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Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

The Arts and Research Showcase is an annual event that spotlights the research and creative activities of undergraduate students from all disciplines. Traditionally, students participate in-person but, in the face of the pandemic, this year we have moved the Showcase online. We partnered with ThinkIR, our institutional repository for scholarly works, to present student posters virtually. This will enhance the visibility of scholarly work and continue the tradition of showcasing the achievements of our undergraduate students.

Curation Techniques of Small-sized Natural History Specimens: A Collection of Microfossils.

Zachary V Biven-Leslie and Guillermo W. Rougier

Small-sized fossil specimens are challenging regarding safety, storage and traceability of information. A recent collection of several hundred minute early mammalian teeth and jaws (most about 1mm) made impossible the standard practices of specimen numbering. A reliable association of the specimen and the collection number is the minimum required, however, a number of other data easily recoverable from the specimen/curating material is desirable. Geological provenance, locality, systematic and anatomical ID, collector, year, etc. is often included if possible. Use of the specimen is expected to be on the order of hundreds of years, manipulated by investigators, transported, and stored in collection museums together with millions of other specimens; mountings and labels must be resilient, reversible and stable. In our lab, we have developed new techniques to curate microfossils; the larger specimens (2-5 mm) are mounted with dental wax in the lid of inverted clear display boxes and the information duplicated in the lid carrying the specimen and the rest of the box cover. Hand written, printed labels and QR codes can be attached. Most specimens are much smaller, being preserved in ¼ dram vials (9x30mm), mounted on a cork via a shaped pin head/dental wax, and the vial acting as a cover. Printed labels include collection number and the systematic and geological precedence but not QR codes. Color-coding can be used to efficiently differentiate multiple localities in the compact collection. Wax allows easy demounting if needed and transparent boxes and vials facilitate handling and study without opening the containers.

HPV Vaccine Discussions Between Medical Students and Standardized Patients

Eric S. Brian, Emily Noonan, and Laura A. Weingartner

The vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) protectsindividuals from cancer by preventing HPV infection. This vaccination is recommended for people who are assigned male or female at birth. However, since these groups are often associated with different risks of HPV infection, there may be gaps in how effectively the vaccination is recommended to patients. We gathered data by viewing recordings of medical students taking histories from standardized patients. We recorded if and which vaccinations were discussed as the patients established primary care. We focused on discussions surrounding HPV vaccines and used discussions around influenza vaccines as a comparison. We recorded if and how each vaccine was recommended, suggested, or discouraged. We reviewed 83 patient encounters. Only61% of students explicitly discussed vaccinations.Within these discussions, students were more likely to recommend or suggest vaccinations against influenza (63%) than HPV (29%). Students discussed the HPV vaccine more frequently with patients who were assigned female (within 56% versus 21% of vaccine discussions) but were slightly more likely to recommend amongthe assigned male patients(80% vs 73%). Many students used ambivalent or suggestive language rather than clear recommendations that communicatedt he importance of vaccination. Targeting HPV vaccine discussions toward patientswho are assigned female at birth leaves a large portion of society at risk for infection and transmission of HPV. Misinformation around vaccinations has caused many people to distrust vaccines, so it is critical for physicians to develop communication skills to effectively discuss and explain vaccines to patients.

GENUS applications for Alzheimer's Disease Pathology

Whitney L Carter

Estimates vary, but it is thought that 5.5 million Americans age 60 and up may be living with Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). AD is the most common type of dementia and is characterized by a decline in episodic memories, long-term memory, language, attention, and personality changes. The first symptoms can vary, but for most people memory is the first capacity to become impaired. However, symptoms can also be a decline in non-memory aspects of cognition like work-finding, vision/spatial issues, and impaired reasoning or judgement. AD is identified mainly by two histopathological features: extracellular plague of amyloid-beta protein and intracellular neuronal tangles formed by abnormally phosphorylated tau protein. The damage begins to take place in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, which are both parts of the brain essential for memory processing.

As neurons die, brain tissue is affected and begins to shrink. Patient with AD show changes in brain waves which are composed of electrical impulses from masses of neurons that communicate with each other. There are also findings of microglia gathering around the amyloid-beta plaque deposits in patients with AD as well. Microglia are thought to have many roles in the brain but cleaning up debris is the most important. These findings have led researchers into exploring more options by altering brain waves and triggering cellular responses in the brain. Recent research using AD mouse models suggest that non-invasive brain stimulation could offer potential future interventions for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.

RFP Program Perseveres: Continuing Efforts for Resilient Families & Communities Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cadence Gazo, Heba Aljumaily, and Lora Haynes

Since 2011, UofL’s Resilient Families Project (RFP) has offered programs at Wayside Christian Mission’s Hotel Louisville to promote evidence-based habits of resilience, mindfulness and happiness in families experiencing homelessness and women in drug and alcohol recovery. RFP’s mission involves growing healthy attachment relations across the lifespan and a sense of community/belonging and purpose. Family/interactive reading and carefully chosen children’s storybooks are the platform for programs that take place Thursdays nearly year-round and typically serve approximately 100 community members. Despite RFP programs having been put on hold through the COVID-19 pandemic, as RFP interns we worked to assess/evaluate programs and develop/refine activities and plans for our return. These efforts included: (1) various training and professional development activities (e.g., trauma-informed care, self-compassion/self-care, diversity/equity/inclusion), (2) attending meetings with the Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services, (3) conducting evaluations and content analysis of children’s storybooks, and (4) program planning/development templates for a full calendar year. Work moving forward includes continuing to evaluate the program and training materials, proposing new content, creating new media outlets, recruiting volunteers, and conducting training for incoming volunteers.

Efficacy of a Social Determinants of Health Training Intervention

Stacy A. Henley, Emily J. Noonan, and Laura A. Weingartner

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are circumstances, such as living and work conditions, that affect patient health outcomes and contribute to health inequalities. Understanding patients’ SDOH can help physicians recognize barriers to care. Therefore, it is important that medical students learn to gather information on SDOH from patients.

Standardized patient (SP) encounters with rising third-year students were analyzed to determine if an educational intervention about SDOH increased the frequency SDOH were discussed with patients. SP encounters were randomly sampled from 2017 (pre-intervention, n 1 = 37) and 2018 (post-intervention, n 2 = 40) video recordings of students eliciting a new patient history in a primary care setting. Discussions regarding SDOH categories were coded by question type (yes/no versus open-ended) and the language used by the student.

The post-intervention cohort more frequently discussed all SDOH topics during their encounters except discrimination (0% for both years). However, housing, mental health, and employment were the only SDOH categories discussed more than 50% of the time for either cohort. On average, students in the post-intervention cohort asked more open-ended questions rather than yes/no questions when discussing SDOH. Open-ended questions allowed patients to give more details and sparked further conversation than yes/no questions.

The SDOH training intervention increased the frequency that most SDOH were discussed in patient encounters, but these data suggest there are still opportunities for more students to routinely elicit this information from patients. SDOH and open-ended questioning skills can be emphasized in medical education to help address health inequalities.

The Inhibition of Growth of S. cerevisiae, U. maydis, and M. lychinidis-dioicae by Apiaecea Plant Extracts

Jackson M Hoffman, Jared Scott, and David Schultz PhD

The Apiaceae family of plants contains over 3,500 species, many of which are used as food crops: vegetables (carrot, parsnip, celery, etc.), herbs (cilantro, fennel, dill, etc.), and spices (cumin, anise, caraway, etc.). Many spices have been shown to exhibit antimicrobial properties against both bacteria and fungi. We set out to determine if the Apiaceae spice extracts currently used in our lab for anticancer studies exhibit any antimicrobial properties. Ethanolic extracts were made from several Apiaceae seeds: Apium graveolens (celery), Cuminum cyminum (cumin), Anethum graveolens (dill), Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), Coriandrum satvium (coriander), Pimpinella ansium (anise), Trachyspermum ammi (ajwain), Carum carvi (caraway).The antimicrobial effects of the extracts were assayed with the Kirby-Bauer (KB) Assay against several microbial species; four bacterial species ( E. coli, S. aureus, S. pyogenes, S. enterica ) and three fungal species ( U. maydis, S. cerevisiae, and M. lyocens-diociae ). KB assays for bacteria were performed on LB plates with ampicillin positive controls and ethanol solvent controls, while fungal KB assays were performed on YPD plates with zeocin positive controls and ethanol solvent controls. KB diffusion disks were placed on inoculated plates and impregnated with the extracts and controls. The zones of inhibition for each extract and control were measured and compared. The antibacterial KB assays revealed minimal effects when compared to the ethanol control in all bacterial species tested. The antifungal KB assays indicated that some of the spice extracts exhibit antifungal properties. The celery and ajwain extracts had broad antifungal effects against all three fungal species, while the anise and cumin were only able to inhibit U. maydis, showing minimal effects against the other two fungal species.

Child and Parent Psychopathology Predict COVID-19 Impact

Nada Kaissieh and Sara Bufferd Ph.D

Children appear to be a psychologically vulnerable population in global health crises; however, little is known about the role of pre-existing child and parental psychopathology in predicting impact on children and families during global stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health difficulties may worsen the impact of various stressors presented by a pandemic. In the present study, we hypothesized that greater parent-reported children’s internalizing behaviors during preschool age will predict worse impact during the COVID-19 pandemic during early school age, and that parental psychopathology will influence this association. Participants included 151 parents who completed assessments during Time 1 (when children were ages 3-5) and Time 2 (when children were ages 6-8/during COVID). We found significant associations between Time 1 child separation anxiety (r=.26,p

Examining neuroanatomical effects of prenatal valproic acid and postnatal testosterone in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder

Bishakha Kumari, Elizabeth Ann Gordon, and Cynthia Corbitt

Sex differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are well documented; males are diagnosed 4:1 over females. Testosterone (T) is one factor that differs by sex in humans and mice that could increase vulnerability to developing ASD in males. Valproic acid (VPA) is an anticonvulsant that has been found to increase the risk of autism in male offspring of pregnant women who take it to control seizures and is commonly used in mouse models of ASD. After prenatal VPA or vehicle on embryonic day 13, testosterone (T) or vehicle was administered to the mice on postnatal day 2 to investigate whether it increased the vulnerability of mice to have autism-like behavior or neuroanatomical differences. This design produced three factors (prenatal VPA, postnatal T, and sex), which in combination produced eight treatment groups and can also be analyzed categorically on a scale of 0 – 3 as “hits”, in which VPA, T, and maleness are each considered a hit. As a small part of a larger project, I measured the cell area and linear cell density of Purkinje cells found in lobe 9 of the cerebellum at postnatal day 31. The neuroanatomical results were analyzed statistically using One-Way ANOVAs for treatment group and number of hits, which indicated that there were no significant differences in linear density or average cell area by treatment group or by number of hits. The larger project found some differences in behavior due to VPA treatment and that varied by number of hits.

Soils Associated with the Invasive Grass: Microstegium vimineum Increases Growth of Native Trees

Bethany Lee, Kimberly Koenig, and Sarah Emery PhD

Soil biota are composed of the animals, plants and microorganisms that interact and share resources and nutrients in the soil. When an invasive species is introduced to this complex web of soil interactions, plants and other biota can exhibit chemical or physical change and potentially inhibit or enhance growth of plant species. By testing five native tree species in a black box experiment, we can see if there is a change in biomass in above ground (AG) or below ground (BG) structures of the tree between invaded soils - which previously hosted an invasive grass, Microstegium vimineum - and native soils that experienced no invasion. There were 6 soils to be tested - from three field sites that held both a native and invaded soil - along with a control soil, resulting in 7 total trial conditions. Invaded soils were found to have significantly more biomass in their aboveground growth through stems and leaves. All of the trials in invaded soils found a higher mean leaf mass than in the native soils trials. We can conclude that the invaded species is altering the biota in the soil. This change could be in nutrient uptake, physical distribution, or chemical interactions of the soil biota. While we don’t know the specific mechanisms behind this, we do know that native tree species will experience more aboveground biomass in soils that experienced invasion, than in soils that did not experience invasion.

Shame is the Shared Maintenance Factor in an Eating Diosrder-Anxiety Symptom Comorbidity Model in Female Adolescents

Betty Ngo, Leigh C. Brosof M.S., and Cheri Levinson

Anxiety and eating disorders are highly comorbid (Hudson et al., 2007). The presence of comorbid anxiety along with eating disorders is likely to increase severity of the disorder, chronicity, and treatment resistance (Blinder et al., 2006). A better understanding of how this comorbidity is maintained will aid with the development of precision interventions and improvements in treatment outcomes. The present study ( N = 70 adolescent females; ages 13-15) explores how maintenance factors for eating disorders (concern over mistakes [CM; the excessive worry of making errors], shame, and social appearance anxiety [SAA; the fear of being negatively judged based on one’s appearance]) relate to eating disorder and anxiety symptoms in a comorbidity model

The path model included SAA, CM, and shame around eating in association with anxiety and eating disorder symptoms. The model displayed excellent fit: CFI = 1.00; TLI: 1.00, RMSEA: 0.00. Shame was significantly associated with both anxiety ( b *= 0.26; p = .033) and eating disorder symptoms ( b *= 0.40; p = 0.012). Interestingly, CM was only significantly associated with anxiety ( b *= 0.34; p = 0.008) but not eating disorder ( p = 0.135) symptoms. Further, SAA was only significantly associated with eating disorder ( b *= 0.55; p p = 0.135) symptoms.

It was found that only shame served as a shared maintenance factor between eating disorder and anxiety symptoms in adolescent females. Interestingly, concern over mistakes was uniquely associated with anxiety, while social appearance anxiety was uniquely associated with eating disorder symptoms. Current research supports that those with eating disorders exhibit generalized shame, beyond just their eating behavior (Keith, Gillanders & Simpson, 2009). It is thus possible that shame maintains both eating disorder and anxiety symptoms by fueling avoidance behaviors in a variety of situations. Thus, targeting shame can potentially help alleviate this comorbidity and future research should explore how shame is maintained.

Root Endophyte Community Response to Increased Resource Availability

Hillary K Payne and Haley E. Sage

As climate changes, resource availability has the potential to influence plant-fungal symbiotic interactions. To understand how resource availability can influence these interactions, this research focuses specifically on how varying nitrogen levels affects root fungal endophyte communities found in American Beachgrass and Little Bluestem species of dune grasses. Fungal endophytes are intercellular symbionts living throughout the tissue of host plants and can be anywhere on the mutualistic to parasitic continuum. Previous research found in the literature focused on the effect nitrogen deposition has on plant species richness and determined that increased nitrogen led to a loss in species diversity. Using this previous data as a guide, it can be hypothesized that increased nitrogen will lead to decreased species diversity of the root fungal endophytes in both American Beachgrass and Little Bluestem species. Plants of both grass species were collected from plots containing different nitrogen levels at a long term resource addition field experiment located on the Great Lakes dunes. Roots from the plants were plated in media, and fungal communities emerged. Each morphospecies was isolated and sorted into 138 different morphotype characterizations. This preliminary data indicates a lot of species diversity in the root fungal endophytes and differentiation of species richness by abiotic treatment. By looking at the ways varying nitrogen levels can affect species diversity of fungi, this research can contribute to larger discussion of global change and its effect on species diversity.

The Study of PPAL and its Role in the Development of Physcomitrella patens

Susana Perez-Martinez, Christine Chen, and Mark P. Running

Protein Prenylation is the addition of lipids to select proteins that play a key role during the development of plants. There are three enzymes that play a role in protein prenylation: protein farnesyltransferase (PFT), protein geranylgeranyl-transferase-I (PGGT), and Rab geranylgeranyltransferase (Rab-GGT). However, there is a protein called PPAL that has a similar alpha subunit of PFT, PGGT, and RAB-GGT but its biochemical function is unknown. Physconmitrella patens , a type of moss, was chosen to explore the role of PpPPAL in the development process. There are two copies of PPAL found in moss. PPAL1 and PPAL2. To study the role of these genes, a partial knockdown line was created where one or both alpha and beta subunit genes was reduced. An artificial microRNA was created to target the PpPPAL1 and PpPPAL2 genes and was introduced into the moss via a plasmid. Once the microRNA was inserted into the moss, the moss was grown in DMSO/ beta-estradiol medium to start the suppression of gene expression. The results showed that the knockout of PpPPAL 1 and PpPPAL 2 inhibits the growth and propagation of physconmitrella patens . They also resulted in a few gametophore contents. The result indicates that PPAL plays an important role in the developmental process in P.patents . The role of PPAL in protein prenylation of physconmitrella patens give insights into how prenylation works in humans since defects in prenylation can lead to health problems

Hippocampal Learning and Number Processing in Young Children

Thomas R Pilger, Manal Zafar, and Nicholas Hindy

Children can enumerate the number of objects in a configuration in different ways: either through numerical processing or pattern recognition. An example of numerical processing is a child counting or subitizing a small number of disorganized blocks. This numerical cognition is related to neural processes in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Moreover, a child might be able to instantly know the value a configuration represents. For example, a child could instantly recognize a pattern seen on dice and know what value it represents. Recognizing previously seen patterns is related to neural processes in the hippocampus. Using fMRI and an at-home training program on an iPad, we examined how these neural mechanisms are affected in young children through repeated exposure to particular patterns. A multi-touch iPad game, Fingu, was used for at-home training; players see configurations of 1-10 fruits moving on the screen and have to indicate the number of fruits by pressing down the correct number of fingers. Before and after at-home training, participants completed tasks similar to those in Fingu in an fMRI scanner. Half of the fMRI tasks contained configurations that were repeatedly viewed during iPad training with Fingu, while the other half contained novel configurations that the child did not see in the game. The fMRI scans were used to observe functional connectivity between the IPS and visual cortex and between the hippocampus and visual cortex. My role in this project included training participants to play Fingu, assisting in mock scans, and assisting in the actual fMRI scans.

Protein Prenylation in the moss Physcomitrium patens

Zayna H. Qaissi, Anam F. Ahmed, Katherine V. Brown, and Mark P. Running

Protein prenylation is the addition of a 15 or 20 carbon lipid to a cysteine near carboxyl terminus of target proteins. Prenylation increases hydrophobicity, which facilitates membrane associations and protein-protein interaction. Protein prenylation is generally conserved among eukaryotes, and mutations in genes that carry out prenylation are lethal in animals and yeast. In plants prenylation mutations are not always lethal, but they do affect development, disease resistance, biofuel production, and drought response, among other processes of agricultural interest. To understand the evolutionary and developmental implications of plant protein prenylation, we used the sequenced, annotated, and translated genome of the moss Physcomitrium patens to search for proteins that meet minimal criteria for prenylation; specifically the presence of a sequence that includes cysteine and one of six specific amino acids at the C terminus. We then analyzed these proteins with an online prenylation prediction program to assess their likelihood of being prenylated based on additional sequence motifs. We then determined potential biological function of putative target proteins by using BLAST sequence similarity searches to identify related genes with known function. We plan to use these data to select prenylated proteins with functions of interest for in vivo studies using genetic and molecular tools to investigate their roles in plant development and environmental response.

http://www.jbc.org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.M115.673491

Language Medical Students Use to Comfort Patients Through Difficult Discussions

Zayna H. Qaissi, Emily J. Noonan, and Laura A. Weingartner

MERA Abstract

Language medical students use to comfort patients through difficult discussions.

Zayna Qaissi, BA Candidate; Emily J Noonan, PhD, MA; Laura A. Weingartner, PhD, MS

Comforting communication supports patient satisfaction. Examining how medical students approach potentially sensitive topics can help educators identify strategies that improve the quality of care. The purpose of this study was to examine verbal approaches that student-physicians use to put patients at ease.

Seventy-five medical students were observed in standardized patient encounters. We assessed how students provided comfort by transcribing interview recordings and observing how students addressed the patients’ mental health, sexual history, and a death in the family.

All videotaped interviews were rated with a checklist based on the number of important medical aspects for each

Students used different strategies to put patients at ease. Students introduced the sexual history through other topics such as social history (50%) or told the patient directly that the sexual history will be discussed (26%). Many emphasized the importance of the sexual history to the patient’s health and normalized the discussion. Other students (44%) delved into the sexual history abruptly without transitioning. Discussing past mental health issues, students showed empathy by acknowledging health improvement, discussing feelings and concerns, acknowledging stress, or apologizing (31%) to the patient. Empathetic responses to a death in the patient’s family also included apologies (30%) or easing commentary, but most responses were filler words, such as “okay” and “wow” (54%).

This study identified approaches and gaps in the ways students ease patients to promote a smooth flow of information between the patient and the student Focusing on empathetic behaviors is important for enhancing patient care.

"Life Isn't Fair": Children Know What's Fair, but Expect Groups to Behave Unfairly

Savannah M Quach, Kriss-Ann Gayle, Megan Norris, and Nicholaus Noles

Social mobility is partially based on access to economic and non-economic opportunities. Individuals from disadvantaged or minority groups often have difficulties with social mobility because they do not have equal access to opportunities. Early on, children develop the ability to form personal judgments about social groups and understand their own memberships within them (Patterson et al., 2016). Although children expect people to privilege their own group, they also value fairness (DeJesus, Rhodes, & Kinzler, 2013). Previous studies have focused on children’s understanding of resource distribution. In contrast, the current study examined what children think about opportunity distribution between majority and minority groups. Participants included 31 6- to 9-year-olds. When prompted to select new group members for an exclusive group, children were first asked who they expected the majority group to choose (between two majority members, a majority and a minority member, or two minority members). They were then asked who they thought were most fair for the majority group to choose. Children expected groups to distribute opportunities to majority members. However, they thought it was most fair for groups to provide opportunities to minority members. This understanding of opportunity distribution did not change between the two age groups (6-7s and 8-9s). These results suggested that children recognize what is equitable as well as the reality of opportunity distribution between majority and minority groups.

Comparing Medical Student Nonverbal Behavior With Cisgender And Transgender Standardized Patients

Meghan M. Schneider, Meghan M. Schneider, Emily J. Noonan, and Laura A. Weingartner

It is essential for medical students to effectively communicate with patients of all gender identities. Nonverbal behaviors such as eye contact and nodding are key communication skills. Evaluating nonverbal behavior is one way to assess the quality of patient care, and examining providers’ behaviors while working with cisgender and transgender patients can identify potential biases linked to patient identity.

To evaluate nonverbal behavior, we analyzed video-recorded training sessions with medical students interviewing standardized patients who identified as cisgender or transgender women. All students identified as cisgender men or cisgender women. Ten nonverbal behaviors were rated from 1-7 using adapted nonverbal communication scales. We also observed whether nonverbal cues were perceived to detract from the encounter.

Average scores for nonverbal behaviors were similar between students working with cisgender and transgender patients. Nodding frequency showed the largest difference between cisgender (m=5.65) and transgender (m=4.93) patients. When considering student gender identity, men had lower facial expressivity and smiling frequency scores on average but higher scores for unnecessary silence compared to women across encounters. Detracting behaviors that negatively impacted the patient encounters were most likely to be self-touching/unpurposive movements (41%) and unnecessary silences (26%).

The consistency in nonverbal behavior during encounters with cisgender and transgender patients is encouraging. It is possible that LGBTQ health training in medical education contributed to this outcome; however, differences in verbal communication could be more important to health disparities for transgender patients. Additional practice with unpurposive movements and unnecessary silences could improve nonverbal communication skills.

Identification of the Biological Function of Rab-GGT β-Subunits by Reverse Techniques

Briana L. Seibert, Hyun Jin Jung, and Mark P. Running

Protein prenylation is a post-translational process where lipids are added to carboxyl end groups, which allows proteins to function properly in the eukaryotic cell. The job of prenylation is to help in targeting certain proteins to specific membrane along with promoting protein-protein interactions. We use reverse genetics techniques to understand the function of prenylation in plant development by examining the phenotypic changes caused by specific gene disruption. One of the excellent model organisms Physcomitrella patens (moss) is used due to its simple structure, limited tissue and cells, sequenced genome, and its high gene targeting efficiency.

Rab geranylgeranyl transferase-II (Rab-GGT) is one of three enzymes that can perform protein prenylation and the actual function of Rab-GGT is largely unknown. Moss has one copy of Rab-GGT α subunit (PpRGTA1) and two copies of β subunit (PpRGTB1 and PpRGTB2). This study focuses on the role of the Rab-GGT β subunit in the moss. It has been found that the knockout of either PpRGTB1 or PpRGTB2 results in no visible phenotype, which leads us to believe that these genes are functionally redundant. The knockout of both PpRGTB1 and PpRGTB2 genes has shown to be lethal, which means Rab-GGT is required for viability. To figure out the function of Rab-GGT, we use RNA interference approach to down-regulate the expression level of PpRGTB2 in the PpRGTB1 knockout background so we can observe the phenotypic consequences.

The Role of Talker in Adjusting for Different Speaking Rates in Speech Perception

Chloe M Sharpe and Christian Stilp

Speech perception is heavily influenced by acoustic context effects, where perception of a sound is influenced by acoustic properties of surrounding sounds. Talker variability, or the acoustic variability among different talkers, can disrupt these context effects. Studies have shown that talker variability does impact Spectral Contrast Effects (SCEs; an acoustic context effect induced by variations in frequency), but it is unknown if Temporal Contrast Effects (TCEs; an acoustic context effect induced by speech rate) are similarly affected. To test this, on each trial, listeners heard a context sentence (spoken at a fast or slow rate) followed by the target word which they identified as “deer” or “tier”. Context sentences differed across three blocks (One Talker/One Sentence, One Talker/200 Sentences, and 200 Talkers/200 Sentences). TCEs were calculated as the percent “tier” responses following fast sentences (where more “tier” responses are expected) minus the percent “tier” responses following slow sentences (where fewer “tier” responses are expected). Talker variability significantly influenced TCEs, with larger TCEs in the One Talker/One Sentence block than the 200 Talkers/200 Sentences block. Thus, TCEs pattern similarly to SCEs in that talker variability decreases the sizes of acoustic context effects in speech perception.

Use of spelling rules in school-aged children with Williams syndrome

Ashley F Williamson, Carolyn B. Mervis, Vitor Neves Guimarães, and Caroline Greiner de Magalhães

Purpose: Researchers evaluating children’s spelling abilities usually score their spellings dichotomously - as correct or incorrect. This type of scoring is not as informative as procedures that take into consideration the plausibility of children’s spellings (Treiman et al., 2016). We examined the spelling abilities of children and adolescents with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disability, to determine if their spellings were based on English orthographic rules. Method: Sixty-six 9–17-year-olds with WS (M=13.50 years, SD=3.14) completed the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-III (Wechsler, 2009) Spelling subtest. Items 6 to 16 were scored using the Ponto software (Kessler, 2017) to determine the extent to which children’s spelling differed from the correct spelling (the “letter distance"). Letter distance is calculated based on the transformations needed to change the child’s spelling to the correct spelling. Each insertion or deletion is scored 1, and each substitution is scored 1.4. If the word is spelled correctly, its letter distance is 0. Letter distance scores for the child’s spellings were compared to letter distance scores for random spellings, using the Monte Carlo method. Improvement scores were obtained by dividing a child’s sum of letter distances by the sum of random letter distances. Results: Children spelled a median of 10 (MAD=1) of 11 words correctly. Their mean improvement score was 0.89 (SD=0.14), which was significantly better than expected if their spelling had been random, p < .001. Conclusion: Children and adolescents with WS have at least some knowledge of English orthographic spelling rules.

The Role of Perfectionism in the Relationship Between Thin-Ideal Internalization and Body Dissatisfaction

Tanner L Wright, Mackenzie Brown B.A., and Cheri Levinson Ph.D.

Research has shown a significant relationship between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction. In addition, research suggests perfectionism is an antecedent to thin-ideal internalization (Boone, 2011). When examining subtypes of perfectionism, Maladaptive Evaluative Concerns (MEC) has been shown to be related to eating disorder (ED) symptoms (Rivière, 2017) both directly and indirectly while the relationship between Personal Standards (PS) and ED symptoms is unknown, though some research suggests it may be adaptive (Bardone-Cone, 2007). Both types of perfectionism have been correlated with thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction (Boone, 2010). The purpose of the present project is to examine two subtypes of perfectionism, MEC and pure PS (PPS) as moderators of the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction. Participants were N = 331 high school females participating in the Body Project (an ED prevention program). Measures used included the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, from which the MEC and Pure PS (PPS) were used; The Eating Disorder Inventory, from which the body dissatisfaction subscale was used, and the Thin-Ideal Questionnaire. Both thin ideal and MEC were significantly associated with body dissatisfaction (t(288) = 6.080, p < .001; t(292) = 6.414, p < .001, respectively). However, there was not a significant interaction between thin ideal and MEC (p = .142) or between the thin ideal and PPS (p = .082). Future research should examine these factors longitudinally and in a more diverse sample.

Attention in Children with Hearing Loss during Telepractice and In-person Speech Language Therapy

Rahaf Alrefai, Kaelin Kinney, Maria Kondaurova, and Cara Cashon

How does the use of telepractice during speech-language therapy affect the attention of children with hearing loss who received cochlear implants (CI) in comparison to in-person intervention? The study examined the production and comprehension of clinician’s speech in children with CIs (n = 5, mean age = 61.6 months, range = 34 months) during one 30 minute in-person session and one sequential tele-session, order counterbalanced. Child verbal, tactile, and visual actions were coded as correct, incorrect, off-task, and silence responses to the clinician’s and maternal speech. In production, correct responses were defined as the correct reproduction of the clinician’s/maternal target utterances; incorrect child response was defined as any other utterance following the clinician’s/maternal target utterances within 3 seconds; off-task child response was defined as being distracted; silence response was defined as child being silent. In comprehension, the same codes were used but including a child’s gestures and looking at the target object. Child’s production and comprehension responses (correct, incorrect, off-task, and silence) in tele- vs. in-person sessions were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. During clinician-child interaction, there were more correct responses in in-person than tele-sessions in comprehension. During mother-child interaction, there were more correct responses in tele- than in-person sessions in both production and comprehension. These results suggest that the child’s attention in comprehension and production, as demonstrated by the occurrence of correct responses, is dependent on the type of therapy.

Project MK Ultra: a Site of Forgotten Calamity

Jacoby D Banet

Project MK Ultra refers to a set of top-secret CIA experiments that took place from 1953 to 1973 and involved unwitting subjects being administered drugs and hypnosis. As there is little information currently existent digitally relating to the project, an archive was established through this essay which relates information regarding the truth of what happened during the experiments without conspiracy theories as are often found in relation to this project. After having done research on the project as a whole and subsequently finding fifteen artifacts that communicate important truths about the project, it can be concluded that the CIA, in a time of mass national paranoia, abused their powers in the search of techniques to assist in espionage and other similar practices. This can be seen in the detrimental effects which the experiments had on individuals who took place in them as is discussed in a few of the artifacts. The other artifacts reveal the CIA’s true intentions during the experiment, concluded to be a form of control over other nations in espionage by more thoroughly understanding the use of drugs and hypnosis on the brain. Valid intentions were thus shifted to abuse of power as the agency performed the experiments often without the subject’s knowledge of what was truly taking place. It was because of the underlying reasons for the experiment that it was able to be done and still remains a topic about which talking is not common.

Frequency and Perceived Authenticity of Social Determinants of Health Discussion by Medical Trainees

Priyadarshini Chandrashekhar, Emily J. Noonan, and Laura A. Weingartner

Introduction

Social determinants of health (SDOH)—the conditions in which people live, learn, and work—play a vital, but often neglected role in shaping a community’s health. SDOH influence risk factors for disease and access to healthcare, consequently promoting health inequities among different populations. Examining how providers discuss SDOH with patients can identify opportunities to better integrate social context into care.

We analyzed standardized patient (SP) encounters of rising UofL M3 trainees to 1) determine whether SDOH are integrated into healthcare conversations, and 2) investigate what constitutes an authentic conversation to identify how trainees can better express interest in a patient. SP encounters (n=41) were randomly sampled from 139 video recordings of new patient histories. Discussions concerning SDOH categories were coded for content, patient response, and the perceived authenticity of each interaction.

The most frequently discussed SDOH was employment (80.49% of encounters) while financial security (0%), healthcare access (2.44%), and discrimination (2.44%) were among the least discussed. Trainees appeared more engaged and interested when they empathized with patients, provided reassurance, established personal connections, and displayed a logical/organized flow of thought.

Clinical skills around SDOH could be improved if students were provided more practice incorporating patients’ answers about SDOH into the health management plan. SDOH discussions can be used to get to know the patient holistically and foster strong doctor-patient relationships, both of which are crucial communication/clinical skills assessed by licensing exams. Emphasis on SDOH in medical education can help students advance these skills.

Exploratory Learning Using Consistency Problems: Activity Type Matters

Madison E Clark, Campbell Rightmyer Bego, Derek K. McClelland, and Marci S. DeCaro

Studies have shown that exploration before instruction can improve learning. Students ( N = 197) from the psychology participant pool were taught the concept and procedure of standard deviation in one of four conditions. Students were given both direct instruction and a problem to solve in one of two orders: instruction-first, or exploration-first. During the problem-solving activity, students were asked to determine the consistency of a set of numbers. This dataset was set up as a rich dataset, or to highlight contrasting cases. Students then completed a posttest. We compared mean posttest scores to find that exploration before instruction led to better understanding when using contrasting cases, but not a rich dataset. Exploring before instruction is benefited when students are helped to discern the key features of the problems, using contrasting cases.

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UofL teams land KYNETIC funding to drive health innovations to market

Applications now open for Cycle 8 funding

Three University of Louisville research-backed technologies have been awarded funding through the  Kentucky Network for Innovation and Commercialization (KYNETIC) .  

KYNETIC is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) and part of the national NIH Proof-of-Concept Network. The program offers entrepreneurial education and proof-of-concept/product development grants to accelerate the translation of research innovations into biomedical products by investigators throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.    

The goal is to advance the most promising biomedical research innovations — including pharmaceuticals, devices and apps — from the state’s eight public universities and the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS).

In this cycle, KYNETIC awarded roughly $40,000 grants to each of the following research teams:

• Christina Ralph-Nearman and Cheri Levinson, University of Louisville
• Melissa Smith and Corey Watson, University of Louisville
• Stuart Williams, Maxwell Boakye and Michael Voor, University of Louisville
• Daniel Boamah, Kimberly Greene and Austin Griffiths, Western Kentucky University
• Jamie Fredericks, Eastern Kentucky University
• Mark Fritz and Guigen Zhang, University of Kentucky  
• Jill Kolesar and Chris Richards, University of Kentucky
• Brittany Levy, University of Kentucky

KYNETIC is led by UofL, the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Kentucky Commercialization Ventures . Launched in 2019 , the KYNETIC program builds on UofL’s strong history of translational research support, which includes a prestigious suite of programs for turning research into products.

“These programs help to drive UofL research from lab to market – impactful research with the power to improve and even save lives,” said Jessica Sharon, UofL’s director of innovation programs who helps lead KYNETIC. “The UofL projects selected for KYNETIC funding in this cycle embody that goal.”

The pre-application window for KYNETIC’s Cycle 8 is currently open. The deadline is July 18, 2023, by 5 p.m. Pre-applications can be  submitted online here .

KYNETIC Project Managers are available for consultation before you submit your pre-application and throughout the application process. You can find more information  online here .

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