtered seawater collected in six of the seven oceanographic basins of Puget Sound, including areas near waste water treatment plant outfalls. Analysis via quantitative PCR for KPC and NDM-1 were performed using positive controls of meropenem- and cefotaxime-resistant strains of K. pneumoniae bearing KPC or NDM-1 as assay standards. Results for these resistance markers were compared to companion analyses for human-origin and bovine-origin fecal markers, water quality parameters, and potential sources. These results can provide insight into additional stressors introduced into Puget Sound by human activities.

A plane tiling is a countable family of closed topological disks T = {T₁, T₂, …} that cover the Euclidean plane E² without gaps or overlaps. There are 14 known types of convex pentagons that allow tilings of the plane, but it is unknown if this list is complete. The last new convex pentagon tiling was discovered in 1985. An i-block B is a patch of i pentagons in a tiling T by identical convex pentagons such that T consists of copies of B, the tiling formed by B is symmetrical, and i is the minimum number of pentagons for which the patch B exists. Any repeated (periodic) tiling by convex pentagons is necessarily equivalent to an i-block tiling (i-block transitive) for some i. If all pentagons that allow a tiling of the plane admit at least one periodic tiling, then the class of pentagons admitting i-block transitive tilings would represent all possible pentagons that allow tilings of the plane. Combinatorial methods establish limits on the properties of vertices and edges in i-block tilings. The results allow an ordered listing of all possible i-block transitive tilings by convex pentagons. This listing, known as an enumeration, might uncover a new tiling of the plane by convex pentagons. An algorithm is being written to automate the process of enumerating the i-block transitive tilings. If a finite limit can be placed on i, it will be possible to exhaustively complete the list of pentagons that can tile the plane -- a mathematical problem that was started in 1918 by German mathematician Karl Reinhardt and remains unsolved today.

Brasília, the capital of Brazil, was constructed primarily by a migrant labor force in the late 1950s. Brasília was intended to be a modernist utopia meant to transform Brazilian society for the better. The capital, which was planned for a maximum population of 500,000, now has nearly 2.8 million inhabitants. This growth can be attributed to consistently high rates of internal migration from Brazil’s rural areas. Over 80% of the Brazilian population now lives in urban areas of the country, compared to less than 40% at the time of Brasília’s construction in the 1950s. This influx of migrants has led to severe shortages in suitable housing, leading to a steady rise in the number of slums and squatter settlements across the country. While much research has been done on the impact of internal migration in Brazil’s two largest cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, comparatively little research has been done on Brasília. Through statistical and spatial analysis of Brazilian census data and with the help of geographic information systems software, this project builds a historical profile of internal migration to Brasília and examines changes in internal migration flows since the late 1950s. Additionally I analyze the spatial distribution of the migrant population around the metropolitan area of Brasília with an examination of the descriptive spatial statistics of the population in addition to an analysis of the residential segregation of both short-term (living in Brasília less than ten years) and long-term (more than ten years) migrants. Preliminary results suggest that, since the original construction of Brasília, internal migrants have consistently and overwhelmingly originated from states in Brazil’s impoverished northeast region and have usually settled in the outlying satellite cities of the Brasília metropolitan area.

Specialty polymer optical fiber requires incredibly tight diameter control of ~ 1 um to minimize signal attenuation. Temperature profiles within cylindrical furnaces used to bring about necking of preforms to be drawn into fiber cause the formation of convective oscillating cells. The resulting variations in heat flux into the preform likewise cause oscillations in the fiber exit diameter. For preforms of sufficient diameter, matching a prescribed temperature profile within the necking region of the furnace leads to fiber diameter oscillations of predictable amplitude and frequency. The necessary temperature profile and the extent to which this affect can be achieved varies with the geometry of the inside of the furnace; namely, preform shape and diameter. To maintain ease of manufacturability, accommodating various preform diameters is necessary. By drawing fiber under temperature profiles described above, it is hoped that coupling these well-understood and reproducible oscillations with a PID feedback controller using draw speed to regulate exit diameter and tuned to these specific oscillations, we will attain diameter control within 1 um for the ideal case of a large 1” diameter preform. Preforms of varying diameters will be drawn under ideal temperature profiles, with the fiber diameter recorded. When steady oscillations are achieved, a PID controller tuned to their amplitude and frequency will be turned on, and the diameter response will be observed. Earlier work indicated that the process is highly sensitive to temperature and draw speed, and previous attempts to achieve 1 um diameter control using only PID feedback or temperature profile regulation proved inadequate. This work will determine if a combined approach advantageous, and provide insight into the more challenging control problems associated with specialty fiber preforms of smaller diameter. If achievable, this would allow inexpensive production of advanced graded-index fiber.

Matters of safety and vulnerability in the public sphere have dominated much of the discourse in both everyday queer media and scholarship in queer geography, as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals continue to face often violent discrimination in public spaces. This project, while acknowledging the difficulty other researchers have discovered in defining what and where queer space is, addresses a gap within queer geography. Little research has been done to analyze the contradiction that lies in the conceptualization many individuals have of “queer spaces” as sites of safety and sites of increased vulnerability. Therefore this research seeks to explore how is safety conceptualized for queer individuals in spaces identified as queer or heterosexual and examine how these different conceptualizations affect how spaces are identified and sexualized. Personalized maps are used to deconstruct a static geography of sexualized space in Seattle and qualitative interviews with LGBTQ-identified Seattle residents are coded and thematically analyzed for patterns of how a subjective geography of un/safe is constructed by queer individuals. This research highlights the importance of lived experiences in how space is categorized and perceived, as well as the complicated relationship between the socio-cultural environment and individual identities in creating these perceptions.

Recently King County Metro has announced plans to cut 17% of its transit service due to a $75 million deficit. Assuming that no sufficient transportation financing package is developed, Metro will have to proceed with these cuts by the end of this year. Taking this as a case study, this project develops and compares different transportation network models for optimizing equity and efficiency in the distribution of bus service in King County. Extending upon previous work, this project aims to produce a new model for optimizing decision-making and critique current methodologies for equitably allocating public transit resources. The research question is: How can we develop a transportation model in which route cuts and reductions will be designed to minimize the impact on equity and efficiency of service? An origin-destination network model will be produced using ArcGIS software and Python scripting to analyze spatially aggregated need for transit within King County. Data include 2012 ridership statistics from Metro as well as transit corridor data. Also, demographic data for identifying and locating marginalized populations will be obtained from King County census blockgroups. I predict that results will show that no self-purported objective transit network model is truly unbiased with respect to the different demographic groups it impacts.

This project examines the role of gender inequality in HIV/AIDS and how this inequality perpetuates the susceptibility of women to contract the virus. Focusing on Ghana and Brazil, I explore how culture and society shape an imbalance that potentially increases risks to women in becoming sick through analysis of the relationship between social determinants of health, risk factors and vulnerability. I argue that preventative measures intended to fight against HIV/AIDS have failed to consider the social circumstances that place women at greater risk than men. In my analysis, I draw on and interpret Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics using feministic critique and gendered perspectives. I reference anecdotes from Stephanie Nolen’s “28: Stories of AIDS in Africa” to present personalized perspectives of the painfully multifaceted reality of the HIV/AIDS outbreak, while Silvana Paternostro’s personal accounts of sexual culture in Brazil in “In the Land of God and Man: Confronting Sexual Culture in Latin America,” serve as a framework for my examination of gendered social constructs in Brazil. I examine gender relations and the dynamic of marital relationships that often disproportionately allow the male greater power over the female, and how a male dominant ideology is reinforced by politics, culture and social norm. Distinguishing between gender and sex, I look at how gender inequality, the inequality of opportunities and power that follow being a certain sex, may expose mothers, daughters, sisters, and other women at risk in ways we may not have imagined.

We analyzed therapists' skill at delivering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) before and after receiving an evidence based statewide training and consultation program called CBT-Plus. Specifically, we observed how therapists' attitudes toward general evidence based practice (EBP) prior to the training affected their performance--operationalized as their score on a mock therapy session (role play)-- throughout the study. People's attitudes can have a direct impact on all types and aspects of performance. Examining this relationship in CBT-Plus will allow us to address the topic of attitude in future training practices and improve the implementation process of the treatment. Therapists who started the training with a negative attitude performed overall lower on the role plays than therapists who started with a more positive attitude. These therapists also show less improvement in skill over time. A more positive attitude towards the treatment prior to training leads to higher skill due to higher commitment to training practices. To compare the therapists based on attitude, we sorted them into low, medium, or high attitude groups based from infromation from baseline questionaires. For each group, we collected their role play scores across three different time points (before, right after, and six months after training). We compared the groups for any significant differences in overall performance scores and improvement. If personal ideas and attitudes surrounding EBP are shown to have an effect on performance when providing treatment, more attention should be given to improving therapists' perception of CBT-Plus through education. 

Our understanding of our own galaxy and those at great distances hinges on how well we can model the complex processes by which stars form and evolve. The best laboratories in which to test our predictions are star clusters - groups of stars which by assumption formed at the same time. The nearby Andromeda galaxy (M31) is a fantastic source of clusters with similar chemical properties to our galaxy, at a variety of ages, and close enough to be resolved into individual bright stars by space telescopes. However, distinguishing cluster members from other field stars is a difficult problem. We have developed a method to assign a cluster membership probability to a given star by comparison with the density profile and properties of the cluster. We apply this method to a sample of well-characterized clusters observed by the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) program, which has provided Hubble-based photometry of unprecedented depth in the M31 disk. As a first application, we study a subset of clusters associated with evolved stars that are known to be Cepheid variables - a class of pulsating supergiant star to which stellar models can provide a precise age. We demonstrate the accuracy of the method and characterize this newly identified population of M31 cluster Cepheids. We extend this method to the entire PHAT cluster sample, seeking to establish cluster membership of bright supergiant, horizontal branch, and AGB stars therein. The unprecedented size and quality of this sample of M31 clusters will allow us to test existing models of these important stages of stellar evolution.

Due to small position uncertainties within internal systems, it is difficult to accurately predict the movement of cable-driven robots. By studying what happens within the pulley-cable system, we will be able to propose a model that accounts for the specific properties of the system, such as friction, tension, and viscosity. This model can be used for more accurate control of robot movement.

A pulley board was built with similar mechanical parameters (same pulleys, cables, tensions, and dynamics) as the RAVEN II surgical robot of the UW BioRobotics Lab. The board was fitted with velocity sensors which measured the movement of the cables when predetermined forces were applied to the ends. Position, velocity, and acceleration functions were obtained from these data. A proposed model was formed from physical predictions of the cables, and by fitting the data from the pulley board into the proposed model, functions for a viscous damping coefficient and friction force were found. From the findings, the model was refined and applied to the RAVEN II, transforming sensor inputs into a more accurate estimation of the robot pose.

This project examines the ethical and social frames which facilitate environmental conditions that fuel the rampage of tuberculosis in India. Three key components of the basic biomedical outbreak narrative that are often overlooked will be brought forth to attention: the tuberculosis outbreak as more than just a bacterial spread, social constructs which shape the bacteria’s accessibility to victims, and socioeconomic determinants of treatment (and lack thereof). India accounts for approximately one-fifth of global tuberculosis occurrences, and with over 2 million cases in the country, tuberculosis is a continuously growing health concern, posing a major threat to the well-being of the population. Due to India's developing health care system, pollution, and poverty, these conditions amplify the ease of transmissibility and rate of infection. As treatment regimens are abandoned due to social stigma, medical side effects, and overwhelming price tags, the bacterium which causes TB (mycobacterium tuberculosis), tends to mutate and become drug-resistant to varying degrees; increasing the difficulty of containment and scientific development of effective medicines. Furthermore, the capitalist structure of the pharmaceutical industry contributes to the financial challenges which prevent the eradication of tuberculosis. Drawing on the theory of biopolitics while using sources of statistical information and analytical discourse,  my presentation seeks to explore various properties of the disease and discover how the complex interconnectedness of these underlying issues attribute to forms of structural violence, perpetuating the growth of tuberculosis in India.

Prior research shows that well-functioning interprofessional (IP) healthcare teams lead to greater patient satisfaction, shared clinician understanding, and stronger teamwork, yet healthcare providers are educated in separate “silos” – inhibiting the development of critical teamwork skills. IP service learning (IPSL) is one way to integrate student learning across the health professions. There is little research on how best to use IPSL in current curricular models for the health profession. Furthermore, though student engagement is central to both service learning and IP education, there are few models for how to develop IPSL. This project will explore this important area by asking: how do students who are knowledgeable in both IP and service learning envision effective IPSL? In addition, how could IPSL support current health professional education? One proposal is the creation of a common curriculum among health professional schools, as focused, year-long IPSL experiences. To explore this idea and generate other options, student experts from four of the six health science schools (Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Social Work) participated in a focus group on the UW Seattle campus. Participants were recruited based on their availability and interest, and questions were formulated using Gitlin, Lyons, and Kolodner’s extended social exchange theory. The results of this study were used to help inform current curriculum changes in the health sciences schools, and to reinforce current understandings of IP education and ways to use IPSL in educational programs. Areas for future research include pilot testing 1-3 proposals, as well as sampling health sciences faculty to uncover systems-level barriers to IPSL.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality and permanent neurological disability. Microglial activation and inflammation contribute to the onset and progression of TBI-induced pathology. In this study we aimed to identify the factors that activate brain inflammatory pathways in the early responses to TBI, and the mechanisms by which inflammation is sustained during the late stages of pathology. We have previously demonstrated that the microglial expressed receptor, CX3CR1, regulates microglia activity. We have also shown that lack of CX3CR1 leads to deficits in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity. Here we hypothesized that the loss of the CX3CR1 receptor - and consequently, the loss of normal microglia function - would increase pathologic conditions in the brain after TBI and cause measurable defects in behavioral and cognitive abilities. To this end, three month old male CX3CR1 wild type and CX3CR1 knockout mice were subjected to a mild TBI (0.5mm depth) using a controlled cortical impact (CCI) animal model. Control mice (sham operations) received the same anesthesia and craniotomy, but were not subjected to CCI. All animals were humanely euthanized and transcardially perfused at fifteen and thirty days following TBI. I specifically participated in assisting TBI surgeries, behavioral testing, transcardial perfusions, brain sectioning, and immunohistochemistry. Our results indicate that lack of CX3CR1 at early time points protects neuromotor function, reduces cell death, and is associated with expression of microglia that have an anti-inflammatory phenotype. However, the long term effect of CX3CR1 receptor loss following TBI induces neuronal cell death, as well as neurobehavioral and cognitive deficits, which are associated with an increase in expression of microglia that have a proinflammatory phenotype. These results point to the presence of CX3CR1 in the early stages following a TBI as essential in slowing the progression of the neuropathology. In conclusion, CX3CR1, the fractalkine signaling receptor, plays a central role in regulating neuroinflammation after a TBI.

The toll-like receptor (TLR) proteins are expressed on cells of the innate immune system and recognize structural motifs present on microbial pathogens. Recognition of pathogens by TLRs activates an intracellular signaling cascade and activation of NF-kB, a transcription factor that is critical for expression of inflammatory mediators. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that single nucleotide variations present in human TLR1 lead to altered expression of TLR1 and are associated with increased risk of death in patients with sepsis. We tested the hypothesis that variations of mouse Tlr1 which correspond to common human variants would result in comparable changes in TLR1 activity. We used site-directed mutagenesis to introduce coding variations in the Tlr1 cDNA. After transfecting the variants into cultured human cells, we stimulated them with Pam3CSK4, a triacylated lipoprotein known to be recognized by the TLR1/TLR2 complex. We then used a bioluminescent luciferase reporter system to measure the levels of NF-kB transcriptional activity. Tlr1 with an Ile allele at position 605 showed increased activity relative to a Leu allele, and the Tlr1 with a Ser allele at position 605 showed increased activity compared to Leu, but to a lesser degree than the Ile allele. Tlr1 with a Ser allele at position 251 showed increased activity compared to Asn, but elucidating its specific effect will require further investigation. These results indicate that variations in the transmembrane domain of mouse TLR1 result in alterations in function comparable to that of human variants in the same region. These findings suggest that mouse models may be used to study TLR1 variants’ effect on the immune response in humans. This could lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms leading to poor clinical outcomes for patients with sepsis and other inflammatory diseases.

M dwarfs are small stars with masses between 10 and 50% that of the Sun. They are also the most common, making up about 70% of the stars in our galaxy, and are noted for their high levels of magnetic activity. Stellar flares are a dramatic manifestation of this activity, and occur frequently on M dwarfs. Flares are explosive events resulting from rearranging magnetic fields on the stellar surface. We used data from the Kepler satellite to search for flares from a binary M dwarf system, named GJ 1245. With more than 8 months of continuous imaging, taken every 1-minute, we detected over 3,000 flare events from these twin stars. We conducted a by-eye search of this data to validate our automatic flare-finding code. We present the energy distribution and morphology for flares on these stars, and compare them to other well studied flare stars from Kepler. The long term goal is to train the automatic flare-finding code to run without the need for human validation, and thus to study tens of thousands of stars. By studying the statistical properties of flares on many M dwarfs, we will further our understanding of stellar magnetic activity and how flares are affected by the internal magnetic dynamo.

The discipline of Pathology has an enormous scope and students are constantly challenged to determine which topics are essential for clinical patient care and for the National Medical Board exams. There is a significant gap between the material presented in pathology textbooks and the material outlined in medical board review books. In addition, much of the practical knowledge that is most useful for medical students and physicians falls in between this gap. To address this need, we created PocketPath, a web-based modular teaching system, to help students and physicians consume Pathology material more efficiently. PocketPath is designed in an easy to read format that delivers an optimal amount of high yield pathology content, which includes USMLE Step 1 Board Review-style questions and important research papers. Using student surveys, interviews and web usage data, we determined how students consumed PocketPath’s content and improved their pathology test scores. Initial data suggests that PocketPath may replace lecture time, promote active learning, and potentially change the way students prepare for Board exams.

Bilingualism has become increasingly prevalent, but few studies have been done to specifically examine how language diversity might affect children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study is to analyze whether home language affects how children with ASD respond to an interactive book reading intervention. The Preschool Autism Literacy research project at the College of Education has developed an early intervention program that would prepare young children with ASD to improve their language skills and be more successful in later reading instruction. Forty-nine students with ASD in their last year of preschool (ages 4-5) met individually with a tutor 4 times a week, for 15 minutes per each session for an interactive book reading session designed to improve the language development of young children. To examine the effects of home language differences, we compare the data of four groups of participants: (a) a control of monolingual English students, (b) a control group of students with a home language other than English, (c) a treatment group of monolingual English students, and (d) a treatment group of students with a home language other than English, on receptive and expressive language outcomes controlling for pre-intervention scores. We hypothesize that bilingualism would have no negative impact on the response of the bilingual students. Thus, we expect to see no difference or a slight increase in improvement of reading skills of bilingual children compared to monolingual English children, because of the intervention program. This study has implications for emergent literacy instruction for young children with ASD from a variety of language backgrounds.

Although our pre-hominin ancestors almost certainly were climbers, most species of hominins infrequently used this ability. Recently, however people have begun to climb for recreation. With the growing popularity of rock climbing, we were interested in learning how the human body changes under these new forces. This study was designed to understand the relationship between hand proportion and hand strength in rock climbers and non-climbers. We hypothesized that rock climbers have stronger hands for their size than non-climbers. A hand dynamometer was used to test hand strength. The lengths of the carpals and metacarpals from the radial and ulnar styloid processes to the distal ends of each ray and the lengths of each digit and each phalanx were measured. In addition, the width and circumference of each hand was taken from the proximal phalanges, with the fingers resting against each other, and the circumference of each digit was measured around the proximal interphalangeal joing. We also measured the basic anthropometric variables of stature, body mass, and age and asked climbers how long they had climbed, the level of difficulty they usually climbed, and how often they climbed. Unsurprisingly, Student's t-tests revealed that the hands of men are bigger and stronger than those of women (all p's </= 0.004) and climbers are stronger than non-climbers (all p's </= 0.01). The circumference of the digits is ia significant predictor of hand strength when sex, side, and climbing status are controlled (all p's </= 0.03), with 67% of the variation in hand strength explained (r²=0.67).