Disruptive mutations to DYRK1A, located in the Down Syndrome critical region of chromosome 21, are associated with autism spectrum disorder and medical comorbidities. Previous literature suggests facial anomalies in children with DYRK1A mutations, and studies of DYRK1A’s regulatory functions confirm its role in the expression of several morphology-affecting genes, particularly DCAF7. This study attempted to determine if quantitative differences in facial features exist between children with DYRK1A mutations and the general population, including unaffected parents. From a sample of 28 children with de novo DYRK1A mutations, analyses focused on nine white non-Hispanic children (M age = 11.33 years, 77.78% male) whose data were collected using a 3dMDhead System through an ongoing genetics-first study. Measurements between facial landmarks were later calculated using 3dMDvultus. FaceBase’s 3D Facial Norms for European Caucasians were used as a control group, and Z-scores were calculated for all complete measures. Six measures—intercanthal width, outercanthal width, palpebral fissure lengths, cranial base width, and philtrum width–were selected for analysis based on previous clinical findings. Wilcoxon sign-rank tests compared Z-scores between probands and each biological parent, assessing familial genetic influence on observed dysmorphologies. Outercanthal width in probands significantly differed from both biological parents and was significantly below population average. Additionally, palpebral fissure lengths significantly differed between probands and fathers and fell below population averages for probands. These findings bolster the link between DYRK1A and genes that code for craniofacial development and suggest the facial phenotype associated with DYRK1A mutations may be more variable and nuanced than expected, presenting challenges for clinical assessment. Additional research should examine how DYRK1A interacts with genes that code for eye regions, facial phenotypes in non-white participants, and possible differences in dysmorphology between sexes.

 Cancer recurrence and migration remains a persisting challenge in oncology. As such, accurate models of tumor growth in the laboratory (in vitro) are critical to our continued understanding and treatment of the disease. This project aims to use one such model—the 3-dimensional spheroid—to measure the effects of novel targeted therapy combinations on different cell lines. Two cell lines were explored in this experiment: UM-SCC74A (a tongue squamous cell carcinoma) and HCT116 (a colorectal carcinoma). Spheroids were formed by culturing cells in ultra-low attachment well plates for 24 hours, allowing the cells to coalesce and form a 3-dimensional sphere. An extracellular matrix was added in some trials to further improve the accuracy of the model. Spheroids were cultured in the presence of drug for 48 hours, then allowed to grow in drug-free media following washout. Spheroid size and viability were assessed via imaging and Cell-Titer Glo assays, respectively. The results from both cell lines echoed those obtained in 2-dimensional assays and validated the efficacy of our drug combinations in a 3-dimensional setting. These models could provide an intermediate step between 2-dimensional in vitro experiments and those conducted in live organisms (in vivo). The success of this model in supporting different cell lines affirms the robustness of this approach and its potential for use with a wide variety of cancers.

The island of La Palma is the second youngest in the Canary Island volcanic chain, 475km northwest of Africa, which was created by hot spot magmatism. The earliest activity of each volcano erupted below sea level and was later buried by subaerial eruptions. On the island of La Palma, the seamount, or submarine-building stage of the Taburiente volcano, is uniquely exposed due to uplift and a subsequent giant landslide that exposed the interior of the volcano. It provides access to basalts that record the island’s early magmatic history. I report lead, hafnium, and strontium isotopes of Taburiente’s submarine history in order to infer the mantle origin of the magma source and compare the data to that of the later subaerial volcanic rocks to determine if magma source changes occurred between the two volcanic phases. Each analyzed rock sample was divided in two parts: one was acid-leached to remove possible contamination and alteration caused by hot seawater circulating through rock on the ocean floor and the other was not acid-leached. Both sample sets were then dissolved in strong acids to collect pure Pb, Hf, and Sr aliquots using ion-exchange chemistry and isotopically analyzed using high-precision mass spectrometry. The isotopic ratios of ocean island basalts in general differ greatly from ocean floor basalts. This is the basis for determining if Taburiente’s early volcanic phase is more similar to an ocean floor or an ocean island basalt composition. The data also detail the type of mantle source—whether primordial or recycled rock that was returned from the surface back into the mantle. The leached versus non-leached sample sets quantify how much hydrothermal alteration has occurred within the seamount and if this is a useful technique to apply to future studies of ocean island basalts.

Lahars are mudflows that originate from volcanoes and commonly flow down river channels. They have the potential to deposit large amounts of sediment, reducing the capacity of the channel to carry water and possibly resulting in worsened seasonal flooding. Mt. Rainier has a history of lahars in most of the major rivers that originate from it, except for the Carbon River, which has little geologic evidence of lahars. In contrast, the Puyallup River contains sediments from the Electron Mudflow that occurred 500 years ago. Because the Carbon and Puyallup Rivers have a similar orientation and source, they make ideal candidates to compare flooding and sedimentation data to determine the effect of lahar sedimentation on flooding. If lahar sedimentation played a major role in flooding, we would expect the Puyallup River with its lahar deposits to have a greater frequency of flooding when compared to the Carbon. However, comparison of annual peak flow data from the years 1930 to 2019 suggests that this is not the case. For this study, it is assumed that the years with peak stream flows that exceeded a designated flood stage stream flow, given by the National Water Information System, experienced flooding. The Puyallup and Carbon Rivers had a similar number of flood events that exceeded the flood stage stream flow, however the Carbon’s flood events were generally much greater than the flood stage value when compared to the Puyallup. Overall, there is not a significant enough difference in flooding between the two rivers to suggest that the Electron Mudflow deposits have an effect on flooding. The Electron Mudflow occurred approximately 500 years ago, so it is possible the lahar sediments in the Puyallup River have been sufficiently carried downstream and both rivers have returned to a similar balance of sediment transport and water flow.

Medical tape is used to hold essential devices to the skin for long periods of time. Unfortunately, without means for safe removal, these strong adhesives are painfully removed from the skin, often resulting in medical adhesive-related skin injuries (MARSI). Initial stakeholder interviews have indicated that medical tape removal is painful for the patient, and causes significant anxiety for nurses and caregivers. A 2015 study showed 98.6% of nurses considered skin tears common, occurring in 15% of senior patients and 17% of neonatal patients. A medical tape that offers high adhesion with means for safe removal is needed to eliminate MARSI and increase quality of care. UnTape addresses this need by providing a medical tape that has high adhesion during use but allows for easy and injury-free removal, by simply heating the tape for a few seconds with a heat pack prior to removal. The result is a rapid reduction of the force needed to remove the tape from the patient’s skin without risking MARSI. The tape is formulated with pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) that contains an embedded temperature-responsive additive (TRA). The additive will migrate to the surface of the tape upon heating, and melt in the range of 38-43°C, forming puddles that disrupt the adhesive and skin interface. The TRA is selected with a melting temperature that is high enough to avoid accidental peel strength reduction during fever, but below the pain threshold (45-47°C) for skin. Different additives have exhibited over a 50% reduction in peel force. This work focuses on optimization of product definition to yield consistent in vitro testing results, paving the way to clinical studies. The unique properties of UnTape allow for stronger skin adhesion for critical medical devices while eliminating the risk of MARSI upon removal, reducing nurse and patient stress, and providing higher quality medical care.

Cellulose is an abundant biopolymer that provides much of the structural support for plant cell walls. Its many desirable properties include high tensile strength, biocompatibility, thermal stability, and high water absorption. Cellulose has considerable potential as a component in polymeric composite materials, which combine polymer matrices with fillers to enhanced their mechanical properties for applications in drug delivery, food engineering, packaging, medical implants, and textiles. Even so, the difficulties of processing and manipulating cellulose at industrial scale have been cost prohibitive due to its high energy, chemical, and water usage. Here, we investigate the potential for simultaneous in situ production and incorporation of cellulose within hydrogels based on a photo-curable derivative of Pluronic® F-127, F127-bisurethane methacrylate (F127-BUM). We utilized a “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast” (SCOBY), obtained from a commercially available fermented tea beverage (Kombucha) starter kit, for the hydrogel formulation. We show that within cured F127-BUM hydrogel constructs, a SCOBY is viable and its biomass increases over time when maintained with a sucrose and black tea medium. These results will lead to further investigation into the composition of the SCOBY biomass, as well as physical and mechanical properties of the resulting composite material.

The influence of traditional economic thinking and theory on the development of international commerce and trade policy informs many of the contemporary issues and challenges impacting the global economy today. My research paper addresses the economic and social ramifications of global free trade practices and analyzes an alternative paradigm designed to affect free trade market behavior known as fair trade. Whereas free trade is characterized by the importing and exporting of goods between countries without tariffs or restrictions, fair trade is identifiable based on practices and principles that promote empowerment and equity. My analysis posits fair trade as a policy prescription for some of the deleterious effects of free trade. To compare traditional market-driven approaches to global trade with the contemporary movement of fair trade, my analysis is guided by a series of prompts: What is fair trade’s role in the international political economy sphere and how does it differ from (and complement) free trade? How can the precepts and practices of fair trade counterbalance the inequities of free trade policies? Scholarly resources, including peer-reviewed academic journals, were utilized to develop perspectives and answer these questions. Fair trade practices offer a sustainable improvement for the human condition since they are driven by more meaningful indicators of welfare than just Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Fair trade policies identify and value the needs and well-being of growers, workers, and communities along with the priorities of the developing nation trading partner; free trade focuses mainly on aggregate components that promote efficiency and create market value for the global economy. Social and environmental improvements from fair trade may not be adequately quantified in GDP since they can occur outside of traditional, measurable market-based activity. Therefore, this deficiency could motivate the development of an alternative to GDP to more accurately measure the non-pecuniary welfare effects from global trade.