267-The Role of YAP and pYAP in Retinal Regeneration of Zebrafish

A remarkable feature of Zebrafish, not found in mammals, is their ability to regenerate their retinal cells. Even during the later stages of development in adulthood, this ability does not waiver. After sustaining damage to the retina, Humans are unable to recover, which makes studying the mechanism of Zebrafish regeneration of great importance and relevance. Understanding the differences could help further advances toward discovering cures for blindness in Humans one day. The Hippo (Hpo) pathway is a signaling pathway in animals that ultimately controls the size of organs by either promoting or inhibiting cell division. Activation of the pathway leads to a downstream cascade that ends with the phosphorylation of the protein YAP and thereby turns into pYAP. YAP normally interacts with the nucleus and promotes cell division, therefore phosphorylation into pYAP will inhibit cell division. It’s been identified that the Hpo pathway as a factor that prevents retinal regeneration in mammals. The aim of this study is to determine if the Hpo pathway is involved in Zebrafish retinal regeneration. The levels of YAP and pYAP were tracked throughout multiple different times of exposure to light damage with Immunohistochemistry procedures utilized to visualize the protein levels

125-Bioethanol from Rice Husks as a Second-Generation Biofuel: Glucose Quantification Using Dinitrosalicylic Acid Analysis

The preferred usage of fossil fuels over renewable energy sources has resulted in the extraneous release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gasses pollute the atmosphere and contribute significantly to the problem of global warming. As a result, alternative, renewable energy sources have become a central topic for discussion. Biomass is one of many alternatives. Biomass is a more environmentally friendly, renewable organic matter that can be used as fuel. Biofuels that use foods high in carbohydrates, including rice, bread, potatoes, and other crops, are often referred to as first-generation biofuels. However, the problem with first-generation biofuels is that they take away a food source and increase global food prices. Therefore, research has turned to second-generation biofuels, which acquire ethanol from biomass as an alternative to first-generation biofuels. Second-generation biofuels are made from lignocellulose which composes the inedible part of a plant\u27s cell wall composed of cellulose and lignin. This project centralizes utilizing one of the most abundant and readily available biomasses, rice husks. The main objective of this research project is to determine if rice husks are an efficient biofuel. This is determined by converting the rice husk into biofuel using the ionic liquid, known as 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, and quantifying the amount of glucose obtained from this process through the use of dinitrosalicylic acid analysis (DNS), glucose refractometry, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The greater the amount of glucose in the samples, the more ethanol that can be produced via fermentation to be used as fuel

Let’s Speak Chinese! 我们来讲中文！4th Edition

This book is for those with experience learning Mandarin but who need confidence interacting in everyday situations. What distinguishes Let’s Speak Chinese! from other language acquisition guides is the emphasis on practical usage and the promotion of self-learning. There are eight chapters based on common themes, each illustrating typical dialogue: Shopping, Food & Drink, Asking for Help, Personal Information & Daily Conversation, Family & Relationships, Travel, In the Classroom, and Time & Seasons. This latest edition features more activities and resources. Now, dive in! The Traditional Characters edition can be purchased here.https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/geneseo-authors/1006/thumbnail.jp

256-Assessing the Use of Next Generation MinION Nanopore DNA Sequencing in Obtaining High Quality Data from Zebra Fish to Inform Round Scad Fish Epigenetics under Global Climate Stress

The issue of climate change has been gaining increased awareness and attention globally in recent years. It is having various impacts to ecosystems all over the world, causing many species to become environmentally stressed. Epigenetics is a concept that is being studied more prevalently regarding climate changes. Due to the changing environment, stress-induced heritable traits may appear without changes to the genomic code, known as epigenetic alterations. One such epigenetic alteration is DNA methylation, which occurs in cellular responses to environmental stress. One major source of affordable protein in the Philippines comes from the wild Round Scad fish, which has recently been facing rapid decline in both its population and body size. The purpose of our study is to explore the patterns of DNA methylation in wild Round Scad to determine whether these changes are associated with an epigenetic response to global climate stress. Samples of Round Scad DNA were collected and isolated from the Philippines. Using nanopore MinION, a portable third generation DNA sequencing technology, we are able to obtain high quality DNA sequences required for detection of methylation sites. However the DNA sequences are short, needing improvement. To facilitate our analysis we are sequencing the genome of the Zebrafish for comparison. Here, we shall report on the initial data collected. We anticipate that long term findings from this project will provide critical information to manage wild Round Scad and other marine fish facing similar environmental stressors

Creating a Podcast: Research About Reproductive Justice Accessible to the Public

In this paper, I will explain how I created a podcast about the findings from my research about reproductive justice. In this study, reproductive justice was understood as the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to have children in a safe and dignified environment. Starting from recommendations about what efforts should be made to promote reproductive justice, this project sought to find out what grassroots organizations are currently doing. In order to understand how grassroots organizers are addressing reproductive issues today, I interviewed eight leaders who are conducting this work in Western New York, predominantly in Rochester and Buffalo. From this work, three main findings emerged. The first is that there is an extensive list of barriers that prevent people from accessing reproductive health care including limited clinics, lack of transportation, crisis pregnancy centers, and limited funding. Secondly, grassroots organizations and health care providers are working to combat these barriers by encouraging voter registration, expanding clinic hours, increasing education, and centering Black and Brown bodies in the work they do. Finally, it was clear that the leaders I interviewed center joy in their fight to make care accessible to all. I was motivated to make these results accessible by creating a podcast. The main goal was to communicate my research process and share the results in a way that could be understood by anyone

167-Time for an Addition: Expanding the House of Representatives

This project examines the potential benefits and drawbacks of increasing the membership of the U.S. House of Representatives. At one point the size of the House grew alongside the country, but since 1913 has been capped at 435 members. Historical arguments for and against a larger House will be analyzed, alongside contemporary arguments and its impact on representation. Potential consequences of expansion, such as increased efficiency, responsiveness to constituents, and potential logistical challenges, will be explored

053-Sarcasm and Jocularity in Adolescent Sibling and Friend Interactions

As part of a longitudinal study of sibling and friend relationships, we analyzed the ways adolescents use jocularity and sarcasm in their interactions. Although verbal irony is pervasive in adolescents’ conversations, there has been little observational research on their use of verbal irony, with almost no attention to the influences of the interaction partner. Based on what we know about adolescents’ social and linguistic behaviors with siblings and friends, we expected that interaction partner would make a difference in how adolescents used verbal irony.Fifty-three adolescents (26 girls) were videotaped at home in separate 15-minute cooking sessions with a sibling and a same-gender friend; 30 of the sibling dyads were same-gender. The videotapes were transcribed and coded for verbally ironic utterances. Each instance of verbal irony was further coded as sarcastic or jocular, as being used primarily to mitigate or to intensify the impact of an utterance, and for form of counterfactual statement and communicative function. Despite adolescents’ reputation for sarcasm, jocularity was considerably more common in both sibling and friend interactions. Interaction partners clearly played a role in the use of sarcasm and jocularity, but individual differences were also important. Further analysis is needed to determine the contexts in which adolescents use sarcasm and jocularity with siblings and with friends

249-Energy Return on Investment: A Critical Problem for Modern Efforts to Meet the Climate Challenge

Energy return on investment (EROI) refers to the energy available for consumption after accounting for the energy required to produce energy. For example, energy is required to operate oil drilling equipment. Therefore, the total energy available for consumption is the energy required minus the energy produced. This is important because modern energy sources require an ever increasing amount of energy to function. Therefore, the energy available to consumers is reducing, even though absolute energy production increases. There are differing perspectives about solutions to modern environmental problems. The Green Growth perspective argues that we can move to non-fossil fuel alternatives and maintain our present lifestyles. However, the Degrowth perspective argues that EROI and other considerations make Green Growth impractical. Specifically, alternative, non fossil fuel sources of energy have high EROI values because they require a lot of energy to produce energy.Therefore, the EROI perspective suggests that society should think in terms of degrowth instead of continued growth. This could mean decreases in the quality of life, particularly for affluent Americans. However, this is not necessarily the case; some research suggests that happiness will be higher in a non-growth, less materialistic society. This poster will expand on these arguments and review theory and data suggesting that the Degrowth alternative can offer an environmentally plausible solution to the climate crisis that also increases human well- being.Our current study is an ongoing literature review of EROI, where we aim to compile the present EROI literature and introduce it and degrowth to psychologists