Ovulation is a critical process for female reproduction. In the majority of mammals, oocyte maturation occurs during ovulation when the oocyte resume meiosis and advance to metaphase II. In response to the preovulatory gonadotropin surge, cumulus cells produce hyaluronic acid that binds to maturing oocytes. Cumulus expansion occurs when hyaluronic acid gets hydrated, the gaps between cumulus cells expand, and the cells become embedded in a sticky, mucified matrix. Cumulus expansion is one of several necessary processes in preovulatory follicles for ovulation to occur. If either oocyte maturation or cumulus expansion is inhibited, the ovulation rate is drastically decreased. Hence, both of these processes are good targets for novel contraceptive development. Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of a voltage-activated K+ current with a large conductance in unfertilized eggs. However, the role of potassium channels in oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion is largely unexplored. In this study, ​the role of K+ channels in​ oocyte maturation and cumulus cell expansion has been investigated. Potassium channel inhibitors such as TEAC, valinomycin, and PA-6 were found to reduce cumulus growth in oocytes. To examine the effect of specific potassium transport inhibitors and activators, their ability to inhibit morphological ​expansion and the expression of expansion genes (HAS2, PTGS2​, PTX3, and TNFAIP6) were assessed. The three potassium channel inhibitors were shown to significantly reduce expansion transcript expression. Our data demonstrate that potassium channels ​play a crucial role in​ cumulus expansion and oocyte maturation and that these channels might be a target for the development of new contraceptives.

Streptococcus mitis is an opportunistic pathogen that is resistant to common antibiotics. The Keiler Lab has identified 46 small molecule inhibitors that block the trans-translation pathway in bacteria. KKL-35, a small molecule inhibitor, was found to be active at 2.5 µM in a S. mitis culture. The biological target of the oxadiazol class of small molecule inhibitors can be determined in S. mitis by utilizing a click reaction with a similarly structured probe.

Expression of the pyrimidine biosynthetic operon (pyr) in Bacillus subtilis is regulated by pyrimidine conditions and the PyrR protein through transcription attenuation mechanisms. NusG is a transcription elongation factor that was predicted to modulate pyr operon expression by stimulating RNA polymerase pausing. I verified the role of NusG-dependent pausing in regulating pyrB expression by conducting β-galactosidase assays of pyrB-lacZ transcriptional fusions in WT, ΔnusG, and NusG pause-defective mutant strains when grown in ± uracil.

Streptococci are an essential part of the human oral microbiome. Using ancient DNA preserved in the dental calculus of British populations, we reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between streptococci across 3,000 years. Observing high proportions of Streptococcus sp. DD04 and Streptococcus sanguinis across three methods tested, we found a competitive mapping approach is most conservative in characterizing species abundances. The resulting phylogeny offers important insights into humanity’s changing relationship with streptococci and their implications for health.

Agroforestry is a traditional method of land management that produces a variety of crops in a sustainable fashion. However, there are few studies that document the importance of this practice to dietary quality and nutrition (Ickowitz et al. 2022). The fruits produced by trees on farms that practice agroforestry provide key supplements to diets including micronutrients that are lacking in other commonly grown crops. The goal of this research is to analyze the impact agroforestry has on Moroccan farms and diets through the quantification of nutritional yield (as an indicator of productivity) and tree concentration in fields across three sites. The study uses edible yield approximations to estimate the amount of macronutrients and micronutrients produced by the fields in terms of the number of adult USDA Daily Value amounts satisfied, standardized by area to account for variation in field size. It aims to add these new metrics to the field of agroforestry.

Ethylene Forming Enzyme (EFE) is a iron (II) and 2-oxoglutarate dependent enzyme that can produce the compound ethylene as well as trace amounts of 3-hydroxypropionate, a valuable chemical building block with a variety of applications including the synthesis of biodegradable plastics. Our project seeks to perform protein engineering of EFE by amino acid substitutions in the substrate binding pocket such that 3HP is the primary enzymatic product, and we present recent results of such substitutions.

Thermoplastic copolymers contribute to the plastic waste crisis we are currently in. To solve this issue, our research focuses on SBS, which is a common plastic found in tires, shoe soles, the wheels of a shopping cart, and many others. Our goal is to see how controlling the architecture of the triblock via tuning graft density and graft length controls physical properties such as tensile strength and Young’s Modulus.

Purine metabolic disorders are genetic disorders associated with severe neurological symptoms. When DNA in purine metabolism is mutated, there is an accumulation of intermediates, leading to abnormal phenotypes in affected individuals. F38B6.4 is the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog to human GART, a gene located on the 21st chromosome involved with three steps of purine metabolism, as well as linked to Down syndrome. RNAi was used to knockdown gene function, and the resulting reversal phenotypes were assessed.  

The link between personal social engagement and well-being in middle to older adults was explored using data from 560 participants in the TEALE 2.0 study. Personal social engagement was significantly associated with better overall well-being, including better activities of daily living and lower depression. Community social engagement was associated with better overall well-being but worse cognitive function. Future research is needed to explore the link between social engagement and well-being in middle to older adults

The LaunchBox and Innovation Network was designed to provide business support for students, faculty, and entrepreneurs and de-risk and accelerate business ideas with the goal of growing jobs and revitalizing the community through student entrepreneurial experiences. While it is still a work in progress, each LaunchBox has tried to focus on the uniqueness of their community and tie together the central services the LaunchBox has to offer and what the community needs.

This study, in two parts, aims to evaluate how partisanship influences social perceptions. Research supports that we view political out-group members as “worseâ€

Inserting exogenous DNA into the genome of a cell using CRISPR/Cas-9 is highly inefficient. I hypothesize that the efficiency of this process can be improved by perturbing the cell cycle or reducing nonhomologous end joining activity. I designed and used a knock-in reporter that generates a fluorescent protein capable of detecting DNA insertion events. This system will allow us to identify those conditions that increase incorporation efficiency and assist in developing knock-in cell lines.

The importance of nitrogen-containing heteroaromatic compounds is highlighted by their essential structural roles in pharmaceutical compounds. As a result, the need for rapid access to functionalized heteroaromatics plays a critical role in the drug discovery process. This project aims to leverage the Radical Smiles-Truce photocatalysis cascade to establish yields for two categories of starting materials with a sustainable approach: an externally and internally tethered olefin to an heteroaryl sulfone.

Antibiotic resistance is due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. New methods of creating antibiotics are needed. Trans-translation is a bacteria-specific process allowing the release of stalled ribosomes and is a potential antibiotic target. New trans-translation inhibitors have been found to alter the conformation of the ribosomal protein L27. Deletions made at the N-terminus of L27 determine the protein and inhibitor interaction. Findings suggest changes in inhibitory concentrations among inhibitors, indicating different L27 interactions.

This poster discusses the zoonotic origin of most human infectious diseases and how SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is also believed to have originated from animals. The virus uses the ACE-2 receptor to enter cells, which is well conserved in mammals. There is evidence of infection or exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in 35 non-human animals to date. The virus circulating in largely unmonitored animal species presents an opportunity for viral evolution that could lead to the emergence of novel variants that may spill back to humans. Multiple lines of evidence suggest the Omicron variant may have evolved in rodent populations. The hypotheses we test here are that the most abundant rodent species in the North East of the United States, the White-Footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) has been exposed, and/or infected with SARS-Cov-2. We used a commercially available species generic virus neutralization assay (sVNT) to test for exposure and a PCR to determine if there was evidence of active infection of the nasal cavity of P. leucopus. Mice were live captured in the Fall of 2022 at various locations in Central Pa and euthanized in the field to collect blood and the nasal pharyngeal bones were dissected, collected, and preserved in universal transport media under IACUC #46246. All 78 mice were found negative via the sVNT and PCR assays indicating that our sample was not actively infected and had no indication of exposure. However, the emergence of the Omicron variant occurred during our sampling and it has been subsequently determined that the sVNT test would yield false negatives for animals exposed to this new variant due to issues with the Rosetta binding domain utilized in the test. Coupling that P. Leucopus typically only live a few months in the wild and the evidence that wildlife infections mirror those circulating in humans, we suspect our samples would have been exposed to Omicron rather than previous variants. Considering this, our results indicate no exposure to prior variants, but we cannot rule out exposure to Omicron; further testing is needed to determine if this is the case. Surveillance in other common synanthropic wildlife is warranted as the occurrence of spillback from non-human animals has already been demonstrated for four species. Further, the evolution of this type could result in variants for which our current diagnostics and vaccine are ill-prepared. Indeed, the Omicron variant is an N-dropout in standard PCR assays, meaning one of the three targets (the nucleocapsid region) of PCR has already evolved sufficiently to evade current diagnostics.

In searching for dark matter, liquid xenon detectors have unparalleled sensitivity. This project estimates detection rates for light dark matter particles scattering off electrons in xenon. It implements models in Python to calculate event rates both as a function of the recoiling electron’s energy and of the number of electrons detected. The generated signal model can then be compared to real detector data to verify a detection or set an exclusion limit.

Direct care workers, such as nurses, are subjected to such low-intensity, harmful behavior from multiple sources including nursing supervisors and trainers, co-workers, as well as patients and their families (Kaiser, 2017). This study attempts to examine the nature of incivilities experienced by a convenience sample of 10 nursing assistants. Throughout the course of the interviews, we found results that direct care workers are experiencing microaggressions directed to their race, gender, and age.

The farnesoid X-receptor (FXR), a nuclear receptor, controls bile acid, and glucose metabolism. When ligands bind to the ligand-binding domain, structural changes occur in the DNA-binding domain and alter the DNA binding preferences of the DNA-binding domain. Studies have crystallized the structure of FXR; however, there is debate as to which specific amino acids are responsible for differential binding, which this project aims to investigate through MD simulations, site-directed mutagenesis, and dual-luciferase assays. 

During 2017, a free-ranging, 3-year-old female, elk (Cervus elaphus), with suspect piebaldism, was found emaciated and unable to stand. The cow was euthanized and upon necropsy had a large, multilobular, dark red mass in the oral cavity extending from the caudal soft palate and a smaller dark red mass in the right caudal lung lobe. Cytologic and histopathologic examination of the masses diagnosed malignant melanoma, which was confirmed with immunohistochemistry.

College students have faced a rollercoaster of change in their academic and personal life post-pandemic. Biobehavioral effects of chronic stress associated with the aftermath of the pandemic were examined in four-year U.S. college students in a confidential, online survey. Students reported shifts in their academic priorities following the pandemic as well as more academic stress. Chronic stress was associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes. Implications of the findings will be discussed. 

States are progressively using their power to increase minimum wages causing variation across the US. The common factors that contribute to this variation are inflation, median household income, unions, and state party control. Understanding the economic and political factors that cause these disparities is essential when studying the variation in minimum wages. My analysis illustrates that both economic and political factors influence increases in minimum wages and that economic factors are mediated through political institutions.

Previous studies have shown that recall accuracy improves when words are repeatedly spoken by a “known voiceâ€

To establish a correlation between short and long-term stress, we will examine behavioral reactions in pet dogs towards temporary stimuli, comparing this to chronic stress behaviors. Suddenly opening an umbrella and testing dogs’ reactions are analyzed and compared to owner assessments on their dog’s personality traits that indicate chronic stress such as being fearful, nervous, or restless. Hypothesis: If dogs exhibit increased temporary stress, their owner assessments will indicate increased chronic stress.

At the tip of the new regenerating axon in Drosophila neurons, there is an increase in ER concentration. A 96-hour axon regeneration assay was performed in Drosophila ddaE neurons and it showed that Ryanodine Receptor is necessary for axon regeneration. This suggests that the release of Ca2+ by the ER is critical for regeneration. Understanding the mechanism and the role of the ER proteins in the pathway is crucial to potentially design treatments for diseases.