Inpatient hypoglycemic events less than 50 mg/dL are prevalent among hospitalized patients and can lead to poor health outcomes, including increased mortality. Some studies indicate that among hospitalized patients, older individuals, patients with co-morbidities, and those who are admitted to intensive care units are the most common inpatient populations to suffer from hypoglycemic events. Studies also suggest that inpatient hypoglycemic events are more often medication attributable in contrast to physiologic causes. The aims of this quantitative study are to: 1) determine the root causes that lead to hypoglycemic events in the hospital setting, 2) describe patterns in chart documentation related to hypoglycemic events, and 3) identify measures to attain effective prevention of hypoglycemia. Specifically, this study examines the time range between the hypoglycemic event measurement and the blood glucose measurement prior to the event to determine if tighter glycemic control results in improved patient outcomes, the use and documentation of rescue medications after a hypoglycemic event, and the presence of dietary intake charting in the medical record prior to the hypoglycemic event. We collaborated with the glycemic team at a local medical center to collect data drawn from patient medical records. Patient medical records were selected if they had experienced a hypoglycemic event less than 50 mg/dL between March 2017 and June 2017. Analysis used descriptive measures to identify patterns and inconsistencies in the data derived from the medical charts related to potential root causes of hypoglycemia. Using a systematic approach to identify the root cause of inpatient hypoglycemia informs future development of tools and policies to reduce the incidence of inpatient hypoglycemia in the future and improve patient outcomes. The expected results of this study attributes the hypoglyemic events to infrequent and inaccurate diet intake documentation, and longer time intervals between blood glucose monitoring. 

Everyday, human beings engage in prosocial behaviors, which are behaviors intended to benefit others. These include simple acts, such as holding doors for others, and costlier behaviors, such as donating money. Even young children help, share with, and comfort others. To gain insight into why human beings engage in prosociality from such an early age, it is critical to examine individual variability in children’s prosocial behavior. That is, why are some children more prosocial than others? One factor that may influence prosociality is social anhedonia, which is the reduced capacity to experience pleasure from social interactions. Adults with high social anhedonia are less prosocial; however, no work has explored if children’s capacity to experience pleasure from social interactions motivates their prosociality. The current work develops a measure of social anhedonia in early childhood and examines if variability in the capacity to experience pleasure from social interactions is related to children’s tendency to engage in prosocial behavior. To explore this question, parents of 4- to 8-year-olds report their child’s prosociality. They also report their child’s social anhedonia using the Child Social Anhedonia Scale, which I created based on a questionnaire assessing adulthood social anhedonia. This work is ongoing, but an analysis of 134 participants (57 females) revealed a significant negative correlation between children’s social anhedonia and prosociality, r=-0.32, p<0.001. This finding suggests that children who are less likely to experience pleasure from social interactions are also less prosocial, implying that perhaps enjoying social interactions serves as a motivation for children’s prosociality. This study is the first step in understanding the relation between pleasure from social interactions and children’s prosocial behavior. Future studies could further examine if this relationship is causal.

The key to understanding the obesity epidemic may be in the role of incentive motivation and reward mechanisms in eating behaviors, thus sugar-sweetened beverages are commonly investigated. Though explicit reports of food choice and behavior are typically used, reward processes likely influence intake through implicit mechanisms. Cognitive load, or the use of mental energy, influences eating behavior by decreasing mindful eating. The present study examines hedonic liking and motivational wanting with three tests, Greenwald and colleagues (1998) Implicit Association Test (IAT), the Personalized IAT (“I like”), and the Extended Personalized IAT (“I want”) in participants under cognitive load. As our ability to self-regulate is dependent on cognitive resources, the cognitive load manipulation should influence implicit liking and wanting, but not the traditional IAT. We predict that due to the cognitive load manipulation, 1) participants will demonstrate significantly greater implicit liking and wanting as compared to traditional IAT scores and 2) implicit wanting, but not implicit liking, will serve to predict participant beverage selection. The prediction of feeding behavior is important given that many efforts taken to combat the obesity epidemic have failed; therfore, understanding the underlying psychological processes that explain over consumption may be the key factor in abating the obesity epidemic.

The south Puget Sound region has a history of smelting activity, notably the ASARCO smelter that operated in Ruston, WA. Despite the smelter being closed, the consequences of this smelting activity are still felt today. Due to high levels of arsenic contamination in the region’s soils, the area was designated a SuperFund site. Preliminary research conducted in 2014 indicated that several urban lakes in the Tacoma/Federal Way area also have high levels of arsenic in their sediments. If the arsenic is mobilized into the water column, where it can be taken up by lake biota and biomagnify up the food chain, it could potentially affect human health and ecosystem health. We examined two lakes, Angle Lake and Lake Killarney, that have the same amount of arsenic in their sediments, but different physical properties likely impact the release of arsenic into the water column. Angle is seasonally stratified, while Killarney remains well-mixed all year. Consequently, the bottom waters of Angle Lake stay at a relatively stable temperature of 4-10°C and consistently have arsenic concentrations between 30-100 ppb year-round. In contrast, bottom waters in Lake Killarney warm significantly from 4°C in the winter to 21°C in the summer and arsenic concentrations increase from 75 ppb to 700-1000 ppb. We hypothesize that temperature is the primary control on the release of arsenic from the sediments. To test this hypothesis, sediment cores were taken from each lake and placed into plastic tubes. To test this hypothesis, sediment cores were collected from each lake in the winter when all lakes have low bottom water temperatures. The cores were placed into two different temperature treatments, 10°C and 20°C. Samples of the water overlying the cores will be taken every week and measured using ICP-MS to determine the flux of arsenic out of the sediments.

Research has shown that drinking motives (or reasons for consuming alcohol) are strong predictors of alcohol use; moreover, enhancement and social motives are among the strongest predictors of alcohol use. Given limited research to date, the purpose of the current study is to examine how drinking motives relate to drinking alone and also to drinking with friends. College student drinkers ages 18-24 were recruited for an ongoing study. To be eligible, participants had to report alcohol use two or more days a week and one or more occasions of heavy episodic drinking in the last two weeks. Baseline data on alcohol use, drinking motives, and drinking context were used for the current analyses (N = 292 to date; 52% female, 71% Caucasian, mean age = 20.17 years). Participants were asked to report how often they drank alone and with friends on a scale from “never” to “daily or almost daily.” In addition, they were asked to report motives for drinking on each of five subscales using response options from “almost never/never” to “almost always/always." The current study will use regression analyses to test associations with four of the subscales: coping-anxiety, coping-depression, enhancement, and social motives. We hypothesize that higher coping motives will be associated with being more likely to report drinking alone and with friends. Additionally, we hypothesize that higher social and enhancement motives will be associated with being less likely to report drinking alone and more likely to report drinking with friends. Results from this study will provide a better understanding of why people decide to drink and in which different social contexts, thus providing valuable information to guide interventions on how to better incorporate drinking motives and social context.

Listeners perceive foreign speech as faster than native speech, even when both are the same speed. This phenomenon is called the ‘Gabbling Foreigner Illusion.’ This illusion may occur because language-specific experience is necessary to temporally parse speech into intelligible units as it unfolds over time. Similarly, one study reported that people tap faster to music that is culturally unfamiliar than to music that is culturally familiar. Like the gabbling foreigner illusion, lack of cultural expertise with music might interfere with listeners’ capacity to find temporal units (the beat), leading them to perceive the tempo of the music as faster. We directly addressed the question of whether listeners are less accurate at perceiving the beat and tempo of culturally unfamiliar music as compared to culturally familiar music by asking them to rate the tempo of music from various cultures (West African, American, Indian, Turkish, and Latin). Musical excerpts were presented in pairs and listeners chose which of the two was faster. We also asked listeners to tap along to the music and examined if their tapping speed corresponds to their perceptual judgments of tempo. We hypothesize that listeners systematically rate culturally unfamiliar music as faster than familiar music, suggesting that listeners experience a “gabbling foreigner illusion” for music. In summary, this research is a first step towards investigating how our culture-specific experiences influence our temporal perception of music.

Herbivorous fishes feed on stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, and nuts of diverse aquatic plants, as well as algae. In the Neotropics, many of these fishes have intricately tied ecologies with their prey plant’s life history and facilitate seed dispersal; including the herbivorous cousins of piranhas, pacus. Most pacus experience fluctuation in their diet that reflects the changes in seasonality and plant part availability. A few species of pacus, however, exhibit a specialized feeding strategy known as phytophagy; solely consuming the plant material of Podostemaceae (riverweed). This trend of dietary specialization may be paralleled by a similar shift, away from general herbivory, and towards a specialized phytophage morphology. To investigate the link between diet and morphology within the greater scope of herbivory, we examined four coexisting species including: the seemingly specialized phytophage, Ossubtus xinguense; the generalized phytophages, Tometes kranponhah and Tometes ancylorhynchus; and a facultative phytophage, Myloplus rhomboidalis. We compared the gross morphology of these species with several other serrasalmids using micro-computed tomography scanning to measure functional jaw characteristics, as well as using geometric morphometrics to compare body shapes. Jaw biomechanics indicate that O. xinguense produces the weakest jaw leverage potentially as a result of its sub-terminal mouth. However, we also concluded that the phytophagous species as a group, do not overtly differ from the more generalized herbivorous pacus in terms of jaw mechanics (but remain distinct from the piscivorous piranhas). Body shape analyses also show little divergence among phytophage and herbivore body shapes, suggesting that many herbivores share a similar bauplan adapted for fast flowing waters. With the exception of O. xinguense, phytophagous pacus appear to be equipped with a general herbivory feeding morphology sufficient for a specialized diet. This suggests that phytophagy is not a particularly challenging feeding strategy, but performance may be augmented by additional morphological specialization.

In the population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Shark Bay, Australia, groups of two or three adult males form long-term alliances that sequester, harass, and intimidate adult females, presumably to increase their chances of mating success. Costs that males inflict on females include physical injury, changes in home range and habitat use, reduced foraging, and changes in calf care. Although altered female behavior is evident during association with males, the direct impact males have on female behavior is not entirely clear. That is, male behavior and female responses to such behavior during consortships have not been explicitly documented. A long-term study has collected detailed behavioral data on the Shark Bay population since 1988. Using this dataset, this project will quantify the rate of male aggression directed at females and how female activity budgets and foraging tactics change in response. Preliminary work indicated that rates of received aggression were higher for cycling females than non-cycling females, and higher when females were in the presence of more than one male, potentially confirming that males use aggression to coerce reproductively viable females. Females also spent less time foraging when in the presence of more than one male, hinting at potential costs to the female owing to loss of food. Because females have highly specialized foraging tactics, changes in foraging behavior and home range during prolonged or repeated consortships could impact female condition.

For more than a century, Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) have been an invaluable and versatile tool to further our understanding of cell signaling and survival mechanisms. To this day, they continue to shed light on the endogenous pathways that cancer cells can hijack in order to proliferate, metastasize, and recur following remission. The molecular conservation of these pathways invites parallels between the germline stem cells in D. melanogaster and the cancer stem-like cells in human carcinoma. In the same way that a tumor can relapse following a period of dormancy, Drosophila germline stem cells are capable of repopulating their niche after insult from Ionizing Radiation (IR). Utilizing this powerful model, we have conducted a small molecule drug screen of 512 compounds that we have narrowed down to eight candidate drugs that appear to increase cell death in Drosophila germline stem cells. Having already characterized the wild type Drosophila germline stem cell response to IR-induced DNA damage, we  probed how drug treatment and gene knockdown affected the germline stem cells' ability to recover from insult. Previous work in the Ruohola-Baker Lab has demonstrated the critical importance of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the Tie receptor pathways in regulating regeneration after insult in the Drosophila germline. The Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), a heterodimer comprised of Tsc1 and Tsc2, is a known negative regulator of mTOR. Additionally, the Tie receptor is central to anti-apoptotic signal transduction in the Drosophila ovary. We have screened four candidate drugs to see if they effectively increase stem cell death in Tsc1-knockdown and Tie-null flies, in order to ascertain whether our drugs affect stem cell survival mechanisms through mTOR and/or Tie signaling. Our findings may shed light onto how to mitigate the quiescent threat of tumor relapse.

Skeletal reduction is a common feature among deep-sea fishes that have diversified from shallow-water relatives, such as snailfishes. These skeletal reductions may be an adaptation to environmental conditions of high pressures, low temperatures, declining luminosity and limited food availability. Snailfishes (family Liparidae) are found across a large bathymetric range (0 –>8,000 m), with intertidal ancestors giving rise to a large clade of deep-sea species. We used microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) to estimate average bone mineral density and examine jaw, pectoral girdle, and neurocranium morphology. Our results suggest at least three mechanisms of skeletal reduction: (1) reduction of bone size, (2) reduction of bone density, and (3) loss of skeletal elements. First, using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) analysis, we found that the change in cranial dimensions with depth was not uniform. While the size of the maxilla, dentary, and pectoral girdle decreased with greater depth, length of the upper premaxilla and the neurocranium did not vary with collection depth. Second, average density of the lower jaw decreased with increasing depth. Lastly, the ventral suction disc has been lost multiple times within the deep sea lineage. While all three methods are seen in snailfishes, other groups may use some or all of these mechanisms to different extents. Some mechanisms of skeletal reduction may be more advantageous than others. The extent to which a structure is retained in deep-dwelling fishes may indicate its functional importance. Variable skeletal reduction in the family Liparidae provides insights into the physiological adaptations that allow fishes to survive in deep-water environments. We conclude that some skeletal elements are maintained at the expense of others as fishes balance the functional demands of life in the deep sea.

Cancer stem cells are thought to play a role in relapses and metastasis in numerous cancers. The inability of traditional cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, to eradicate these cancer stem cells prompted a search for small molecules that induced apoptosis in cancer stem cells. Drosophila germline stem cells can be used as a model system to emulate cancer stem cells. Upon irradiation, Drosophila germline stem cells are able to survive apoptosis through a molecular signal released by the apoptotic daughter cells via the TIE receptor. We have conducted an in vivo drug screen of 512 compounds in Drosophila melanogaster to find drugs that would disrupt this protective mechanism and induce apoptosis. In particular, Camptothecin, NSC 125197, and NSC 127458 were effective in killing germline stem cells. To test the effect of the small molecules we fed female flies the compound for 3 days, dissected and fixed the ovaries and stained for an apoptosis marker, activated caspase, and the GSC marker, adducin. We quantified the effect of the drug by analyzing the number of germline stem cells and caspase signaling on a confocal microscope. Through this system we aim to find potentially new, and more powerful anti-cancer drugs that can affect cancer stem cells. Future directions include attempting to understand the mechanism of action of these apoptotic compounds in hopes that they might be useful in the fight against cancer stem cells.

Microtubules are critical for cellular and developmental functions, including neurite outgrowth and maintaining stable wiring of the nervous system. Tau, an intrinsically disordered protein, plays important roles in microtubule assembly and stabilization. However, it dissociates from microtubules and forms amyloid fibrils in a set of neurodegenerative diseases termed tauopathies, which includes Alzheimer’s disease, and frontotemporal dementia. Mutations in the sequence of tau cause the disease FTDP-17T (frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 and specially characterized by tau pathology), providing evidence that alterations in tau alone can cause tauopathies. Most mutations occur in or near the microtubule-binding domain of tau, which suggests that mutant protein may be deficient in its capacity to stabilize neuronal microtubules, yet efficient at speeding up the process of aggregation. In particular, disease-associated mutations such as ΔK280 and P301L appear to enhance tau’s propensity to aggregate into fibers, and alter its pathological activity. Molecular chaperone proteins are responsible for maintaining protein solubility, promoting proper folding, and preventing atypical aggregation. HspB1, a member of the small heat shock proteins (sHSPs), has been shown to delay wild-type tau fibril formation by weakly interacting with early species in the aggregation process. Hsc70 is a constitutively expressed chaperone that inhibits tau fibrils formation substoichiometrically. Both chaperones are able to recognize aggregation-prone motifs within the microtubule binding repeat region of wild-type tau. Therefore, our interest is to test the affinity and activity of HspB1 and Hsc70 against tau constructs containing the ΔK280 and P301L mutations, to see whether these mutations alter interaction with these chaperones. We will use various biophysical methods, including fluorescence spectroscopy and electron microscopy to analyze these interactions. This will extend our understanding of the characteristics and behaviors of disease-associated mutations of tau and the ways in which chaperones target aggregation-prone tau species.

Necroptosis is a lytic and immunogenic form of programmed cell death (PCD), characterized by pro-inflammatory cytokine production and the release of intracellular molecules, including cell-associated antigens. This form of death occurs after RIPK3, Receptor-Interacting Protein Kinase 3, activation. RIPK3 is a cell death regulator that promotes necroptosis. Previous studies have shown that necroptotic cells can promote maturation of antigen presenting cells (APCs) and are capable of priming antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses. Understanding the downstream immunogenic effects of necroptosis allows for implicative applications within the field of tumor immunology. Previous work has shown that necroptotic NIH-3T3 fibroblasts produce inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, contributing to their immunogenicity. To recapitulate the immunogenic nature of 3T3s, we evaluated inflammatory chemokine and cytokine production via ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), quantifying these productions through antibodies and color-change, from necroptotic tumor cell line supernatants, including B16.F10 melanoma and LL/2 adenocarcinoma cells. Surprisingly, our results did not show significant chemokine or cytokine production from necroptotic tumor cells, suggesting that anti-tumor effects are not from signals derived from the tumor micro-environment (TME). This suggests that other forms of signaling downstream of RIPK3 activation, such as upregulation of non-chemokine transcriptional programs, could be the source of inflammatory signal production by necroptotic tumor cells. Further actions include RNA sequencing of necroptotic cancer cell lines to differentiate global changes between apoptotic and necroptotic forms of cell death, to provide unbiased analysis of transcriptional changes. With evidence of T cell-mediated immunity and the immunogenic nature of necroptosis, induction of this form of cell death within the TME will activate anti-tumor immune responses, potentially controlling tumor growth and contributing to the field of immunotherapy.

The Internet of Things (IoT), is used to describe a network that connects objects installed with autonomous components to other objects and to computers. This has made inroads into many aspects of our lives. The application of IoT has enhanced our workplace with such technologies as RFID sensors for tracking and replenishing resources. Yet, there is limited research about the way human processes, and in particular, team processes are changed by IoT objects. Herein, we focus on sociotechnical systems theory in order to connect IoT and team processes, where IoT objects are differentiated based on functionality. We draw on the team process framework to clarify the type of task-oriented activities team members engage in overtime as they collectively complete work projects. We connect different IoT objects to team processes and propose that the synergies may enhance team efficiencies and effectiveness. As well, we provide a real-world scenario about air conditioning service that illustrates how different IoT objects may be introduced to affect the team processes that apply. Using my business discipline perspective, my research provides a IoT framework that projects can adopt to improve team efficiency and effectiveness. This research demonstrates how “smart” automation engages with service, via the aid of Internet of Things, enhances team processes, and may improve the service customer experience. From other disciplines, this research encourages information technology and hardware advancement to explore more comprehensive and utilized networks to abridge convenience created by updated tech and skills with people’s desire and satisfaction, that can be applied to any aspect of contemporary human lives.

It is not fully known what controls signal preference in branched signal transduction pathways. One hypothesis is that the configuration and orientation of receptors determines signal preference. We are investigating this hypothesis in the context of the Tie2 receptor pathway which has downstream signaling involved in cell survival via Akt, migration via Dok-R, and sprouting via FAK, among other branches. We are using computer designed protein tools, short-armed claw trimers and nanocages, conjugated to F domains of the canonical Tie2 ligand angiopoietin 1 in our investigation. We have shown that short-armed claw trimers with three conjugated F domains do not yield increased phosphorylation of Akt, suggesting that more than three receptors must cluster together for signal activation. The nanocages are multivalent, for they have multiple F domains conjugated to them. We have different valency nanocages with different percentages of F domain conjugation. We are using these different valency nanocages to investigate which valency is optimal for receptor activation. We have shown that higher valency nanocages yield increased phosphorylation of Akt. We predict that higher valency nanocages cluster more Tie2 receptors together in a specific conformation. Thus, we show a positive correlation between Tie2 clustering and the phosphorylation of Akt due to Tie2 activation. Now we will investigate combination conjugations of F domain and integrin binders to the nanocages as well as other branches of the Tie2 pathway: Dok-R corresponding to wound healing ability and FAK corresponding to tube formation ability. This work has potential to help generate therapeutic compounds for wound healing.

Diet, lifestyle, and environment can influence an individual’s behavior and brain function through epigenetic mechanisms. The Lattemann lab is investigating the effect that one factor, high fat diets, has on epigenetic regulation in hippocampus a key area for learning, memory and cognition. Previously, the lab determined that rats fed high fat diets exhibited increased sucrose motivation, and this behavioral effect was later linked to stearic and palmitic fatty acids explicitly. It was also shown that high fat, high sugar diets are associated with impaired place memory in rats. Most recently, the lab has analyzed hippocampal chromatin from rats fed high stearic and palmitic acid diets and is in the process of determining the effect of these diets on histone modifications. Histones regulate gene expression by binding to DNA: modifications to these histones influence how readily the DNA is transcribed, and how the gene expressed. These modifications are being screened for using Western blot analysis. In addition to screening for modifications in histones, the Lattemann lab also directly analyzed DNA for the expression of target genes. This screening procedure included measuring expression of candidate histone-target genes using PCR, and ChIP-Seq (Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and unbiased gene screening) assays. By locating histone modifications and quantitating the expression of hippocampal candidate genes, the lab has provided an epigenetic explanation for the behavioral effect of the diets, and a possible molecular mechanism by which the diets can induce this effect.

G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) are seven-transmembrane proteins present throughout the body that can be activated upon binding of drugs, hormones, or neurotransmitters. Acting like an inbox for messages, these multi-protein complexes play a significant role in the body by regulating cell expression and signaling, making them attractive targets for drug development. One class of GPCRs, known as the adrenergic receptors (ARs) are critical in modulating the function of numerous targets, including cardiac muscle, vascular smooth muscle, and bronchial smooth muscle. There are nine AR subtypes: three α1s, three α2s, and three βs. In my research, I focus on deciphering the interactions of proteins with the α1D-AR due to a recent publication of the Hague Lab, which discovered that α1D-AR forms a multi-PDZ protein complex. To determine the participants of this complex and identify the presence of associated proteins, I first purified the proteins that potentially bind to α1D-AR. In my purification process, I first conducted Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCRs), transformed my bacteria, grew my bacteria, and finally purified my proteins of interest. With this information, my lab and I intend to identify the complexes using mass spectrometry and Octet. Determining how α1D-ARs are organized can create a deeper understanding of how drugs work in the body and assist in new drug development.

Geographers generally define sense of place as the meaning an individual ascribes to a particular location. Collectively, sense of place creates the identity and character of a region and is represented through culinary, literary, visual, and many other forms of art unique to the local culture. Technological advancements in communication have changed sense of place by affecting how these cultural differences are maintained, but also offer new ways of capturing and sharing sense of place. What elements and by which means individuals choose to capture personal representations of an environment shape the way communities as a whole perceive, ascribe meaning to, and amass their own descriptions and representations of that place. My project explores this iterative relationship between visual representation and written description of place. I have selected a collection of crowd-sourced pictures of the local landscape using an app that pulls up publicly posted Instagram images that have been geotagged near the location of the user. I consider these pictures to be modern forms of landscape folk art and conducted visual content analysis to code the images with descriptive terms. I have also created an in-person, crowd-sourced cartography installation consisting of three simplified maps of Seattle that was placed in a gallery where patrons were asked to write, directly on the maps, descriptions of their own sense of place associated with the locations. I then compared the language from the installation to that from the analysis of the Instagram images. Strong similarities between the two suggest the possibility of using crowd-sourced visual representations of place from social media to offer a greater understanding of how natural and built environments evolve and what they mean to the people who inhabit them.

Mental health services are infrequently used by Arabs and Arab-Americans despite experiences of hardship and emotional distress, which have only become more frequent and intense due to recent state conflicts, population displacements, and patterns of racial/ religious discrimination. In mental health literatures, this "underutilization" of mental health services is often explained in terms of "culture" and "stigma" associated with mental illness. To better understand these issues for Arab populations, we reviewed multiple literatures related to culture, stigma, and mental illness and distilled important lessons for clinical practitioners, researchers, and policy makers. Key findings highlight the diversity of Arab peoples, suggesting important but complex cultural differences that do not easily lend themselves to generic or formulaic clinical responses. Instead, attention to common factors in psychotherapy (e.g., developing shared understandings of the illness experience) and the (mis)alignment of assumptions about the origins of distress (intra-psychic vs inter-personal) and forms of personhood (referential vs indexical) between client and service provider is encouraged. Such considerations in clinical treatment and research can enable more effective psychotherapy for Arab clients and offer important insights into Arab culture and social reticence toward mental illness and its treatment. Structural issues, like limited resources and support for mental health care, were also relevant as they can reinforce stigma by offering ineffective mental health services that fail to ameliorate suffering. Thus, increased resources in terms of funding, training, and infrastructure is essential to creating a more effective mental health system that appeals to Arab populations.

In the traditional sense, preservation of architecture has been around for centuries. With changes in warfare, increased human rights abuse, and impending climate change, many architects and theorists are being confronted with a need for new perspectives on preservation. This project aims to expand the idea of preservation within the field of architecture by examining three contemporary case studies, all prompted by violence or the threat of destruction. The first case study introduces the work of Andrew Herscher in the context of the Kosovo conflict. Herscher, a self-proclaimed preservationist, is an advocate for the protection of heritage sites. His work examines the evolving definition of “heritage,” particularly through cultural preservation. Another contemporary group, Forensic Architecture, a University of London architectural research agency, examines areas of conflict and reconstructs structures through computer modeling with the intent of legal prosecution of war crimes and increased public awareness. The theories of its founder, Eyal Weizman introduces and lays the groundwork for their 2016 examination of Saydnaya, a Syrian military prison. This case highlights the importance of witness testimony in reconstructing architectural models which preserve the memories of survivors and act on their behalf as material witnesses. The final example highlights the exhibition from the 2016 Venice Biennale, A World of Fragile Parts. This show examines the role of replication in preserving structures threatened by violence as well as climate change. Within this, the work of architect Sam Jacobs is integral, particularly his concrete caste reconstruction of a typical refugee shelter. The implications of this example on the field of preservation serves as the final point of study. A new sense of urgency, in the wake of violence as well as climate change, is challenging architects to question what moments in history should be preserved, honored or forgotten.

Blockchain is a technology as fascinating as fast-evolving. It is a data recording paradigm which allows encrypted transactions among the participating entities in the network. These transaction data are then recorded on a public ledger through a multi-party authentication process. The absence of central authority and the immutability of the recorded data make corruption or fraud less likely on Blockchain, which contributes to its increasing popularity today. Its most famous application is cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Unbeknownst to the general public, however, is the flexibility of Blockchain that can be applied to many purposes other than cryptocurrency. For this research, I explore the potential usage of Blockchain for protection and promotion of human rights around the world. My hypothesis is the implication of blockchain for applications for human rights, both socio-economic and civil-political. I intend to focus on three human rights specifically: access to food and shelter, rights to political participation, and rights to healthcare. By the end of this research, I will have approached this through the case studies of countries that have started applying the technology in various usages. For instance, in Spain, Estonia, and South Korea, companies and organizations started developing and using voting systems based on Blockchain; in Jordan, the UN World Food Program provided Ethereum voucher to Syrian refugees to help their needs. I will also have explored its technical limitations by examining cybersecurity risks of various blockchain technologies. For instace, I will have looked into the blockchain technologies which cryptocurrency companies have used, such as the DAO, Mt. Gox, and Bitfinex, which experienced cyberattacks and lost hundreds of millions of dollars. For a successful application of Blockchain to human rights protection, such cybersecurity risks must be identified and prevented. I expect to find that despite its evident vulnerabilites, blockchain has indisputable benefits must be utilized for human rights protection.

The alpha-1D adrenergic receptor (A1DAR) is a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and is known for its function as a regulator for cardiovascular, urinary, and central nervous system function. This unique GPCR has a PDZ ligand at the C-terminus of this receptor. A PDZ ligand is a region on a protein that can bind to a PDZ domain on another protein and is named based on the three proteins that it was observed in. Previously, it has been discovered that this ligand interacts with the syntrophin family of PDZ domain proteins. The hDLG1 protein is a human homologue of the Drosophila disc large (DLG1) tumor suppressor protein and contains three PDZ domains that have been implicated in interacting with A1DARs. By determining how/if the PDZ domains on the hDLG1 protein bind to the A1DAR, a more accurate depiction of this macromolecular complex can eventually be determined. Several methods were used in order to determine this. First, I cloned hDLG1 PDZ domains separately as well as varying combinations of the three domains. Next, I purified the protein constructs so I could determine the binding efficiency of the hDLG1 proteins to the A1DAR via Bio-Layer Interferometry (Octet). SNAP gel assays can also be used to determine the interaction with the A1DAR. Upon reviewing the results of these techniques, the nature of the interaction between the PDZ domains of the hDLG1 protein to the A1DAR can be determined. Understanding the architecture of this structure has many implications in pharmaceuticals as this protein can be specifically targeted by medications to treat a multitude of diseases. Side effects can be minimized by targeting specific parts of this large protein complex with medications than produce more specific responses thus limiting unwanted side effects. Medications that target the proteins involved in this complex can affect the function of the cardiovascular, urinary, and central nervous system.

The goal of this research is to improve breast cancer treatment by identifying novel imaging markers of tumor immune response. New immunotherapy treatment approaches are emerging that harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. These exciting advances increase the need for new tools to quantify response and assess treatment effectiveness in vivo.  We are investigating the potential role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in monitoring chemotherapy-induced immune response in breast tumors. HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) is a protein overexpressed in up to 30% of breast cancers that can increase cell proliferation and result in more aggressive cancers with worse outcomes. Trastuzumab is a drug that has been shown to not only amplify, but also induce immune response in HER2+ tumors. This induced immune response contributes to the effectiveness of trastuzumab in fighting HER2+ breast tumors and improving overall survival.  We hypothesize that functional MRI measures can identify changes associated with tumors’ immune responses. We are testing this hypothesis preoperatively in a group of patients with HER2+ breast cancer. Each patient has an MRI image taken and a tissue sampling of their tumor before and after a dose of trastuzumab. Quantitative MRI metrics we are measuring include contrast enhancement kinetics reflecting vascular permeability and diffusion coefficients reflecting tumor cellularity. Changes reflected on MRI are being compared with changes in histologic measures of immune response (including tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, TILs, and inflammation). Objectives are to identify quantitative MRI markers that are best suited to track breast tumor’s responses to trastuzumab. These findings are contributing to developing a novel method of observing immune response in tumors treated with a variety of emerging therapies.

Ethics and diversity are critical components of engineering training and practice, but most undergraduate engineering programs do not address these issues in-depth. We describe the design and implementation of a novel curriculum that allows early engineering students to explore the interplay of diversity and ethics in an engineering context. Although upper-division bioethics courses may also address this relationship, we chose to implement this curriculum in a large, introductory course. We intend to provide an accessible opportunity for early engineering students, particularly underrepresented students interested in engineering, to engage with this material early and to impress upon a broad audience that diversity and ethics are critical topics in engineering. Engaging these students in meaningful discussion about the intersecting roles of diversity and ethics in bioengineering enables them to apply course competencies to their future engineering practice. Our learning objectives include: (1) Summarize key case studies regarding diversity-related ethics in STEM, (2) Identify how cultural concepts of race, gender, sexuality, and disability have shaped scientific thought (and vice versa) through history, (3) Critically evaluate literature regarding ethics and diversity in bioengineering, (4) Analyze how engineers handle implicit bias during research and design processes, and (5) Propose approaches to promote ethics and diversity in engineering practice. Course activities cover the importance of diversity and ethics competency in engineering; historic and current case studies of diversity-related ethical issues and how historical perceptions and contexts still influence modern scientific thinking and engineering design; advocacy and representation of minorities in engineering; evidence supporting the value of inclusive teaching and diverse teams; and best practices for advocacy and representation of diverse peoples in engineering. We assess the effectiveness of these teaching innovations through student surveys, student performance on assignments, and instructor observations. Additional supporting data is provided by excerpts of student work.

A seed’s successful transition to a seedling depends on the suitability of the surrounding environment. All plants need water, sunlight, favorable temperatures, and soil nutrients to survive. On top of these essentials, interactions with other organisms through competition, herbivory, or disease may also have an impact. The goal of this study is to assess which factors influence tree germination in Washington’s temperate forests. Are there essentials without which seeds fail to complete the pivotal transition between embryo and tree? This question was explored using data collected since 2014 in a 25.6 hectare plot located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest (WA). The dominant trees here, including Western hemlock and Douglas fir, were the focus species of this study. Forty seed traps distributed throughout the plot collected falling tree seeds so that they could later be identified to species and counted in the lab. Germinants and seedlings were recorded within a square meter adjacent to each seed trap, along with environmental factors such as soil moisture and sun exposure. Regression analyses were used to assess whether germination rates (the proportion of seeds that successfully germinated) were influenced by environmental factors, other organisms, seed densities, or year. While analyses and data collection are ongoing, results thus far indicate a negligible role for soil moisture and sunlight in germination. On the other hand, the presence of other vegetation decreased germination, while the presence of nurse logs increased it. Germination is an important and delicate life stage for every tree, and through their influence on it environmental factors may shape the species composition of these communities. Identifying relevant factors may also provide some ability to anticipate how these trees will respond to the warmer and drier conditions expected to define climate change in the Pacific Northwest.

Young adults are changing the architecture of “third places,” like coffee shops, bars, and restaurants. Millennials, as they are typically called, have steadily moved to cities as they have become increasingly disillusioned with suburban lifestyle that has been a cultural norm since the 1950s. This has created a new wave of urbanization and gentrification. Gentrification, first coined by Ruth Glass in 1964, is the phenomenon of affluent people, primarily white people, moving into and displacing long-term residents or urban neighborhoods. Sociologists, economists, and urban planners have studied gentrification since the inception of the term, but usually through the lens of housing conditions and real estate values. However, the current wave of gentrification is associated with wider trends of lifestyle than housing or location. These new trends of lifestyle gentrification permeate into aesthetics, designs, and architecture. This thesis will explore the architecture of “third places,” the extensions of the personal residence, as a vital part of the current lifestyle gentrification occurring in American cities. This thesis will look at the evolution of “third places,” the shifting values of food and drink culture, and the people that define them. Methods will include studying changes in food and drink culture through previous sociology work as well as looking to projects in Seattle as case studies for how design has changed. 

Narrative architecture, imaginative design-thinking that incorporates the stories of the site and the local community into the final product, can empower displaced individuals by including their thoughts in the design process. As one of numerous design strategies within architecture, it has the potential to contribute to the highly multidisciplinary methodologies of humanitarian architecture. Across multiple successful case study projects constructed after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the principles of narrative architecture design are present, but are not defined as such by the current body of research on the subject. This project argues for the significance of narrative-driven humanitarian design in New Orleans after Katrina. With this research, I articulate how narrative architectural methodologies can serve as an extension of humanitarian design techniques to better empower those affected by disasters, and explore the risks of not using narrative thinking in the design process. The project evaluates case studies from a variety of architecture firms, evaluates narrative methodologies used within the case studies, and proposes overlapping best practices from humanitarian and narrative design perspectives. By defining narrative design values within humanitarian architecture, this project clarifies underdefined aspects of relief efforts and offers architects an expanded toolset for responding to crises such as Katrina.

Wound healing is an essential physiological process that repairs damaged tissues through a collaboration of molecular and cellular events.  For a wound to heal properly, hemostasis (blood clotting), inflammatory, proliferative, and maturation phases must occur sequentially at specific times and at optimal levels.  I’ve been using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to study wound healing and the potential role of a family of six growth factors called Imaginal Disc Growth Factors (IDGFs). IDGFs are related to human chitinase-like proteins, which are upregulated in cancer and other diseases associated with inflammation; their function, however, is not yet understood.  We hope to gain some insight by studying their role in wound healing in the Drosophila wing imaginal disc, a larval tissue that will become the adult wing.  Using a method called in situ hybridization, which reveals the patterns of RNA localization in fixed tissue, I found that while IDGFs are normally expressed in wing imaginal discs, their expression is immediately turned off upon wounding.  However, using transgenic fly strains that have IDGF2 and IDGF6 proteins tagged with a green fluorescent protein and an extended culture assay that allowed me to track protein expression over time, I found that IDGFs are upregulated at the wound sites after several hours.  Combining these observations, I hypothesize that IDGFs are first turned off in the hemostasis phase and later are upregulated in the inflammatory or proliferative phase, when new tissue begins to form.  To determine the cell types, cellular dynamics, and precise timing of IDGF upregulation, I will use confocal live imaging and label cell types that are known to be involved in wound healing, such as hemocytes.  These studies will contribute to our understanding of the genes that regulate tissue healing after mechanical injury.

 The atoms in the universe are involved in a constant process of enrichment and redistribution. They cycle violently into and out of galaxies over billions of years. This cosmic cycle of baryons creates a diffuse halo of gas, called the circumgalactic medium (CGM), that exists inside the virial radii of galaxies. Characterized by rich dynamics and complex ionization states, the CGM provides galaxies their star-forming fuel by regulating and recycling the gas supply. The CGM is vital to understanding the evolution of galaxies and the universe, but it is difficult to observe directly. Using high-resolution quasar spectra collected by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, we identified absorption features found in the spectrum of the quasar. We classified each absorption feature, identifying its species, redshift, velocity dispersion, and density. We discovered several strong hydrogen systems with metal absorption at redshifts where the light from the quasar had passed through a cloud of metal-rich gas. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey catalog, we matched our strong hydrogen systems with several galaxies near the line of sight of the quasar. Now we are starting to characterize correlations between the dynamics of gas in the CGM and its influence on the star formation rate of the galaxy it surrounds.

We studied Betta fish and their aggressive behavior in reaction to a perceived threat stimulus at two different distances. Betta fish have been known to display aggressive behaviors when in the presence of other fish and at their own reflection. We hypothesize that the Betta fish will display more aggressive behaviors when a mirror is present and at a closer proximity because a close mirror may replicate the experience of a more immediate threat. To test this, we placed mirrors at one or eight inches away from their tanks and observed. If the Bettas flared their fins and rubbed their faces against the side of the tank, we characterized their behavior as aggressive. We found that our hypothesis was incorrect and there was no signficant difference between aggression presentation at one or eight inches. Additionally, we compared aggressive behavior in Delta Tail Bettas and Veiltail Bettas. We hypothesized that there would be a difference in aggression between the two betta species. Our hypothesis was supported, and we found that Delta Tail Bettas were significantly more aggressive than Veiltail Bettas. For breeders and owners of novelty fish, knowing what stimlui results in aggressive behavior can be beneficial for preventing stress and choosing what species to breed and own. Furthermore, studies on aggression in bettas allows researchers to study how aggression relates to survival and mating, and how bettas compared to related species.

Understanding how extracellular environments facilitate the differentiation of stem cells holds much promise for the field of regenerative medicine. Non-muscle myosin II (NMII) plays an important role in cell morphology and also generates forces that alfter biochemical signalling. It has been shown that the activity of NMII controls mechanoreceptors and integrins facilitating stem cell fate. More specifically, mechanotransduction of transcriptional coactivators YAP/TAZ facilitate differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). YAP and TAZ are responsible for upregulating genes associated with stem cell differentiation. Under external stresses mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into osteocytes whereas softer extracellular conditions favor the differentiation into adipocytes through mechanotransduction of YAP and TAZ.To further explore the role of physical forces determining the fate of stem cells, we used a computationally designed self-assembling homo-polymer called 2E01, generated by the Institute for Protein Design (IPD). Mechanical stress and the physical activity of NMII can be mimicked by controlled expression of the length of the E01 protein fiber. We introduced the 2E01 gene under a doxycycline-inducible promoter into the AAVS1 "safe harbor" locus of the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Expression of the E01 fiber in iPSCs lead to changes in colony morphology and subsequent differentiation of those cells, suggesting that changing the morphology of cells can change their fate. I want to see if I can use the 2E01 fiber as a tool to accelerate differentiation from IPSCs to neuronal cells and cardiomyocytes. In addition, we expressed 2E01 in mesenchymal stem cells, a cell type currently used in lab, and observed the activity of YAP and TAZ as an indicator of differentiation. Utilization of the 2E01 fiber could be benefical to the field of regenerative medicine as a directed agent of physical manipulation towards desired stem cell fate.

The mesolimbic dopamine pathway begins in the midbrain Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) and projects to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and is fundamental in regulating goal-directed behaviors. Abnormalities in this pathway are implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including drug addiction and depression. However, there is still a lot unknown about the specific circuitry and cell types that contribute to these behaviors and diseases. This project aims to provide a deeper understanding of how different dopamine populations in the VTA contribute to reward behavior. We use Cre-driver mouse lines to isolate genetically distinct VTA dopamine subpopulations. Using this strategy, we classified three different subpopulations: Corticotrophin releasing hormone receptor one (Crhr1-Cre), Cholecystokinin (Cck-Cre) and Tachykinin receptor three (Tacr3 Cre). Interestingly, these populations have inclusive and complementary projections to the NAc and it’s two subdivisions, the NAcCORE and NAcSHELL. We utilize optogenetic techniques to activate each subpopulation individually. To test learning acquisition, mice without any prior training were placed into an operant box containing two levers that when pressed would result in optical excitation of the targeted VTA subpopulation. We found that optical stimulation of the Crhr1 subpopulation, which projects to the NAcCORE, can drive lever pressing instrumental learning. Activation of Cck neurons, which project to the NAcSHELL, is unable to promote learning. However, if animals first learned an instrumental behavior to obtain food reward, subsequent activation of Cck neurons would maintain instrumental responding. Interestingly, activation of Tacr3 (projects to both NAcCORE and NAcSHELL), resulted in rapid instrumental learning and maintenance of high levels of lever pressing. These results establish independent roles for Crhr1 and Cck dopamine neurons in instrumental reward learning and motivation, as well as a requirement for co-activation of NAcCORE and NAcSHELL pathways (Tacr3) for maximal reinforcement responding, thus providing more specified targets for therapeutic interventions.

The timber industry gave birth to most of the cities in the Pacific Northwest including Seattle and it naturally supplied the building materials for homes and businesses. However with the development of steel and concrete construction, timber was quickly abandoned in exchange for the more fire resistant materials and their ability to reach greater heights. Now with the turn of the twenty first century, timber is back to claim its rightful position in the building industry. The development of engineered mass timber products like cross laminated timber (CLT) has made a profound impact on the building industries of Europe, Australia, Japan and Canada but the building code of the United States has not yet accommodated the use of this material. The current code allows six stories of wood frame construction over a one story concrete base level. Structural mass timber elements like CLT have similar limitations despite being capable of doing a lot more work. This project looks at the changes in the building code that are going to be implement in the coming years regarding the use of CLT in highrise construction. These changes will enhance the construction industry in the Pacific Northwest due to its potential of increasing regional economic growth and reconnecting the construction industry to its cultural roots of timber milling. After analyzing the building code revisions that will be implemented in the year 2021 I created visual representations of construction assemblies and details to provide a cohesive understanding of how CLT could be applied to the design of future structures. Having proven its potential in other parts of the world, it is time to employ mass timber in the United States.

The idea of busy culture permeates college campuses nationwide and describes the trend of students engaging in less leisure activities and more time spent in academic and professional devotions: a trend which in our experience is reflected in the culture of University of Washington. There is little research exploring the nature and consequences of busy culture on college campuses. To address this gap in the literature, the purpose of this study is to better understand UW undergraduate students’ own perceptions of being busy, and how they see busyness as impacting their academic experience and overall well-being. We conducted four focus groups with eight to ten participants per group, with two trained student facilitators. These focus groups explored topics including what students consider “busy,” and how busyness functions in their life. Qualitative analyses looked for emergent definitions of busyness that are consistent across students, and seeked to understand if motivations and perceived consequences of busyness are similar, or different among different students. We discussed these patterns in the context of existing literature on social norms and student stress and refine hypotheses about busyness to better inform future research. We also considered how these results can contribute to improved student programming to enhance the student experience at UW.

Crows are social creatures meaning that they communicate within groups valuable and pertinent information. This information can relay to others where food might be and where there might be a predator. Not only do they have this attribute, but more importantly, they can also retain this knowledge over a period of time. For our experiment, we wanted to test whether American Crows, Corvus Brachyrhynchos, had the same ability as chickadees to encode and differentiate different types of conspecific calls. We compared the difference in time of each crow vocalization between a food call and a mobbing call. After running a t-test, we found that our experiment yielded significant results. This implies that crows, similar to chickadees can distinguish and respond to calls differently depending on the type of call. This gives us insight on possible crow behaviors and explanations and a basis for future crow research.

Conventional farming techniques involve large quantities of chemical fertilizers, which often leach into bodies of water causing eutrophication. The influx of excess nutrients from fertilizer results in rapid increase of aquatic algal populations followed by dissolved oxygen depletion. This process creates regions of low oxygen that negatively impact the water quality of many major lakes and coastal regions. To address this problem, the sensitivity of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) to excess fertilizer was investigated. We hypothesize that the addition of high amounts of fertilizer will result in smaller, less productive plants and diminished rhizosphere colonization of the PGPB, Bacillus subtilis. A modified Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test was performed as an initial assessment of the effect of varied fertilizer concentrations on B. subtilis. Roots of romaine lettuce seedlings were then inoculated with B. subtilis and grown in soil treated with the same range of fertilizer concentrations. The effects of each treatment on plant growth were determined using total leaf area, quantification of the rhizosphere colonization by B. subtilis, and carbon assimilation measured with a LI-6800 Portable Photosynthesis System. These results are an important step towards establishing guidelines for appropriate application of agricultural fertilizer in order to mitigate the frequency and severity of eutrophication events in aquatic systems.

In the US more than 100 million people are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes. The economic burden caused by these conditions, including medical costs, is approximately $322 billion annually as of 2013. Conventionally, transgenic Escherichia coli has been the primary source of commercial insulin production, a process that requires extensive purification to ensure shelf stability and complete removal of contaminants. This study seeks to establish an alternative mode of insulin production using polyethelyne glycol (PEG) to transform the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, with the human insulin gene. P. ostreatus is a valuable target for genetic transformation due to its lack of endotoxins and fully sequenced genome. P. ostreatus was transformed using PEG with a plasmid containing the human insulin gene and a carboxin resistance gene. Transformed cells were selected using carboxin, extracted, and regenerated on plates composed of yeast extract, malt extract, and glucose (YMG). Integration of the human insulin gene in to the mushroom genome was confirmed through PCR analysis of the transformants. Successful PEG transformation of P.ostreatus offers a new avenue for insulin production, potentially diversifying the market and treatment options for diabetics.

The overuse of antibiotics by the health and agriculture industries has resulted in an increase of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, leading to a wide range of untreatable illnesses. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year have been caused by antibiotic resistance. Understanding the mechanisms and potential reduction of fitness associated with antibiotic resistance is therefore essential for addressing the ongoing battle with disease-causing bacteria. This study investigates streptomycin resistance in E. coli and explores how resistance may affect the bacteria’s fitness under two stresses, temperature and pH. Mutant strains of E. coli were isolated and exposed to a range of temperatures (30-42°C) and pH levels (4.0-5.0). The results suggest that while antibiotic resistance is a beneficial mutation in the presence of streptomycin, it may impact fitness under environmental stress. Understanding the potential costs of antibiotic resistance could ultimately help us create better models to predict and combat the rapid evolution of drug resistant bacteria.

This project is to structurally verify computationally designed genetic fusions between helical bundle and repeat protein sets. With the use of this computational method, Rosetta, combining two discrete numbers of proteins can generate a much larger library of protein scaffolds. By biochemically characterizing and solving X-ray crystal structures of the designs, my work aims to experimentally validate this new computational protocol so that the designed proteins can be used with confidence for downstream applications. The wet lab protocol I will be performing follows common standard protein purification procedure. First, I will transform plasmid of genes containing the designed fusion proteins into an Escherichia coli strain, which is capable of over-expressing proteins of interest. After growing large cultures of these bacteria, the cell will be harvested and lysed. Following with the technique of immobilized metal affinity chromatography to purify the hexahistidine- tagged proteins- that binds to the nickel- charged resin—out of the soluble fraction of the cell lysate. The method of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) will be performed after purification takes place. This is going to further purify as well as giving information of the protein designs. I will perform this protocol on close to one hundred designs to calculate a “success rate” for the computational protocol. In greater picture, the overall goal of this project will be researching self- assembled protein design for crystallization from the computational design. Aiming for the result of producing various proteins have the ability of forming crystal in various solution conditions that confirm the structural characterization of designed protein and also validate both experimental and computational protocols. This research provides an avenue for greatly expanding the database of proteins can be utilized in fields such as materials engineering and creating binders of chemical molecules.

In many plant species, temperature and herbivory have been shown to affect photosynthetic rates, and thus, capacity for growth. However, few studies have looked at  the combined effects of temperature and herbivory on plant performance. This is important, as increases in temperature and rates of herbivory are predicted to coincide with climate change. To address this issue, Lupinus latifolius, a perennial plant native to the western coast of the United States, was studied. L. latifolius was chosen because it is a nitrogen-fixer, and it can facilitate the growth of other plant species in disturbed habitat. As such, observing how L. latifolius responds to future conditions we expect with climate change can provide insight about how plant communities will respond in the future. In this experiment, two growth chambers were used, and L. latifolius plants were placed in one of four treatment groups. The treatment groups were organized so the combined effects of temperature and herbivory could be compared to the standalone effects of temperature and herbivory. For the herbivory treatments, grasshoppers were used. MultispeQ, a portable plant-phenotyping instrument, was used to capture photosynthetic parameters and relative chlorophyll. Certain morphological traits, such as plant height and leaf mass per area (LMA), were also measured. I expect that higher temperatures will result in higher photosynthetic rates, but that herbivory will have a larger negative impact on photosynthesis. As a result, lower photosynthetic rates are likely to be observed under increased temperature and herbivory. T tests and ANOVA were conducted to determine whether differences between treatments are statistically significant. By conducting this research, we can gain a better understanding of how changes in temperature and herbivory rates associated with climate change can interact to affect plant performance and health.

Studies have shown disparities in environmental justice as manifest by the variation of air pollution exposure based on race and socioeconomic status (SES) on a national scale. This study focused on determining whether a similar association exists in Washington. I hypothesized that in areas where people of color are the majority residents, exposure to air pollution as measured in PM2.5, will be higher. I also hypothesized that there would be a higher average concentration of PM2.5 in low-income areas. PM2.5 are solid particles with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometers. In this cross-sectional study, I used linear regression and analysis of variance to evaluate my hypotheses where I treated income as a continuous variable and majority residency by race as a categorical variable. Overall, I found a negative association between PM2.5 and income, which supports the hypothesis. I estimated that PM2.5 is expected to decrease by 0.03 µg/m3 on average per 10,000 dollars increase in income [95% CI: -0.032, -0.02.8]. I controlled for urbanity and education. When I considered effect modification, I found that the negative association was not present in rural areas. In descriptive analyses, I considered four different racial categories (White, Black, Latinos, and Asian). I observed that for areas where black people are the majority, the PM2.5 exposure is the highest, with a mean of 6.86 µg/m3 [95% CI: 6.82, 6.87], with a maximum of 7.65 µg/m3 and a minimum of 6.06 µg/m3. In comparison, in areas where white people are the majority population, the mean was 6.12 µg/m3 [95% CI: 6.11, 6.13], with a maximum of 8.12 µg/m3 and a minimum of 3.54 µg/m3. I conclude that there is a disparity in air quality based on ethnicity and SES in Washington State. Directly or indirectly, environmental injustice contributes a greater risk of health issues and diseases.

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the causative agent of Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS), a highly vascularized tumor composed of cells of endothelial origin. While KSHV infects both blood (BECs) and lymphatic (LECs) endothelial cells, LECs are more susceptible to infection and express fewer antiviral genes during infection compared to BECs. Recent experiments have shown that LECs, but not BECs, have a defect in STING-mediated signaling, a critical antiviral pathway that is activated during herpesvirus infections. STING induces expression of the antiviral signaling molecule interferon and pro-inflammatory cytokines through the transcription factors IRF3 and NF-kB, respectively. While STING is unable to signal through IRF3 in LECs, it is unknown if NF-kB activation is similarly impaired. Moreover, it is unknown if the defect contributes to the increased susceptibility to KSHV infection in LECs. Accordingly, I hypothesize that in LECs, NF-kB signaling via STING will be impaired and that the STING defect increases susceptibility to infection relative to BECs. To determine if STING activates NF-kB, I will stimulate STING in BECs and LECs and measure expression of NF-kB-activated genes. I expect NF-kB-activated genes to be expressed in BECs but not in LECs, indicating that STING is unable to signal through NF-kB in LECs. To determine if the STING defect renders LECs more susceptible to KSHV infection, I will use CRISPR-Cas9 to knock out STING in BECs. I will then use KSHV to infect the knock-out BECs as well as wild-type BECs and LECs and compare infection rates. I expect the infection rate in the knockouts to be increased relative to wild-type BECs and similar to the infection rate in LECs. The results from these experiments will further elucidate how KSHV exploits defects in innate-immunity to infect and transform host cells.

This project aims to ground truth a statistical model created previously by our lab. The model predicts the characteristics of a hyper velocity impact of a projectile into both sea ice and water ice. We compared the modeling program’s simulated results with observed results from both 1.5 inch and 4 inch ice perpetrators on lab created water ice and naturally forming sea ice respectively and studying such characteristics such as peak ejection angle, maximum crater depth, and crater diameter. The experimental results are compared with the simulation presented by Koch 2017. We will apply both our experimental data and our simulation data in the design and creation of a two-stage penetration probe. The first stage is a hyper-velocity penetrator. The second stage is an aero-breaking probe that will use the plume created by the first stage to reduce its velocity before impacting the surface.

The Neotropics hold the greatest diversity of fishes, with South America alone hosting around 25% of global fish biodiversity. Despite presumably fierce competition with entrenched primary freshwater fishes like otophysans, South America is also home to a conspicuously high number of marine-derived lineages (MDLs), freshwater taxa which have evolved from marine ancestors. Transitions from marine to freshwater may have catalyzed ecological opportunity and are apt systems for examining whether habitat transitions prompt ecomorphological diversification. Body-shape and size correlate with many aspects of ecology and life history: foraging through locomotion and feeding morphology, reproduction by predicting offspring size and number, and more generally, larger fishes generally occupy higher trophic niches. We examined how such an ecological transition has affected the body-shape diversity of tropical needlefishes and sauries (Beloniformes). Using micro-computed tomographic (µCT) scanning, geometric morphometrics, and phylogenetic comparative methods we examined body-shape evolution in 33 species of belonids and two scomberesocids. We examined the evolutionary pattern and tempo of body-shape evolution in Asian and South American beloniforms using a published molecular phylogeny,. The primary axis of body shape variation is elongation/truncation, driven by lengthening/shortening of either the rostral or trunk regions. We also find that freshwater taxa are generally smaller than their marine counterparts, and become reduced in size either through miniaturization (skeletal reduction) or dwarfism (skeletal loss). Despite morphological novelty in freshwater belonids, our results show similar levels of body shape diversity between marine and freshwater taxa. Despite similar disparity between marine and freshwater taxa, freshwater belonids occupy a surprisingly large region of morphospace considering their relatively low species richness.

Increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reduce the nutritional content of rice grains, particularly iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Rice serves as a staple food crop for more than two billion people across the world; substantial portions of these rice-dependent populations also suffer from iron and zinc deficiencies. In rice, the effect of increased CO2 on Fe and Zn differs between cultivars. With better mechanistic understanding as to why, informed plant breeding and cultivar selection is a likely path towards ameliorating this problem. Little is known about the mechanisms behind CO2-induced reduction of grain nutrition. Increased CO2 changes the pH of rice paddy soil, facilitating the release of cations (including Fe and Zn), which leads to increased uptake to above ground plant tissues. However, this does not result in increased concentrations of these compounds in the rice grain. Several explanations have been advanced for this paradox, but most work on the topic has relied on free-air carbon enrichment (FACE) installations, which cannot control many potentially important variables. In particular, reduced transpiration under elevated CO2 may obscure differences between CO2-induced carbohydrates. Additionally, the fine-scale impacts of elevated CO2 on the rice rhizosphere have been poorly studied. Our study is attempting to close these knowledge gaps: we have grown rice plants under elevated and current CO2 conditions, while maintaining even transpiration between treatments via controlled relative humidity. We have paired these experimental manipulations with oxygen optode-based visualizations of the undisturbed rice rhizosphere, which has directed accurate soil sampling of rhizosphere and bulk soil porewater samples for analysis of pH, redox, total organic carbon (TOC), and quantification of Fe, As, Ca, Mg, and Zn. Our study seeks to better understand the mechanistic role of increased CO2 on the rice rhizosphere, and its downstream effect on rice grain nutrient quality.

Substantial research has examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits (cynicism, neuroticism, openness, extraversion, and agreeableness) and burnout at the workplace, and has found that certain scores on each of these traits affect vulnerability to burnout. However, this research has not been duplicated in the population of community mental health therapists, a role that is particularly reliant upon skills that burnout can impair (e.g., reduction of empathy). Through this research, we seek to determine who is at increased risk of developing burnout by studying the relationship between Big Five personality traits and components of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement). In addition, we captured the common personality profiles of this population, which indicate the proportion of community mental health therapists who may be at increased risk for burnout due to personality traits. We conducted a quantitative study using a between-subjects design. Participants were community mental health therapists across Washington state, recruited as part of a larger study. Participants completed online self-report measures related to burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and personality traits (Big Five Inventory-10). We hypothesized that individuals who report high neuroticism would also report higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and lower levels of personal accomplishment. We also hypothesized that individuals who report high conscientiousness or high extraversion would report lower levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and higher levels of personal accomplishment. Our results could lead to improved methods of individualizing interventions for community mental health therapists and reduce the effects of burnout. Additionally, by capturing the common personality profiles, we can determine the types of interventions that will be applicable to the largest percentage of this population, allowing agencies to allocate their resources accordingly.

What drives change in populations of endangered species such as the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina)? Despite northern spotted owl populations in Washington declining yearly, variability in year to year population performance suggests that understanding what facilitates a “good” year for this endangered species may improve management practices. It is possible that resource pulses, distinct increases in ephemeral resources occurring at infrequent time intervals, influence this variation. “Masting” is a type of resource pulse in terrestrial ecosystems characterized by large increases in seed or fruit production, which may raise abundance of small mammals that consume seed. For example, northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus), have been found to respond positively to mast events from the previous autumn. Because northern flying squirrels are a primary prey item of S. occidentalis, constituting up to 81% of its diet by biomass, spotted owl numbers and seed masting events may be correlated. To elucidate this relationship, I used seed production data collected in Mt. Rainier National Park (MORA) since 2008 by the Hille Ris Lambers Lab, in conjunction with northern spotted owl demographic data from the National Park Service. An estimated 80,000 acres of suitable spotted owl habitat exist in MORA extending to altitudes of 4,800 feet, dominated by Psuedotsuga menziesii, three Abies species, Thuja plicata, and Tsuga heterophylla — trees which mast and may be consumed by small mammals. We hypothesize that a mast event will produce a resource pulse of seeds which may heighten flying squirrel abundance, resulting in increased northern spotted owl population two years after the seed mast event. This hypothesis predicts a positive correlation between seed production and adult northern spotted owl population two years post mast event. This study will improve knowledge of spotted owl population dynamics and potentially improve management protocol of Strix occidentalis caurina in MORA.

Protons take part in many important reactions such as redox, acid-base chemistry and biochemistry; however, the mechanisms for proton transfer and hydronium’s stabilization are less understood. Hydronium sequestered in 18-crown-6 ether (CE) has an unusually broad and intense vibrational absorbance (OH-feature) compared to bare hydronium. One environmental factor affecting this OH-feature is the range of hydrogen bonded geometries between the hydrogen atoms in hydronium and the oxygen atoms in the CE, which is sampled by the complex even in its ground vibrational state. The breadth of the OH-feature is attributed to changes of the OH stretch frequency of hydronium as it rattles within the CE, and to the CE distorting to accommodate the hydronium. Hydronium will donate a proton to diethyl ether in the binary complex, because the diethyl ether is a stronger base than water. However, when hydronium hydrogen bonds to three diethyl ether molecules in a ternary complex, all three hydrogen atoms in hydronium are pulled by the ether molecules preventing any one of the protons from transferring. The hydrogen bonded geometries we analyze involve complexes of hydronium with both simple ethers and cyclic CE molecules. The CE hydrogen bonds to all three of the hydrogen atoms in hydronium similarly to the ternary complex, thus the CE complex prevents proton transfer. We explore several other environmental factors, including increasing the rigidity of the CE by replacing carbon-carbon single bonds with carbon-carbon double bonds. This increase in CE rigidity reduces the rattling of the hydronium. We also explore the effects of reducing electron density on the oxygen atoms in the CE by replacing hydrogen atoms in the CE with fluorine atoms. Optimizations, frequencies and potential energy scans are made at the B3LYP level of theory using a 6-311G(2d,p) basis.