Tag: Poster 55

Analysis of Dynamic Balance Control in Below-Knee Amputees with Use of Powered Prosthetic Foot

Presenter: Shaun Resseguie

Mentors: Michael Hahn and Jake Hinkel-Lipsker, Human Physiology

Poster: 55

Major: Human Physiology 

The powered prosthetic foot (PPF) is designed to provide below-knee amputees (BKA) with active propulsion and plantar flexion similar to that of the biological limb. Previous studies have demonstrated the PPF’s ability to increase BKA walking speeds, while reducing the energetic costs, however, little is known about its effects on dynamic balance control. The purpose of this study was to assess dynamic balance control in a sample of BKA subjects during level-ground walking and obstacle crossing tasks. Control subjects (n=5) and BKA subjects (n=4) were instructed to complete a series of functional walking tasks during each lab visit. The BKA subjects completed the walking protocol twice, first in their traditional passive prosthetic foot and again in the prescribed PPF after two weeks of acclimation. Motion data were collected via a 10-camera system with a 53-marker and 15-segment body model. Center of mass (CoM) motion and peak velocity within the frontal plane were analyzed and used as functional indicators of dynamic balance control. Preliminary findings from the study indicate that BKA subjects wearing the PPF generally experienced a greater mediolateral CoM motion and peak velocity, thus signifying a reduced ability to maintain dynamic balance control. Our findings may be of particular interest to clinicians and PPF designers working to improve the amputee population’s quality of life. Further data analysis is needed to support these initial findings.

Landscapes of Culture: Vincent Van Gogh and Utagawa Hiroshige

Presenter: William Crowley

Faculty Mentor: Roxanne Prazniak

Presentation Type: Poster 55

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Chemistry

The valued characteristics of art and aesthetics has differed over time and across cultures, however with these seeming differences art can still be used to link cultures and people together. From different backgrounds, artists Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), a Dutch post-impressionist painter and Utagawa Hirosghige (1797-1858), an Edo period Japanese printmaker, came to depict the same motifs of nature in their art work. Through a comparative historiographical analysis of the social and economic conditions in which Vincent Van Gogh and Utagawa Hiroshige created their works of art, I have highlighted how these two artists, though influenced by different social factors and artistic traditions, came to cultivate a common dedication and reverence to depict nature. The connection between theses seemingly different yet quite similar artists highlights the cross-cultural connection of art as a universal form of human expression. These artists experienced the elements of social, economic, religious, technological, and artistic tradition to different extents. Yet, both pondered and desired to portray nature, the striking similarities in their artistic backgrounds as portrait painters, reverence for religion, and attention to nature link these two artists.

Ethanol Tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans

Presenter(s): Lucy Kelly − Geography

Faculty Mentor(s): Alex De Verteuil, Patrick Phillips

Poster 55

Research Area: Biological Science

Funding: Knight Campus Funding

SCORE (Students of Color Opportunities in Research Enrichment) is a mentorship program aimed at engaging underrepresented groups with original scientific research. To this end, we utilized an established biological model system to investigate an unexplored question. The nematode C. elegans is a classic genetic system, and its well-defined stress response network makes it ideal for evaluating the effects of ethanol on stress responses. In C. elegans, daf-16 is a transcription factor critical for regulating stress-response genes. In addition, at high concentrations, ethanol absorption leads to high rates of lethality in nematodes. It is then possible that daf-16 is critical for surviving this stress. To investigate this, we exposed both wild-type and daf-16 mutant animals to an acute ethanol stress following pre-exposure to a low concentration ethanol solution and measured survivorship. Additionally, we measured survivorship in both genotypes across multiple ethanol concentrations. In our conditions, high concentration ethanol exposure promotes widespread mortality in both daf-16 and wild-type animals. Furthermore, we found no significant difference in ethanol-induced mortality between genotypes at any ethanol concentration. These results suggest that daf-16 may not be implicated in ethanol-induced stress-responses. Here, programs like SCORE can achieve their educational missions while concurrently making advances in original research.

Plastic debris in deep-sea canyon, estuarine, and shoreline sediments.

Presenter(s): Ellie Jones

Faculty Mentor(s): Craig Young & Alan Shanks

Poster 55

Session: Sciences

Recent calculations estimate there are currently 5.25 trillion plastic particles afloat in the world’s oceans. Many of these plastics are characterized as microplastics < 5 mm in diameter. Studies within the past few decades show that no ecosystem is exempt from plastic contamination. This study examined sediment samples from Norfolk Canyon off the coast of Virginia, the Coos Bay Estuary in Oregon, and headlands along the Oregon shoreline to characterize the abundance of microplastics within various marine sediments. Box core sediment samples were taken from within Norfolk Canyon and from the adjacent continental slope. Plastics were removed by density differentiation using a saturated salt solution. Nineteen pieces of plastic were found from the nine samples within the canyon, while only eight pieces were found from the seven samples on the continental slope. This suggests that canyons can be accumulation zones for microplastics due to strong down-canyon currents. Next, box core and Poner grab sediment samples were taken from within the Coos Bay Estuary and the adjacent continental shelf. Plastics were removed by density differentiation, and the majority of plastics were found within the mouth of the bay. This suggests that plastics can become concentrated in areas where fronts are created between two bodies of water (in this case, the ocean and the estuary.) To analyze shoreline sediment, belt transects were taken during January and February on the northern and southern sides of Yaquina Bay Head, Cape Perpetua, and Cape Blanco. The majority of plastics were found on the southern side of each headland. This suggests that microplastics are carried onshore by winds, which are blowing onto southern-facing beaches on Oregon’s coast during the winter. Knowing where plastics settle in the ocean can influence mitigation and management decisions. Therefore, it is important to determine possible places for microplastic accumulation to manage and conserve natural resources.