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  Employing echogenicity as a tool to predict injury to Achilles tendon

  Evan Armknecht, Joshua K. Sponbeck, Steven Allen, Shayla Bott, Chris Dillon, Camille Nguyen, Annie Allen, and A. Wayne Johnson

  Dance is a common activity that many young women participate in around the world. While there are many beneficial aspects of participating in dance, physical activity in certain genres of dance experience high Achilles tendon loading force, which impact the risk of Achilles tendon injury.

  Understanding early biomechanical predictors of tendon injury may prevent debilitating tendon injuries.

  Ultrasound imaging allows for detailed analysis of tendon structure, including tendon density and water content (echogenicity).

  The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of pain due to Achilles tendon injury and one biomechanical property of a tendon, echogenicity.

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  Comorbid Mental Illness in Adults Correspond with Certain Demographics and Higher Rates of Injuries and Poisoning

  McKay A. Ashton and Ray M. Merrill

  • Mental illness is a common problem among adults aged 18 years and older in the United States, with approximately 21% (15.8% men and 25.8% women) of the population living with a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder.
  • Comorbidity is the presence of at least one other mental health disorder in relation to the index disorder, and has been found to be present in 45% to 54% of those with a mental health disorder
  • Although it is well understood that the prevalence of comorbid mental health disorders is common, there is less known about which conditions most commonly occur together and how this differs among various demographics
  • There is a gap in the research on whether mental health conditions have a stronger association with injury if accompanied by comorbid mental illness
  • There is also a gap in the research that analyzes the effect of comorbid mental illnesses and their relation to poisoning

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  Rates of Injury According to a Single or Comorbid Mental Illness Identified in a Large Employee Database

  McKay A. Ashton and Ray M. Merrill

  In 2022, almost 20% of adults in the U.S. experienced a mental illness. Some of these illnesses include anxiety, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, OCD, autism, and schizophrenia.

  It has been found that those with a mental illness are 60% more likely to sustain an acute injury compared to those without a mental illness.

  It is well known that mental illnesses are associated with injuries and that the causal direction is bidirectional.

  It is not uncommon for individuals to be diagnosed with two or more (comorbid) mental illnesses at the same time, and data shows that comorbid mental illness ranges from 45% to 54%.

  While the relationship between injuries and a single mental illness is known, there is little if any literature that quantifies injury risk with comorbid mental illness.

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  Sleep Disorders Related to Index and Comorbid Mental Health Conditions and Medication

  McKay A. Ashton and Ray M. Merrill

  Sleep is a basic need that is essential to both physical and mental health

  Sleep disorders involve sleep disturbances, which can lead to many physical and cognitive health consequences

  There are many mental health conditions associated with sleep disorders including stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. These often have a bidirectional association with sleep disorders.

  The relationship between some sleep disorders and mental health conditions may be impacted by whether the index mental health condition is accompanied by comorbid mental illness.

  Among those with a single mental health condition, comorbid mental illness has been found to range between 45% to 54%.

  Mental health medication has also been associated with sleep disorders, where some medications can induce sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder.

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  Phage Host Interactions in FhuA Dependent Bacteriophages

  Ian W. Baeten, Jessica M. Lewis, Kathryn E. Janda, David E. Kotter, Julianne H. Grose, and William R. McCleary

  Bacteriophages are the natural enemy of bacteria. They infect and kill bacterial cells similarly to how animal viruses infect and kill our (eukaryotic) cells. Being viruses, bacteriophages need to get inside of their host to be able to replicate and survive. To do this, phages use receptor binding proteins (RBPs) to bind to various molecules on the surface of bacterial cells, which allows them to attach and initiate the first step of infection. Several novel bacteriophages were isolated from sewage samples across the Wasatch Front of Utah that infect Escherichia coli strain MG1655 and are being used to gain greater understanding of that initial step of binding and attachment between phage and host. Over 40 phages were tested against four different potential phage receptors, and approximately 25% of them were found to use the FhuA protein. FhuA is an outer membrane transport protein that helps the bacterial cell acquire essential iron, especially in low concentration amounts. FhuA looks like a barrel within the membrane that has multiple loops that extend out from the surface. FhuA proteins can be a factor in the pathogenicity of some microbes, and as such, studying and characterizing the interactions between host FhuA and phage RBPs is of medical interest. It was found that bacteriophages JLBYU37 and JLBYU41 are among those that use FhuA as their receptor. Their genomes were sequenced and annotated and submitted to NCBI. Further characterization was done on these two organisms, including Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), one step growth experiments to determine burst size, and analysis onto which loop of the FhuA protein they attach. JLBYU37 belongs to the Demerecviridae family, and it has an icosahedral capsid that is 61 nm tall and a long non contractile tail that is 128 nm in length. JLBYU41 is part of the Drexlerviridae family and has a capsid height of 65 nm, and a non contractile tail that is 140 nm long. JLBYU37 and JLBYU41 have burst sizes of 10 PFU/mL and 41 PFU/mL, respectively. The analyses reported in this poster presentation help us understand how phages interact with their host cells, and this information may aid in developing future applications such as phage therapy or ecological projects.

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  Engineering and Characterization of Antibodies Against Cancer Biomarker Thymidine Kinase 1

  Joshua Bennett, Kiara V. Whitley, Christopher J. Haynie, and Kim O'Neill

  Engineered antibodies used in immunotherapies have been increasingly successful due to their ability to uniquely target cells expressing specific cancer antigens Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK 1 is a DNA salvage enzyme typically found in the cytosol However, in certain types of cancer, TK 1 is surface expressed, making it a unique cancer biomarker By identifying antibodies with a high binding affinity for TK 1 we can target cancer cells expressing TK 1 on their surface Using cell sorting and a yeast display library expressing 109 human single chain antibody fragments, we have isolated ten unique single chain antibodies scFvs that bind to TK 1 Flow cytometry affinity characterization of the 10 clones revealed strong binding affinity in the low nM range Sequencing of the scFvs showed they all had unique complementarity determining regions ( with some similarities among the clones The scFvs were cloned into constructs containing an antibody constant domain and they will be cultured with cancer cell lines expressing TK 1 and evaluated for antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity ( This research has the potential to target TK 1 cancers and maximize cancer cell death while minimizing harm to healthy cells

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  Effects of Post-Translational Histone Modifications on Transcription Rate

  Aaron Bohn, Sarah Hodson, Sarah Ricks, David Bates Ph.D, and Steven M. Johnson Ph.D

  The structural organization of DNA in eukaryotic cells is greatly implicated in the regulation of gene expression and thus cellular properties and behavior. At the most fundamental unit of this organization, ~147 bp of DNA wraps 1.7 times around a histone octamer core, forming a collective unit called the nucleosome. The positioning and occupancy of these nucleosomes around the promoter elements of genes is known to be a strong regulator of transcription in eukaryotic nuclei, and post-translational modifications (PTM’s) to the protruding N-terminal tails of histone proteins are known to influence chromatin structure and thus gene expression; however, relatively little is known about the residual effect of histone PTM’s on transcription rate.

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  Investigating How the Inclusion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge Impacts Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Students

  Rin Butler, Rebeka Greenhall, and E. G. Bailey

  In order to learn about Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHPI) inclusion and belonging in science, we held a Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) classroom intervention.

  We taught students about indigenous knowledge and measured their belonging in the classroom before and after

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  Custom compression algorithm shows potential to reduce tabular data by a magnitude of 17 using Huffman coding and n-grams

  Maren Callaway and Stephen R. Piccolo

  Read file and rearrange its contents to a json file that sorts data by column.

  Implement Huffman coding using the bitarray package’s canonical Huffman function.

  Use the Huffman dictionaries for each column to encode all values.

  Compress each line individually using zstandard

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  A Comparison of Ground and Remote Sensing Methods for Estimating Big Sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) Cover

  Eliza Cash, April Hulet, Keegan Hammond, Steve Peterson, and Ryan Jensen

  Habitat monitoring and management for sagebrush obligate species are often based on sagebrush cover estimates

  Remote sensing methods, including object based image analyses (OBIA), may be a good method to estimate sagebrush cover over large landscapes.

  Research Objective: Compare traditional ground measurements used to estimate sagebrush cover with OBIA using high resolution imagery.

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  Identifying Deep Brain Photoreceptors in the Larval Zebrafish Optic Tectum

  Emalie A. Christensen, Allison G. Pickens, Sarah Y. Jarrett, Maurice Hunt, and Arminda Suli

  Deep brain photoreceptors (DBPs) are light sensing neurons present in mammals and non-mammalian vertebrates. In non-mammalian vertebrates, studies have shown DBP involvement in various time and light dependent behaviors including circadian rhythm, phototaxis, and seasonal reproduction. In adult teleosts, DBPs are present throughout the brain, including the optic tectum (OT). While their approximate location in teleosts is known, DBP’s function is relatively unknown. In this study, we focused on DBPs present in the larval zebrafish OT, a multilaminated midbrain structure responsible for multisensory integration. Single-cell RNA sequencing of the larval zebrafish OT showed the presence of several opsins. We focused on opsins that respond in the violet-blue light range - one typical of optogenetic studies. To identify neurons with similar activation patterns following light stimulation, we used live calcium imaging to detect brain activity, followed by watershed segmentation and k-means clustering. Preliminary data comparing the activity patterns following presentation of light stimuli to control and larvae whose eyes have been removed, indicate the presence of two different groups of opsin-responding neurons: one that activates independently of retinal innervation consistent with a DBP identity, and another that activates more frequently when the visual system is intact, suggesting they receive both retinal and DBP inputs. Subsequent studies will include morphological and selective opsins knockout studies to identify DBPs and understand their integration in the microcircuitry and functionality in the OT.

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  Physician's Perceptions on the Role of the Family in Alleviating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Ella Cook, Melissa Hewitt, and M. Lelinneth B. Novilla

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have relied on measures such as masking, social distancing, or hand hygiene to stop the COVID-19 viral spread. While these things are important, the preventative role of the family in healthcare has untapped positive potential. Research suggests that when the family is involved in the treatment process, (Tayo et al., 2022) it becomes a medical and social tool in the effort to ensure safe prevention of disease and accurate public health education to prevent unnecessary damage and death. (Prime et al., 2020)

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  Quantifying the Effects of Involvement in Aesthetic Sports on the Development of Eating Disorders in Pre-Teens

  Ella Cook, Melissa Hewitt, Anna Sherrill, Alyssa Tolman, and Erik J. Nelson

  Approximately 2.8 million people (ANAD, 2023) in the United States are affected by eating disorders, and more than 1 in 5 children (Holcombe, 2023) around the world suffer from disordered eating symptoms. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, and children involved in “aesthetic sports” (dance, wrestling gymnastics, swimming) are at a higher risk of developing symptoms than their non-participating peers. (Davison et al., 2002) Eating disorders are often associated solely with an older teenagers or women, but heavily impact children as well. It is impossible to address mental health concerns among America’s youth without addressing how the younger generation deals with the early onset of disordered eating symptoms.

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  Valproic Acid Affects Neuronal Specification and Differentiation During Early Optic Tectum Development of Zebrafish

  Sierra C. Dixon, Bailey J. Calder, Shane M. Lilya, Brandon M. Davies, Annalie Martin, Maggie Peterson, Jason M. Hansen, and Arminda Suli

  The mammalian superior colliculus and its non-mammalian homolog, the optic tectum (OT), are midbrain structures that integrate multimodal sensory inputs and guide non-voluntary movements in response to prevalent stimuli. Recent studies have implicated this structure as a possible site affected in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Interestingly, fetal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) has also been associated with an increased risk of ASD in humans and animal models. Therefore, we took the approach of determining the effects of VPA treatment on zebrafish OT development as a first step in identifying the mechanisms that allow its formation. We describe the normal OT development during the first 5 days of development and show that in VPA-treated embryos, while proliferation of the OT neuroepithelium continued, neuronal specification stalled. This was followed by impairment of neurite extension and complexity, suggesting that in addition to neurogenesis, VPA treatment affects axonogenesis and dendritogenesis. VPA treatment was most detrimental during the first three days of development and did not appear to be linked to oxidative stress. In conclusion, our work provides a foundation for research into mechanisms driving OT development, as well as the relationship between the OT, VPA, and ASD. DOI:10.1101/2022.06.15.496299

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  Coloration Strategies in Sympatric Vietnamese Damselflies

  Eva J. Driggs and Seth M. Bybee

  Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) have evolved vibrant coloration for various reasons. Odonates use color signals to identify their own species from others and potential mates. Some Odonates use blue color to blend into the water while others are only active when their color can best be seen. Different selective pressures will evolve a specific color strategy. Color is a key to understanding the evolutionary pressures for damselflies. Color has not been studied in depth for Vietnamese Odonates, even though Vietnam is a top 15 biodiversity hotspot. We hope to better understand color evolution in Vietnamese damselflies and the role of color in biodiversity hotspots.

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  Flipped versus Online Instruction: A Comparative Analysis of Student Performance

  Noah Emery and Jamie L. Jensen

  The need for improved modes of online instruction has rapidly increased within the last decade. But whether online instruction is beneficial or as effective as in-person remains inconclusive (McCutcheon et al., 2015). Evidence would suggest that there are knowledge gaps with students who enroll in online courses (Jensen et al., 2022).

  We designed and tested various models of an online introductory biology course for non-biology undergraduates in order to determine which method of online instruction would most improve student performance and close these knowledge gaps. We hypothesized that including instructor scaffolding (instructor organization and support), instructor feedback, and peer collaboration would improve performance.

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  Investigating the Effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on Family Outcomes

  William Evans, Allison Briggs, Zane Maguet, and Gray Stratford

  2nd place video

  Poverty has profound multi-faceted negative effects on populations, including limitations on life opportunities for education, potential income, and social connection. Conversely, a supportive family setting is shown to have multiplied benefits on the economic, interpersonal, and health outcomes of one’s life course. Many poverty reduction policies in the United States seek to combat the effects of poverty by providing welfare support to families. One of these is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Much literature exists on the economic and nutritional outcomes of families who are SNAP recipients. Using the Family Impact Checklist as a policy analysis tool, our scoping review seeks to investigate the non-nutritional family outcomes correlated with SNAP use amongst families.

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  Effects of immune system activity and methamphetamine on dopamine terminal function

  Lauren Ford, Sara Linderman, Jared Kitteringham, and Eliza White

  1st place video

  Microglia are CNS macrophages that act as the immune system of the brain.

  Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are bacteria-derived endotoxins that trigger immune response, including microglial activation.

  Behavioral data shows that LPS-induced microglial activation heightens drug reward and dependence (conditioned place preference and locomotor activity).

  Present study examines how activated microglia modulate dopamine terminal function in the absence and presence of methamphetamine (Meth).

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  The Effects of a High Carbohydrate vs. High Fat Pre-Fast Meal on Incretin Hormone Secretion: A Randomized Crossover Study

  Parker Graves, Landon S. Deru, and Bruce Bailey

  Chronic illness such as strokes, heart disease and diabetes all rank among the leading causes of death in the United States. Recently, fasting has gained popularity as a means of prevention from chronic illness through weight loss and other health benefits. Fasting produces multiple beneficial physiological responses that have been shown to aid in chronic disease prevention, one of which is observed by the release of incretin hormones such as glucosedependent insulin tropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). These incretin hormones are released by the gut to augment the secretion of insulin to regulate postprandial glucose levels. During a fast the decrease in incretin hormones, and resultant insulin levels can aid the body to regain insulin sensitivity. This can lead to more effective blood glucose management and chronic illness prevention.

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  Dyslexia is Caused by Visual Problems that Extend Beyond Language

  Adriana A. Gutierrez Rubio, Celeste Trolley, Cole Smith, Olivia Ford, Toni Brown, and Steven Luke

  Dyslexia is the most common learning disorder.

  There are several competing theories about the root cause of dyslexia →

  Each theory makes different predictions about dyslexic performance in visual search, a non-language task.

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  Changes to Morphine Sensitivity in the Ventral Tegmental Area after Morphine Conditioning

  Caylor W. Hafen, C. J. Treanor, P. D. Flora, G. C. Jones, D. Z. Otteson, S. Bishop, J. Breibholt, C. Ahrens, J. Rounkles, C. Saunders, H. A. Wadsworth, and J. T. Yorgason

  Dopamine circuit function in ventral tegmental area (VTA) is implicated in the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse including opioids.

  Morphine is known to activate three receptors: mu (MORs), delta (DORs) and kappa (KORs). Although the mu receptor is considered the main receptor in the addiction pathway, in vivo administration of both mu and delta agonists has shown behavior characteristic of addiction. In contrast, kappa agonists have been shown to be aversive to mice.

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  Detecting and Characterizing Multisensory Integrating Optic Tectum Neurons in Zebrafish

  Adeline Hamilton, KariAnne Jex, Erika C. Marks., Suehelen A. Garcia, Jordan T. Yorgason, Tracianne B. Neilsen, and Arminda Suli

  The superior colliculus (SC) is a mammalian midbrain structure involved in multimodal sensory integration and is implicated to have a role in neurodevelopmental disorders. Although the presence of multisensory integrating neurons (MINs) in the SC has been well documented by electrophysiology techniques, little is known about their morphological or molecular characterization. To identify and study MINs, we utilized SC’s non-mammalian homologous structure–the optic tectum (OT)–in the genetically tractable model organism zebrafish. In this process, we generated transgenic lines that allowed for fluorescent detection of neuronal activity by expressing the genetically engineered calcium indicators: cytoRGECO and H2B-jRGECO1a, respectively in mechanosensory hair cells of the ear and OT. To activate the vestibular sensory pads in 7 days-post-fertilization (dpf) larvae, we used a piezoelectric actuator probe. We found that upon the application of this vestibular stimulus in the posterior cristae (PC), some OT neurons showed time-locked activation. This indicates that OT circuitry in 7dpf larvae is mature enough to receive vestibular stimuli. Furthermore, when 7dpf larvae were sequentially and simultaneously exposed to vestibular and visual stimulations (1 second pulse of 488nm light), we found some OT neurons that responded to both stimuli and even showed potential integration. The discovery of such neurons sets up the stage for better morphological and molecular characterization of MINs and the study of their potential role in neurodevelopmental disorders.

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  Isolating Highly Specific Antibodies Against Cancer Target HPRT

  Austin J. Hansen, Christopher J. Haynie, Kiara V. Whitley, Michelle Townsend, Abby Johnson, Hunter Lindsay, Laura Baird, and Kim L. O'Neill

  Effective immunotherapeutic targeting of cancer cells requires identification of specific antigenic differences between cancerous and healthy cells. Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) is a cytoplasmic enzyme involved in the salvage pathway for DNA synthesis. Certain cancers (e.g., prostate and breast) upregulate and express HPRT on the cell membrane, making HPRT a potential cancer biomarker for cancer immunotherapies. Antibodies specific for unique cancer proteins are critical to develop targeted cancer immunotherapies. Using a yeast display library and cell sorting, we selected for high-affinity human single-chain (scFv) antibodies against HPRT that can be utilized in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies and antibody-dependent therapeutic approaches. Our initial screening identified a clone that binds to HPRT at a 20 nM concentration. Isolation and characterization of 20 HPRT specific clones for their ability to target cancer cells without destroying healthy cells is the critical next step in this HPRT immunotherapy development. Quantification of binding affinity and specificity will determine the best clones to transfer into an antibody-dependent (ADCC) or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell construct to evaluate cytotoxicity efficacy.

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  Characterization of E. coli Specific, FhuA Dependent Bacteriophage

  Colton B. Hansen, Jessica M. Lewis, Kathryn E. Janda, Ian W. Bateman, and William R. McCleary

  The extensive use of antibiotics since their discovery has led to the selection of antibiotic resistant pathogenic strains to become more common. This has increased the interest in bacteriophages to be used to fight these resistant bacteria. In Dr. McCleary's lab we have been investigating the relationship between Escherichia coli and some novel bacteriophage dependent on the ferrochrome hydroxamate transporter FhuA. These iron siderophore transporters allow E. coli to flourish in competitive low iron environments. Using an abundant transport protein such as FhuA likely confers an evolutionary advantage to phage that can target this with their receptor binding protein. This receptor serves as the target for various well studied phage such as Tl, T5, and Phi 80. These have helped us in characterizing novel phage isolated by members of our team. These are JLBYU37, JLBYU41, and JLBYU60. We have characterized the relationship between E.coli and these phage in multiple ways. We started by investigating what part of the FhuA protein was bound by each phage. To accomplish this tJ.fhuA tJ.waaC (LPS synthesis) and tJ.fhuA tJ.fepA (ferric enterobactin transporter) double knock out E. coli strains were constructed. A functioning FhuA encoding plasmid was transformed into a mutator strain, extracted and then transformed into E. coli (MG1655). The strains that were resistant to phage infection generally had a non-functional FhuA. In order to screen for functional FhuA, these phage resistant strains were plated on minimal iron agar with ferrochrome being the only source of iron. We also used site-directed mutagenesis to create modified FhuA proteins which replaced portions of the exposed loops with part of a loop from OmpF shown to not be targeted by FhuA dependent phage (Endriss et al.). We found that JLBYU37 and JLBYU60 are completely dependent on loop 8 and a reduced effectiveness with a loop 5 deletion. The Tl-like phage, JLBYU41, showed a reduced effectiveness when any single loop deletion was present, but JLBYU41 does not rely on any single loop. We now hypothesize that the loops are used to facilitate JLBYU41 binding to a region inside the FhuA barrel structure. Tests were also performed to show that JLBYU37 JLBYU41 and JLBYU 60 are non-lysogenic under normal as well as low nutrient stress environments. Our findings have shown that an in-depth understanding of phage-host interactions can help in the design of phage-based therapeutic agents that target vital bacterial receptors.

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  Neuroimmune-mediated alteration of acute alcohol exposure in the mesolimbic dopamine system

  William T. Harris, P. E. Williams, and Scott C. Steffensen

  2nd place open house

  Dopamine (DA) transmission is a key player in the rewarding aspects of ethanol (EtOH) as well as EtOH dependence.

  The current dogma is that DA transmission is increased during acute EtOH exposure via the inhibition of ventral tegmental area (VTA) GABA neurons and that the excitation of VTA GABA neurons during withdrawal results in decreased DA transmission.

  Much recent evidence indicates that neuroimmune interactions may mediate this process. •

  Microglia, the major neuroimmune effector in the brain, may be a key mediator in this process by releasing cytokines following activation.

  Macrophages, a major immune effector in the blood, may also be a key mediator in this process, potentially crossing the BBB to mediate neuroimmune processes in response to acute doses of EtOH.