Tag: Human Physiology

Barred Owl Survey

Presenter(s): Alan Strickland (Lane Community College Student)—Microbiology

Co-Presenter(s): Matthew Shields, Stolba Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Stacey Kiser Biology

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Previous surveys identified three species of owls around Lane Community College’s main campus . Undergraduate students conducted annual surveys from 2016 to 2019 to identify species and habitat . We conducted night surveys by broadcasting likely occupant owl calls, then listened and recorded responses . We encountered four species: Great Horned Owl (Buba Virginianus), Western Screech Owl (Megascops kennicottii), and Barred Owl (Strix varia), with the Barred Owl detected only in 2019 . Our results indicate that there has been a shift in species on the LCC main campus due to recent land management changes (forest clearing) .

Investigating the Relationship between Acute Mountain Sickness, Patent Foramen Ovale, and Systemic Inflammation

Presenter(s): Karina Shah—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Kaitlyn DiMarco, Andrew Lovering

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) occurs when individuals rapidly ascend to high altitude, but its exact cause is unknown . A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a hole in the heart present in one-third of the population . PFO+ subjects have greater AMS incidence, but the reasons are unknown . AMS is associated with systemic inflammation as determined by elevated cytokines and data from our lab suggests that PFO+ subjects have greater systemic inflammation . Thus, we hypothesized that the association between AMS and PFO is explained by increased inflammation . To test this, 17 PFO+ subjects (9 women) and 17 PFO- subjects (9 women) were exposed to 10 hours of hypoxia simulating 15600 feet and AMS was assessed using the Lake Louise Questionnaire . Blood samples taken before and at 10 hours of hypoxia were assayed for 13 inflammatory mediators . We found that 83% of PFO+ subjects but only 61% of PFO- subjects got AMS . AMS- subjects had significantly higher levels of IL-12p70 at 10 hours than AMS+ subjects . All other cytokines had significant time effects, and the greatest increases were in AMS- subjects . Compared to PFO- subjects, PFO+ subjects had significantly higher IL-1Î2, interferon (IFN)-α2, IL-8, IL-10, and MCP-1 levels before and at 10 hours . PFO+ subjects had the greatest increases in IFN-α2, MCP-1, and IL-10 and PFO- subjects had the greatest increases in IL-1Î2 and IL-6 . These data suggest inflammation levels differ with PFO and AMS, but with separate patterns . Therefore, systemic inflammation in AMS and PFO may be more complex than previously thought .

Optical access to auditory cortex for in-vivo two-photon calcium imaging

Presenter(s): Raj Shah—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Santiago Jaramillo, Beth McCarry

Session 5: The Wonders of the Brain

In vivo two-photon calcium imaging is a powerful tool that enables measuring activity of hundreds of individual neurons simultaneously . To understand how the brain makes predictions about sounds, we will use this imaging technique to measure how neurons from the auditory cortex of awake mice respond to expected and unexpected sounds . To image activity at the neuronal level, optical access is achieved via implantation of a cranial window . However, the auditory cortex is not easily accessible during surgery due its lateral location and large muscles and arteries around the ears . Here, we report an updated protocol for cranial window implantation over the auditory cortex for use in two-photon calcium imaging . With optical access to the auditory cortex, we are able to use in-vivo two-photon calcium imaging to evaluate sound-evoked responses of hundreds of auditory cortical neurons . These data will allow classifying and mapping the location of neurons that represent either predictions about a stimulus or errors in these predictions .

Intergenerational Effects of Maternal Obesity on Offspring Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Production and DNA Damage

Presenter(s): Maurisa Rapp—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Carrie McCurdy, Byron Hetrick

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Epidemiological studies have shown that offspring from pregnancies complicated by maternal obesity have a 4-fold greater risk for developing childhood obesity and symptoms of metabolic syndrome . The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis states that certain environmental exposures during critical windows of development may have consequences for an individuals long term health . DOHaD may explain a portion of the continual increase in obesity rates among children . In a non-human primate model, offspring of obese dams become sensitized to obesity-induced metabolic disruptions, including insulin resistance and mitochondrial disfunction . Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production contributes to mitochondrial defects observed in obesity . Oxidative stress, which is caused by overproduction of ROS, can lead to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, decreased copy number, reduced membrane permeability and subsequent suppression of mitochondrial respiratory chain activity . Therefore, I hypothesize that maternal obesity increases offspring mitochondrial ROS production leading to mtDNA damage without loss of mtDNA abundance . To study the effect of maternal obesity, we used a previously established Japanese macaque model of fetal programming . Dams were fed either a control (CON) diet or western style diet (WSD) prior to and during pregnancy and lactation . Offspring were then weaned at 8 months and fed a healthy CON diet . Skeletal muscle biopsies from offspring were collected at 3 years of age and relative mtDNA abundance was measured using quantitative PCR (qPCR) amplification of short regions of mtDNA . No differences were measured in the amount of mtDNA between offspring groups . Moving forward, I will test for elevations in ROS-induced mtDNA damage by qPCR amplification . Overall, these data indicate that exposure to maternal obesity and WSD during fetal development does not reduce mitochondrial abundance in skeletal muscle of adolescent offspring .

Robo4 Project

Presenter(s): Byron Lee—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Ashley Walker

Session 6: Interact & React

Aging is associated with the impairment of the neurovascular unit, and this potentially leads to increased Alzheimer’s disease pathology and cognitive impairment . A specific axon guidance receptor, Robo4, is important in maintaining the structure and restrictive barrier of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) . We predicted that the knockout of Robo4, and the subsequent increase in BBB permeability, will result in cognitive dysfunction . Therefore, Robo4 signaling pathways may potentially be a valuable target for therapeutic treatments of AD . In the present study, we studied Robo4 knockout (Robo4 -/-) and wild type (Robo4 +/+) mice crossed with mice containing mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP), leading to greater aberrant amyloid-beta production . To examine the effect of aging, we studied young and old wildtype C57BL6 mice . We assessed cognitive function by conducting Nest Building tests and Morris Water Maze . We found that old C57BL6 mice had impaired cognitive function compared to young C57BL6 mice . However, when Robo4 x APP groups were compared, we found no differences in cognitive function . These preliminary results suggest that aging has a stronger effect on cognitive function than Robo4 knockout . Additional studies are needed to determine the effect of Robo4 knockout on blood-brain barrier permeability and amyloid-beta accumulation .

Los Angeles County Response to COVID-19

Presenter(s): Myriah Kunipo-Aguirre—Human Physiology

Co-Presenter(s): Hannah Heskin, Amelia Hardeman, Angelique Wallman

Faculty Mentor(s): Kristin Yarris

Session 2: US Outbreak Breakout—COVID-19 Research

I am currently in Dr . Yarris’s global health field experience class this Spring and our focus is the current global pandemic and public health crisis . For my project, I focus on California’s response to COVID-19, with a focus on Los Angeles County . I have chosen Los Angeles because my hometown is in the county and where I am currently at during this time . Also, the population of about 10 million makes it the third-largest metropolitan economy in the US In a flash our world went digital, online, remote, and technology is at the forefront of our lives more than ever . I decided to incorporate technology and turned to the classic social media platform . I have started a twitter page where I am curating together information/ resources regarding COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, using data from the county department of public health and the mayor’s office, as well as other official government sites . The twitter page allows me to quickly link articles or videos and short blurbs on information and I add my own analysis of current news using curated threads and tweets . The main topics I focus my project on are overall state, county, and city response (policies, mandates), community resources (food banks, financial assistance), and impact on industry and economy (sports, tourism) . While COVID related news can seem overwhelming, my project aims to create an accessible, organized reference for others in my community or people in my personal network to follow .

Histamine and Cardiovascular Adaptation to Endurance Exercise

Presenter(s): Sydney Kobak—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Dylan Sieck

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

This study aims to gain a deeper mechanistic understanding of how the body adapts to chronic endurance exercise stress . It is known that repeated exercise stress leads to multiple adaptations that decrease all cause mortality and development of cardiovascular disease, while increasing
the ability to preform further work . This experiment examined how these variables changed during 6-week exercise training regimen with and without antihistamines, which caused the sustained post-exercise vasodilated state to be inhibited . There were two groups that went through the training regimen: the control group (placebo) and the histamine receptor blockade group (antihistamine) . Vascular measurements were taken using applanation tonometry with pencil like pressure transducers placed over the artery of interest . Results showed that VO2peak increased by ~11% for both groups . Arterial stiffness, measured as pulse wave velocity (PWV), of the conduit arteries did not significantly change, however, there was a significant increase in PWV in the blockade group, while the control group decreased . This finding could indicate that the sustained post-exercise vasodilated state is contributing to vascular adaptation on peripheral arteries .

The under-diagnosis of diabetes and its associated risk factors in older adults from Mexico, China, and South Africa

Presenter(s): Mimi Hudson—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Josh Snodgrass, Alicia DeLouize

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Underdiagnosis of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance is a problem in many parts of the world, despite the well-documented negative effects on health . The longer that diabetes goes undiagnosed, the worse these effects are and the more difficult they become to treat . Previous studies have shown that the increasing rates of type 2 diabetes globally are closely related to changes in lifestyle and socioeconomic status . It is those in poorer countries, along with the minority and disadvantaged groups in wealthy countries, that face the biggest risk . Although there is much information available on the increasing prevalence of diabetes, many studies fail to report the underdiagnosis rate (the rate of self-reported diabetes compared to the actual rate of diabetes, as measured by blood measures such as glucose or glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c]) of diabetes . Biomarker and survey data on older adults (age ≥ 50) living in Mexico from Wave 1 of the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE; N = 12,945) were used to compare self-report diagnosed diabetes to measured HbA1c level available from dried blood spot samples . Results indicate that 7%, 10%, and 77% of participants had diabetes (HbA1c ≥ 6 .5%) yet had not been previously clinically diagnosed in China, Mexico, and South Africa respectively . Yet, 94% to 98% of people that had diabetes without a diagnosis reported receiving healthcare the last time they needed it . In all three countries, people that had diabetes without a diagnosis were more likely to rate their health as better than people with diabetes and a diagnosis (b’s = 0 .45 to 0 .80, p’s < .05) . In China and South Africa, people with smaller amounts of wealth (b’s = -1 .18 to -0 .96, p’s < .001) and people living in rural areas (b’s = 0 .57 to 0 .78, p’s < .001) were more likely to lack a diagnosis for diabetes . Other predictors include being male in South Africa (b = 0 .34, p = .02) and being younger in China (b = – .04, p < .001)

Using Unity to obtain Eye-tracking data from the VIVE Pro Eye headset

Presenter(s): Zachary Hoffman—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Kate Spitzley

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Recent developments in Virtual Reality (VR) technology have created new opportunities for the usage of VR in biomechanics research . Current VR devices allow for the tracking of head and limb movements through sensors on the head mounted display (HMD) and handheld or attachable controllers . VR headsets with built in eye-tracking cameras are a relatively new technology, and little research has been conducted on manipulating a virtual environment to analyze a subject’s gaze . The aims of this project were to create a virtual test environment with a moving object, and to have an eye-tracking code that would compare the gaze of the subject to the position of the moving object at each frame . An HTC VIVE Pro Eye headset was used, and a virtual environment consisting of a gray room with a ball moving along one wall was created through Unity . At each frame, a text file (readable in Excel) was updated with the time since program initiation, the gaze direction of the subject, the position of the ball, and the difference between the position of the ball and the gaze position . The aims of this project were successfully completed . The virtual environment was successfully created and we were able to export data comparing subject gaze position and ball position . This work provides evidence that this technology can be used for future research in VR eye-tracking .

Novel Coronavirus Outbreak and State Level Response, a Case Study of Oregon

Presenter(s): Hannah Heskin—Human Physiology

Co-Presenter(s): Myriah Kunipo-Aguirre, Amelia Hardeman, Angelique Wallmann

Faculty Mentor(s): Kristin Yarris

Session 2: US Outbreak Breakout—COVID-19 Research

As a student in INTL410: Global Health Crisis, I want to present a case study of Oregon during the COVID-19 pandemic . I will be investigating, what is the epidemiological profile of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Oregon and what has been the state-level response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Epidemiological data displaying the prevalence and location of COVID-19 cases in Oregon will be complied from several public health resources . Additionally, a timeline of the governor’s response to the coronavirus pandemic will be constructed with information from public records and published news sources . Specifically, policies regarding social distancing measures, collaboration with public health authorities, obtainment and distribution of resources, economic relief legislation, and future plans to lift social distancing restrictions will be investigated . An Instagram account (@ covid19_in_oregon) will be used to track the research from this project and present it to a wider audience . This analysis of governor driven response to the novel coronavirus outbreak in Oregon is significant because it outlines policy successes and failures that could be considered for the next public health crisis .