Author(s): Krist Ha, Engineering Physics, Sawyer Wozniak, Physics Advisor(s): Edward Samson, Department of Physics
C39:Developing a Non-Contact DCS System for Biological Tissue Scans
DCS measures light intensity fluctuations of blood flow in deep tissue as time passes between detection of each photon. Using fiber optic probes, a DCS system directs light from a laser into a tissue sample, and then into a single photon detector. When the laser hits the sample through the multi modal probe, light is […]
C41: Inquires into Natural History and Colonial Persistence
Many natural history institutions built their collections by taking scientific specimens while on colonial expeditions, and the implementation of human culture or specimens rarely took consent of the parties involved into account. On a study abroad trip to London, England in January of 2024, I examined a few examples of colonial expeditions, racist rhetoric, and […]
C44: Intergroup dynamics of lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii) at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador
Intergroup interactions in nonhuman primates can vary greatly from affiliative to agonistic. While many researchers have focused on factors that lead to aggressive intergroup encounters (IGEs), few have investigated those that lead to more tolerant outcomes. Here, we examine how fruit productivity, mating opportunities, group composition, and location of encounter affect IGEs in wild woolly […]
C46: Cholinergic Mu-Opioid Receptor Modulation of Nicotine and Alcohol Drinking Behaviors
Alcohol and nicotine are common substances that are used and abused in society. Not only are these substances used independently of each other, but there is considerable overlap, with many people consuming both nicotine and alcohol. Alcohol and nicotine use are known to depend on striatal dopamine release, which is modulated by the release of […]
C49: Inheritance of Maternal Ranging Patterns in White-Bellied Spider Monkeys (Ateles belzebuth) at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador
This research project is within the field of Biological Anthropology, specifically Primatology. In previous years, teams of researchers collected spatial data of observed individuals through Garmin handheld GPS units on two communities of White-Bellied spider monkeys at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Amazonian Ecuador. The spatial data has been used to build representations of home […]
C50: Ripeness of Spondias mombin, influence on feeding behaviour and food processing by Woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha) in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Author: Billy Browning, Anthropology Major Advisor(s): Kelsey Ellis, Department of Anthropology
C55: Investigating viral genes as possible sensitizers for drug resistant cancer cells
Chemotherapy and radiation induce cancer cell death through DNA damage; however, the prevalence of drug-resistant cancer presents a substantial treatment barrier. Previous investigations have connected the overexpression of DNA dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), a crucial enzyme in the DNA damage response (DDR), to chemotherapy resistant cancer cells. There has been much evidence to indicate that […]
C56: Sex Differences in Safety and Threat Learning: An Evaluation of BNST-projecting Neurons From the PVT
Recently, evidence of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) plays a pivotal role in fear responses. Still, more research is needed into how important PVT is in safety learning. In this study, we examined the role of PVT and its projection to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in safety learning through […]
C59: Selective Genetic Deletion of Oprm1 in FoxP2-Expressing Neurons Reduces Aversion-Resistant Reward Seeking
Mu-opioid receptors (MORs) in the amygdala and striatum are important in addictive and rewarding behaviors. For the current series of studies, we characterized the behavior of mice with genetic deletion of the MOR gene Oprm1 in FoxP2-expressing neurons (FoxP2-Cre/Oprm1fl/fl). FoxP2 is expressed in intercalated cells of the amygdala and a subset of striatal medium spiny […]