This research is being conducted through the Svoboda Diaries Project (SDP), a digital humanities effort within the University of Washington based on the diaries of a British steamship worker during 19th-century Ottoman Iraq. This study aims to assess how students from varying academic backgrounds think and learn on a conceptual level and analyze how this influences their interactions with a digital humanities resource. We are conducting this research in hopes of improving the SDP website and contributing to generalizable knowledge regarding facilitated learning with digital tools. We are performing an interview study that employs two main methods used in usability testing: concept mapping and the think-aloud protocol. Concept maps are defined as graphical representations of one’s conceptual understanding of a topic, and the information falling within that topic. The think-aloud protocol is a research method involving participant’s verbalizing their thought process concurrently with the tasks being performed. During the interview, participants will create their own concept maps of their area of study, followed by a usability test on the image gallery feature of the SDP website, and lastly a second concept map activity where participants will map out the image gallery itself. The interviews will be analyzed using qualitative data analysis methods, and concept maps will be scored both qualitatively and quantitatively. By examining students from diverse academic backgrounds, we can analyze how they interact differently with our digital humanities resource, apply it to their field, and characterize how they think conceptually about topics. This research will contribute to the Svoboda Diaries Project by enabling us to make quality improvements to our website and gain insights to enhance our efforts within the digital humanities domain. Findings from the study may also be valuable when thinking critically about how students think about and interact with digital humanities resources as a whole.

High indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have been shown to cause negative symptoms in humans, including dizziness, headaches, and cognitive impairment. Concentrations of indoor CO2 have also been used as an effective proxy for the risk of airborne disease transmission risk. Individuals experiencing poverty may be at increased risk of adverse effects from indoor CO2 concentrations due to historic under-investment in infrastructure, such as high quality HVAC systems, in these communities. Public spaces such as libraries are particularly important for under-resourced communities as they may be the only places with accessible Wi-Fi, reading materials, and indoor bathrooms. This study surveys libraries, in several Seattle neighborhoods with varying rates of poverty. All libraries tested are branches of the Seattle Public Library system. Aranet4 HOME air quality monitors, that measure CO2 levels, were placed in similar central locations in each library for twenty-four hours on weekdays.The highest three recorded CO2 levels in a day were averaged to determine the peak CO2 exposures for library patrons. For instance, at the Ballard Branch, the highest average recorded CO2 levels were 712 ppm +/- 0.577 ppm and the neighborhood has a poverty rating of 2/10 according to the Washington Tracking Network (WTN). At the Magnolia Branch, the highest average recorded CO2 levels were 622 ppm +/- 10.6 ppm and the neighborhood has a poverty rating of 1/10 according to the WTN. Preliminary results thus far do not show significant differences in CO2 levels. The chosen libraries vary in size and may show more CO2 fluctuations once data is collected in additional areas. Documenting air quality differences in public spaces can highlight systemic inequities and help planners allocate limited resources to most effectively and equitably serve all Seattle neighborhood communities.

Several factors influence students’ ability to access the disability accommodations necessary to complete coursework; one of the main factors, however, is the degree to which instructors are willing or able to accommodate their students’ needs. Crucially, students often need to discern if instructors will accommodate their needs before they can register for class. Students must navigate differences in communication styles and perspectives on what constitutes reasonable accommodation. Further, instructors’ knowledge of their own responsibilities, rights, and the process by which accommodations are accessed, is limited. Instructors are not made aware of their role in providing accommodations or the timeline for their involvement. They are often reluctant to provide assistance for fear of overstepping boundaries set by their institutions. The ambiguity of the instructor’s role in accessibility is actively causing harm. Multiply-marginalized students face a number of additional barriers: students who have less wealth have impaired access to healthcare, and are more likely to face poor healthcare outcomes. Further, the effects of marginalization ensure that students with intersectional identities are less likely to be wealthy. While these facts are rarely officially disputed, it is often difficult to determine what supports are missing, why they are missing, and how support can be provided to the benefit of all stakeholders. In order to establish how students and instructor perceptions differ from each other and from the recommended process, more data is sorely needed; this study utilized a basic survey to identify the areas in which instructors and students need further support. Most queries were designed to have quantifiable responses; freeform responses were evaluated to identify the most common topics and positionality respondents presented. Responses which directly oposed the most common positionalities were then quantified. Expected results largely aligned with known areas of need, specifically the need for more transparency and training surrounding accessibility. 

Pacific salmon are both an ecological and cultural keystone species, essential to Pacific Northwest ecosystems, Indigenous Peoples, and the economy. Road salts (primarily NaCl), an increasingly common toxic constituent of stormwater runoff, adversely affect salmonids in vulnerable early life stages and mobilize heavy metals found in roadside soils. Dissolved copper (Cu), a ubiquitous nonpoint source pollutant, has been correlated with the impairment of olfactory systems in salmon; the negative effects of Cu decrease pre-smolt survival rates when compounded with NaCl. Our study investigates the concentrations of Cu and Cl^- in urban and rural watersheds home to Pacific salmon. We collected water samples from the Cedar River watershed and the Thornton Creek watershed in the greater Seattle area following storm events. Ion chromatography (IC) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis were performed on our samples to determine the concentration of Cl^- and dissolved Cu, respectively. Our results show levels of Cl^- that have been shown to increase the mortality rate of Atlantic salmon alevin, whereas concentrations of Cu are undetectable in Cedar River and at very low levels in Thornton Creek. Annual returns of salmon runs across the Pacific Northwest are in rapid decline and although the cause is neither singular nor isolated, water quality and habitat degradation are leading concerns. Our results provide insight into how road salts and metal-containing road dust contaminate streams and rivers, altering water quality conditions for salmonids from fertilization to swim-up. We relate our findings to current ecological management practices and research examining the effect of salinization and copper toxicity on salmonids in critical early life stages.

Classical conditioning is a method of learning in which a neutral stimulus is repeatedly matched with a naturally occurring stimulus to produce a learnt response. Whereas operant conditioning involves utilizing consequences to change behavior. Operant conditioning, developed by B.F. Skinner, uses positive or negative consequences to increase or decrease behavior frequency. It's widely used in animal training, but only operant conditioning is used in numerical recognition tasks. Classical conditioning is often used with negative stimuli to create an aversive response, but it's easier to implement and has not been fully explored as an alternative. Our research investigates the use of both operant and classical conditioning in teaching numeral recognition to the common freshwater angelfish, Pterophylum sclarae. Two fish are housed and trained individually. Tanks were set up with one end displaying two windows for dot arrays; this end of the tank has a divider down the middle so the fish can only swim up to one set of dots at a time. They are presented with a single dot on one side, three on the other. The classically trained fish was offered a food reward in front of the window displaying three dots. The operantly trained fish was trained using free-shaping techniques, receiving a small reward for each movement towards the correct array, getting a “jackpot” reward when arriving at the correct window. Fish were assigned a score on a 100 point scale, where the number of seconds it took the fish to get to the correct side is subtracted from 100 to determine the score. Preliminary results show that the classically trained fish has higher accuracy and speed in determining the correct array. This demonstrates that the simpler method of classical conditioning may be a feasible training method for cognitive tasks in angelfish.
 

Road salts are commonly applied as deicer during the winter months in Washington and can enter freshwater systems through run-off. The salinized waters can harm aquatic ecosystems. Zooplankton, specifically Daphnia, play a crucial role in providing food to other trophic levels in many ecosystems and could threaten the stability of these systems if they are unable to tolerate salinized waters. We hypothesized that Daphnia exposed to low levels of salt through several generations would better adapt to salinized water than an untreated population over time. Two populations of Daphnia were cultivated in the lab, one control with standard media and another with low levels of additional salt. We then placed these two groups in varying salt concentrations for one week. Under each condition, the survival rate of Daphnia was recorded. Heart rate was also observed as an indicator of physiological stress. We expect the pre-treated Daphnia to adapt to the road salt while the non-treated will have higher mortality rates. Understanding the impact of road salts on Daphnia can help us predict the possible effects on the overall health of aquatic ecosystems.

Wildfire smoke exposure is measured using the surrogate for all pollution by the concentration of particulate matter 2.5 microns wide (PM2.5). According to the CDC, short term exposure to wildfire smoke can result in negative health outcomes. It is highly recommended to stay indoors if your area is experiencing a wildfire smoke event. However, it is inevitable that outdoor air will leak indoors through any holes in the building, open doors, or windows. Occupants can also worsen indoor air quality through the activities they perform in their daily lives. This research is part of an indoor air quality pilot using PurpleAir sensors. We used the statistical methods within R to identify important building and occupant factors that influence IAQ. Participants tracked their IAQ using color changing PA-I monitors and a spike event log noting the time of the event, the color change exhibited, most probable cause, and the action taken to remedy the air quality. Data were analyzed using the tidyverse, caTools, simDesign, and lubridate packages in R. After grouping events across houses by cause, we saw a significant association between cooking and high levels of PM2.5 compared to other short-lived spike causes. The findings of this study will serve to set best occupant practices for indoor air quality within a household both during a wildfire smoke event and under normal atmospheric conditions. While economic barriers may exist when protecting oneself against unhealthy air, it is crucial to be aware of low-cost alternatives to minimize the health threat posed by poor indoor air quality.

Lung-resident type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) are critical for initiating immune responses against foreign respiratory viruses and endogenous assaults like cancer cells. Importantly, the cDCs of each tissue display unique phenotypes and functions dictated by the environment they populate. However, our understanding of the factors that regulate cDC1 development and function in the lung is minimal. The cytokines, FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (FLT3L), and granulocyte-macrophage stimulating factor (GM-CSF) are essential for the development of tissue-resident cDC1, but in in vitro systems, these factors are insufficient to generate cDC1s with a lung-specific phenotype. RNAseq analysis of lung cDC1 identified a clear enrichment in genes associated with transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling, a factor also known to be enriched in the airspaces of the lung. TGF-β has been previously reported to maintain DC quiescence in the lung, however, our data suggested it may also play a role in differentiation and lung specification of these cells. Based on this, I hypothesized that adding TGF-β to in vitro bone marrow (BM) cultures alongside established cytokines FLT3L and GM-CSF would generate cDC1s phenotypically and functionally similar to in vivo lung cDC1s. The addition of TGF-β, but not GM-CSF, to optimized FLT3L-BMDC cultures resulted in development of cDC1 which highly resemble lung cDC1. The development of a high throughput in vitro system that differentiates functional lung cDC1s will not only inform the in vivo factors required for development of these cells but also provides a useful platform for interrogation of lung cDC1 function and a stepping-off point to begin models for human lung cDC1 production and study.

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells present promising solutions in photovoltaic technology due to their lower cost and the abundance of materials compared to earlier solar technologies. As energy costs rise, OPV’s are increasingly of interest as a source of energy. The development of new curricula using a socio-scientific issues (SSI) framework can encourage students to consider careers in organic chemistry to fill these critical needs in global energy. The SSI framework also allows students in the developing stages of their STEM pathway to engage more deeply in traditionally ‘weed-out’ coursework and develop skills which will allow them to persist through STEM. We have designed a laboratory experiment using a SSI framework to allow undergraduate organic chemistry students to explore OPV’s current energy. Students synthesize poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), the active layer of an OPV cell and a promising polymer in OPV technology due to its stability and scalability. Undergraduates also build and strengthen skills of fundamental processes of organic chemistry using Grignard monomer formation and gain insight into the benefits and current challenges of organic solar cells, increasing their scientific literacy. Synthesis is conducted without the use of an inert atmosphere, lowering the barrier to implementation in under-resourced learning environments. This laboratory protocol exposes students early in their STEM careers to SSI-based learning in OPV technology and allows them to see connections in coursework to broader global issues.

Binary gender stereotypes infiltrate every space in which people interact in this society; they are instilled in all social behaviors and relationships. The form and intensity of the stereotyping in a particular academic field may influence whether a student enters that field; is affected permanently by the learning environment of that field; and/or, ultimately, is successful in the field . This study looks at the effect the gender binary and sexist stereotypes have on communities of dance education. Historically, dance has been a female-dominated space, yet this is not reflected in equity of opportunity and success across genders in the field. This research identifies societal and cultural behaviors that impact dance communities. To collect information regarding dance culture in academia, surveys were sent to students in collegiate Western Theatrical Dance classes aimed to collect information regarding dance culture in academia. Participants responded to questions about experiences in past dance education settings in comparison to the collegiate community in which they are currently engaged in order to understand what predetermined behaviors and understandings influence their current practices. An extensive literature review of gender effects on individuals in STEM and dance contextualizes the survey responses and shapes the findings of this study. There is a vast gap in the way females and males are taught to behave in order to be respected and successful. The findings of this study suggest communities need to explore ways to decentralize instilled social behaviors in order to provide equal opportunities for growth and success in dance across genders and other identities.

The choice to terminate a pregnancy is rarely an easy one. It is critical that the experience of pregnancy termination is made as comfortable and convenient as possible as women grapple with the mental and physical challenges that arise from their choice to abort. The current standard protocol for at-home medical termination of pregnancy involves the patient-mediated oral misoprostol delivery 24-48 hours after mifepristone. This timed delivery ensures that misoprostol can trigger contractions after the cervix is dilated by mifepristone. This presents a challenge for patients, who have to manage the side effects of mifepristone while also timing the delayed dosage window for misoprostol. Combining these two medications into the single dose modality that instantly releases mifepristone and ensures the delayed release of misoprostol will improve the at-home medical abortion process for patients globally. The nanoparticle encapsulation of misoprostol for oral delivery offers the prospect of delayed release and release modulation through the alteration of variables such as molecular weight and co-polymer polymerization and other formulation parameters. Herein, we aim to use established protocols for nanoparticle encapsulation to fabricate and characterize misoprostol nanoparticles. By varying molecular weight and copolymerization parameters, we aim to tailor misoprostol release and evaluate the efficacy of different encapsulation approaches. We intend to investigate the particle size, entrapment efficiency, shelf-stability, and in vitro release of misoprostol nanoparticles in PBS and simulated gastrointestinal fluid. In doing so, we aim to provide a proof-of-concept of formulating misoprostol into nanoparticles to demonstrate encapsulation and sustained release. This understanding can contribute to the development of a single-dosage modality to meaningfully improve the comfort and ease of at-home medical abortions.

Coastal fog levels along the Pacific Coast have been declining over the past century, likely due to climate change. Fog plays an important role in coastal ecosystems and supports many species native to the Pacific Coast. Plants native to the California coastline have been shown to benefit from the higher humidity and lower temperature conditions associated with fog. Little research has been done of the implications of fog decline on native vegetation in Washington State. This study measures the effect of varying fog levels on photosynthesis rates in Washington State native plants. Plants were divided into a fog and control group in two isolated chambers. The fog chamber was exposed to humidity typical of Washington coastal conditions. Photosynthesis rates were measured by gas exchange (carbon dioxide uptake) and chrorophyll a fluorescence using the Li-Cor LI-6800 Portable Photosynthesis System. The results suggest decreasing fog could cause a decline in the productivity of coastal vegetation, which in turn affects other members of the ecosystem. A better understanding of the impacts of coastal fog decline can inform habitat restoration to include techniques such as fog collection to help mitigate the impacts.

Aperiodic tilings are of interest due to their connection to quasicrystals, which have myriad applications in material science. Instead of a periodic crystalline structure, quasicrystals are structured in ways that can be modeled by aperiodic tilings of Euclidean space. An aperiodic tileset is a tileset which tiles the plane but will never tile the plane periodically. One of the most famous aperiodic tilesets is the Penrose tiles, which have a rich substitutive structure. Building on previous research on applying symbolic dynamical systems theory to the Penrose tilings, we propose a substitution rule for the Penrose Wang shift and show that the shift is closed under such a substitution. We also compare the new substitution rule to that of the vanilla Penrose tiles. Symbolic dynamical systems theory is a way of discretizing the state space of dynamical systems to aid in studying their trajectories. Studying tilings using symbolic dynamics is a relatively new pursuit, and our result which proves the aperiodicity of the Penrose Wang shift via a self-similar shift map on an equivalent tiling provides a solid example in an emerging field of research.

Antimicrobial resistance in the environment is a topic of increasing concern in public health. There is evidence in recent literature that wild migratory birds in an urban context can act as a vector and reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and can spread antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) to soils in urban parks. In this project, we hypothesized that migratory waterfowl inhabiting urban parks in Seattle, Washington may be a vector of ARGs to soil in public parks with waterfront habitat. To test this hypothesis, we collected samples of feces from Canada geese at Greenlake and Meadowbrook parks in Seattle and collected topsoil samples from the immediate goose habitat. We are focusing on E. coli as an indicator organism. As a comparison, topsoil was also collected from several playfields in Seattle that do not have waterfront habitat. After diluting samples with sterile water, E. coli in these samples was identified using selective media. Once identified, isolated E. coli colonies were tested for resistance to several common antibiotics using Kirby-Bauer diffusion testing. We expect to see antimicrobial resistance in the Canada goose feces, higher rates of antimicrobial resistance in the goose habitat topsoil as compared to topsoil from playfields, and similar profiles of antimicrobial resistance in the waterfront topsoil and goose feces. As many communities without access to private yards depend on public parks for recreation, this work may have important implications for health equity in the urban environment.

On the surface, career warrior Larry Alan Thorne seems a likely candidate to be an anti-hero. He fought in three unpopular wars, voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS twice, and was convicted of treason in his homeland, Finland. A carjacker and three-time prison escapee, Thorne, né Lauri Allan Törni, has become a celebrated folk hero and declared a legend by many. He was awarded Finland’s highest military honor, an Act of Congress was passed to grant him American citizenship, John Wayne portrayed a fictionalized version of him in the iconic 1968 film The Green Berets, and he is the only known Waffen-SS soldier buried in Arlington National Cemetery. My research explores the question, “How is public memory of Larry Thorne a case study of historical revision and rehabilitation?” My presentation analyzes numerous primary and secondary sources, including depictions of Thorne in movies, music and social media, as well as personal correspondence with experts including Michael Cleverley, author of the leading English language biography of Thorne, and Professor Oula Silvennoinen of the University of Helsinki, who co-wrote a Thorne biography in Finnish. This research project reveals the significance and nature of a decades-long historical revisionist campaign with regard to a figure with a dubious past, and how those efforts to shape the public story of Thorne involve, at times, potentially misleading narratives. The current personality cult of Larry Thorne is a case study of historical revision in public memory, and his story is still being written and rewritten.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive skin cancer with a mortality rate of ~30%. In ~80% of cases, MCC development is attributed to the integration of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) DNA into the host’s genome, leading to the expression of viral oncoproteins and tumorigenesis. Developing treatments that sustain immunity against MCC is imperative to address recurrent and/or progressive disease. In many cancers, tumor-infiltrating B cells have been associated with better prognosis and response to immunotherapies. However, the mechanisms by which B cells contribute to tumor immunity in humans have been difficult to resolve in part due to the inter-patient heterogeneity of tumor-specific antigens. The shared nature of MCPyV tumor antigens in MCC allows for MCC-specific B cell responses to be studied across patients. Using DNA-barcoded and fluorescently labeled viral oncoprotein tetramers, we analyzed the transcriptome, proteome, and receptor repertoire of MCC tumor-infiltrating B cells in 12 patient samples at single-cell resolution. From paired heavy and light chain sequences, we cloned 8 antibodies from B cells specific for the MCPyV oncoproteins to confirm binding to MCC-specific antigens. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of MCPyV-specific B cells revealed heterogeneity of intra-tumoral B cell responses. Interestingly, we found that the absence of MCC-specific germinal center (GC) B cells in MCC tumors associates with disease progression: ~80% of patients with no detectable GC B cells had MCC progression within a year post-surgery, whereas patients with detectable GC B cells remained progression-free a year after surgery (n=12, p=0.0043). These results suggest strong synergy between B cells and T cells may regulate tumor growth, as B cells rely on signals presented by T cells to differentiate into GC cells. Our long-term objective is to identify B cell phenotypes associated with anti-MCC responses to develop therapeutics that boost cancer-specific immunity.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of crystalline, porous extended solids that are formed through coordination between metal cations and bridging organic ligands. These materials have been a topic of acute interest in the scientific community due to their intrinsic porosity, high surface area, and precise tunability. However, MOFs are typically insulating, which limits the scope of their applications. The recent development of electrically conductive MOFs has opened the door to exciting multifunctional applications in electrocatalysis, advanced electrochemical energy storage, chemical sensing, and much more. However, a molecular-level understanding of charge transport in MOFs remains lacking. My research aims to address this knowledge gap through the investigation of one-dimensional (1D) metal–organic chains. In this presentation, I will introduce the synthesis of a series of highly-tunable 1D metal–organic chains that exhibit delocalized π systems and high electrical conductivity along with studies of how structural parameters such as metal/ligand identity and chain geometry influence their overall electrical and magnetic properties. My preliminary results demonstrate trends in these structure-property relationships that may inform how these materials can be rationally designed with specific magnetic and conductive properties. Ultimately, this work will contribute towards a molecular-level understanding of charge transport and magnetism in metal–organic frameworks, enabling the design of new conductive porous materials that can use electricity to drive chemical processes.

In response to acute genotoxic insult, cancer stem cells undergo quiescence, a state of temporary cell cycle arrest, to avoid apoptosis (programmed cell death) and later re-enter the cycle to generate daughter cells under suitable conditions. This event is also observed in the irradiated germline stem cells (GSCs) of female Drosophila melanogaster. Previous studies have shown that quiescence is regulated by various upstream components, including gene silencing by polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and activation of mitophagy, the selective degradation of damaged mitochondria. Activation of PRC2 is shown to be upstream of mitophagy in regulating quiescence. However, the PRC2 target genes that get silenced in this process remain largely unknown. In humans, a downstream target of PRC2 is microRNA-200 (miR-200), which can enhance mitochondrial elongation by downregulating mitochondrial fission factor (MFF). Here, we hypothesize that the miR-8 gene, the Drosophila ortholog of the human miR-200 family, is a downstream target of PRC2 and is required for stress-induced quiescence to take place. To investigate the role of miR-8 in governing quiescence following stress, we overexpress miR-8 in female Drosophila GSCs under UAS-GAL4 control and study the spectrosome and mitochondrial morphology of the immunostained GSCs. We predict that miR-8 overexpression will prevent mitophagy and entry into quiescence after irradiation. We anticipate that our findings will characterize the role of miR-8 and strengthen our understanding of mechanisms that govern the cell cycle and quiescence. This study is critical as our proposed mechanism of quiescence can be applied to other stem cell types, and may present new therapeutic strategies for cell cycle-related diseases.

Many standard oxidants and reductants are non-reusable and toxic, so it is important to pursue cleaner alternatives. In this project, we have synthesized and characterized two metal-bipyridyl supramolecular cages and have studied their application as catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of organic substrates. Supramolecular cages are formed from the self-assembly of organic ligands and metal ions in solution, and they contain internal cavities with unique electronic microenvironments, similar to the interior of enzymes. While these polyhedral structures have been investigated as catalysts for traditional synthetic pathways, their role in electrosynthesis remains underexplored. Electrosynthesis involves the transfer of electrons to and from substrates using an applied potential, rather than chemical redox agents. This method is often hindered by a high kinetic barrier at the electrode-substrate interface, but catalysts can lower this barrier. We hypothesize that redox-active supramolecular cages – cages that can readily interconvert between charge states – can serve as effective electrocatalysts by encapsulating and transferring charge to substrates. To understand the effect of ligand geometry on electrocatalysis, I have synthesized two redox-active ligands with bipyridyl chelating groups. One contains a highly conjugated perylene core, while the other contains a compact core formed from pyromellitic dianhydride. We have metalated these ligands with iron ions to form two tetrahedral supramolecular cages. We then utilized cyclic voltammetry to assess cage-facilitated charge transfer to vicinal dihalide substrates. We observed that the reduction of multiple substrates, including 1,2-dibromo-1,2-diphenylethane, occurred at milder voltages in the presence of the cages, indicating a reduced kinetic barrier. For these substrates, we then performed bulk electrolysis, from which we determined that the percent conversion to the desired product was significantly higher when a cage was present, supporting our hypothesis. Ultimately, we aim to use these cages to enable electrosynthesis of organic feedstocks at lower voltages and with fewer byproducts.

Previous work takes inspiration from 2D metal–organic frameworks to synthesize 0D metal–organic macrocycles which maintain the conductivity of the original material while introducing solution processability. These macrocycles self-assemble into nanotubes through π-π stacking of the aromatic core but, the nanotubes do not have a preferred orientation when imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). We hypothesize that by adjusting solvent, drying conditions, and organic ligand functionality we can create a preferred orientation of the macrocycle nanotubes on common substrates which will improve charge carrier mobilities through the aromatic core. This work demonstrates the formation of large domains of nanotube alignment which can lead to greater charge carrier mobility. With unique ambipolar charge carrier transport, metal–organic macrocycles have applications in energy storage, chemical sensing, and electrocatalysis.

Inequities still exist despite efforts to address racism and reduce racial disparities in mental health care. One reason for this may be clinician’s limited knowledge and guidelines on addressing and exploring the consequences of racism in clients' lives. The current study is a mixed-method study using secondary data from the Applying Theatre-Based Training Methods to Address Racism in Community-Based Mental Health Services, which surveyed 119 community mental health clinicians across Washington State in 2021. The first aim of this analysis was to examine qualitative data on clinician's perceived barriers and facilitators in broaching racial issues with clients. The second aim was to explore how these barriers and facilitators are correlated with quantitative measures of multicultural counseling knowledge and awareness. Three significant barriers emerged: 1) Clinicians not engaging in racial topics unless clients initiated; 2) Clinicians avoiding discussions of race and racism because of feeling uncomfortable or unconfident; 3) Clinician's assumptions that their racial identities would be a barrier to discussions. Three significant facilitators included: 1) Client's initiation, emotional openness, and availability to have racial conversations; 2) Relevant social events that provided an avenue to prompt discussion; 3) Clinician's willingness and intentions to address racism through asking or actively listening. There was no statistically significant correlation between either the count of perceived barriers or facilitator themes and clinician's multicultural counseling knowledge and awareness. The present research can supplement and support efforts to train clinicians in broaching racial discussions and inform clinical practice with clients from diverse backgrounds.

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, contributing to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Patient-specific computational models of the left atrium are currently studied to predict characteristics of reentrant activity that promotes fibrillation. However, current models’ patient-specificity is limited to anatomical structure and the distribution of disease-related remodeling (fibrosis), whereas electrical properties of cells and tissue are based on literature values. In cases where patients are clinically known to present with either AFib or atrial flutter (AFl), this lack of personalization can lead to inaccuracies in simulation outcomes (e.g., AFib-like behavior in simulations for a patient who actually had AFl, or vice-versa). My goal was to derive parameter sets that favor the initiation of one type of arrhythmia or the other (AFib or AFl). Ten fibrotic left atria were reconstructed from late-gadolinium enhanced (LGE)-MRI scans and the bioelectric parameter space (comprising ion channel expression levels and impulse propagation rates) was explored using a Taguchi L27 Design of Experiments (DoE) approach. Arrhythmias were induced by initializing four atrial regions to different phases of the action potential under each parameter permutation. I ran 300 simulations and manually classified each arrhythmia episode as either AFib- or AFl-like based on prior definitions. I pinpointed a pro-AFl parameter set – bioelectrical conditions under which 89% of all induced arrhythmias were AFl and only 11% were AFib. The pro-AFib parameter set in these preliminary simulations was comparatively less robust (61% vs. 39% for AFib vs. AFl inductions, respectively). My future work on this project will establish stronger relationships between model configurations and simulation outcomes by probing a wider array of possible parameters in a larger population of patient-specific models. Data from the present study will guide future simulations to accurately tailor models to represent the arrhythmic state in patients predisposed to AFl.

Microchimerism (Mc) occurs when a small amount of genetically different cells (or DNA) is acquired from another individual. Mc is acquired naturally during pregnancy due to exchange between the mother and child and can be detected decades later. Maternal microchimerism (MMc) is when a person harbors Mc from their mother. MMc is frequently detected in healthy adults but is increased in individuals with some autoimmune diseases, including scleroderma. Few studies have investigated MMc, especially whether it changes in a woman after her own pregnancies. One study tested MMc in peripheral blood of women during the time they were pregnant and occasionally detected MMc, but not if the woman had preeclampsia. No study has addressed whether MMc prevalence and quantities change in healthy women according to the time since the woman’s own childbirths or number of childbirths. This study addresses this knowledge gap. MMc was assayed using a panel of polymorphism-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays on DNA from peripheral blood. Most assays employed human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-specific primers and fluorogenic probes targeting non-inherited, non-shared HLA sequences. Each woman and her mother were HLA typed to identify an appropriate target. In total, 142 women were tested, and 266 qPCR experiments were run. Preliminary analysis found evidence of MMc in 59 of the 266 samples and a trend of MMc prevalence being highest within the first year postpartum and ten years after childbirth. Prevalence and quantities of MMc are being analyzed in collaboration with a biostatistician. Pregnancy and childbirth are known to affect some autoimmune diseases and cancer risk. Addressing the knowledge gap about MMc according to the time since birth and the number of births in women could provide further insights about some autoimmune diseases and cancers.

Despite the abundance of research surrounding the influence of organized religion on emotional well-being and the sense of community, women in Spanish-speaking Christian churches have been overlooked. In most churches, women are treated differently than men and are less likely to hold leadership positions, yet, previous research findings imply high religiosity is positively associated with well-being among women. However, Spanish-speaking religious communities have notably different cultures than the largely white church communities that previous studies focused on. My aim with this research is to understand how gender impacts the relationship between religion, emotional well-being, and sense of community outside the previously studied, predominantly white populations. The cultural differences between white and Spanish-speaking religious communities are numerous, these differences may lead to different outcomes. This study investigated whether the results of the previous studies would be the same within Spanish-speaking churches. This study used qualitative semi-structured interviews with women (lasting 15-45 minutes), in private settings within their churches. These interviews were transcribed and patterns that emerged among the women were coded. I selected churches using non-probability sampling and snowball sampling to recruit women within the identified churches. My hypothesis suggests that women within Spanish-speaking Christian churches experience a better state of well-being and a strong sense of community despite being treated differently than men. Understanding how religious institutions can have positive effects on marginalized identities allows for those institutions to be used as safe spaces where one might do outreach, engagement, and design interventions in ways that might be more effective than through other social institutions such as schools or hospitals.

Evaluating the risk of developing breast cancer is an important aspect of cancer care as it can allow for more tailored screening strategies and preventative therapies. Clinicians use multiple measures to determine a patient’s risk of developing breast cancer, including breast density on mammography and genetic mutations. Background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown promise to improve stratification of breast cancer risk in women at high-risk of cancer development. BPE is the increase in signal intensity of normal breast tissue on dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI after the administration of contrast agent. Despite BPE having an association with an increased risk of breast cancer development, the biological basis of this increased enhancement is unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate what biologically drives BPE by connecting quantitative MRI measurements with pathological markers from normal breast tissue. Our study cohort includes women that received prophylactic mastectomies and DCE-MRI scans acquired ≤1 year before surgery. From mastectomy specimens, pathological measures of COX-2, VEGF, and Ki-67 are used to measure inflammation, vascular recruitment, and proliferation, respectively. To quantify BPE, I used in-house software to correct pre-contrast images using N4 bias field correction and segment the whole breast. I then applied the breast mask to the pre-contrast MRI and used fuzzy c-means clustering to automatically segment fibroglandular tissue (FGT) from surrounding fat, generating an FGT mask. This mask was then applied to the DCE-MRI series, which includes pre- and post-contrast images, to calculate BPE, which is the mean percent enhancement across FGT. As part of ongoing work, I will obtain more specific measurements in quadrants of the breast from which the pathology specimen was derived. I will then correlate BPE measurements to the pathology measures to determine if any associations exist between BPE and inflammation, vascular recruitment, and proliferation.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) shows great potential for improving breast cancer detection and diagnosis. Primary findings from the ECOG-ACRIN A6702 multi-site, multi-vendor clinical trial indicate that DWI apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values may help reduce false positives and unnecessary biopsies. Gradient nonlinearity (GNL) correction was previously found to improve the accuracy of ADC mapping within and across MRI vendor systems. In this study, we evaluated the impact of GNL correction on breast lesion ADC measures in the A6702 dataset. The dataset comprised 81 suspicious breast lesions (28/81 malignant) in 67 women. Standardized DWI scans were acquired across 9 different MRI scanners. ADC maps were created from DWI scans, and ADC values were measured for each lesion. Direction-averaged GNL correction maps were constructed based on scanner-specific gradient specifications. ADC map correction was then performed through pixel-wise scaling by the GNL correction maps using custom software developed in MATLAB. Lesion ADCs before and after GNL correction were compared using a two-tailed z-test. ADC diagnostic performance (benign vs. malignant) was evaluated using area under the receiver-operating-characteristic-curve (AUC), and optimal ADC cutoffs were chosen to maximize specificity while maintaining 100% sensitivity. GNL-corrected lesion ADCs were significantly lower than uncorrected ADCs (1.12±0.29 vs 1.17±0.30x10-3mm2/s, p<0.001). GNL error in lesion ADCs varied across gradient systems (mean ∆ADCvendorA=0.14±0.08, ∆ADCvendorB=0.03±0.02, ∆ADCvendorC =0.004±0.01, p<0.001). GNL correction produced a slightly lower optimal ADC cutoff (1.33 vs. 1.35x10-3mm2/sec). However, no overall difference in diagnostic performance was detected: AUCuncorrected=0.78 (95% CI 0.68-0.88), AUCcorrected=0.79 (95% CI:0.69-0.89), p=0.22, and 18% potential biopsy reduction for both. This study showed GNL substantially affects lesion ADC measures, with significant variability across different vendor platforms. These findings suggest that GNL correction should be implemented to ensure uniformity and consistency in diagnostic breast lesion ADC measures across MRI platforms, especially for multi-center clinical studies.

Many curricula today fail to connect STEM with the issues students and their communities face. This shortcoming can lead to increased dropout rates and equity gaps especially in early STEM courses. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd uprising, fostering students’ ability to tie STEM into the issues of social justice have never been more important. In this study, we investigate whether a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) centered around the public health implications of indoor CO₂ can give students a greater understanding of the relevance of STEM to social issues and help them see STEM as a tool to solve problems in their communities. Students were administered a brief pre-survey before beginning the CURE. They were then introduced to the low-cost CO₂ sensors and the public health implications of high indoor CO₂. Students formed groups, formulated their research questions, and collected data. Students then analyzed their data and presented their research to their peers. A post-survey was administered following the CURE. We are currently analyzing the results of the surveys and post-curriculum interviews. The preliminary results suggest that connecting CUREs to relevant social issues in early STEM courses is a powerful tool that not only teaches students to interpret the world around them but also to change it.

An individual’s capacity to remain healthy in times of stress is exceedingly difficult, and there is sufficient support that stress contributes to poorer eating habits such as consumption of high-sugar and high-calorie foods. The impact of stress, and anxiety in particular, can be mitigated by engaging in healthy adaptive cognitive processes such as metacognition. A limited amount of research has investigated the impact(s) of adaptive metacognition on participants’ food choices specifically. However, some previous studies show that guiding metacognitive processes may improve food choice. The goal of the present study is to determine if metacognition can moderate stress and help participants navigate everyday health choices. Participants were recruited at the University of Washington Tacoma to complete the study online. Food choice was measured by a pretest-posttest design providing the participants with a forced-choice computerized simulation of various drinks i.e., sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and water. Metacognitive guidance was given to participants in the form of knowledge-based information about SSB and reflection on metacognitive monitoring and control. Participant stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), eating habits with the Intuitive Eating Scale-2, and participants completed a demographic questionnaire. It is expected that metacognition guidance through knowledge, monitoring, and control may positively moderate the impact of stress on food choice. Specifically, students will opt for beverages with fewer sugar grams after the metacognitive guidance, and perceived stress will be correlated with the change in food choice before and after the guidance. Metacognitive guidance may prove to be another tool in helping individuals reduce their sugar intake and thus decrease likelihood of developing sugar-related health conditions such as diabetes and overnutrition.

Stress associated with financial instability can manifest as poor decision-making or self-indulgence when making choices that impact health. However, practicing self-compassion can buffer against the influences of stress. Whether self-compassion can reverse previously made unhealthy food choices is unexplored; thus, we are investigating the buffering effects of self-compassion on food choices during times of financial stress to determine if participants will improve their food choices. Additionally, are investigating the underlying role that self-compassion has on compensatory health behaviors. We hypothesize that after we have induced financial stress, participants will have greater preferences for foods with greater health risks (e.i. heavily processed) but after an intervention of a self-compassion exercise, participants will alter their food choices to reflect healthier eating habits, specifically, foods with lesser health risks. Finally, we hypothesize that after the self-compassion exercise, those with higher compensatory health behaviors will prefer foods with greater health risks. Participants will be recruited from an undergraduate psychology pool at the University of Washington Tacoma campus to complete the study online. First, stress will be induced through a writing prompt, recalling a recent state of financial stress. Participants will then be asked to complete a food choice task by using vouchers to choose foods from a list of 20 items. After completing a self-compassion exercise, participants will be then asked if they would like to revise or maintain their decisions from the previous food choice exercise. Finally, participants will complete the compensatory health belief scale and a demographics questionnaire.The hypothesis will be tested using a paired samples t-test and correlation, which indicates a desired sample of 34 (based on a power analysis using p = 0.05, and a power of 0.80). Data collection has begun and sample size will be achieved by March 2023.