Digital Holland

Founded in 2014, Digital Holland is a publicly accessible website that hosts research about the communities that include and surround Hope College. The website, digitalholland.org, was developed by students in the college’s Mellon Scholars Program, a three-year curriculum of digitally-enabled collaborative research and experiential education funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The website features engaging galleries and pages covering a wide variety of topics, highlighting the diversity and historical importance of the Holland community. The site also hosts relevant artifacts including images, audio, and video files shared with permission by the Joint Archives of Holland and the Holland Museum. The project continues to grow as Hope College students, Mellon Scholars, and community members contribute to the site. In the 2016-2017 academic year, Digital Holland underwent both an aesthetic and conceptual shift, redefining our audience and user experience. The new Digital Holland actively promotes community engagement through local partnerships, a joint venture in digital public history. In addition, the site features research projects completed by Hope College students from a variety of disciplines, providing a platform to disseminate exemplary scholarship. Our poster highlights both the process and product of the Digital Holland redesign: our work product as a team and the engaging, community-oriented repository of research. We will feature examples of student research exhibits as well as crowd-sourced articles. Digital Holland can serve as an example for other communities and institutions committed to partnering on digital public scholarship

Does targeting children with hygiene promotion messages work? The effect of handwashing promotion targeted at children, on diarrhoea, soil-transmitted helminth infections and behaviour change, in low- and middle-income countries.

OBJECTIVES: To synthesise evidence on the effect of handwashing promotion interventions targeting children, on diarrhoea, soil-transmitted helminth infection and handwashing behaviour, in low- and middle-income country settings. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed by searching eight databases, and reference lists were hand-searched for additional articles. Studies were reviewed for inclusion according to pre-defined inclusion criteria and the quality of all studies was assessed. RESULTS: Eight studies were included in this review: seven cluster-randomised controlled trials and one cluster non-randomised controlled trial. All eight studies targeted children aged 5-12 attending primary school but were heterogeneous for both the type of intervention and the reported outcomes so results were synthesised qualitatively. None of the studies were of high quality and the large majority were at high risk of bias. The reported effect of child-targeted handwashing interventions on our outcomes of interest varied between studies. Of the different interventions reported, no one approach to promoting handwashing among children appeared most effective. CONCLUSION: Our review found very few studies that evaluated handwashing interventions targeting children and all had various methodological limitations. It is plausible that interventions which succeed in changing children's handwashing practices will lead to significant health impacts given that much of the attributable disease burden is concentrated in that age group. The current paucity of evidence in this area, however, does not permit any recommendations to be made as to the most effective route to increasing handwashing with soap practice among children in LMIC

Bacterial Butyrate in Parkinson's Disease Is Linked to Epigenetic Changes and Depressive Symptoms

Background The gut microbiome and its metabolites can impact brain health and are altered in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. It has been recently demonstrated that PD patients have reduced fecal levels of the potent epigenetic modulator butyrate and its bacterial producers. Objectives Here, we investigate whether the changes in the gut microbiome and associated metabolites are related to PD symptoms and epigenetic markers in leucocytes and neurons. Methods Stool, whole blood samples, and clinical data were collected from 55 PD patients and 55 controls. We performed DNA methylation analysis on whole blood samples and analyzed the results in relation to fecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations and microbiota composition. In another cohort, prefrontal cortex neurons were isolated from control and PD brains. We identified genome-wide DNA methylation by targeted bisulfite sequencing. Results We show that lower fecal butyrate and reduced counts of genera Roseburia, Romboutsia, and Prevotella are related to depressive symptoms in PD patients. Genes containing butyrate-associated methylation sites include PD risk genes and significantly overlap with sites epigenetically altered in PD blood leucocytes, predominantly neutrophils, and in brain neurons, relative to controls. Moreover, butyrate-associated methylated-DNA regions in PD overlap with those altered in gastrointestinal (GI), autoimmune, and psychiatric diseases. Conclusions Decreased levels of bacterially produced butyrate are related to epigenetic changes in leucocytes and neurons from PD patients and to the severity of their depressive symptoms. PD shares common butyrate-dependent epigenetic changes with certain GI and psychiatric disorders, which could be relevant for their epidemiological relation. (c) 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder SocietyPeer reviewe

Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters, instruments, and age

Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) has a substantial heritability of around 50%. Here we present a genome-wide association metaanalysis (GWAMA) of childhood AGG, in which all phenotype measures across childhood ages from multiple assessors were included. We analyzed phenotype assessments for a total of 328 935 observations from 87 485 children aged between 1.5 and 18 years, while accounting for sample overlap. We also meta-analyzed within subsets of the data, i.e., within rater, instrument and age. SNP-heritability for the overall meta-analysis AGGoverall was 3.31% (SE= 0.0038). We found no genome-wide significant SNPs for AGGoverall. The gene-based analysis returned three significant genes: ST3GAL3 (P= 1.6E-06), PCDH7 (P= 2.0E-06), and IPO13 (P= 2.5E-06). All three genes have previously been associated with educational traits. Polygenic scores based on our GWAMA significantly predicted aggression in a holdout sample of children (variance explained = 0.44%) and in retrospectively assessed childhood aggression (variance explained = 0.20%). Genetic correlations rg among rater-specific assessment of AGG ranged from rg= 0.46 between self- and teacher-assessment to rg= 0.81 between mother- and teacher-assessment. We obtained moderate-to-strong rgs with selected phenotypes from multiple domains, but hardly with any of the classical biomarkers thought to be associated with AGG. Significant genetic correlations were observed with most psychiatric and psychological traits (range |rg|: 0.19-1.00), except for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Aggression had a negative genetic correlation (rg=∼-0.5) with cognitive traits and age at first birth. Aggression was strongly genetically correlated with smoking phenotypes (range |rg| : 0.46-0.60). The genetic correlations between aggression and psychiatric disorders were weaker for teacher-reported AGG than for mother- and self-reported AGG. The current GWAMA of childhood aggression provides a powerful tool to interrogate the rater-specific genetic etiology of AGG.</p

The First Inoculation Debate: A Quantitative Text Analysis of the Boston Smallpox Epidemic of 1721

Despite scientific research supporting the use of vaccination to protect against disease, some individuals choose not to vaccinate their children for religious or political reasons. Vaccination is a topic of heated debate today, but this debate actually started in early eighteenth-century America when a Puritan minister promoted the practice during an outbreak of smallpox in Boston. By the end of the 1721 epidemic, inoculation (a primitive form of vaccination) saved almost 300 people, but it also ignited fierce protests. Many Puritan colonists viewed inoculation as distrust in God or were afraid of the spread of disease, and the meddling of ministers in the affairs of “learned men” outraged physicians. This debate provides a case study for analyzing the influence of religious beliefs on public views of inoculation before the development of modern medicine. The study examines a set of digitized documents from the debate using an online tool called Voyant to quantify the word frequencies of religious and secular language used by both supporters and opponents of inoculation. The resulting graphs visually reveal patterns in the language of ministers and physicians and suggest an interwoven relationship between religion and science during this time period. In addition, the study compares this quantitative analysis to a traditional close reading of the texts to suggest limitations of a quantitative analysis and refine conclusions on the relationship between religion and science during the debate. Future research can further develop this text analysis method and potentially apply it to study texts from more contemporary vaccination debates

Design and Evaluation of Day1 Peer Partnership Learning Course Materials for General Chemistry and General Biology

First-year college students encounter a multitude of obstacles ranging from acclimating to living away from home to adapting to a higher level of course rigor. In Fall 2015, Hope College launched “Day1 Research Communities”, a program designed to promote retention and performance of first year students in STEM fields through interdisciplinary research projects. In addition to shared residence halls and coursework, students enrolled in Day1 participate in Peer Partnership Learning (PPL) activities on a weekly basis. PPL Leaders attend all lectures for a given section and lead one or two PPL sessions per week for approximately 10 students. The design for these sessions has been built from a literature review of best practices for problem solving in STEM fields, the information processing model of learning, social cognitive theory, and integrated learning of study skills. Worksheets for the first semester of introductory biology and chemistry have been created in partnership with lecture professors in order to train this first generation of PPL Leaders and promote collaborative learning. Goals for their implementation, a template for their generation, and a plan for evaluation will be presented

A Framework for General Chemistry and Biology Laboratory Design and Evaluation

The Departments of Chemistry and Biology at Hope College have a history of excellence in science education with an emphasis on integration of research experiences into undergraduate education. Hope College has endeavored to include proven new teaching methods such as peer review, real-world contextualization, and inquiry-based experiments into their curriculum as cohesively as possible. Here, a full literature review of recommended learning objectives will be presented, along with a meta-analysis, to generate a useful rubric for evaluating the quality of any General Chemistry or Biology Laboratory curriculum, followed by its application to Hope College’s own General Chemistry and General Biology sequence. Highlights of this project include a breakdown of the strengths of our current curricula as well as research-guided avenues for improvements with subsequent iterative evaluation. At the heart of this research is the creation of a framework for both design of new laboratories and evaluation of curricula that can be applied universally to any existing program to aid in the incorporation of effective pedagogies. The transferability of this generic iterative framework for improving laboratory curriculum to other institutions will be discussed

A Church Divided: The RCA and CRC Schism

The schism between two Dutch churches, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) and the Reformed Church in America (RCA), shaped the demographic and cultural landscape of Holland, Michigan. While most research on the schism appears in books and articles, our project presents this history in a simple, accessible way using an interactive timeline on digitalholland.hope.edu. We draw on interviews, archival research, and existing literature on the topic to critically compare Dutch identity, liturgy, schooling, and worldview in these respective churches. The theological differences underlying the schism are clear, but we have investigated the demographic and cultural identity issues that may have had an even greater role in the schism. Many of the immigrants to America coming from the more theologically liberal state church in the Netherlands joined the CRC, which held significantly more purist views. One of the founding impetuses behind the CRC was the preservation of Dutch culture. The RCA was traditionally based in a worldview that embraced ecumenism and American culture whereas the CRC prioritized doctrinal purity. The CRC claimed separatism because they believed they were the one true church. Thus, we tentatively conclude that one of the main motives behind the founding of the CRC was their desire to preserve Dutch culture

Isolation of 32 Mycobacteriophages and Genomic Analysis of the Novel Mycobacteriophage, Roscoe

Thirty-two new mycobacteriophages were isolated from soil samples collected on or nearby Hope College in Holland, Michigan. All were capable of infecting Mycobacterium smegmatis and produced a variety of plaque morphologies based on size, shape, and clarity, consistent with the isolation of an assortment of different phages. Both lytic and temperate phages appear represented in this collection. Thirty-two purified phage stocks were used to prepare genomic DNA samples for restriction digest analysis. A comparison of those 32 digest results revealed few similarities among the group, further supporting our interpretation that most of the new phage isolates were distinct. One mycobacteriophage, Roscoe, was chosen for complete genome sequencing using the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine platform and comparative genomic analysis. The predominant plaque produced by Roscoe was 2-4 mm in diameter and displayed a clear center surrounded by a wide turbid comet-tailed ring after 24 hours of growth at 37°C. Comparison of the restriction digest pattern for Roscoe with more than 200 known mycobacteriophage genomes did not yield an exact match, suggesting Roscoe was a novel mycobacteriophage. Genome sequence data for Roscoe supported that prediction but also revealed a relationship to a large group of mycobacteriophages in Cluster B1. The genome of Roscoe is 68 Kb, 66.5% GC, and contains 103 genes in agreement with the genome characteristics of closely related phage. A detailed analysis of the complete genome sequence and comparison with sequenced members of this small and unique group of mycobacteriophages is the subject of the second semester of this yearlong course and is presented

Repellent Plants Provide Affordable Natural Screening to Prevent Mosquito House Entry in Tropical Rural Settings—Results from a Pilot Efficacy Study

Sustained malaria control is underway using a combination of vector control, prompt diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases. Progress is excellent, but for long-term control, low-cost, sustainable tools that supplement existing control programs are needed. Conventional vector control tools such as indoor residual spraying and house screening are highly effective, but difficult to deliver in rural areas. Therefore, an additional means of reducing mosquito house entry was evaluated: the screening of mosquito house entry points by planting the tall and densely foliated repellent plant Lantana camara L. around houses. A pilot efficacy study was performed in Kagera Region, Tanzania in an area of high seasonal malaria transmission, where consenting families within the study village planted L. camara (Lantana) around their homes and were responsible for maintaining the plants. Questionnaire data on house design, socioeconomic status, malaria prevention knowledge, attitude and practices was collected from 231 houses with Lantana planted around them 90 houses without repellent plants. Mosquitoes were collected using CDC Light Traps between September 2008 and July 2009. Data were analysed with generalised negative binomial regression, controlling for the effect of sampling period. Indoor catches of mosquitoes in houses with Lantana were compared using the Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) relative to houses without plants in an adjusted analysis. There were 56% fewer Anopheles gambiae s.s. (IRR 0.44, 95% CI 0.28–0.68, p<0.0001); 83% fewer Anopheles funestus s.s. (IRR 0.17, 95% CI 0.09–0.32, p<0.0001), and 50% fewer mosquitoes of any kind (IRR 0.50, 95% CI 0.38–0.67, p<0.0001) in houses with Lantana relative to controls. House screening using Lantana reduced indoor densities of malaria vectors and nuisance mosquitoes with broad community acceptance. Providing sufficient plants for one home costs US $1.50 including maintenance and labour costs, (30 cents per person). L. camara mode of action and suitability for mosquito control is discussed