IGT Stock Pitch Presentation

This is a hold presentation for the stock IGT as of October 2022 based on Financial Analysis, Industry Analysis, and Valuation

Buddhist Temple of Chicago Engaged Learning Project

The goal of my research project and the reason for selecting this particular religious site was to expand my knowledge on what East Asian Buddhist practice (particularly Pure Land Buddhism) looks like in America, a country that is quite far from the mother country of this religious tradition. I was also interested in comparing my experience at this temple with my own experience at Vietnamese temples back home

Religions in Asia - Exploring Hinduism

There are many Asian religious sites and communities in the Chicago land area. A beautiful Hindu Temple stands down the road from the Loyola University of Chicago. On February 10, 2023, Lydia Hamilton and Katherine Fangman had the opportunity to visit the Shree Ganesh Temple of Chicago (Hindu Temple, 2545 Devon Ave, Chicago). The community that surrounds the temple is known as “Little India” and is home to many people with an Indian descent. While at Shree Ganesh Temple of Chicago, we had the opportunity to interview Dave, the Hindu Pandit of this temple. He is 31 years of age. Dave has been practicing Hinduism for his whole life. This experience has allowed us to see the world with greater depth and a great amount of knowledge was obtained through this experience

The Homing Abilities of Nesting Male Threespine Stickleback

Homing, a behavior demonstrated by the threespine stickleback allows an organism to return to their home site when displaced. We predicted that male stickleback fish would home well because they guard their young in nests and have high incentive to return. Here we marked and displaced nesting male stickleback over a variety of distances to see whether homing ability declines with distance displaced. Our results show that stickleback can home, but there was no significant relationship between the distance and return rate. However, some nests were taken over by new males after displacement, meaning that even if the experimental fish returned, they had no nest to access. Removing these “evicted males” from the data reveals a stronger negative trend between distance and return

Elucidating the Role of a Staphylococcal Glucosaminidase in Host Innate Immune Responses

The peptidoglycan of Staphylococcus aureus is a critical cell envelope constituent and virulence factor that subverts host immune defenses and provides protection against environmental stressors. Peptidoglycan chains of the S. aureus cell wall are processed to characteristically short lengths by the glucosaminidase, SagB. It is well established that peptidoglycan is an important pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) that is recognized by the host innate immune system and promotes production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β. However, how bacterial processing of peptidoglycan drives IL-1β production is comparatively unexplored. Here, we tested the involvement of staphylococcal glucosaminidases in shaping innate immune responses and identified SagB as a mediator of IL-1β production. A ∆sagB mutant fails to promote IL-1β production by macrophages and dendritic cells and processing of peptidoglycan by SagB is essential for this response. SagB-dependent IL-1β production by macrophages is independent of canonical pattern recognition receptor engagement and NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated caspase activity. Instead, treatment of macrophages with heat-killed cells from a ∆sagB mutant leads to reduced caspase-independent cleavage of pro-IL-1β resulting in accumulation of the pro-form in the macrophage cytosol. Furthermore, SagB is required for virulence in systemic infection and promotes IL-1β production in a skin and soft tissue infection model. Taken together, our results suggest that the length of S. aureus cell wall glycan chains can drive IL-1β production by innate immune cells through a previously undescribed mechanism related to IL-1β maturation

A Dynamic Model of the PI3K/AKT/PTEN Axis in Pathological Microglial Phenotype

Microglia, which are immune cells of the CNS, are critical to maintaining the integrity of nervous system and are stimulated into action after detection of damaged/dying cells and foreign pathogens. Recent literature has implicated the role of dysregulated PI3K/AKT dynamics in promoting inflammatory microglia that chronically promote damaging neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative disease. I have designed a computational model that can help elucidate the intrinsic biochemical mechanisms and kinetics of the PI3K/AKT pathway that govern the microglial states. I plan to use the in-silico model to study the therapeutic potential of manipulating this pathway’s biochemical kinetics to slow neurodegenerative disease progression

Synthesis and Characterization of a Series of Co(II) NNN Pincer Complexes

Several new Co(II) complexes supported by NNN pincer ligands in various ligand-to-metal ratios are reported. The synthesis and characterization of CztBu(PyriPr)2Co (1) completes a series of analogous compounds (CztBu(PyriPr)2M, M = Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II)), offering insights into chemical trends across late first-row transition metal complexes. Additionally, chemical oxidation of (CztBu(PyriPr)2)2Co (2) gave complex 5, in which unprecedented, cobalt-facilitated C-C coupling of pyrazole moieties has occurred

The Effect of Microaggressions on African American Couples\u27 Cortisol Levels

The goal of this study was to examine actor-partner effects of microaggressions on African American couples’ stress and cortisol levels. African American couples were recruited from the Chicagoland area to report their experiences over the past 3 months and to provide a hair sample to assess cortisol. Results indicated that actor and partners’ reports of how bothered they were by microaggressions over the past 3 months were related to actors’ cortisol levels. These results suggests that people and their partner’s reports of how bothered they were by microaggressions were related to increased stress and cortisol levels in African American couples

Buddhism in Chicago

This project asks students to visit a local Asian religious site or community here in Chicago. There are many Asian religious sites and communities in the Chicago land area. Visiting these sites and interviewing religious leaders and practitioners gives students first-hand experiences about how the religions are practiced

Equity Investment Report on MGM Resorts International

The attached presentation and report provide detailed analysis on MGM Resort International\u27s stock valuation. The presentation is an investment pitch on MGM Resorts International and the report details my findings on what MGM\u27s 12-month target price will be valued at