VOLUME XCIX | ISSUE 1 | 2015

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SPECIAL FEATURE The Year in Biology FEATURED STUDENT RESEARCH

Spinal Pulse Inducing Neuro-Electric Stimulator S.P.I.N.E.S. (Bionic Spine Connector)

Neuroscience

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"The brain is the organ of destiny. It holds within its

humming mechanism secrets that will determine the future of the human

race."

Quote by Wilder Penfield , Penfield, W. (1963). The Second Career.

Boston: Little, Brown.

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Volume XCIX

2015

SENIOR STAFF Betty Chen ‘15 Jessica Ho ‘15 Yiwen Huang ‘15 Tangirul Islam ‘15 Jiayi Lily Ma ‘15 Keti Vaso ‘15 Aaron Zhang ‘15

JUNIOR STAFF

Crystal Wu ‘16 Yan Zhang ‘16 FACULTY CONSULTANT

Erin O’Leary, PhD

THE BRONX HIGH SCHOOL of SCIENCE

75 West 205th Street

Bronx, New York 10468 Telephone: (718) 817 -7700

Fax: (718) 733 -7951 www.bxscience.edu

JEAN M. DONAHUE, PhD

Principal

ALLISON WHEELER, PhD Assistant Principal

The Journal of Biology is published annually by

the students of the Bronx High School of Science

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It can be said that neuroscience is the central science, with the central nervous

system and the vast, interconnected network of the peripheral nervous system (PNS)

containing billion of neurons. Billions of neurons are firing away right now. They con-

duct messages between sensory neurons, inter-neurons, and motor neurons to elicit

what we might perceive as simple responses that range from lifting an arm, to moving

your leg, to creating feelings of joy and anger, and to controlling the beating of your

heart. Neuroscience, therefore, is in no way a simple science. It is an intricate science

that today, still remains enigmatic to the best scientists around the world. How does the

brain enable individuals to form dreams, hopes, and nightmares? How does the circuit-

ry of the brain contribute to the development of diseases and mental conditions? How

is the brain influenced by our environment? How does neuroscience influence who we

are as a person and our lifestyle? As important discoveries are made in neuroscience,

we are learning more about our brain, our mind, and ourselves.

What is Neuroscience ?

by Jessica Ho „15

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The Table of Contents

I. Overview of the Brain Tangirul Islam- Page 6

II. Interview: Dr. Gensert

Keti Vaso and Yiwen Huang - Page 8

III. Neuroplasticity Jiayi Lily Ma - Page 12

IV. “Bak Yeh”

Betty Chen - Page 15

V. Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Adolescent Brain and Behavior Keti Vaso- Page 17

VI. Effect of Drugs on Brain

Tangirul Islam - Page 19

VII. What is schizophrenia, what underlies its etiology, and what are its current cases and research?

Jessica Ho-Page 21

VIII. Amnesia: Memory Loss Crystal Wu-Page 23

IX. Brain Tumors: The Facts and the Problems

Aaron Zhang- Page 25

X. Featured Student Research: Spinal Pulse Inducing Neuro-Electric Stimulator (S.P.I.N.E.S.) (Bionic Spine Connector)

Page 28

XI. Student Research Abstracts - Page 36

XII. Award Winners in Biology - Page 51

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The brain is the focal point of all neu-

rological activity, averaging 3 pounds and con-

trolling all conscious and unconscious deci-

sions. The brain is what makes us human be-

cause it enables us to read, write, speak, think

rationally and so much more. Every time we

walk, raise our hands, or turn our heads, it is

our brain that is both simultaneously compre-

hending information from the environment and

sending messages throughout the body to react

to the environment.

You may wonder what enables the

brain to perform all of its intricate tasks. The

brain contains a hundred billion nerve cells

called neurons, which are electrically excitable

cells that process and transmit information

through electrochemical signals. Three major

types of neurons are motor, sensory and inter-

neurons. Motor neurons control muscle move-

ment and sensory neurons carry messages from

the outside of your body such as your skin and

send it to your central nervous system. For ex-

ample, your motor neurons are responsible for

your reflex when your hand moves to touch a

hot object and your sensory neurons are used

to tell you that the object is hot, which then

causes your hand to jerk away. This reaction is

called a reflex. The neuron is made up of an

axon that is covered in a myelin sheath. This

myelin sheath consists of fat and protein that

speeds up the movement of the message be-

tween neurons, through a small gap known as

the synapse. Dendrites finally connect the neu-

ron to another neuron and the process contin-

ues as such (1).

In the most general terms, the brain is

made up of the cerebrum, brain stem, thalamus

and hypothalamus. The cerebrum is the largest

part of the brain responsible for controlling

intelligence judgement and voluntary activities

such as moving your shoulders up when you

don‘t know something. In the back of the skull

lies the cerebellum, the second largest region

of the brain that is responsible for balance in

the body (3). The brain stem serves as the inter

connecting region of the brain that connects

the brain and the rest of the spine and central

nervous system for the purpose of regulating

the flow of information between the brain and

the rest of the body (2). It also regulates blood

pressure, heart rate, breathing and swallow-

ing.The thalamus internally receives messages

from the sense organs such as the cerebrum.

These messages are subsequently sent to the

cerebrum in order to be interpreted. The cere-

brum controls voluntary actions which is the

reason humans can do hard math problems or

kick a soccer ball (4). The hypothalamus is the

control center for recognition and analysis of

hunger, thirst, fatigue anger and body tempera-

ture.

Figure 1. A message goes to the axon terminal through

the synapse onto another neuron picked up by dendrites.

The messages goes from the terminal bud and then through the axon and in the synapse where they attach to

receptors (1). The synapse is located between the den-

drites and the previous axon terminal (2).

In order to perform everyday functions

such as running, the brain must have some type

of protection, and it does! The skull covered by

layers of membranes called meninges (1). Me-

ninges protect the brain from rubbing against

Overview of the Brain By Tangirul Islam ‗15

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Neuroscience: Overview of the Brain

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the bones of the skull and spine. Furthermore

the brain and spinal cord have cerebrospinal

fluid which aids in protecting the brain from

damage during accidents such as getting hit on

the head by a basketball (4).

Development of the Brain

The first part of the brain that develops is the

brainstem and midbrain which is the top and

middle portion of the brain. These regions are

significantly responsible for autonomic func-

tions such as digesting food in your stomach or

regulating hormones (4). When a baby is born,

the lower portions of the nervous system must

be well developed before the higher regions.

For humans, newborn babies develop the high-

er portions of their brain after birth (2). The

higher portion of the brain controls emotions

language and abstract thought. Each region

manages its assigned function through process-

es with chemical messenger. (neurotransmitters

and hormones) to transmit info throughout the

body and the rest of the brain.

Conclusion

The inner mechanisms of the brain are very

complex. Neurologists have spent many years

to figure out how it works. The brain is respon-

sible for a persons personality, memory, move-

ment and senses. Thanks to neuroscience re-

search, we are able to find out specifically

which part of the brain does what and how it

affects our lives. Our brain is like a computer

that controls every part of our body!

References:

1. David Borsook ( 2012, February. Neurologi-

cal Diseases and Pain Brain. National Geo-

graphic ; 135(2): 320–3

2. Clikeman Margaret. Research in Brain Func-

tion and Learning Retrieved from <http://

www.apa.org/education/k12/brain-

function.aspx>.

3. University of Michigan. "The Human Brain."

The Human Brain. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan.

2014.

4.Helen Philips. (2006) The Human Brain.

NewScientist.

Neuroscience: General Overview of Brain

Figure 2: As shown in the diagram above, the forebrain,

midbrain and the hindbrain are developed first for babies.

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Interview Conducted by Keti Vaso ‘15 and Yiwen Huang ‘15

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Dr. JoAnn Gensert:

Q. Please introduce yourself and talk about your position here at Bronx Science

A. My name is JoAnn Gensert, and I‘m at Bronx Science as a biology teacher. I teach research

projects, AP Biology, and Research Literacy.

Q. What did you do before coming to Bronx Science?

A. I was a research scientist. I got my doctorate at Columbia University Medical Center. I did a

post doc and fellowship at NYU School of Medicine. I was also on the faculty at Cornell and I

worked at a research institute as well.

Q. What were you studying during college?

A. Biochemistry. I did research as an undergrad as well. My research as an undergrad involved

examining the function of the 5‘ planking region of the estrogen gene. It had to do with manipu-

lating a particular region of the DNA for a gene that encodes for a hormone.

Q. We heard from Dr. O’Leary that you were involved with neurobiology. Could you tell

us a little bit more about that?

A. Certainly. I did my doctorate in the lab of the director of neuropathology at Columbia. My

research is specifically in rodents, but it applies to mammals. I was the first one to identify that

proliferating cells that persist in adult mammals are able to be stimulated to differentiate into a

cell type called an oligodendrocyte. Oligodendrocytes actually myelinate the neurons. So, these

immature dividing cells that are in the adult brain, even in your brain, are able to be induced to

become oligodendrocytes and to repair lesions. The type of lesions that they can repair are those

seen in diseases like multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain. For example,

when you touch something hot, your brain will tell you that ―Its hot! Its hot!‖ And the brain will

say ―Pull your hand away,‖ and a healthy person will pull his/her hand away hard. In multiple

sclerosis, then this breaks down so the message doesn‘t go through completely, and the person

can‘t pull their hand away as a reflex. These cells are actually in the brain so you don‘t have to

put any cells into the person and there‘s no rejection issues; they‘re already there. So we labeled

these oligodendrocytes so we created a lesion and we showed that these oligodendrocytes were-

able to repair the induced lesion. Oligodendrocytes make myelin, and myelin covers the neuron

so that the message can travel long distances.

Interview with Dr. JoAnn Gensert

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In conclusion, we showed that these cells in the brain could differentiate and mature into

oligodendrocytes. They could repair lesions in a therapeutic approach. Naturally in cross-

sections of post-mortem brain tissues there might be myelin on the axon like a swirled lollipop.

However in MS brain, there is some myelination, but it is not as thick with not as many swirls.

Q. What kind of implications do you think your research could have in medicine or the

future?

A. My research employs a more therapeutic approach to MS but it is not a cure. It is a method

used to enhance lesion repair so that a person would be able to regain some functions, or not

lose function as quickly. However, the actual signals that cause the progenitors to mature into

oliogodentrocytes are unknown. And so, these signals must be identified.

Q. What made you interested in this topic?

A. I love glia. There are many different types of glia, mainly micro and macro glia. Macro glia

consists of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, and hold the brain together. It these weren‘t in your

body, your brain would just mush and drip out of your nose. When I first started, I did a project

in a lab involving glia, and I am passionate about glia. Everybody thinks that the brain is just

composed of neurons, but glia are also present in neurons and allow signals to travel long dis-

tances. Astrocytes put their endfeet around a synapse to protect the communication between one

neurons.

Q. More generally, how did you become interested in the field of neurobiology?

A. I have always been interested in science. I‘ve always been interested in asking questions and

trying to understand how things work. As an undergrad I didn‘t do neuro initially as I did re-

search that was more molecular in nature. I love cells and love working with whole animals be-

cause you can see the effect. I don‘t know for sure why it‘s neuro, but I know it is my passion.

Q. What was your favorite part about being involved in neurobiology?

A. Discovering something in neuroscience could make a difference in peoples lives. My thesis

advisor and I had the opportunity to do things such as brain sectioning. Columbia has a brain

bank where the brains are cut in half. One half is frozen and the other half is fixed in+ para-

formaldehyde. Some diseases are identified post mortem only, although the symptoms may

point to a disease before a person passes away, you have to cut the brain and look to verify the

disease. The other thing I liked is that if there was a certain incident where the physicians were

removing a tumor, for example, my mentor would have to go while the person was still being

operated on, my mentor would have to go and section the pieces of the tumor removed to get

the edges. That is exciting to me, and I think it‘s a lot of fun. The other thing I liked that I

worked on in terms of neuro was we showed that someone did a comparison of a type of brain

tumor which is glioma and normal astrocytes. And when they did that comparison, they pulled

out a couple of molecules that are expressed in one part but not expressed in another.

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I looked at a couple of these molecules and based on DNA structure, we proposed that it may

respond to certain really cheap drugs to cause the gene to be re-expressed. And when we re-

express the molecule that was in one part but was missing in the tumor, the tumor stopped di-

viding and stopped moving around. So that can also be a possible therapeutic treatment. And

that‘s exciting, because to me, you take the logic, look at system, you apply simple biological

concepts, ask the right questions and do the right experiments to come up with answers that can

change the lives of people.

Q. How did you end up from researching neurobiology to teaching at Bronx Science?

A. I‘ve always been a teacher. I‘ve taught Sunday school, I‘ve coached volleyball on a high

school and college level, I‘ve taught swimming and tennis from when I was in high school all

the way up, and so I‘ve always been a teacher. I love teaching, and believe it or not, I love kids,

including high school kids. I wanted to apply what I know to a different type of atmosphere and

environment.

Q. Do you have any advice for students who may be interested in pursuing neuroscience in

college?

A. Start learning basics as early as you can. There are many students who come up to me and

say they‘re interested in neuroscience and biology, but they don‘t understand how a neuron

functions, and that is just part of the basics. There are so many things online that you can ac-

cess, or get a good neuroscience book and just go through it. So my advice would be to start

learning and to read as early as you can, because who knows, somebody who‘s interested in

neuroscience and research can be one of you guys to discover the cure for MS, for example.

The cure is coming from you, young people.

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Neuroplasticity

For decades, neuroscientists believed

that the functions carried out by specific re-

gions of the brain are fixed; any incidents of

brain change or recovery were considered ex-

ceptions.(1) However, during the 1970‘s and

80‘s, scientists changed their conventional

view of the brain and accepted neuroplasticity

as an important characteristic of this vital or-

gan.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of neurons

and neural networks in the brain to change

their connections and behavior in order to ad-

just to new information, sensory stimulation,

development, damage or dysfunction.(1) Neu-

ral networks exhibit modularity and carry out

specific functions. Nevertheless, they can di-

verge from their regular functions and reorgan-

ize themselves when necessary.(1)

Rapid alterations or reorganization of

the brain‘s neural networks can happen in

many forms and under many circumstances.

During developmental plasticity, neurons in

the young brain branch out quickly and form

synapses. Some of these synapses are strength-

ened while others are weakened as the brain

begins to process information. In a process

called synaptic pruning, unused synapses are

eliminated, leaving behind efficient networks

of neural connections.(1) Other forms of neu-

roplasticity that are induced by various circum-

stances have a similar mechanism as the one

described above. These circumstances include

physical changes of the body; for example, the

loss of a limb or sense organ.(1) In addition,

the brain employs neuroplasticity during the

reinforcement of sensory information gathered

through activities such as learning.(1)

Adult Neurogenesis

The ability of the adult mammalian

brain to generate new neurons from neural

stem cells and progenitor cells in a process

called neurogenesis is one of the most fascinat-

ing examples of neuroplasticity.(2) Neurogene-

sis has sparked new interest in stem cell re-

search because of the possibility to discover

ways to enhance the regeneration of neurons in

adults who suffer from neurological disease

and impairment, stroke, and depression.

For years, scientists believed that cer-

tain cells in the body, such as brain cells, were

nonrenewable. However, many later studies

indicated that these cells can be regenerated

from stem cells that exist throughout life. In

the 1960s, Joseph Altman reported the first

evidence of adult neurogenesis in rats. (3) Yet,

the idea of adult neurogenesis wasn‘t widely

accepted until the 1990s, when researchers

found self-renewing neural stem cells that

could give rise to new neural cells in the sub-

ventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and

the subgranular zone of the hippocampal den-

tate gyrus.(3)

Similar to the neurogenesis process

during development, adult neurogenesis in-

volves a multistep process that includes cell

proliferation, cell cycle exit, a choice between

survival and death, cell migration, cell differ-

entiation, and cell-fate decisions.(4) Despite

this similarity, there are several significant dif-

ferences between the two. The most important

difference is that adult neurogenesis creates

fewer proliferating cells and produces limited

Neuroplasticity By Jiayi Lily Ma ‘15

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Neuroscience: Neuroplasticity

13

neuronal cell classes.(4) The cause of the adult

neural stem cells (NSC) to have a more re-

stricted neurogenic potential could be the mi-

croenvironment or the ―niche‖ of these cells.

During development, embryonic NSCs origi-

nate from radial glia and neuroepithelial cells

lining the neural tubes. Adult NSCs, however,

come from the embryonic neuroepithelial radi-

al glia, with a subset of cells found in highly

specialized regions of the brain such as the

subgranular zone and subventricular zone. (3)

Implications of Adult Neurogenesis in Various

Diseases and Disorders

Adult neurogenesis is affected by brain

injuries and neurological diseases and disor-

ders such as traumatic brain injury and ischem-

ic stroke. Neurodegenerative diseases like Alz-

heimer‘s and Parkinson‘s diseases; demye-

linating diseases like multiple sclerosis; epilep-

sy and seizure; and psychiatric disorders such

as depression also have an impact on adult

neurogenesis.(3) The following explores sever-

al of these diseases and disorders and how they

are connected with adult neurogenesis.

Brain Injury Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs

when sudden trauma causes brain injury. Gen-

erally, TBI leads to neuronal loss and neuro-

logical deficits, especially in hippocampus-

dependent cognitive functions.(3) Many ani-

mal studies of both focal and diffuse TBI indi-

cate that neurogenesis is increased in the sub-

granular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus and

the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral

ventricles after TBI.(3) However, whether neu-

rogenesis contributes to the recovery process

after TBI is another question. Stroke, a leading

cause of death in humans, occurs because of

ischemia blockage or hemorrhage to the brain.

Studies have shown that focal or global ische-

mia could induce neurogenesis in adult rats

and monkeys. Researchers have also demon-

strated functional neurogenesis in the hippo-

campus and discovered that ―newborn‖ neu-

rons in the SVZ migrate to the damaged cor-

tex. (3) Despite these findings, the specific role

that ischemia-induced neurogenesis plays in

the recovery process remains unknown.

Alzheimer's disease (AD)

AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease

of the central nervous system; the main feature

of AD includes the accumulation of plaques

and tangles in the brain, especially in the hip-

pocampus. Another characteristic of AD is the

loss of connections between neurons.(5) The

role that neurogenesis plays in AD is ambigu-

ous and complicated. In some animal model of

AD, increase in hippocampal neurogenesis is

reported.(3) Other evidence has indicated the

opposite, however. An important characteristic

of AD is the reduction of overall cholinergic

signaling. The loss of cholinergic signaling has

been shown to decrease adult neurogenesis in

the hippocampus and olfactory bulb.(3) On the

other hand, treatment with cholinergic drugs

that increase cholinergic signaling has been

found to induce neurogenesis.(3)

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ALS is a fatal, progressive neurodegen-

erative disease that affects neurons and the spi-

nal cord. It causes rapid muscle weakness, dis-

ability, and ultimately, death.(6) There is an

increase in progenitor cell proliferation, migra-

tion, and neurogenesis in mice with a mutation

of superoxide dismutase 1, a mutation found in

rare familial patients with ALS.(3)

The neurodegenerative diseases de-

scribed above influence both adult neurogene-

sis and neural plasticity. The genes that are of-

ten involved in these diseases (Parkinson‘s dis-

ease and Alzheimer‘s disease) seem to play a

key regulating role in adult neurogenesis, too.

(3)

Major Depression Disorder (MDD)

MDD is a psychiatric disorder that

causes low mood, low self-esteem, and a loss

of interest in activities that are usually enter-

taining.(3) In 2000, researchers suggested that

depression is linked to impaired adult neuro-

genesis. Many experiments have both support-

ed and opposed this hypothesis. Patients with

chronic MDD usually have smaller hippocam-

Neuroscience: Neuroplasticity

14

pi. The high stress and cortisol levels usually

experienced by people with MDD have been

shown to decrease adult hippocampal neuro-

genesis.(3) Conversely, antidepressants in-

crease cell proliferation in the adult hippocam-

pus. Recent findings suggest that impaired

adult neurogenesis affect MDD patients; nev-

ertheless, MDD is not completely caused by

weakened neurogenesis. (3)

Treatments Involving Adult Neural Stem Cells

Adult neural stem cells (NSCs) are

multipotent cells that have the ability to self-

renew. It has been found that adult mammalian

NSCs can give rise to functional neurons and

glia.(3) Although it is known that adult neuro-

genesis plays a key role in maintaining homeo-

stasis and contribute to the plasticity of the

central nervous system (CNS), scientists are

still investigating the specific role that adult

neurogenesis plays.

Adult neurogenesis seems to help to

repair the CNS after a brain injury or disease.

Acute brain damage usually causes an accrue-

ment of cell proliferation temporarily; chronic

brain damage, however, leads to a decrease in

adult neurogenesis overtime.(3) Studies have

indicated that in rats, NSCs are responsible for

replacing dying neurons caused by direct inju-

ry or ischemic stroke.(3) In addition, in many

seizure models and neurodegenerative diseases

such as Alzheimer‘s Disease (AD) and Hun-

tington‘s Disease (HD), cell proliferation and

neurogenesis seems to escalate initially at the

sites of damage.(3) In patients with neuro-

degenerative disorders, an increase in neuro-

plasticity is also found.(3) Thus, treatments

involving NSCs may be the cure for many neu-

rological disorders.

Currently, there are two such NSC-

based treatments: Transplantation of exoge-

nous neural stem or progenitor cells and stimu-

lation of endogenous neural stem or progenitor

cells.(3)

Scientists have found some degree of

success transplanting fetal neuronal precursor

cells to animals with spinal cord injury, TBI,

Parkinson‘s Disease (PD), and spinal muscular

atrophy. But when similar transplanting is ap-

plied to humans with PD or HD, mixed results

were found.(3) The transplanting of adult neu-

ronal precursor cells has also been tested.

When adult spinal cord stem cells were trans-

planted locally into the adult dentate gyrus in

rats, the generation of new neurons was ob-

served.(3) Despite these discoveries, neuro-

transplantation of adult or embryonic stem/

progenitor cells in humans still present chal-

lenges to neuroscientists due to issues such as

improper delivery and migration, mass effect

and cell death, cell manufacturing problems,

tumor formation, and adverse immune system

interactions.(3)

Another promising way of treating neu-

rological disorders or diseases is the stimula-

tion of endogenous neural stem or progenitor

cells. Active adult neurogenesis is mostly con-

fined in the SGZ and SVZ regions of the brain;

however, incidence this process is also found

throughout the CNS.(3) Consequently, recruit-

ing and activating these endogenous cells

could induce regeneration and healing in in-

jured or diseased CNS.(3)

Conclusion

Many cells in the body have the ability

to repair and self-renew because of stem cells

and of various regulating mechanisms.(3)

Since the brain can regenerate, it may be possi-

ble in the future to use NSC-based therapy to

cure neurological diseases like AD and brain

injuries.

References: 1. Rugnetta, M. (2012). Neuroplasticity. In Britannica.

Retrieved September 5, 2013

2. Gage, F. H., Kempermann, G., & Song, H.

(2008). Adult Neurogenesis. (p. blurb). Cold Spring Har-

bor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Re-

trieved September 6, 2013

3. Doze, V. A., & Perez, D. M. (2012, July). G-Protein-

Coupled Receptors in Adult Neurogenesis [Electronic

version].Pharmacological Reviews, 64(3), 645-675.

doi:10.1124/pr.111.004762

4. Gage, F. H., Kempermann, G., & Song, H.

(2008). Adult Neurogenesis (p. 7). Cold Spring Harbor,

NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Retrieved

September 6, 2013 In National Institute on Aging. Re-

trieved September 5, 2013

Neuroscience: Neuroplasticity

15

Bak Yeh (Uncle)

I've always wondered deep inside

how you've managed to stay so kind.

Your passion to learn,

to laugh and

to stay firm,

is definitely a mentality that many can learn from.

Although we're many miles away,

and our visits have been timed,

each visit has surely been infinitely sublime.

The things that you have shown me though are beyond the depths of this rhyme.

You've taught me to stand strong,

to know no limits

and to be wrong.

You've truly defined the quote,

"It's not about the cards you're dealt,

but how you play the hand."

You chased after your education

and worked hard conducting your job.

After many years of toil, you've finally made it to the top.

You've gone above and beyond your possible limits,

all the while,

staying vivid.

Over the years, your health has greatly deteriorated.

But you're still very much extraordinarily bold.

As this poem is drawing to a close,

one thing is for sure,

ALS may be within you,

but it will surely

never define you.

Written by Betty Chen ‘15

16

Figure 1. Normal nerve cell vs ALS nerve cells.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease‖, is a progres-

sive neurodegenerative disease that targets nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor

neurons spread from the brain to the spinal cord and then to the muscles in the body. When these

motor neurons begin to degenerate, they are then unable to send impulses to the muscle fibers

which would normally cause muscle movement. As a result, the brain is unable to initiate and

control muscle movement. Patients in the later stages of this disease are often paralyzed. Howev-

er, the current cause of this disease is unknown.

Symptoms of ALS include increasing muscle weakness, especially in the arms and legs,

and inhibited speech and breathing. This may lead to difficulty in projecting one's voice, as well

as twitching and cramping of muscles in hands and feet. Limbs also begin to look "thinner" as a

result of muscle tissue atrophies, which is when the muscle tissues decrease in size since they are

unable to receive messages from the motor neurons.

In order to diagnose someone with ALS, a list of cumulative tests must be done, includ-

ing a spinal tap, x-rays, muscle/nerve biopsy, etc. There is not one specific test or procedure to

diagnose one with ALS. Many who do develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70, but there

are also cases in those who are in their twenties and thirties. Once diagnosed with ALS, half of

all people affected live at least three years or more. Twenty percent live at least five years and

ten percent live more than ten years.

Although there is currently no cure for this disease, there is an FDA approved drug

known as Riluzole which shows clinically that it slows the progression of ALS.

Neuroscience: ALS Disease

Neuroscience: ALS By Betty Chen ‘15

17

Bronx Science is arguably one of the

most widely known high schools in New York

City. Nearly everyone who‘s heard of it is

aware of how hard working and motivated all

of the students in our school are. But the public

is not entirely familiar with a fact more widely

known among the students in our school: many

Bronx Science students suffer from lack of

sleep. But are those two hours of sleep lost to

cram for an upcoming test really beneficial in

the long run? Sleep deprivation is thought to be

undermining teenagers‘ health as it has nega-

tive effects on the developing brain which, con-

sequently, affects how teenagers behave. Not

only is it becoming a rising issue for students in

Bronx Science, but also for high school stu-

dents all around the nation. According to the

National Sleep Foundation, teenagers in Ameri-

ca are advised to sleep 9 hours every night. But

a follow up study published in the Journal of

Adolescent Health reveals that only 8% of

teenagers in America are receiving the required

amount of sleep. (1) Even more shocking is the

fact that as many as two thirds of American

teenagers get, on average, 7 hours of sleep or

less. (2) But how can we stop this rising issue?

In order to answer that question, the effects of

sleep deprivation must first be considered.

Sleep is crucial, especially for developing

teenagers, to provide rest for the brain and en-

sure it works optimally. The effects of sleep

can be considered in relation to the cerebral

cortex. For example, the temporal lobe of the

cerebral cortex is associated with the process of

language. MRI scans on subjects who are fully

rested reveal very active brain activity in this

region. (3) However, in sleep deprived sub-

jects, MRI scans have shown very little to no

activity occurring in the temporal lobe. These

effects on the cerebral cortex are seen to greatly

impact behavior as well. The inactivity in the

temporal lobe is thought to be associated with

the fact that, after verbal learning tests, sleep

deprived subjects were seen to exhibit slurred

speech patterns, as opposed to the normal

speech patterns seen in the subjects who did

receive sufficient sleep.

Limited amounts of sleep not only af-

fect speech patterns, but also performance in

school. In an 1998 study conducted by psy-

chologists from the College of the Holy Cross

and Brown University Medical School, stu-

dents who reported lower grades (D‘s and F‘s)

were reported to receive 25 less minutes of

sleep when compared to students who reported

higher grades (A‘s and B‘s). (2) Furthermore, a

connection between sleep deprivation in teens

and decreased levels of human growth hormone

has been seen. This hormone is an essential

component to the physical growth, brain devel-

opment, and maturation of the immune system

in a teenager. (3) A study conducted in 2010 by

the journal, Sleep, revealed that teenagers who

stay up past midnight are 24% more likely to

Neuroscience: Sleep Deprivation

Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Adolescent Brain and Behavior

By Keti Vaso ‘15

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suffer from depression and other psychological

disorders. (1) Lack of sleep can affect the deci-

sions that teenagers make. In order to cram for

tests or try to stay more alert, they may rely on

caffeine, energy drinks, as well as ampheta-

mines such as Adderall, which may have severe

neurologic and cardiovascular effects on a de-

veloping teen‘s body.

What steps can be taken to help increase

the amount of sleep for teens and decrease their

reliance on unhealthy habits to stay awake? It is

important that teens develop a schedule to

properly balance their school work and extra-

curricular activities, while fulfilling the neces-

sary nine hours of sleep every night. Routines

such as listening to soft music or reading, or

being in an optimal environment that is cool

and dark can help one fall asleep easily. Fur-

thermore, caffeine intake should be limited after

lunchtime. There is no set cut off time one

should stop taking caffeine, but it is recom-

mended that caffeine intake should be stopped

four to six hours before bedtime.

If more teenagers and parents become

aware of the serious health risks sleep depriva-

tion poses, then perhaps more steps can be tak-

en to ensure teenagers receive the amount of

sleep their body really needs.

References

(1) Strauss, V. (2012, March 10). Sleep deprivation and

teens: ‗Walking zombies‘. Washington Post. Retrieved

April 1, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/

blogs/answer-sheet/post/sleep-deprivation-and-teens-

walking-zombies/2012/03/10/gIQAr0QP3R_blog.html

(2) Carpenter, S. (2001, October 1). Sleep deprivation

may be undermining teen health. http://www.apa.org.

Retrieved March 31, 2014, from http://www.apa.org/

monitor/oct01/sleepteen.aspx

(3) The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Brain and Behav-

ior. (n.d.). Serendip Studio. Retrieved March 30, 2014,

from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690

Neuroscience: Sleep Deprivation

19

Have you ever wondered why drinking

an energy drink makes you wide awake? Have

you ever thought of the reasons that some drugs

put you sleep? Most drugs work by enhancing

or restricting the effects of natural chemicals in

your body. In fact, this is the way that energy

drinks, which can contain up to eighty milli-

grams of caffeine, work. Caffeine is a stimulant

contained in these drinks. Caffeine is chemical-

ly similar to a neurochemical called adenosine,

which functions by binding to receptors to

cause drowsiness. Caffeine, which neurons mis-

takenly identify as adenosine, enables caffeine

to bind to adenosine receptors. Since caffeine

has binded to all the available adenosine recep-

tors, adenosine is unable to bind to the surface

of neuron cells. The result is the feeling of alert-

ness that you get from energy drinks (4).

Some drugs can become addictive be-

cause they activate the brain‘s ―reward system‖.

The reward system in your brain releases a

chemical called dopamine from neurons called

the dopaminergic neurons found in the substan-

tia nigra. Dopamine is naturally released when

we do something that is pleasurable, such as

eating food or accomplishing something. Some

drugs increase dopamine release which leads to

addictions. For example, people can be addicted

to candy because of dopamine (1).

When you inhale the smoke of marijua-

na, chemicals such as tetrahydrocannabinol

(THC) travel to the brain through the blood-

stream and affect something called cannabinoid

receptors. Cannabinoid receptors affect your

physical and mental activities such as problem

solving, short term memory loss, coordinating

and learning. THC can affect the ability to carry

out these essential processes. Cannabinoid re-

ceptors are activated by a neurotransmitter

called anandamide, and THC, a cannabinoid

chemical, interferes with this interaction. THC

as a result of its similar chemical nature to

anandamide mocks the neurotransmitter. In-

stead of having anandamide bind to the canna-

binoid receptors, THC molecules bind to these

chemicals and cause the hazy and drowsy feel-

ing that marijuana users feel when they are

―high‖(2).

Neurotransmitters allows the neurons to

communicate. They fill in the gaps between

neurons and bind to protein receptors which al-

lows functions to be carried out and it allows

the body to be turned on and off (3). THC

blocks the neurotransmitters actions, thus creat-

ing difficulties in the functions that need to be

carried out by the body. Marijuana overac-

tivates the endo-cannabinoid system, which

heightens a person's appetite, pain sensation,

mood and memory.

Neuroscience: Effect of Drugs on the Brain

Effect of Drugs on the Brain By Tangirul Islam ‘15

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Some drugs, such as medicines, are ben-

eficial for your health until over consumed.

Drugs usually enhance or block chemicals al-

ready inside your system, or can increase or de-

crease the levels of certain chemicals (4). This

can undeniably lead to catastrophic results to

your mind and body. So please, talk to your

doctor about drugs before taking them as they

may have potentially harmful side effects.

References (1) Vince, Gaia. (2005, December). Dopamine Blockers

Lead Faithful Voles Astray. NewScientist Retrieved from

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8412-dopamine-

blockers-lead-faithful-voles-astray.html.

(2) Frood, Arran. (2011, October).Drug Hallucinations

Look Real in the Brain. NewScientist,.

(3) Nutt, D. (2008). Drugs on the brain. Live Well. Re-

trieved June 12, 2014, from http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/

drugs/Pages/Dodrugsdamagebrain.aspx

(4) Pubchem. Adenosine.. Retrieved June 12, 2014, from

http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?

cid=60961#x281

Neuroscience: Effect of Drugs on the Brain

21

Schizophrenia, literally meaning ‗split

mind‘, is a serious, chronic mental disorder that

affects approximately 1.1% of the population in

the United States. Schizophrenia most com-

monly develops in individuals who have

reached adulthood. Individuals diagnosed with

schizophrenia may find difficulties in maintain-

ing normal lifestyles and find it harder to inter-

act with others. In fact, those diagnosed with

schizophrenia might experience what research-

ers and medical doctors called positive and

negative symptoms. Positive symptoms include

delusions, withdrawal, disorganized behavior,

hallucinations, and abnormal perception of true

reality. The distinction between positive and

negative symptoms is that the former is primar-

ily associated with behaviors not seen in men-

tally healthy individuals while the latter is more

associated with disruptions of normal behavior.

As such, negative symptoms of schizophrenia

describe behaviors such as lack of drive or

pleasure in life, and withdrawal from associat-

ing with others; in fact, when approached by

others, schizophrenics tend to talk very little

and even if they do, they may do so with mo-

notony and with little emotion (called a ‗flat

effect‘). (1)

Paranoid, catatonic, disorganized and

residual schizophrenia are the four most promi-

nent subtypes of schizophrenia. As denoted by

its name, paranoid schizophrenia is identified

by a mistaken perception of reality, meaning

that a paranoid schizophrenic loses touch with

reality and begins to imagine things that are not

really there. Moreover, the term catatonia, de-

scribing a prolonged state of stupor, or motion-

lessness and observed in conditions like depres-

sion, is additionally characteristic of catatonic

schizophrenia. Catatonic schizophrenia is a less

common subtype of schizophrenia. Individuals

diagnosed with this type of schizophrenia expe-

rience vastly different episodes of emotions.

For instance, a catatonic schizophrenia may be

extremely silent, emotionless and catatonic one

moment and in the next, become extremely er-

ratic and disarrayed the next. These unpredicta-

ble episodes of behaviors, therefore, represent

the quintessential nature of catatonic schizo-

phrenia. The third subtype of the mental disor-

der is disorganized schizophrenia. Signs of this

subtype include disorganized thinking and

speech as well as the lack of facial expressions

during speech (called the ‗flat‘ or ‗blunted af-

fect‘) (1). Those with this chronic disorder may

find it readily difficult to organize their

thoughts and speech well enough and may ca-

priciously jump from subject to subject. When

speaking, they might do so in a monotonous

voice and a stolid expression without a hint of

emotion whatsoever.

Those with a history of schizophrenia,

but do not have current positive symptoms of

schizophrenia are said to have residual schizo-

phrenia.

What are the current views on the etiology of

schizophrenia?

There is a much higher prevalence of

schizophrenia in individuals with familial his-

tory of the disorder. Scientists currently believe

that molecular and biochemical imbalances in

the brain underlie the development of schizo-

phrenia. Research has dawned light on two par-

ticular types of neurotransmitters called dopa-

mine and serotonin, molecules that researchers

have learned to be essential to the normal func-

tioning of the brain. Dopamine is a neurotrans-

mitter secreted by the dopaminergic neurons in

the substantia nigra and has a crucial role in the

brain, regulating the reward and pleasure cen-

ters part of the limbic system, which include

the striatum. Dopamine transmits messages

from dopaminergic neurons to its target cells

by binding on their specific dopamine recep-

tors. The binding of dopamine regulates a

plethora of things such as physical movement,

emotions, alertness, pleasure, and memory (2).

Neuroscience: Schizophrenia

What is schizophrenia, what underlies its etiology, and what are its

current causes and research? By Jessica Ho‘15 A

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In many individuals who have schizo-

phrenia, additionally, seem to be hyperactive.

Research has also shown that lowered levels of

dopamine can cause hyperactivity, a diagnostic

symptom of ADHD. Drugs such as cocaine can

accelerate dopamine buildup in the brain, lead-

ing to maladaptive effects. Evidence of a posi-

tive correlation between the introduction of a

dopamine antagonist (D2 antagonists) to a

schizophrenic subject and the presence of dopa-

mine‘s breakdown product, called homovallinic

acid, in urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and plasma

support the hypothesis that abnormalities in do-

pamine levels contribute to the mental disorder.

MRI studies have also demonstrated increased

levels of dopamine co-transporters in the cau-

date nucleus and the putamen, two regions re-

sponsible for memory and motor functions re-

spectively. These research findings have

strengthened the assertion that dopamine level

abnormalities contribute the etiology of schizo-

phrenia (2).

In addition to the dopamine hypothesis,

mounting evidence over the years has led re-

searchers to formulate the serotonin hypothesis

which uses the abnormalities of serotonin levels

as a possible basis for the development of schiz-

ophrenia. Serotonin comes from tryptophan,

and was first hypothesized to play a role in the

disorder in the 1950s when researchers ob-

served similarities between serotonin and lyser-

gic acid. Lysergic acid, which is in higher levels

at serotonin‘s receptor sites, induces symptoms

somewhat similar to a psychosis effect, allow-

ing researchers to raise a possibility of whether

serotonin may hold a degree of responsibility in

eliciting the symptoms observed in schizo-

phrenics. Despite having collected contradictory

evidence as to serotonin‘s role in schizophrenia,

researchers have discovered that serotonin lev-

els are abnormally elevated in the putamen,

caudate, and the prefrontal cortex, which might

be due to reduced serotonin reuptake sites). (2)

Lastly, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) has

become of interest to researchers; the produc-

tion of dopamine by dopaminergic neurons are

regulated by the GABAergic neurons, which are

in turn regulated by an enzyme called glutamate

decarboxylase (GAD). Studies have shown that

decreased production of GABA promotes dopa-

mine production, therefore possibly creating the

symptoms of schizophrenia (2).

Interesting Case Involving Schizophrenia

A seven year old girl named Jan

Schofield was different from other children the

day that she was born. While other babies sleep

about 16-17 hours a day, Jani never slept for

more than twenty minutes at a time and no more

than four hours per day. At age 2, she began to

‗see‘ and interact with her imaginary friends

(hallucinations). Although it is normal for kids

this age to have imaginary friends, what was

different about Jani‘s situation was that her in-

teractions with her imaginary friends became

violent. She felt as if her friends were ‗out to

get her,‘ and wanted to attack her. Episodes of

violent behavior soon followed afterwards-she

began to scratch and attack her parents-later

on, became a danger to herself. In many situa-

tions, she would try to choke herself. In another

situation, when Jani was locked in her room as

punishment for trying to hurt herself, her par-

ents found Jani attempting to jump out of the

window. These instances exemplify that the

symptoms of schizophrenia are in some cases,

dangerous and can be developed at a very

young age. (3) References

1 Goldberg, J. (2013, May 1). Types of Schizophre-

nia: Paranoid, Residual, and More. Retrieved No-

vember 17, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/

schizophrenia/guide/schizophrenia-types

2. Milind, P. (2013). Biomarkers/causative factors

of Schizophrenia. International Research Journal of

Pharmacy, 4(4), 78-85.

3. The 7-Year-Old Schizophrenic. (2009, October

6). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://

www.oprah.com/health/The-7-Year-Old-

Schizophrenic/3

Neuroscience: Schizophrenia

23

What is Amnesia? Amnesia is the loss of memory and is also

sometimes characterized by the difficulty to

remember due to a traumatic event, injury, dis-

ease, drug abuse, or tumor. Loss of memory

can be permanent, but not always. In some cas-

es, memories can be recovered with the help of

psychotherapy. These memories are usually

memories of traumatic events or accidents.

However, amnesia can also result in a perma-

nent loss of memories. This can result in a

lapse between two time periods. Depending on

the length of the time, the person with amnesia

can return to their normal lives with minimal

help and treatment. (1)

Causes of Amnesia Amnesia can be caused in multiple ways. Two

major causes are organic causes and functional

causes. Organic causes include the use of seda-

tive drugs, which damage parts of the brain that

hold memories. The areas that are damaged are

usually the temporal or diencephalic parts of

the brain. The temporal part of the brain in-

cludes the hippocampus as well as the cortical

areas that surround it. The diencephalic area

consists of a group of subcortical structures that

are located in the middle of the

brain. Damage to these areas can also be

caused functionally, or by the mind‘s reaction.

The brain has defense systems that can result in

the loss of memories if hey are traumatic. The

memories will then trigger the mind to defend

itself by blocking out or forgetting the memo-

ries. (2)

Memories can also be lost due to dis-

eases or tumors. If the disease or tumor damag-

es the temporal or diencephalic areas of the

brain, then amnesia is a possible effect. One

rare case was that of Clive Wearing, an English

musician. His brain was damaged due to the

encephalitis virus, resulting in an inability to

make memories that last more than 7 to 30 se-

conds. However, he was still able play the pi-

ano and conduct a choir since these actions

were procedural actions and that part of the

mind responsible for this function was not

damaged (3).

Symptoms of Amnesia

The symptoms of amnesia include the loss of

memories. People affected with amnesia might

not know that they are missing memories.

When they suffer memory loss, they forget the

event and occurrences. If the memory is not

brought to their attention, they might not even

know that they are missing memories. For ex-

ample, if a person encounters a traumatic inci-

dent, then forgets about it, the person would

not know that anything is out of the ordinary

unless someone tells them. If people with am-

nesia do know about the missing memory, they

would not be able to remember anything that

happened. Sometimes, however, people re-

place their forgotten memories with false ones.

(4)

Treatment for Amnesia

Amnesia can sometimes be treated and lost

memories can be restored. To make this possi-

ble, psychotherapy is often required. A psycho-

therapist can help people recover their memo-

ries by focusing on what happened before and

anything that can link them to their memory.

Neuroscience: Amnesia

Amnesia: Memory Loss By Crystal Wu ’16

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This sometimes triggers them to retrieve their

memory. However, when it is not possible to

get the memory back, a psychotherapist can

help a person cope with the memory loss. As of

today, there are no drugs or any form of medi-

cation that can cure amnesia. (5)

Amnesia vs. Dementia The terms amnesia and dementia are often as-

sumed by many to mean the same, but in actu-

ality, they are different mental conditions that

have different symptoms. However, there are

symptoms that differentiate the two. Although

both impair memory, amnesia is the loss of

memories. This is different from dementia be-

cause amnesia is only the loss of memories and

sometimes difficulty remembering future

events while dementia can impair the ability to

perform basic functions. Also, dementia can

often worsen over time while amnesia usually

stabilizes and does not get worse unless another

problem causes it to. People with dementia

have difficulties living in society without help.

People with amnesia can often live normally

since it is memories that are forgotten.

References (1) Web MD (2013). Retrieved from

http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/confusion-memory-loss

-and-altered-alertness-topic-overview

(2) Kwon JT, Jhang J, Kim HS, Lee S, Han JH. Brain

region-specific activity patterns after recent or remote

memory retrieval of auditory conditioned fear. Learning

& Memory 2012;19(10):487-494.

(3) Mastin, L. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.human

-memory.net/disorders_amnesia.html

(4) Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved

from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/amnesia/

DS01041/DSECTION=symptoms

(5) Nordqvist, C. (2014). Medical News Today. Re-

trieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

articles/9673.php

Neuroscience: Amnesia

25

Brain tumors are the abnormal growth

of cells in the brain or central nervous system.

In a healthy individual, when cells age, the

cells are eventually replaced with new healthy

cells. Cancer prevents this natural cycle of re-

cycling cells from happening, leading to the

build up of unhealthy cells that eventually end

up becoming tumors. A synonym for tumor is

neoplasm, which is defined as an abnormal ag-

gregation of tissue that results from abnormal

growth patterns of cells. These abnormal

growth patterns include metaplasia or dyspla-

sia, which can lead to neoplasia. A micrograph

of pancreatic acinar metaplasia is shown above.

The former term means the abnormal growth of

mature cells in order to adapt to environmental

stress and if this stress is removed, the cells re-

turn to their original state. The latter term de-

scribes the abnormal growth of immature cells

or developmental delay including maturation

and differentiation of cells. Neoplasia is the

progressed form of metaplasia or dysplasia and

usually develops in malignant cancers (1).

There are two types of tumors; they are

malignant tumors and benign tumors. Benign

tumors are non-cancerous and not as rooted or

attached onto the brain or as compared to ma-

lignant tumors, but are still dangerous since

they can cause inflammation and place pressure

on the surroundings. Thus, most benign tumors

are surgically removed since they have clearly

defined boundaries that separate the tumors

from the surrounding tissues. The benign tu-

mors also have a lower chance of relapse. Ma-

lignant tumors are the dangerous and cancerous

tumors that grow faster and spread quicker as

compared to benign tumors. The malignant

brain tumors invade surrounding tissue in the

brain and central nervous system but rarely

spread to other organs. The exact cause of for-

mation of brain cancer is unknown, which

makes the disease so dangerous and hard to di-

agnose (2).

However, there have been speculations

of the cause through research. These causes

include mutations in the DNA of brain cells

and history of cancer, which means that cancers

that occur elsewhere spread to the brain. These

mutations usually occur in membranes cover-

ing the brain, cranial nerves, or glands found in

the brain. This type of tumor is known as a pri-

mary brain tumor because they originate in the

brain. The other cause of a brain tumor is con-

sidered a metastatic brain tumor or secondary

brain tumor. This type of tumor is more com-

mon as compared to the primary brain tumor.

The name metastatic brain tumor is derived

from how tumors from other parts of the body

―metastasizes‖ or spreads to the brain. The dia-

gram to the top illustrates a tumor shown with

an arrow. This tumor is a metastatic tumor in

the right cerebral hemisphere originating from

the lungs. The image is created using magnetic

resonance imaging (MRI) technique, which is a

very common method used to locate cancers

and tumors around the body (3).

There are five stages in cancer and

many types of brain cancer fall under stage four

– the final and most malignant phase. Malig-

nant cells begin to metastasize. Stage four

Neuroscience: Tumors

Brain Tumors: The Facts and the Problems

By Aaron Zhang ‘15

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cancers are a very serious problem and are ex-

tremely hard to treat even with the extensive

medical knowledge available today (4). Certain

stage four brain cancers include Ependy-

moblastoma, Glioblastoma, Medulloblastomas,

and Pineoblastomas. Ependymoblastoma oc-

curs mainly in young children and infants that

usually occurs in the area of the brain that con-

tains the cerebrospinal fluid. The cerebrospinal

fluid is the bodily fluid found between the brain

and the spine.

Glioblastoma is a common brain cancer

that includes 12% of all brain cancer cases and

is located in the cerebral hemisphere of the

brain. This type of brain cancer targets astro-

cytes, which are the most abundant type of

brain cell. The reason why this is a very dan-

gerous cancer is because astrocytes serve a va-

riety of functions for the brain and nervous sys-

tem and making their growth abnormal is fatal

for the patient. Medulloblastoma is another

type of childhood brain cancer and originates in

the cerebellum. This cancer metastasizes to

many other parts of the body.

Pineoblastoma is a type of brain cancer

that occurs in the pineal gland of the brain. The

pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin,

which monitors the sleep and wake cycles (or

circadian cycles) and seasonal functions. The

prefix of the word Pineoblastoma is ―pine,‖

which is due to the shape of the pineal gland,

which is the shape of a pinecone (5). The

symptoms of these stage four brain cancers in-

clude hearing problems, loss of memory and

coordination, vision problems, seizures and

hallucinations, and weakness of the arms and

legs.

A recent case involving a stage four

brain cancer is Riley Brilliant, a five year old

child who was diagnosed with a stage four

brain cancer since he was eight weeks old. His

doctors said that Riley‘s survival rate was only

a mere five percent and that if he survived, he

would be impaired in this ability to walk and

talk. However, thanks to the doctors at St. Jude

Children‘s Research Hospital, Riley‘s tumor in

the left side of his brain was successfully re-

moved at the expense of most of the left side of

his brain. However, Riley is now able to talk

and walk with limitations such as walking us-

ing crutches and talking with a habit of repeti-

tion. Although Riley‘s story is one of happiness

and success, there are still many cases of brain

tumors that remain unresolved. Riley‘s story

raises awareness of the disastrous effects can-

cer has on people and their family and loved

ones. This story also shows how the under-

standing of neurology can help more people

like Riley survive (6).

Riley‘s treatment to his stage four brain

cancer was through surgery. Today, there are

many other brain cancer treatments which in-

clude radiation therapy, chemotherapy, proton

therapy, and targeted therapies. Surgery is used

to reduce tumor size or completely remove the

tumor before it gets too large and malignant.

Brain surgery is usually the first attempted

treatment for brain cancer and little to no dam-

age to the brain is dealt undergoing surgery.

However this is not the case for many and a

majority of the time, many important parts of

the brain are removed or destroyed. Radiation

therapy is used to target brain tumors that can-

not be removed using surgery. This treatment

uses radioactive rays to target and kill tumor

cells. However, the therapy may also harm

healthy cells. This is why radiation therapy is

sometimes paired with chemotherapy to lessen

the stress of healthy cells. Targeted therapies

are also used to remove remaining cancer cells.

Chemotherapy is sometimes also used to treat

brain cancer. Chemotherapy consists of the in-

jection or oral intake of drugs that target the

tumor cells. This method is not always the best

for brain cancers because the blood-brain barri-

er and small blood vessels in the brain prevent

many chemotherapeutic drugs from entering

the brain. Proton therapy is similar to radiation

therapy with a few differences. In proton thera-

py, there are high doses of radiation targeting

specific areas and deals less harmful effects to

nearby healthy cells. This leads to fewer side

effects. Proton therapy is also used to target

sensitive areas of the brain that would normally

be damaged using radiation therapy and sur-

gery. Thus, this treatment is most suggested for

Neuroscience: Tumors

27

children to reduce radiation to healthy parts of

the brain and avoid long-term radiation prob-

lems. Targeted therapies are relatively new in

that the drugs target the genes that cause the

abnormal growth of cancer cells. There have

been many clinical trials regarding this new

type of therapy (7).

As one can see, brain cancer is a very

serious issue. Even with the advanced medical

treatments available, there is still much that sci-

entists and doctors do not know about this ma-

lignant disease. However, the understanding of

neurology and medical science is increasing

each day, and hopefully one day everybody

with a brain disorder or brain cancer can be as

successful as Riley Brilliant‘s story.

References:

(1) Abrams, G. D. (2008, August 25). DIS-

TURBANCES OF GROWTH NEOPLASIA I.

University of Michigan. Retrieved December

12, 2013, from http://open.umich.edu/sites/

default/files/082508.gabrams.neoplasiai.pdf

(2) Brain Tumors (Benign and Malignant):

Symptoms, Causes, Treatment. (n.d.). WebMD.

Retrieved December 15, 2013, from http://

www.webmd.com/cancer/brain-cancer/brain-

tumors-in-adults

(3) Brain Tumor Treatment. (n.d.). Cancer

Treatment and Cancer Research. Retrieved De-

cember 15, 2013, from http://

www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-

information/cancer-information/cancer-types/

brain-tumor/treatment/index.html

(4) New Health Guide. (n.d.). Stage 4 Brain

Cancer. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from

http://www.newhealthguide.org/Stage-4-Brain-

Cancer.html

(5) Pineal gland (anatomy). (n.d.). Encyclope-

dia Britannica Online. Retrieved December 12,

2013, from http://www.britannica.com/

EBchecked/topic/460967/pineal-gland

(6) Shinn, S. (2013, December 15). Diagnosed

with brain cancer as infant, Riley Brilliant

about to turn 5. Salisbury Post. Retrieved De-

cember 15, 2013, from http://

www.salisburypost.com/article/20131215/

SP01/131219787/1184/diagnosed-with-brain-

cancer-as-infant-riley-brilliant-about-to-turn-5

(7) Staff, M. (2012, June 14). Definition. Mayo

Clinic. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/brain-

tumor/DS00281/DSECTION=causes

Neuroscience: Tumors

28

Spinal Pulse Inducing Neuro Electric Stimula-tor S.P.I.N.E.S. (Bionic Spine Connector) Lakshmi Singh ‘13, Maliha Sultana ‘13, Phoebe Wong ‘13, and Zejia Yu ‘13 REGIONAL 1 Winners,2012

Abstract

Paraplegia, also known as paralysis, is the complete or partial loss of muscular con-trol, leading to the lack of feeling and mobility in the affected area. This growing problem distresses millions across the world. Although there are several types of therapy available for paraplegics, no definitive cure exists. Currently, scientists are regenerating functioning neurons using stem cells. However, due to ethical and technical concerns, these regenera-tions often lead to numerous detrimental side effects like scar tissues. Therefore, our pro-posal suggests a novel technique that uses electrical pulses to stimulate damaged neurons and muscles, enabling movement and alleviating pain in damaged areas. In a similar experi-ment, the paraplegic was eventually able to exhibit ambulation, showing potential in the success of electrical stimulation in spinal cord injury. Our vision is to create a wireless bion-ic spine that functions as a neuro-stimulator, to cure paraplegic cases concerning the body from waist-down.

FE

ATU

RED

STU

DEN

T R

ESEA

RC

H

29

PRESENT TECHNOLOGY

Currently, there are no known defini-

tive treatment strategies that can bring a sig-

nificant change to the condition of patients

suffering from this injury. Although complete

recovery of function in an injured spinal cord

is still not possible, research is being conduct-

ed to promote regeneration and repair the in-

terruption of impulses. Current technology has

allowed for the repair of damages in the spinal

cord so that patients could regain some move-

ment. However, the repair of damaged neu-

rons responsible for spinal cord injury remains

limited to the area of stem cell research. Exo-

skeleton suits, bionic spinal discs and spinal

cord stimulators bring new insight and possi-

bilities. Scientists are currently in the process

of researching the further use of spinal cord

stimulation devices. Spinal cord stimulation

devices are mostly used to relieve pains in

limbs and ineffective areas affected by nerve

damage. Pope et al (1) theorized that this neu-

ro-stimulation produced from the device re-

flects the ―gate control theory‖. This states

that a neuro-stimulus would cause the ―gate‖,

which releases noxious stimuli at nerve ends

to ―close‖ and reduce the intensity of pain to a

lower sensation.

However, in a recent study (2) , a spinal

cord stimulation device composed of 16 elec-

trodes was surgically implanted into a para-

plegic (from neck down) on key parts of his

spine. After three days of therapy, the patient

was capable of standing for at least four

minutes and exhibits some ambulatory move-

ments. During this process, he also regained

some control of his autonomic functions of his

bladder and bowel. Consequently, the electri-

cal stimulation device may be used for more

advanced techniques and devices in the future.

Another present technology is a motor-

ized exoskeleton REWALK bionic suit. (3)

This technology provides an alternative to

wheelchairs and enables patients to stand,

walk and climb stairs. The device features a

computer-based control system as well as DC

motors at joints, rechargeable batteries and

sensors. It is designed for durability of a wide

array of moments so that it accommodates

most of the patient's needs.

Another rehabilitation method is the

Functional Electrical Stimulation technique.

(4) Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)

applies small electrical pulses to paralyzed

muscles to restore or improve their function.

FES can help some to improve bladder, bowel

function, and reduce the frequency of pressure

sores. An example of the FES is the Parastep

method. It is a computerized

―neuroprosthesis‖ system in which users hold

on to a front-wheeled walker fitted with a key-

pad wired to a microprocessor on the belt.

Electrodes are placed on the quadriceps, the

muscles and the nerve. The user initiates am-

bulation by positioning muscles in the proper

sequence. Stimulation of the quadriceps caus-

es a contraction leading to a knee extension,

which enables the user to stand. Some re-

search today demonstrates that such a pattern

may not even be necessary, in Summer‘s case,

muscle memory and spinal signals were initi-

ated by the pressure of weight exerted on his

legs which allowed him to stand on his own

with just non-patterned electrical stimulus. (2)

Though FES devices are known to use elec-

trodes to stimulate certain points of the spine,

the connector would be programmed to emit a

pulse necessary to reach the point or enough

to initiate a reaction that could relay the mes-

sage through the stimulated neurons.

The goal is to find a type of surgical

battery that would provide the spine connector

with enough energy so that it could last for a

sufficient amount of time. Research indicates

that the different types of implantable batter-

ies: the implantable battery and various re-

chargeable batteries function in different ways

to sustain a relatively long battery life. The

implantable battery, usually found in pace-

makers, is implanted under the skin and would

30

have to be eventually replaced surgically. As

for rechargeable batteries, two methods exist.

One requires the battery to be charged through

an electrical wire that protrudes from the pa-

tient connected the battery inside the body to

recharge it. A more popular approach is the use

of radio waves. Radio waves would be emitted

from an external source to recharge the im-

planted battery. Instead of using the current

models we plan on adopting a battery re-

charged by different means. Present studies

plan to develop a battery in the future that is

self rechargeable or recharges by exploiting its

surrounding environment , which we hope to

use for our device. A possibility for such an

occurrence in our device would be the depend-

ency of the battery on the pulse generator, uti-

lize part of the electricity to charge itself.

Another change that can be incorporated

into this future technology is the capability of

the device to function wirelessly. Current con-

cepts of spinal chord stimulation devices re-

quire a machine or small portable device to be

connected to the patient to program and moni-

tor the electrical pulsing pattern. We hope to

create a connector device that would not dis-

rupt the human body like the implantable pace-

maker, as an abnormal device attached above

the heart. Overall we are looking forward to

discover the success of independent ambula-

tion by paraplegics through our device.

History:

One of the most common disabilities

today is paralysis: the loss of control over the

movement of a part of the body due to an inju-

ry to the nerves. In fact, according to the Na-

tional Injury Database, 250,000 Americans

have spinal cord injuries every year, with 52%

being paraplegic. (6) Paralysis can be classi-

fied as local or generalized and may even fol-

low a particular pattern, depending on the af-

fected area. In addition, a person can experi-

ence one of the various levels of paralysis such

as spasticity and flaccidity. Spasticity is a form

of paralysis which results in an increased tight-

ness in the muscles when they are immobile

and often cause a person to display abnormal

limb positions. Flaccidity, on the other hand, is

a form of paralysis in which skeletal muscles

become unresponsive due to a problem with

communication to a somatic nerve.

SCI can be described as a disconnec-

tion syndrome that disrupts the motor fibers

from the motor cortex to the spinal neurons,

and the ascending somatosensory fibers from

the spinal cord to the brain. This disruption of

electrical impulse conduction is what causes

loss in lower body function in SCI. In the

event of a nervous system injury, regrowth of

axons is not possible because the central nerv-

ous system has multiple additional factors that

act as barriers towards regeneration and ren-

ders the environment hostile to inherent regen-

erative ability.

Paralysis had been thought to be incur-

able due to the aforementioned reasons. How-

ever, over the recent years, there have been

developments in the treatments for paralysis.

In fact, it was not until the recent few decades

that spinal cord injury survivors have reached

life expectancy that is in close proximity to the

normal population. Yet, many still struggle

with immobility and its complications such as

respiratory infections, urinary tract infections,

decubitus ulcers, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

Depending on the level and the cause of paral-

ysis the patient is diagnosed with, treatments

vary. For example, a patient may work with an

occupational therapist who focuses on training

the patient in doing normal activities in order

to allow him to develop basic skills for self-

care. Another form of treatment that patients

have been exposed to in the past is physical

therapy. A physical therapist concentrates on

the patient‘s mobility skills by working on the

muscles that can still function. Although these

techniques have often shown progress in pa-

tients‘ conditions, they have not occurred at

the desired rate and cases in which therapy has

been able to completely cure paraplegics have

been rare. Thus, research in this area is still

required.

31

Future Technology:

Our vision is to create an implantable

device that can replace damaged or missing

sectors of the spine to restore control of the

lower body called a ―Bionic Spine Connector.‖

Spinal cord injury often leads to paralysis due

to the damaged central nervous tissue, which

does not have the capacity in self-healing, such

as the tissue in the peripheral nervous system.

Current studies are focused on the repairs of

central nervous system; however our idea is

focused on reestablishing connection of the

neurons in the central nervous system to pro-

vide the ability for functional limbs again.

Recently, a new technique utilizing

electrical stimulus has shown to succeed in in-

ducing nerve reactions. It gradually allowed

the paraplegic to not only stand but also take a

few steps following three days of use. If this

concept were to be incorporated onto the spine,

it would allow the nerves to connect to the

nervous system with greater proximity and

promote further movement. In addition, vari-

ous electrical patterns created by an enhance

program may be induced to regulate the type

of movement, required by the user. For in-

stance, if consecutive electrical impulses could

move the leg four inches or if alternating elec-

trical impulses would move the leg two inches.

Therefore, by coordinating electrical impulse

patterns with leg movement, we can know

what impulse pattern should be used to induce

a specific leg movement. Some research today

demonstrates that such a pattern may not even

be necessary, in Summer‘s case (2) muscle

memory and spinal signals were initiated by

the pressure of weight exerted on his legs

which allowed him to stand on his own with

just non-patterned electrical stimulus. Though

FES devices are known to use electrodes to

stimulate certain points of the spine, the con-

nector would be programmed to emit a pulse

necessary to reach the point or enough to initi-

ate a reaction that could relay the message

through the stimulated neurons.

One goal is to find a type of surgical bat-

tery that would provide the spine connector

with enough energy so that it could last for a

sufficient amount of time. Research indicates

that the implantable battery and various re-

chargeable batteries function in different ways

to sustain a relatively long battery life. As for

rechargeable batteries, two methods exist. One

requires the battery to be charged through an

electrical wire that protrudes from the patient

connected the battery inside the body to re-

charge it. A more popular approach is the use

of radio waves. Radio waves would be emitted

from an external source to recharge the im-

planted battery. Instead of using the current

models we plan on adopting a battery re-

charged by different means. Present studies

plan to develop a battery in the future that is

self rechargeable or recharges by exploiting its

surrounding environment , which we hope to

use for our device. A possibility for such an

occurrence in our device would be the depend-

ency of the battery on the pulse generator, uti-

lize part of the electricity to charge itself.

Another change that can be incorporated

into this future technology is the capability of

the device to function wirelessly. Current con-

cepts of spinal chord stimulation devices re-

quire a machine or small portable device to be

connected to the patient to program and moni-

tor the electrical pulsing pattern. We hope to

create a connector device that would not dis-

rupt the human body like the implantable pace-

maker, as an abnormal device attached above

the heart. Overall we are looking forward to

discover the success of independent ambula-

tion by paraplegics through our device.

Breakthrough:

32

The design for a bionic spine connector

is far more advanced than the current technolo-

gy. In order to successfully create such a

mechanism, several technical and theoretical

advances are needed to accommodate our envi-

sioned project. Further developments include

an everlasting or easily replaceable battery,

wireless FES control, and a small portable de-

vice to monitor and program the bionic con-

nector by processing patterns for electrical

stimulus. In terms of organics, the knowledge

of reestablishing nerve connection is essential

to our project and is currently one of the most

difficult topics to study since researchers of the

past decade are still dealing with stem cells

and electrical stimulus to attempt and repair

nerves.

Batteries used for current FES devices

all either need to be recharged or replaced sur-

gically, otherwise to have a battery wire exten-

sion from the patient‘s back to the device. Our

goal is to eliminate the need for surgical re-

placement of the battery or possibly to have an

everlasting battery that is self-rechargeable. If

the patient were to continuously replace the

battery once worn through surgery, as is the

current method, it would be troublesome for

many who use the bionic connector. To relieve

their problem, a small minute whole could be

created small enough to connect to the device

and change the battery when needed by using a

small tool. The minute hole would be made of

titanium with a closing to prevent any objects

from entering the body.

We proposed that the wireless controller

device, usually implanted into the body, be re-

moved to eliminate any unnecessary room or

damage it may cause. It would also be much

easier to control the device from outside than

have to surgically operate on a patient to fix

the device. If such a hand-held technological

device could be made to program and com-

municate simultaneously to the bionic spine

connector, then the efficiency for the patient

would increase and be much faster than the

current ―steps‖ that are now taken by the RE-

WALK exoskeleton and Parastep device. The

hand-held transmitter would also prove as a

safety device in manual shutdown in case the

product malfunctions. Obstacles faced by this

procedure would be the signal transmission

from the spine connector to the device that

would be intercepted by the human torso.

Types of frequency waves, such as radio

waves, used to communicate with the device

may also cause side effects that may damage

the body so a safer method must be found in

the communication process.

Lastly, nerve reconnection is the key

step for the device to function properly. Nerv-

ous tissue is known for its low capacity to self

regenerate and repair. Damaged nerves hardly

heal, leaving people paralyzed in certain areas.

A possible function that could be achieved in

the future is to create nanomachines or other

substances to mimic the neurotransmitters re-

leased by nerves to relay messages allowing

the entire body to move. Another approach

could be to interpret the ―messages‖ sent by

the brain and either reroute the message or al-

low the bionic connector to interpret the move-

ments and carry them out with electrical stimu-

lation of the spine.

Design Process:

After we decided to focus on the spine

we decided to find a solution to paralysis. This

would be done by creating a bionic spine that

would be located inside the body. This spine

would be charged by a battery that would be

connected to the spine. The battery, lithium

iodide, would be the same as those used in

pacemakers since they are currently the best

known batteries of today to use in implanted

devices. We realized that some people only

have some ineffective spine segments and re-

moving the entire spine of a human would be

dangerous. Therefore, to adapt to all individu-

als, the spine connector would reconnect the

separate or damaged spine segments to restore

its ability to function properly. Contemporary

studies have begun the experiment of using

Schwann and stem cells in an attempt to

reestablish nerve connection through differen-

tiation. (8) We avoided the use of such devel-

opmental factors because little is known about

33

nerve reconnection and stem cells are prone to

become scarred tissue instead of a functioning

nerve. This idea requires more experimenting

and a risk that could not be incorporated into

our design.

In current studies for repair of degener-

ating spinal discs, Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Boyan

are working to develop a bionic spine disc re-

placement made of hydrogel that would have

the same strength and flexibility of a natural

disc (9). For the design of our connector, the

hydrogel discs would be placed at both ends of

the bionic connector to imitate a more natural

environment of the spine and protect the sur-

rounding segments. Many therapies in the past

only used titanium grafting which would be

uncomfortable and not flexible considering we

needed to implant it into the spine so the more

advanced discs are to be used.

Like pacemakers, the bionic connector

would be composed of a pulse generator, lead

systems, and battery. The rechargeable lithium

iodide battery would be placed towards the

back of the connector like a small capsule so it

can be removed through a minute hole instead

of having to replace it surgically. The pro-

grammed pulse generator would be monitored

by an external device that would control the

frequency, memory, and programming of the

pulse generator. Most of the electrical pulse

would be transferred to the leads that are

placed on key points of the spine, depending

on the type of paralysis, to stimulate the move-

ment. A small portion of the electrical pulse

would be transferred to the lithium iodide bat-

tery to recharge itself.

We have also decided on having a palm

monitor that controls and shows the pulses,

patterns, and status of the bionic spine con-

nector. In case of a malfunction in the connect-

or this palm device possesses the ability to shut

it off manually. Present treatment requires the

monitoring device to be connected to the stim-

ulation device resulting in a protruding wire

from the person‘s back which may result in

several limitations for the person to live a nor-

mal, industrious life. This palm sized external

aide seems fitting for current technology of

iPads, iPhone, and other small electronic hand

held devices. Furthermore, we hope to use oth-

er methods of telemetry other than radio-waves

to establish a communication link between the

palm monitor and bionic spine connector to

avoid any overheating or radiation issues that

are known to occur.

The implantation of this device requires

a surgical procedure to fix the bionic spine

connector in a stable position and connect the

leads from the device to key areas of the spine.

A small hollow titanium tube, no more than 2

cm, would also be placed directly above the

battery (if it is not everlasting/ self-

rechargeable) and sealed securely to alleviate

the irritating process of having to surgically

remove the battery. A skin patch (like a fiber

enforced water resistant medical tape) would

be placed over it. This minute hole would be a

backup for manual shut down, where each pa-

tient will be given a small screw-like tool the

size of a key to manually shut down the battery

by removing the skin patch and adjusting the

battery off.

Consequences:

Once this technology is designed and

fully perfected, the Bionic Spine Connector

will be able to bring benefits to paraplegics.

The 12,000 paraplegics who could benefit

from this device each year significantly

demonstrate the practicality of this technology.

This device will be capable of facilitating and

improving functions of the respiratory, sexual,

bladder, bowel, and lower limb mobility that

are associated with paraplegia through the ap-

plication of electrically controlled stimulus to

incite the paralyzed muscles to contract and to

function. By restoring the damaged segment of

the spine and simultaneously stimulating the

spine, the device will ―connect‖ the neurons

that transmit signals up and down the spine. In

doing so, the electrical stimulus will enable

messages to be sent to other parts of the body

and coordinate movement. It would be conven-

ient for the patients because it is easy to con-

trol. Once inserted, the device will function

34

and operate on a pulse-charged battery. Using

a rechargeable battery shows it is cheaper than

maintaining a non-rechargeable system. In

addition, because the device would be capable

of functioning wirelessly, it would maximize

the ease and convenience of usage to benefit

the patients.

A negative effect of this experiment

would be that the battery would need to be re-

placed about every ten years. In addition, hav-

ing the water proof skin patch would make the

replacement more accessible and less painful

to the patient. Future research could develop

this device so that it could help more than just

paraplegic patients. A difficulty with the con-

cept of the battery will be the obstruction of

the minute hole in the back and the possibility

that batteries may overheat during its use.

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36

Art

icle

Ref

eren

ces

R

esea

rch

Knockdown of c-Myc in Rhabdoid Tumor Cells In-

hibits Cell Growth

By Anna Bao

Rhabdoid tumor (RT) is a rare and lethal pediatric can-

cer. INI1/hSNF5, a component of the chromatin remod-

eling SWI/SNF complex, is a tumor suppressor deleted

in RT. Our lab had demonstrated that Cyclin D1 and

Aurora A are the direct downstream targets of INI1 and

that INI1 interacts with cMYC, an oncogene in many

types of cancer, including lymphoma and breast cancer

and regulates cMYC-mediated transcription. Interesting-

ly, previous experiments shown that there is an overex-

pression of cMYC, Cyclin D1 and Aurora A in RT cells

and that Aurora A is upregulated by cMYC in B-cell

lymphoma and cMYC transcriptionally activates Cyclin

D1. The association of cMYC with INI1 suggests its

possible involvement in affecting Cyclin D1 and Aurora

A transcription in RT and thereby affecting cell prolifer-

ation. To determine the role of cMYC in RT, knock-

down of cMYC were performed in RT cells and its ef-

fect on tumor cell growth was determined. Western blot

was used to confirm that cMYC was knocked-down.

The proliferation assay indicated that complete cMYC

knockdown inhibits RT cell growth and western blot

confirmed that knockdown of cMYC was successful.

These results suggested that knockdown of cMYC in-

hibits Rhabdoid tumor cell growth. Therefore, cMYC is

an oncogene necessary for RT cell survival and may be

a potential drug target.

No Double Strand Breaks induced after 1900 MHz

(cell phone) Irradiation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

By: Tyler Bell

As human exposure to cell phones has increased, the

public has expressed concerns with the possible effects,

the most detrimental being the development of cancer.

The effect of cell phone radiation on DNA integrity in

Saccharomyces cerevisiae was measured in live cells in

this study using two assays: Rad52 protein localization

and Sml1 protein degradation. Results from both assays

suggest that the low frequency radiation emitted by cell

phones does not damage DNA. The effect of cisplatin

on DNA integrity in S. cerevisiae was also measured

using a Rad52 protein localization assay. Cisplatin is a

cross-linking agent commonly used for chemotherapy.

This study confirmed that the repair pathway of the

DNA interstrand crosslinks and intrastrand crosslinks

formed by cisplatin utilize homologous recombination

proteins as the assay showed an increase in Rad52 foci.

Furthermore, damage is seen within just a few hours of

cisplatin treatment. This work is important to under-

standing the potential dangers of cell phone usage and

towards understanding how the cisplatin chemotherapy

drug works.

Abstracts of Student Research (‘12-’13)

37

A Structural Analysis of a Novel Dendrite Arborization

Regulator Menorin in the Nematode C. elegans

By: Shyam Bhatt

The novel protein Menorin was identified through chemical

mutagenesis and an SNP mapping strategy as an important

factor in dendrite development and structuring in the nema-

tode Caenorhabditis elegans. The protein is encoded for by

the gene mnr-1, an ortholog of the human genes FAM151A

and FAM151B. The protein Menorin contains two do-

mains, a DUF domain that is conserved throughout all

orthologs of the gene in different species. The question

asked was if the DUF domain alone could do the job of

guiding dendrite arbors of the worm neuron PVD into the

hypodermis where they belong, and maintain their

"menorah" structure as in wild type. A truncated form of

mnr-1 was inserted into mutant worms deficient for Men-

orin. This produced a truncated form of the protein Menorin

that was expressed in the hypodermis (where Menorin is

normally expressed) due to the help of a dumpy-7 promoter.

A GFP promoter was added to the worms to enable visibil-

ity of dendritic branching patterns in PVD and it was ob-

served that the truncated form of Menorin does not rescue

the phenotype of normal arborization in PVD. The same

phenotype of abnormal branching was observed as in the

Menorin deficient mutants.

Assessing Anxiety and Depression in ?9-

Tetrahydrocannabinol Treated Adolescent Rats Using

an Elevated Plus Maze and Forced Swim Test

By: Rita Black

The rate of teenaged adolescents abusing illicit substances,

most notably of marijuana, has been rising steadily over the

past decade. Previous studies on marijuana (?9-

Tetrahydrocannabinol) abuse have remained primarily fo-

cused on the repercussions to the cognitive abilities of adults

but have overlooked adolescents as a significant marijuana-

user group. As a result, it is imperative that the effects of

the abuse of this substance on adolescents be assessed.

However, current behavioral studies are limited in their abil-

ity to adequately collect data from consenting human sub-

jects through ―check-in‖ reports and unreliable, personal

information. Additionally, behavioral studies involving

adolescents are often not feasible due to the age of the par-

ticipants not allowing for consent. Therefore, a behavioral

study that can (1) perform as a rigidly controlled experiment

to yield consistent results and (2) measure the effects of

marijuana use on mental health during adolescence specifi-

cally would be of considerable value to the scientific com-

munity. The techniques of behavioral testing that evaluate

comprehensive mental disorders involve exposing the ani-

mal test subjects to engineered stresses in the form an ele-

vated plus maze (EPM) and a forced swim test (FST). The

elevated plus maze acts as an assessor of anxiety whereas

the forced swim test analyzes depressive symptoms.

This study evaluates the application of these behavioral

tasks in determining the consequences of marijuana abuse

on the mental stability, relating to anxiety disorders and

depression, of adolescent aged Sprague Dawley rats. Re-

sults affirm that ?9-Tetrahydrocannabinol presents both anx-

iety-related and depressive symptoms specifically in female

rats more so than male rats. Thus, behavioral testing in rat

test subjects to assess anxiety and depressive symptoms

following drug abuse has significant implications in rein-

forcing current marijuana research pertaining to adolescents.

Hermaphroditism and Social Evolution in Synalpheus

Snapping Shrimp

By: Gillian Carling

Social behavior in the sponge-dwelling snapping shrimp

Synalpheus includes asociality, communal living, and euso-

ciality. Through examining the distribution of hermaphro-

ditism among communal, eusocial, and asocial species of

shrimp, it may be possible to find out if hermaphroditism

and social structure have a connection. The two alternative

hypotheses addressed in this investigation were (1) her-

maphroditism will be more prevalent in asocial species than

social species due to the nature of asocial living, or, (2) her-

maphroditism will be more prevalent in social species than

asocial species due to competition between shrimp in a colo-

ny. Samples from 28 species of Synalpheus were dissected

and sexed through the position of gonopores, or sexual

ducts, on the pereopods of the shrimp. We found that her-

maphroditism was most common among social species of

Synalpheus, with a 50% rate of hermaphroditism among

communal species and a 43% rate of hermaphroditism

among eusocial species. Asocial species only had an 11%

rate of hermaphroditism. This indicated that hermaphrodit-

ism is correlated with social behavior in general rather than

a particular social structure. This supported the second hy-

pothesis, that hermaphroditism will be more prevalent in

social species than asocial species due to competition be-

tween shrimp in a colony. The combination of very diverse

social systems and ecological uniformity found among Syn-

alpheus makes these shrimp an ideal model for studying

how hermaphroditism evolved with social structure

Investigating the Role of Microtubules in Vertebrate

Cardiac Development

By: Jessica (Mei Wai) Chan

Cardiogenesis, the development of the embryonic heart, is a

process investigated in a variety of organisms but particular-

ly suited for this developmental study is the specimen zebra

fish. In the zebra fish, key steps in heart development have

been largely understood through studies over the years but

despite knowledge of these basic steps, understanding of the

mechanisms controlling the process remains vague. The

goal of experimentation is to assess the role of microtubules

in cardiac development. Microtubules, the largest compo-

nent of the cytoskeleton is known to aid during mitosis

38

as well as support cell form and cell migration. Drug treat-

ments with the drug Colchicine, a drug known to disrupt

microtubule formation by binding to tubulin, allowed its

role to be assessed. From preliminary data from the lab, it

was expected that the groups affected by the tubulin- bind-

ing drug would result in trumpet shaped hearts. Results

from the experiments indicated a mild version of what was

anticipated, demonstrating a slightly flared cardiac tube. It

was also observed that the drug-treated embryonic hearts

experienced a lack of cellular migration leftward, and for-

wards in the heart, relative to the control embryos at 24

hours post fertilization (hpf). These findings suggest the

lack of microtubules result in a defective heart lacking prop-

er cellular migration and cell formation at the 24 hpf. These

results are beneficial in filling the gaps of knowledge in the

cardiac process and may lead to future diagnosis of congeni-

tal heart disease.

Compounds Extracted from Dianthus Superbus (Qu

Mai) Inhibit B-cell Lymphocyte Production of Immuno-

globulin-E

By: Vincent Chan

An increase in the frequency of food allergies in recent

times, sometimes life threatening, behooves us to find better

treatments for those who suffer. The immunoglobulin E

(IgE) antibody is one of the main proteins involved in aller-

gic reactions to food. In a previous study, whole extracts of

the Chinese medicinal herb Dianthus superbus (Qu Mai)

were shown to inhibit IgE production in human B-

lymphocytes in culture and to inhibit peanut specific IgE in

whole mice, causing reduced allergic reaction. The purpose

of this study was to more specifically identify the com-

pounds in D. superbus responsible for inhibition of IgE pro-

duction toward finding a treatment for food allergies. Com-

pounds found in D. superbus were separated from each oth-

er through extraction with dichloromethane followed by

silica gel chromatography. The resulting fractions were

then analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography and

then tested for their ability to inhibit IgE production in hu-

man lymphocytic cells. One fraction isolated here was able

to inhibit IgE production, and it will serve as the basis for

further characterization of the specific active compounds.

Identification of these compounds would help develop a

general treatment for patients suffering from many types of

food allergy.

Testing the Geographic Mode of Speciation in Indo-

Pacific Chondrichthyes

By: Andrew Chen

The Indo?Pacific region, especially the Coral Triangle, con-

tains the largest amount of marine biodiversity. In this

study, we are trying to determine the mode of speciation that

sharks and rays in the Indo?Pacific region have undertaken

in the last few million years. We used the C01 genes of 25

sister species of sharks and rays from the Indo?Pacific Re-

gion. The C01 sequences of these species were obtained

from the database Genbank and were aligned on a program

called Geneious. MTML?msBayes, a program that analyzes

data from multiple species and examines it under a hierar-

chal model, was used. Two pulses (times when many diver-

gences occurred simultaneously) were confirmed for the 18

sister species pairs that had detectable pair?wise differences.

The first pulse contained 12 sister species, and occurred

near present daytime. The second pulse occurred 2?4 mya

(million years ago), and contained six sister species pairs.

The results support allopatric speciation. The divergences

correspond to the closing of the Indonesian seaway 3?4

mya. The data supports the Center of Origin hypothesis for

the IMPA (Indo?Malay Archipelago) because more of the

species pairs that diverged a few million years ago con-

verged at the IMPA than the species pairs that have recently

diverged near present daytime.

APOBEC1-mediated Editing of Amyloidogenic RNA

Transcripts in Microglia

By: Yashaswini Chittampalli

Microglia, the immune cells of the brain, plays a crucial,

though controversial role in the central nervous system.

Microglia trim synapses, a process important for learning.

However, defective microglia can cause neurological disor-

ders, such as Alzheimer‘s disease (AD). This study focuses

on three genes of microglia: beta 2-microglobulin (B2M),

amyloid precursor protein (APP), and a disintegrin and met-

alloproteinase domain-containing protein 10 (ADAM10).

These genes are involved in the creation of amyloid

plaques—the hallmark AD. It was hypothesized that

Apolipoprotein B-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-1

(APOBEC1)—a cytidine deaminase—edits the 3' UTRs of

these transcripts of microglia. By means of RNA and DNA

isolation, cDNA synthesis, PCR amplification, bacterial

transformation, DNA purification, gel electrophoresis and

sequence analysis using the MacVector program, we have

concluded that APOBEC1 is responsible for editing of APP

in murine microglia from brain tissue, and that cytidine-to-

uridine (C to U) RNA editing occurs in the 3‘ UTRs of

B2M, APP and ADAM10 in an immortalized, murine, mi-

croglial cell line (BV2). It is likely that APOBEC1 is re-

sponsible for the editing present in the BV2 cell line, be-

cause the sites edited correspond with the editing prefer-

ences of APOBEC1.

Dynamics of Emulsion Separation: A Microscopic Inves-

tigation at the Interface

By: Daniel Donenfeld

This study examined the dynamics of phospholipid-

stabilized emulsions, and how the emulsion dynamics affect

self-assembly of the phospholipid. An emulsion droplet of

water and 3-hexanol was imaged using fluorescence

39

microscopy to observe activity on the air/water interface. An

experimental system was designed with a hydrophobic sub-

strate and control over the humidity, early stage coales-

cence, and ambient light using a vacuum grease sealant and

a cover. We obtained data on the spreading of the oil phase

and assembly of the phospholipid from the interfacial activi-

ty. Our data suggests that the emulsion separates in two

ways, coalescence, and creaming, which correspond to dif-

ferent rates of 3-hexanol spreading on the interface. Cream-

ing is also coupled with free lipid going to the interface and

slowing down of the spreading of the oil phase. Previous

studies have examined the stability of phospholipid-

stabilized emulsions, and this research looks at the micro-

scopic dynamics involved. This could allow for a more

tailored design of industrial emulsions through knowledge

of emulsion separation. The results of this research could be

used in designing future food products and pharmaceuticals

with phospholipid surfactants as stabilizers.

Application of Carcinoma Precursors and Cell Polarity

in Intestinal Epithelium

By: Timothy Gao

In recent years, the study of cell polarity has increased, due

to discoveries linking the change in polarity of certain pro-

teins to tumorigenesis. Epithelial cell polarity, defined as

the formation of distinct apical and basolateral domains,

causes proteins to localize in specific areas of the cell; this

often leads to a change in the role that a protein may play

within its cellular surroundings. Proteins, TGF-? receptor,

TNF-? receptor, and ErbB2, have all exhibited signs of tu-

mor initiation in previous studies. While they are promi-

nently known in their research as tumor suppressors, evi-

dence has proven that they can sometimes become tumor

promoters in later stages of development; we believe that

the reason for this change in function is caused by cell po-

larity. The implementation of AP1B, a major basolateral

protein sorter that is found only in epithelial cells, is a possi-

ble player in sorting these three proteins mentioned to ab-

normal areas of the cell when it is abnormally expressed.

As a result, we hypothesize that TGF-? receptor, TNF-?

receptor, and ErbB2 are basolaterally expressed in entero-

cytes because they are AP1B cargo. Based on this hypothe-

sis, immunohistochemistry was performed on intestinal and

kidney sections obtained from mus musculus to be analyzed

via confocal microscopy and morphological identification.

Staining cells of the MDCK cell line and the MDCK µ1B-

KD cell line of AP1B presence was also attempted. Results

demonstrate that TGF-? receptor, TNF-? receptor, and

ErbB2 polarize distinctively in the intestinal epithelium, as a

possible result of AP1B‘s sorting ability.

Preferential Splicing of Full Length CTLA-4 in Activat-

ed, Cultured T Cells

By: John Gilheany

When T cells are activated, they proliferate and undergo a

massive expansion that increases the potency of the immune

response. Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte-Associated Antigen 4

(CTLA-4) is a protein that has regulatory effects on the im-

mune system and it can be spliced to give rise to three dif-

ferent unique isoforms: full length (fl), soluble (s), and a

CTLA-4 isoform with only exons 1 and 4 (1/4). The pur-

pose of the experiment was to see if there is any difference

in the relative levels of each isoform in a T cell prior to and

after activation. Primers were designed to detect each vari-

ant accurately, T cells were cultured with anti-CD3, RNA

was isolated and reverse transcriptase done. A semi-

quantitative PCR was then run, to compare splice variant

expression levels between the activated and non-activated

cells. In the end, after activation of the T cell, it was con-

cluded that flCTLA-4 expression increased, while sCTLA-4

and 1/4 CTLA-4 expression decreased; there was a clear

preferential splicing of full length CTLA-4 over the others

when the cell was activated. This could be because flCTLA

-4 is a strong immune regulator, and as the only splice vari-

ant with a trans membrane domain, it can regulate the im-

mune system the quickest and most effectively. My results

will be applied and compared to the case of ipilimumab pa-

tients, where their T cells are activated. In ipilimumab, a

recent melanoma therapy drug, an antibody blocks CTLA-4

on the surface of the cell to indirectly activate the immune

system. The purpose of the project was to see if there was

any correlation between expression of CTLA-4 splice vari-

ants, and patients who respond to treatment. In total, it can

also help us understand more about T cell activity after acti-

vation, regulation of T cells by CTLA-4, and selective splic-

ing.

Testing the Interactions of Drugs and Modulators in a

Neuromuscular System of Aplysia

By: Joshua glynn

Neuromodulators are a primary component of the nervous

system in biological organisms. They are responsible for

not only the neural development of the organism, but also

for mediating specific muscle activities by forming specific

motor neuron outputs that regulate muscle activity. Neuro-

modulators are very difficult to study, as their effects can be

unpredictable when combining different neuromodulators in

various concentrations are to form different cocktails. This

project addresses the validity of a mathematical combinato-

rial algorithm that is proposed to be able to define the func-

tion of each neuromodulator. The combinations tested in

this experiment were successful in indicating what factors of

modulatory systems we need to pay attention to. Data from

physiological experiments suggests that there are two main

factors that should be taken into account: (1) the order in

which individual modulators are applied and (2) the number

of modulators interacting in any given scenario. Focusing

on these particular aspects in depth in future experiments

will undoubtedly allow for better insight into the dynamics

of these modulatory systems.

40

Location of HIVAN Susceptibility Gene in HIVAN Lo-

cus

By: Ekramul Gofur

HIV-Associated Nephropathy (HIVAN) is a relatively re-

cently discovered which leads to end stage renal disease.

The disease results from HIV-1 infection of renal epithetical

cells and podocytes. The prevalent form of treatment cur-

rently for HIVAN is highly active antiretroviral therapy.

HIVAN primarily occurs in people of African descent; ap-

proximately 90% of known HIVAN cases are from people

of African descent. Previous studies in mice using genetic

linkage have shown four loci, which could potentially have

a susceptibility gene leading to the infection of HIVAN.

This project focuses on determining the location of a sus-

ceptibility gene in the HIVAN 1 locus. Comparing the gen-

otypes of three individual mice strains to the control FVB

strain on the SubIII region (subsection of the entire locus) of

the HIVAN 1 locus shows that the mutation for susceptibil-

ity to HIVAN does not exist as a single nucleotide polymor-

phism (SNP) but could still exist as an insertion/deletion.

Assessing DNA Transcription in an HPV 11 Upstream

Regulatory Region (URR) Using a Reporter Construct

Mutated in the AP1 Sites

By: Lubaina Haider

Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP) is a disease

caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). The upstream

regulatory region (URR) of the HPV genome contains sev-

eral regulatory sites, which control transcription of specific

proteins that directly cause RRP. Our experiment attempts

to figure out whether the AP1d and/or the AP1p site are/is

important in HPV DNA transcription. To test the AP1 sites,

mutant plasmids were produced and transfected into HeLa

cells. A luciferase assay was used to determine whether the

AP1 sites promote or inhibit transcription of DNA. The

results showed that the AP1d site is a negative regulator of

E6 and E7 because the luciferase levels were higher in the

HeLa cells transfected with the AP1d mutant rather than the

HeLa cells transfected with the 311 DNA, which was not

mutated. These results are reliable because the same trend

was seen in four other HeLa cell transfections. To confirm

these results, the JNK pathway was inhibited to test for tran-

scription of DNA in HPV. The results from the inhibitor

research confirmed the results from the mutational study,

which means that the results presented in this report, are

valid; therefore, inhibition of the JNK pathway is not a good

therapeutic target.

Characterization of CD8 Regulatory T Cells in Umbili-

cal Cord Blood

By: Daniel Huang

Umbilical cord blood (CB) contains primitive hematopoietic

stem cells. It has become an alternative to bone marrow for

stem cell transplantation therapy to reconstitute the hemato-

poietic system in patients with malignant and non-

malignant, or other disorders. Success of bone marrow

transplantation is hampered by high rate of graft-versus-host

disease (GVHD) which may lead to death of patients. Find-

ing an appropriate donor to reduce chance of GVHD is very

hard, and waiting period is too long for some patients with

life threatening diseases. GVHD after CB transplantation is

lower partly due to immaturity of T cells and relatively

higher frequency of regulatory T cells (T regs) in CB. CD 4

T regs have been well studied, and their existence in CB has

been documented. CD8 T regs are less characterized; their

existence in CB has been suggested. In this study CD8 T

cells was first determined to have suppression function in

CB only after they are stimulated with allogeneic antigen

presenting cells (APC). Then CD8 T regs were molecularly

characterized CD8 from CB. It showed that CD8 T regs

from CB expressed higher level of BCL6 gene, which is a

molecular marker for CD8 T regs induced from adult pe-

ripheral blood (AB). It also further showed that the level of

micro-RNA (miRNA)-30b, which inhibits BCL6 gene, was

lower than the control. These results indicate that CD8 T

regs in CB may play a role in low rate of GVHD in CB

transplantation, and they may be used in cell therapy to fur-

ther reduce GVHD in CB transplantation if they can be ex-

panded in large quantity.

An Evaluation of Langerhans Cell Chimerism after Gen-

der-Mismatched Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell

Transportation

By: Martin John

For patients with hematologic and lymphoid malignancies,

allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (allo-HSCT),

also known as bone marrow transplants, often offer a cura-

tive treatment option beyond what chemotherapy alone can

provide. However, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a

potentially serious complication that can occur when trans-

planted donor cells recognize host cells as foreign, despite

matching for the major human leukocyte antigens (HLA).

Doctors believe the recent success of donor T-cell depleted

allo-HSCT is the result of host antigen presenting cells

(APCs) changing to donor over time. Yet, mouse studies

have shown that precursors of host LCs are long-lived and

can self-renew in skin, unless the net egress of LCs to skin-

draining lymph nodes exceeds the capacity of local progeni-

tors to replenish them. Skin biopsy sections were used to

examine expression of donor sex chromosomes in recipient

Langerhans cells (LCs), a type of dendritic cell that resides

in the skin and is important for initiating immune responses

by donor T cells. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization

(FISH), sex chromosomes were highlighted in cells of skin

biopsy sections, which were co-stained with fluorescent

antibodies to distinguish LCs from other cells in the epider-

mis. The skin biopsies were collected from two patients

with GVHD and two patients without GVHD.

41

Results shown that mixed LC chimerism were examined in

the skin of all four patients, and a pattern can be seen be-

tween genders, rather than between those with GVHD and

those without. Furthermore, the mixed chimerism observed

suggest that not all host APCs in the patients are changing

into donor following allo-HSCT, though host cells are

changing into host only within the blood.

High Preservation of CpG Methylation Patterns in the

Liver of Aging Mus musculus musculus Mitochonadrial

Genome

By: Hyewon Kang

Epigenetic modification is heritable state of gene expression

that can contribute to age-related physical invalidity or dis-

eases such as cancer or depression. A significant aspect of

epigenetics is the methylation status of Cytosine-Guanine

(CpG) dinucleotides in the five position of the genomic

DNA regulation by interfering with the binding of transcrip-

tion factors to promoter regions in the gene. The mitochon-

drial DNA (mtDNA) is prone to mutation, single-nucleotide

mutation rate ranging from 2.7x10(-8) per mtDNA for brain

to 3.2x10(-9) per mtDNA for the liver. However, most of

the studies on methylation were done on the nuclear genome

while the mitochondrial DNA was not explored because the

mtDNA was believed to be unmethylated. Recently methyl-

ation sites were found in the mitochondrial genome in glob-

al assessment. To investigate the mouse liver at an epige-

netic level, the experiment aimed to find how unstable the

mtDNA in the mouse liver really is. Methylation in mtDNA

of the liver from young and old mice were analyzed using

noble sodium bisulfite conversion approaches which change

the DNA sequence depending on the methylation status of

cytosine residues. All the cytosine in the bisulfate treated

CG sites was converted into uracil, which showed up as

thymine in the PCR. The results indicate that the mitochon-

drial DNA is hypomethylated both in young and old mice

samples in the liver, and is surprisingly very stable in epige-

netic marks. The experiment thereby suggests that there

may be a repair system for epigenetic marks in the mito-

chondrial genome and may have further implications in

studying aging and its related diseases.

Using Lexical Features to Predict Winners of U.S. Presi-

dential and Vice-Presidential Debates

By: Ian Kaplan

An investigation of lexical, transcript based, features of

American Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates that

may correlate with personally appealing or politically per-

suasive language facilitates the discovery of the features of

personally appealing and politically persuasive language.

The investigation involved predictive models created that

attempted to, using the transcript of a Presidential or Vice-

Presidential debate, predict the winner of the debate as told

by polling. Chi-squared feature selection identified features

correlated with debate success. These features gave insight

into the distinct importance of discussing war and national

defense the modern American political system. Although

the extremely limited corpus size restricted both the training

and significance of the predictive models, with a set of sur-

face-level lexical features from historical debates the win-

ners of presidential debates can be predicted with 60-80%

accuracy.

Determination of the Role of CBX3 in the Chemo-

resistance of Relapse Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic

Leukemia

By: Rana Lamisa

Although there have been significant improvements in the

survival rate of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

(ALL), the outcome for relapse patients is still poor. CBX3

is a missense mutation that could possibly change the func-

tion of a protein. CBX3 encodes for the heterochromatin

protein HP1y that is responsible for binding the trimethylat-

ed lysine 9 residues on histone H3. In previous research, it

has been shown that CBX3 is mutated in one pediatric re-

lapse ALL patient sample. One objective of this study is to

understand whether CBX3 binds to H3K9Me3, the protein

this gene encodes, and by what mechanisms. Another ob-

jective is to find the cellular functions CBX3 alters, and the

mechanisms it uses to do so. The third objective is to under-

stand whether CBX3 causes Chemoresistance. Of all the

experiments done, results showed that CBX3 mutant does

bind to the histone H3K9Me3 more readily than the CBX3

wild type does. All other results show that there is no

change between the mutant and the wild type. Our results

indicate that further experiments must be done to understand

the cellular activity of the cell when CBX3 is mutated. In

addition, CBX3 may be a passenger mutation and does not

play a major role in Chemoresistance of relapse ALL.

Comparing the Efficacies of Different Incubation Meth-

ods for Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra Serpentina)

Eggs from the Bronx River

By: Candace Lee

As part of conservation efforts for common snapping turtles

(Chelydra serpentina), their eggs have traditionally been

collected from nests during the nesting period in late spring

and incubated in direct contact with vermiculite in sweater

boxes. Squamata Concepts LLC has standardized new Sus-

pended Incubation Method (S.I.M.) using suspended con-

tainers with vermiculite, but minimal research has been

done to compare S.I.M. containers with the traditional meth-

od for incubating the eggs of this species. The success of

traditional incubation was compared with that of the S.I.M.

container under various environmental conditions. Success

was measured in terms of the number of hatchlings, incuba-

tion period, hatchling mass, and size of the carapace and

plastron. Each clutch was divided into S.I.M. containers

42

and sweater boxes. Those collected in 2011 were placed in

two incubators (25°C and 30°C) in a nursery and those in

2012 were placed in an outside garage under fluctuating

temperatures that corresponded with the environment‘s

changing temperature. Weekly, lost water weight in sweater

boxes was compensated for by adding water to the vermicu-

lite and S.I.M. containers were aired. The S.I.M. containers

produced larger hatchlings after shorter incubation times

and were suggested to be better at producing more hatch-

lings than sweater boxes at constant temperatures in the

nursery. The sweater box produced hatchlings with greater

masses and larger sizes at fluctuating temperatures in the

garage, but at the expense of longer incubation times. The

results correspond with those of past studies done by scien-

tists such as Yntema, Spotila, Steyermark, Baumer, An-

drews, Bauwens, and Garel, who experimented on the ef-

fects of various factors during incubation on hatchlings of

reptile species, including snapping turtles.

Conditions for Turing Pattern Formation in Electrically

Coupled Networks of Neurons

By: Fred Lin

Neurons in the brain communicate by a combination of

chemical and electrical signals. Certain combinations of

these two types of signals could create Turing patterns, spa-

tially periodic oscillations, which are ubiquitous in biology.

However, the biological mechanism by which Turing pat-

terns could occur in a group of neurons is not well under-

stood. Gap junctions electrically couple many types of cells

in the brain and can coordinate inhibitory neuron firing.

Moreover, conductance through gap junctions depends on

neural activity and intracellular signaling. Here, we use a

computational model to show that gap junctions could link

chemical and electrical signaling in the brain to produce

Turing patterns. The strength of activity of gap junctions

required is biologically plausible.

The Ability of Color Recognition and Distinction in Ga-

lapagos Tortoises (Geochelone nigra microphyes)

By: Catherine Louie

The subspecies of Galapagos tortoises have morphological

characteristics that vary from different islands of the Gala-

pagos archipelago. These variations are the results of adap-

tations that may include certain visual abilities because of

the species‘ heavy reliance on their vision to forage. The

potential to see color and even differentiate between colors

has not been a subject of much research. Color vision and

differentiation is important because husbandry-training

methods can use colored targets for minimizing stress in the

animals during medical procedures. This experiment ex-

plored the visual capabilities of the Galapagos tortoise

(Geochelone nigra microphyes) and its application when

training. The hypothesis states that the color targets can be

utilized as a training tool.

Operant and classical conditioning were used alongside

clicker and target training to test color recognition and dif-

ferentiation. Individuals were conditioned to a specific col-

or (red, orange, black, or white) and assessed using trials in

which the color target each subject selected was recorded.

The results supported an inclination toward red colors in this

species and suggested that although differentiation between

colors is evident, differentiation between similar colors is

not. These findings can be applied to improve training ap-

proaches of zoo and medical staff when conducting standard

veterinary protocols, especially in cases where multiple ani-

mals are involved. It is also the onset of future research

regarding the natural selection and the conservation of the

renowned Galapagos tortoise species.

Investigation of Relationship Between Math Anxiety and

Math Ability in Different Ethnicities

By: Syeda Malliha

Although policies such as affirmative action aim to equalize

the disparity of educational opportunities in the United

States between different ethnicities, it is clear that contrasts

still exist. This study aims to identify how different ethnici-

ties perform with their respective math abilities and anxie-

ties, and if other prominent differences exist. It does so

through a questionnaire including measures for mathematics

anxiety, math ability, and relevant factors such as ethnicity.

The questionnaire was distributed among 160 students of

Hunter College and revealed a significant contrast between

the way Caucasians and Asians correlate math anxiety with

math ability and the way African Americans and Hispanics

correlate math anxiety with math ability, but none concern-

ing general anxiety and neuroticism. It has traditionally

been noted that math anxiety is negatively correlated with

math ability. However, through an ANOVA (using means

for math ability and math anxiety) it was found that math

ability has predictably a negative correlation with math anx-

iety in Caucasians and Asians (meaning the higher one‘s

math ability, the lower his math anxiety), whereas in Afri-

can Americans and Hispanics math ability has a positive

correlation with math anxiety (meaning the higher one‘s

math ability, the higher his math anxiety) - a very unex-

pected phenomenon. In essence, this implies that math anx-

iety cannot be blamed on math ability alone, and there is

another unknown factor that is essential in the causation of

math anxiety. This study highlights this critical difference

and opens the door to future research investigating why this

difference exists. The next steps entail lab experiments and

further questionnaires testing the accuracy of trends discov-

ered within this questionnaire and begin to delve into the

reasons as to why this trend exists. By discovering common

causes for math anxiety, methods of standard education can

be adjusted to prevent math anxiety among all races, and

thus produce a more mathematically able population.

43

The Effect of Socioeconomic Enviroment on Birth Out-

comes of Women in the South Bronx: A Proposal

By: Maribel Maria

Preterm pregnancy is an enduring issue in the United States

despite the advances in technology geared towards aiding in

the delivery of children. The actual causes of preterm preg-

nancy remain unclear to this day. However, factors are

known to exist which influence the outcome of a pregnancy.

A potentially influential factor may be the socioeconomic

environment, such as the perceived safety in the community,

in which a woman lives in during the time of her pregnancy.

It could be predicted that African American and Hispanic

women in the South Bronx are negatively impacted by their

socioeconomic environment and are thus likely to give birth

prematurely. Further investigation into the issue would be

necessary to determine if socioeconomic environmental

factors do affect the pregnancy outcomes of African Ameri-

can and Hispanic women. This study proposes to investi-

gate and evaluate the causes of preterm birth in the popula-

tion of African American and Hispanic women, in the South

Bronx.

The Number of Cortical Neurons Used to See

By: Krisha Mehta

A neuron‘s receptive field is the area in the visual field in

which it responds to light. A neuron has one cell body and

many dendrites. Physiologically, the integration occurs as

the signals from the many dendrites converge on the cell

body. The integrated input signals cause the cell to fire, i.e.

produce an action potential. The cell firing stimulates the

dendrites of other neurons. The integration is linear

(weighted averaging) even though the cell firing depends

nonlinearly on that weighted average. The main nonlineari-

ty is a threshold. The cell does not fire if the weighted aver-

age is less than the neuron‘s threshold. Thus, although a

complete mathematical model of the neuron would include

the nonlinearity of the cell‘s response, the spatial integration

by the cell‘s receptive field (or dendrites) is a simple sum, a

linear weighted average. That weighted average is a sample

of the image in the visual field of the observer. The

weighting functions that produce these samples have been

extensively studied in individual neuraons in fish, cats, and

monkeys, but very little is known about how these animals

and people use multiple neurons to see. There are hundreds

of millions of neurons in the visual cortex, but so little is

known that previously studied performance of human ob-

servers might be accounted for by using a single cortical

neuron. Here a new technique, based on a new mathemati-

cal theorem, allows non-invasive visual tests to demonstrate

that people use a large number of neurons. More specifical-

ly, findings show that observers are using a maximum of

about 100 receptive fields, a new upper bound never before

found in neural studies. Saying how many neurons are used

is a significant step towards the ultimate goal of explaining

how these neurons do the visual computation that is seeing.

Molecular Identification and Functional Characteriza-

tion of fried, a Gene Required for Growth and Fertility

in Drosophila 2010-2013

By: Sharon Migdal

Fried is a mutant gene known to cause defects in the ovaries

and larvae of drosophila. Two alleles of the gene were iden-

tified and named fried150 and fried212. Using a genetic

trick known as the flp-FRT system, we were able to study

the physical and behavioral effects of the gene by producing

a homozygous mutant and observe the mutation in the eyes

of the drosophila. White stops indicated the fried allele.

Fried mutants demonstrated defective behaviors in compari-

son to wild type larvae, which include precocious wander-

ing, early lethality, extensive melanization and an overall

smaller body mass.

A Survey of Juvenile Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus poly-

phemus) along Plumb Beach, Brooklyn

By: Lawrence Moy

All organisms are part of a food web and play a unique role

in the ecosystem they live in. Like all organisms within a

food web, American horseshoe crabs are important and vital

for the survival of their ecosystem. American horseshoe

crabs exhibit spawning during the spring in areas such as

Plumb Beach in Brooklyn, New York. Unfortunately,

horseshoe crab populations are on the decline. These de-

clines could have an impact on local food webs and on spe-

cies that rely on horseshoe crabs to survive. In this study to

examine changes in spawning activity of horseshoe crabs,

Plumb Beach was used as the research site. The East and

West mudflats of the beach were surveyed in the experi-

ment. Transects were used to box off regions within the

areas. In each boxed off region, the top portion of the sand

was filtered and the contents left over were examined for

horseshoe crab hatchlings. No juvenile horseshoe crabs

were found in either location, but other marine wildlife was.

Sheddings of horseshoe crab juveniles and adult carcasses

were also found on the east side. None of these were found

on the west side. As expected, no juveniles were found in

the surveys since the spawning season has been over for

quite some time. Future research will examine changes in

juvenile counts during the spawning season along with

changes in horseshoe crab populations over a longer period

of time and the effect of these changes on local shorebirds.

Optimized Conditions of Genome-Wide Screening for

Genes Correlated with Regulatory B Cell Biogenesis

By: Ujwalla Murthy

The B cell is widely recognized for its role in producing

antibodies to protect the body from invaders and pathogens.

44

It is known also for its ability to present pathogens to killer-

or helper T cells. Recently, interest in a little understood

subset of B cells, regulatory B cells (Bregs), has emerged.

Bregs can secrete interleukin-10 (IL-10), an anti-

inflammatory cytokine involved in suppressing the inflam-

matory immune response, important in autoimmune diseases

and inflammatory disorders. How a B cell becomes a Breg

remains unknown. Identification of genes involved in Breg

formation would have therapeutic value in inflammatory

and autoimmune diseases. Here I describe the optimization

of conditions for a genome-wide screen of genes associated

with Breg formation. Employing a strategy in which target

genes in mammalian B cell lines and cultures are silenced,

activating B cells (Bregs) and measuring IL-10 production,

would enable identification of potential genes responsible

for Breg formation. The silenced genes would cause a de-

crease in IL-10 production. These genes would be identi-

fied as putative regulatory genes. Here, an appropriate cell

line, virus dilution, experimental design, and cell density

were determined in preparation for these future experiments.

I found that the CH12F3 cell line, 1:1000 virus dilution, and

a plating density of 2.92 × 105 cells/cm2 were conditions

suitable for genome-wide screens, through which genes in-

volved in Breg formation could be identified. As possible

therapeutic targets, the identified genes would facilitate the

effort to create novel therapies for autoimmune diseases and

inflammatory disorders.

Purification of Beta Cells in a Heterogeneous Population

for the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

By: Pratyusha Mutyala

Over 130 million people worldwide are afflicted with Dia-

betes mellitus. The current treatment for this disease in-

volves insulin-injection and glucose monitoring; however,

there is no cure. A cure for this disease can be achieved

through beta cell replacement therapy. A viable population

of beta cells can be acquired through differentiating human

embryonic stem cells. In this research, fluorescence stain-

ing, cell screening, and FACS were used to isolate beta cells

in a mixed human islet cell population. Highly fluorescent

cells were separated from less fluorescent cells on the cell

sorter. This helped us to identify several potential candi-

dates for cell surface markers among which, surface marker

CDXX held the most promise. CDXX was incubated with

single cells dissociated from human pancreatic islets and

identified to potentially recognize the insulin-positive cells.

The cells were tested for the expression of insulin using RT-

PCR and qRT-PCR. The highly fluorescent cell population

was enriched fifty-eight-fold for insulin-containing beta

cells, indicating that islet beta cells are relatively enriched in

CDXX antigen and can be partially purified in a heterogene-

ous stem cell population by this method. In the future, this

purification method can facilitate beta cell replacement ther-

apy to potentially cure patients with Diabetes mellitus.

Enviroment Affects Cell Proliferation in Offspring

By: Chirilien Pang

There are many factors that may influence development in

offspring, including different proteins that are in the mother.

Previous studies have shown that maternal TNFa plays a

role in altering offspring memory. However, there still re-

mains a question about whether the effect on offspring

memory occurs prenatally, postnatally, or a combination of

the two. We found that foster mothers that express less or

no TNFa positively influence memory in offspring. Where-

as foster mothers that do have TNFa negatively influence

memory in offspring. Proliferation of cells in the dentate

gyrus of the hippocampus (as indicated by BrdU incorpora-

tion) was used as a measure of spatial memory. Our data

demonstrate how crucial and impressionable the postnatal

environment is to the offspring. Furthermore, we examined

whether the mother‘s milk was an underlying mechanism in

which the foster mother affected offspring memory. Our

data show that lactating mothers in whom TNFa was neu-

tralized fostered offspring with increased spatial memory as

measured by proliferation in the dentate gyrus of the hippo-

campus. These results are significant because they show the

effect of the postnatal environment on memory.

Initial In-silico Docking of M.Tuberculosis Beta-

Lactamase

By: Shivam Patel

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection, which deals with the

lungs but has the ability to worsen and move throughout the

body. Currently, most cases of tuberculosis are able to be

treated with the regular strain; however there is a stronger

strain which is resistant to the penicillin. M. tuberculosis

beta-lactamase is the enzyme which will be used during this

experiment. This is because of the intrinsic resistance which

had developed for the enzyme to the illness; however the

enzyme does not always bind properly. The techniques may

be sufficient but the actual compound does not seem to ful-

fill the needed requirements. We are looking for a com-

pound which is able to destroy the strain which is at hand, as

well as keep the bacteria from leaving its dormant stage. If

no longer dormant or if present again, there can is strength

attained in the strain which will be able to cause more dam-

age to the person who is experiencing the bacteria. By using

in-silico doc king; we are using a cost effective method as

well as using a method which does not prove to be too tedi-

ous. The results which are attained here can be taken a step

further and put into experimentation. Certain compounds

have been proven to be better at this then others such as a

present carboxyl group, along with the presence of Clavu-

lanic acid and sulbactam. These specific components seem

to better the compounds affinity to bind with the enzyme.

45

Effect of Medial Dorsal Thalamic Lesions on the Devel-

opment of the Prefrontal Cortex

By: Ian Persaud

Gap junctions connect many types of cells, including neu-

rons. Diffusion of ions through gap junctions can coordi-

nate neuronal activity, hence influencing information propa-

gation and processing. However, exactly how diffusion

affects information processing remains poorly understood.

By modifying gap junctions, we examined how different

diffusion conditions affect sub-threshold oscillation in a 2

dimensional (2D) population of neurons. Here we describe

the derivation of those conditions under which diffusion of

ions through gap junctions allows Turing patterns- spatial

oscillations of ion concentration, which directly affects ac-

tion potential generation and other neuronal processes. We

derived these conditions for a sheet of neurons represented

by a system of linked reaction-diffusion equations. If gap

junctions slow the diffusion of inhibition below a critical

rate, Turing patterns cannot occur in sub-threshold neural

oscillations. At biologically plausible values of diffusion, if

the rate of diffusion is independent of space and time, Tu-

ring patterns occur. The spatial oscillations that Turing pat-

terns create occurs with a spatial frequency that depends on

the strength of diffusion. Our analysis show that recurrent

inhibitory neurons must scale to excitatory for Turing pat-

terns to occur. We also determined the effect of space, or

distance, between cells on Turing patterns of neuronal popu-

lations, a novel finding. We anticipate that our model will

lead to more sophisticated models of neural population in-

teraction. For example, modeling of neuron populations

with fluctuating thresholds or neuron populations with spik-

ing activity, even a 3D model of neuronal interaction are

plausible extensions of our model. Furthermore, since many

neurons perform functions in sub-threshold oscillation, an

understanding of the patterns associated with such functions

is essential to our understanding the neural system.

Immunostaining of UTF-1

By: Anjali Pillai

The purpose of this experiment is to use an immunostaining

method utilizing antibodies and antigen-retrieval to get the

best kind of staining of the marker UTF-1 (undifferentiated

embryonic cell transcription factor 1) that can be achieved.

UTF-1 is known for being a marker for pluripotency. It is

also known to be found to be expressed mainly in spermato-

gonia. Therefore, the hypothesis is that if properly stained,

UTF-1 will be expressed in the basement membrane of the

seminiferous tubules, where the spermatogonia are located.

The first part of the experiment involved going through the

typical protocol for immunostaining. This involves prepar-

ing the slides with testis samples for the antigen-retrieval

and addition of antibodies prior to the outcome of the stain-

ing itself. The slides were then stained to find where

exactly this transcription factor was seen. UTF-1 is thought

to be seen expressed in the spermatogonia of the testis. In

general, that would be the outline of the seminiferous tu-

bules (basement membrane). If this proved to work then

there would be proof of our hypothesis that there is a better

way to stain for this marker. The UTF-1 was expressed so

far with the basic protocol. The basis of this particular ex-

periment was to see the best staining. To find the best re-

sults, the experiment, and the protocol was to be optimized

so that the best possible results were produced. The idea

was to prove that there is a connection between UTF-1 and

spermatogonial self-renewal into various types of cells

(pluripotency). Overall then, that would mean that it was

expected that the marker is expected to work in the staining

but the following steps were taken take are to achieve the

best staining in the human testis samples.

The Interaction between the Ubiquitin/Proteasome Sys-

tem and the AMP-regulated Kinase Snf1

By: Anahi Potrero

The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is the major proteo-

lytic system in the cytoplasm and nuclei of eukaryotic cells.

Many cellular functions are regulated via regulated turnover

of proteins by the proteasome and dysfunction of this sys-

tem is observed in many human diseases such as cancer and

in aging processes. To prevent unspecific protein degrada-

tion, proteasome activity is tightly controlled. Previous re-

ports indicate that the AMP regulated kinase Snf1/AMPK, a

regulator of energy levels in the cell, might functionally

interact with the UPS due to its UBA domain. In this work,

mutant and tagged Snf1 strains were created which allowed

the investigation of this interaction. The strains were puri-

fied and proteins that interact with the new strains will be

identified using mass spectrometry. This method will pre-

sent first evidence that the UPS interacts genetically with

SNF1 and that Snf1 itself is not a UPS target.

Pharmacological Dissociation of Smoking and Reward in

Schizophrenic Patients

By: Mousumi Reja

A high percentage of schizophrenics are smokers. This

study analyzes what happens in the brain when nicotine is

introduced in the brains of individuals, specifically schizo-

phrenics. When nicotine is introduced into the brain, there

is a large stimulation of receptor activity and large release of

acetylcholine. Glutamate is another neurotransmitter re-

leased in large amounts both because of the introduction of

nicotine in the brain and in schizophrenic patients. This

neurotransmitter is involved with memory, learning, and

enhances the reward system. This chemical activity within

the brain was studied in brains of schizophrenic smokers

and non-smokers. This study analyzed what happens in the

brains of schizophrenics when NMDA receptors are

blocked, a known consequence of nicotine use.

46

Ketamine, a phencyclidine hydrochloride derivative and

NMDA antagonist was used to block receptor activity. A

release of acetylcholine is accompanied with the release of

glutamate in smokers. When the level of glutamate increas-

es, so does the level of acetylcholine. Results showed that

in schizophrenics who were nicotine dependent, psychosis

was a response and patients had more cravings for nicotine.

Schizophrenics who were not nicotine dependent experi-

enced positive-like symptoms of schizophrenia, such as de-

lusions, thought disorders, and hallucinations. Healthy con-

trols experienced negative symptoms similar to those caused

by schizophrenia and were negatively affected by the in-

ducement of nicotine in their brains. This showed that keta-

mine blocks NMDA receptors from binding with glutamate

so that the reward system is not activated, but that schizo-

phrenic patients have more cravings for nicotine.

Prevalence of Parkinson’s Disease Mutation in Males

and Females: A Proposal

By: Martin Ridge

Parkinson's Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that

affects over seven million people worldwide. The disease

ultimately leads to death, and can induce bradykinesia

(among other symptoms). Familial Parkinson's Disease is

an inherited form of the disease in which certain mutations

affect neural development. The most prevalent of these

mutations occurs in the Park8 gene, which encodes the pro-

tein Leucine-Rich Repeat-Kinase 2 (LRRK2). The mutation

creates a G2019S abnormality in the enzyme, causing it to

over-phosphorylate ERM Proteins in the dendrites. It has

been shown in mice that this over-activity of LRRK2 leads

to increased dendritic length and decreased dendritic

branching in early developmental milestones. In addition,

Parkinson's Disease has been shown repeatedly to have a

predilection for affecting males (in some studies, the rate of

incidence of Parkinson‘s Disease in males exceeded that of

females by over 90%). This project aims to ascertain the

relationship, if any, between the effects of LRRK2 G2019S

and gender. We expect to find lower rates of dendritic

branching in male mice compared to female G2019S mice

and control, along with lower dendritic lengths. The results

will show whether or not the increased prevalence of Park-

inson‘s Disease in males is correlated with the effects of

LRRK2 operation, or a more phenotypical set of stimuli. If

the results show that LRRK2 G2019S indeed affects den-

dritic branching in males more than in than females, then we

may proceed with testing the relationship between Parkin-

son's Disease and testosterone. A therapeutic method of

addressing this correlation would then be in reach.

The Modulating Effect of Pax5 on V(D)J Recombination

By: Amanda Ruiz

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the lym-

phocytes and is found to be prevalent in children.

Normally, lymphocytes fight bacterial and viral infections;

however, in all patients‘ newly developing lymphocytes do

not develop into mature cells, but stay as immature cells

called lymphoblasts. The immune system recognizes for-

eign substances via antigen receptors to elicit an antibody

response. The collection of antibody specificities an indi-

vidual has is known as the antibody or immunoglobulin

repertoire. The number of antibody specificities is limited

by the total number of B cells in an individual. V(D)J re-

combination is the process by which the variability and di-

versity of antigen receptors is generated. Since patients

with ALL do not properly develop B cells, their immuno-

globulin repertoire is very limited.

Lymphocytes have unique receptors, which enable recogni-

tion of almost any foreign substance. These receptors are

specialized and only match to one specific antigen. B lym-

phocytes develop in the bone marrow and produce receptors

via V(D)J recombination. This process increases the variety

of receptors of lymphocytes. V(D)J recombination, is a

mechanism of genetic recombination in the early stages of

immunoglobulin (Ig) and T cell receptor production. This

process primarily takes place in the primary lymphoid tis-

sue; the bone marrow for B cells, and Thymus for T cells.

The formation of an antigen receptor is categorized by the

combination of the Variable, Diverse, and Joining gene seg-

ments of vertebrates is a site-specific process. Since the

process of antigen receptor variability joins segments and

different genes almost randomly, the receptors produced are

able to diversely encode proteins to match antigens from

bacteria to tumor cells to pollen (Malu et al., 2012). V(D)J

recombination is initiated by the lymphoid-specific Rag1

and Rag2 proteins, which cooperate to make double-strand

breaks at specific recognition sequences (Gomez et al.,

2000).

Evidence of Hybrization in Camponotus pennsylvanicus

By: Sameer Sabharwal-Siddiqi

The purpose of the study was to test for the incidence of

hybridization in two species of hymenopterans: Dorylus

(Anomma) molestus and Dorylus (Anomma) wilverthi. This

study used morphometric and phylogenetic analysis to iden-

tify hybridization. Morphometric data was collected quanti-

tatively by measuring the posterior head lengths, and phylo-

genetic analysis was conducted through gene extraction,

PCR, and genotyping.

Youth-Generated Programs: Evaluating the Impact of

Project STEP-UP

By: Shyam Bhatt

Many adolescents in inner-city communities struggle in

school and in life, however, not much is done to help them.

Step-Up, a youth intervention stationed in two schools in

NYC, fills this void. The program assesses and addresses

mental health difficulties and provides opportunities

47

for increasing youths‘ social problem solving and life skills.

We hypothesized that Step-Up youth would evidence in-

creases in GPA and high school graduation rates that ex-

ceeded national and NYC rates of youth with mental health

difficulties, and that the more contextual stressors (i.e. race,

gender, who the youth live with, if they participate in out of

school activities) a Step-Up youth faces, the lower the GPA

and the more depressed he or she would be. All of the par-

ticipants completed surveys before and after the interven-

tion. The results from these surveys were analyzed using

SPSS. It was found that the program did not necessarily

increase the GPAs and decrease the CDI scores of the stu-

dents. However, it did maintain them (Mean GPA be-

fore=68.94, after=70.52; Mean CDI before=12.70, af-

ter=12.91). Since most of them were on a downward slope,

the fact that their situations did not become worse demon-

strates the success of the program. We also found that only

gender was a good predictor for post-intervention GPA, and

that none of the contextual stressors were good predictors

for post-intervention CDI results. This information can be

used to improve the Step-Up intervention and develop more

like it.

Toxoplasma gondii Genes Regulated by Apetala 2 Tran-

scription Factors Through Protein DNA Binding Motifs

and Transcription Start Sites

By: Lakshmi Devi Singh

vToxoplasma gondii, an Apicomplexan parasite carried by

cats, can infect humans and currently affects about one-third

of the world‘s population. The infection causes significant

brain inflammation, altered brain chemistry, and blindness,

which is of particular concern for susceptible populations

like AIDS, transplant and pregnant patients. Previous re-

search has found Apetala 2 (AP2) binding domains to be

prevalent in the genome of Apicomplexan parasites, includ-

ing Toxoplasma. This study focused on determining which

Toxoplasma genes have AP2 binding domains on their pro-

moter region. This was accomplished by creating a special-

ized computer program using two Bioconductor packages -

ChIPpeakAnno and Biostrings—to analyze the data of AP2-

GST fusion protein binding capabilities to DNA sequences

in Protein Binding Microarrays. The targeted approach of

the computer program was able to identify 116 genes in

Toxoplasma that have domains in their promoter region for

AP2 TF to initiate and promote transcription. These results

will facilitate in the understanding of gene regulation in

Toxoplasma gondii, which can be translated into advancing

the development of more effective treatments for infected

patients.

The Effect of CF-301 and Daptomycin on Polymicrobial

Biofilms

By: Elias Strizower

Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis are

pathogens that are leading causes of nosocomial infections

in humans. Each bacterium has unique abilities to adapt and

become resistant to conventional antibiotics, making treat-

ment difficult for clinicians. This is evident in the rise of

antibiotic-resistant strains of both bacteria. It is believed

that besides resistance via genotypic changes, the ability of

both of these bacteria to form complex communities that

function to prevent antimicrobial treatment is key in their

virulence. Biofilms, defined by J.W. Costerton to be a mi-

croniche of bacteria enveloped in an exopolysaccharide ma-

trix, pose a threat because of their shield- like properties to

bacteria. It is also a problem that biofilms do not usually

exist as single species because this makes them more diffi-

cult to treat. Polymicrobial infections are commonly found

in humans and often the culprits are combinations of S. au-

reus and E. faecalis. Current therapies have been shown to

be limited in combating these poly- microbial threats. The

treatment of S. aureus and E. faecalis biofilms by Daptomy-

cin and CF- 301is focused on in this paper. Daptomycin is a

broad- spectrum antibiotic most commonly used on forms of

S. aureus and E. faecalis that are not in biofilms. CF-301 is

a lysin, which has been shown to break through the cell

membrane through the process of lysis and has been shown

to have anti-biofilm properties and successfully kill bacteria

grown in biofilms. The results of this experiment show that

the use of Daptomycin and CF- 301 together can successful-

ly treat Polymicrobial biofilms.

An Intervention to Control Vasomotor Symptoms for

Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients on Hormone Thera-

py

By: Maliha Sultana

The research conducted in this study attempts to use modern

technology to propose a treatment for one of the side effects

resulting from androgen deprivation therapy, paced breath-

ing, for prostate cancer patients. Because vasomotor symp-

toms yielded a significant decrease in hot flash episodes

with menopausal women with similar experiences, it was

hypothesized that perhaps prostate cancer patients with sim-

ilar episodes would have similar results. In order to facili-

tate these trials, researchers in this study used iPods, inte-

grating modern technology in the research; this is different

from other oncological research in not only does it incorpo-

rate modern technology as a form of individual treatments,

but it focuses on current ways of dealing with those with the

disease already rather than depending on molecular sciences

to prevent the disease. The results have shown that patients

appreciated this program and that further improvements in

the final version would most likely be successful.

Suppression of Prion Toxicity in Yeast by Deletion of

Ubiquitin Ligases Correclates with Decreased Sizes of

Protein Aggregates

By: Sarah Sutto-Plunz

48

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer‘s, Parkin-

son‘s, and Huntington‘s disease affect millions of people

worldwide. Each of these disorders has in common the in-

tracellular accumulation of misfolded and aggregated pro-

teins that are insoluble and are associated with cell toxicity.

These toxic compounds are known as prion proteins. Simi-

lar toxic accumulated proteins are found in the model eukar-

yotic organism yeast. RNQ1 is a yeast protein that, in its

prion form, leads to cell death. Toxicity is thought to be due

to a failure or overloading of protein quality control path-

ways in the cell. This idea is supported by the observation

that overexpressing a second protein that misfolds, Ste11?

NK444R, in the RNQ1 prion background further increases

protein aggregation and toxicity. The purpose of the experi-

ments presented here was to investigate the effects of Ste11?

NK444R expression on RNQ1 toxicity in yeast toward bet-

ter understanding the role of different protein quality control

pathways in protecting cells. In a cell viability assay, it was

found that loss of the Ubr1 and Ltn1 ubiquitin ligases that

target misfolded proteins to the proteasome suppressed tox-

icity. As shown by Western blot analysis and microscopy,

reduced toxicity in the ubr1? strains correlated with reduced

number and size of protein aggregates, despite the total

amount of Ste11?NK444R RNQ1 protein in the cell being

the same as compared to wild type. Furthermore, the results

of a semi-denaturing gel suggested that there is a relation-

ship between a decrease in toxicity and decrease in polymer

size in the aggregates. This suggests that the yeast strains

surviving exposure to the toxic aggregates may have sur-

vived by altering polymer and aggregate size. This work

has important implications for possibly finding a drug that

would aid quality control pathways to eliminate the toxic

compounds, or even prevent their formation, and using it to

cure the aforementioned neurodegenerative diseases, help-

ing save millions of lives.

Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors Reduce Proliferation in

Malignant Gliomas

By: Philip To

Malignant Gliomas are a deadly form of cancer with very

poor prognosis. Current available chemotherapies for treat-

ing malignant Gliomas result in significant adverse effects

indicating the necessity of novel less toxic treatments. Pre-

vious studies have shown that activation of the Protein Ki-

nase A/ Cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein

(PKA/CREB) pathway results in a decrease in proliferation

of Gliomas cells due to the induction of cellular differentia-

tion state. The PKA/CREB pathway is activated by increas-

es in levels of the small second messenger cyclic AMP

(cAMP). In this project, the effects of specific inhibitors on

Phosphodiesterase (PDEs), the enzymes that degrade

cAMP, on CREB activation are computationally modeled

and then experimentally validated to determine their ability

to prevent proliferation of Gliomas cells. First, an ordinary

differential equation based model of the kinetic reactions of

the PKA/CREB pathway was constructed to predict the

contribution of each individual PDE to PKA/CREB activa-

tion. Next, the effect of targeting specific PDEs with inhibi-

tors was measured experimentally via a CREB activation

assay and expression of a glial cell differentiation marker in

a Gliomas cell line. These data were used to refined the

computational model, and improve its predictive power.

Based on the simulation results, predictions on the anti-

proliferation potential of single PDE inhibitors and combi-

nations of PDE inhibitors were made. Lastly, the anti-

proliferating effects of PDE inhibitors in Gliomas cells were

tested experimentally. It was found that targeted inhibition

of PDE3, PDE4, and PDE7 in the Gliomas cell line U87

results in increased activation of CREB and decreased cell

proliferation. The targeted single PDE3 inhibitor displayed

the most pro-differentiation and anti- proliferation potential

in U87 cells. This is the first systematic study comparing

the contribution of multiple PDEs to the differentiation pro-

cess in Gliomas cells, and highlighting PDE3 inhibition as a

novel therapeutic approach to treat malignant Gliomas.

Co-immunoprecipitation Reveals an Interaction between

Human Factor P53 and Dengue Viral Protease NS2B/3

By: Pablo Vasquez

Dengue Virus is the most common mosquito-borne viral

disease in the world, with about 50 million cases of infec-

tion each year and is usually isolated in tropical environ-

ments where mosquitoes thrive. Because dengue virus

evades the innate immunity of the body, it can lead to sever-

al severe manifestations such as Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever

(DHF) or Dengue Shock Syndrome (DDS). Not all manifes-

tations of dengue virus are as severe, however. There are no

vaccines or antibiotics for dengue and treatment focuses on

treating symptoms. For instance, if dengue is diagnosed

early, it can be treated for by administering electrolytes. The

non-structural dengue protein NS2B/3 has been implicated

in interactions with host-cell proteins and it is possible that

those interactions help the Dengue virus evade the innate

immunity of the body. NS2B/3 has been shown to prefer

cleaving quartets of amino acids with the P1 site being ei-

ther Arginine or Lysine. The quartet follows the pattern of

two basic amino acids, followed by two small amino acids.

A pull down assay of NS2B/3 in a transfected cell revealed

over 300 potential specific binding partners. Proteins select-

ed fulfilled three criteria: 1.The proteins were present in the

initial pull down assay. 2. The proteins are involved in the

immune system in some way. 3. The protein has a potential

NS2B/3 cleavage site. Likely host-protein candidates in-

clude human proteins: PI3K, NIRF, DDX (17/39/60), P53

and the TRIP. Understanding which proteins, both viral and

human immune cell proteins, interact with which, is neces-

sary in order to understand how the dengue virus evades the

innate immune response. This study will use transfections,

and if necessary, co-immunoprecipitation to determine if the

given proteins interact with the NS2B/3 and further our un-

derstanding of the innate immune response evasion.

49

AMPure beads: Size-Selection of DNA

By: Navya Voleti

DNA Sequencing has become evident over the years, and

scientists have even been successful in sequencing the

whole human genome. In order for the DNA to be prepared

before it is sequenced, depending on the size of the DNA

fragments, because certain types of sequencing must be

done. In order to select the size of the DNA, gel electropho-

resis is used. However, it is very time-consuming and re-

quires techniques that are more complex than that of using

AMPure beads, which are magnetic beads that attach to the

DNA, so that the DNA that is attached can be taken out,

using a magnet. However, the use of AMPure beads is very

new and had to be tested in order to find an effective con-

centration that would yield the best results. The testing of

AMPure beads was done in order to find a better concentra-

tion of the beads that would yield a higher amount of the

target DNA size. AMPure beads are magnetic beads that

bind to the DNA. When these magnetic beads bind to the

DNA, it allows us to separate the DNA from the enzymes

and reagents. This is more efficient than running gel electro-

phoresis, since this takes about an hour, versus 3 hours for

gel electrophoresis. It was concluded that the concentration

of 1.5X would yield the highest amount of the target size of

DNA. Knowing this increases efficiency because it lets us

know the correct concentration at which we can use these

magnetic beads to obtain the DNA fragments that we need.

Regulation of Root Plasticity in Arabidopsis thaliana

By: Vinesh Vora

A major problem that we face today is a shortage of food

due to the decrease in crop output. This inadequate food

supply is the result of the changing climate that causes unfa-

vorable environments for the plants to thrive in. Plant root

system has major impact on plant survival, and it is regulat-

ed by myriads of internal and external factors. Understand-

ing how the root plasticity is regulated in different environ-

ments would be beneficial in crop production. Here we in-

tend to apply a combinatorial method utilizing 5 different

signals, known to regulate root plasticity, two Nitrogen sig-

nals (NO3-, NH4+) and three hormone signals (Auxin-IAA,

Cytokinins-CK and Abscisic Acid-ABA), to quantify root

development (Trait) and gene expression (Gene). We then

correlate Trait-to-Gene and use network analysis to identify

novel candidate genes regulating root plasticity. Finally, we

validate our hypothesis and identified a protein, the K+ pro-

tein channel that has a direct role in regulating the move-

ment of the stomata and transpiration rate, and potential

regulator of root development. We tested knockout mutant

line of this gene, and identified root phenotype in six root

traits. Potential application of this finding could be genetic

manipulation of this gene, thus allowing the plants to sur-

vive in the harsh environments.

Characterization of Novel Stem Cell Population

By: Phoebe Wong

Cartilage and tendons are one of the most difficult tissues to

repair due to lower metabolic rates and tearing post-repair.

A new look at therapy reveals stem cells, cells capable of

differentiating into various tissues, may be the key to repair.

This study focuses on comparing stem cell populations from

gingival and dermal sources, cultured with and without

transforming growth factor beta-3 (TGF-?3), to determine

the extent of chondrogenesis or tendogenesis in an in vitro

culture. TGF-?3 is a growth factor used for studies of Mes-

enchymal stem cells (MSCs), due to its proliferative and

differentiative effect on cells. Rabbit gingival and dermal

fibroblasts were cultured with/without TGF-?3. They were

examined with Safranin O/Fastgreen stains and qRT-PCR

with Collagen I, Collagen II, and Aggrecan, Decorin, and

Tenomodulin gene markers. Results showed TGF-?3 in-

creased proliferation and gene expression (except tenomod-

ulin) of both cell types. In addition, all samples were more

inclined for chondrogenesis than tendogenesis, because all

genes except tenomodulin (the only marker for tendogene-

sis) were expressed. The gingival MSCs were larger, had

higher levels of extracellular matrix, and attained more sig-

nificant gene expression values than that of the dermal fi-

broblasts. All qualitative and quantitative results indicated

that gingiva is a finer source than dermal for harvesting

stem cells, and that TGF-?3 effectively enhances cartilage

tissue formation of MSCs.

Various Agents Induce Encystment in the Protozoan

Parasite Giaradia

By: Jeffrey Wu

Giardia intestinalis, a protist that causes the diarrheal dis-

ease giardiasis, kills 1.8 million people each year, world-

wide. Giardia has two forms: trophozoite and cyst. Tropho-

zoites feed and reproduce in the intestine, causing disease,

and are shed in feces. Trophozoites do not exist long out-

side hosts. Cysts develop from trophozoites in the host, are

shed in feces, and can survive hardily outside. Cysts are

responsible for rapid spread of the parasite from host to

host. Bile, produced by the liver and an emulsifier of fats, is

an inducement factor of cysts in the host. It was hypothe-

sized that the ability of bile to induce cysts is due to its de-

tergent-like properties. The effect of detergent on cyst for-

mation in Giardia was tested in vitro. This research is im-

portant because it will help people understand how to con-

trol the spread of giardiasis. Inhibiting cyst formation

would help prevent host shedding of cysts in feces. If the

host only sheds trophozoites that cannot survive outside the

host long, the Giardia would likely die before reaching an-

other host.

50

Identifying Novel Function of Let-7 miRNA in Promot-

ing Nephron Formation

By: Carly (Yue) Yu

Kidney failure, one of the most severe health disorders to-

day, afflicts over 26 million American adults. The ultimate

cure is kidney transplantation. However, as recorded by the

U.S Renal Data System, approximately twelve patients die

every day amongst 100,000 others while waiting for an or-

gan donor. Therefore, widely available bio-artificial kid-

neys, which require a comprehensive understanding of kid-

ney development to build, will become crucial in future

treatment. Previous research has acknowledged that Mesen-

chymal Epithelial Transition (MET), in which the mesen-

chyme differentiates into divergent cell types to form neph-

ron, is essential during kidney growth. One regulator of

epithelial development is miRNA, which are small genes

that modulate organogenesis. We hypothesize that miRNA

may function in the MET process during which essential

internal structures of the kidney develop. To test our hy-

pothesis, the miRNA expression profile during MET was

screened, and 20 up regulated miRNA including the Let-7

family were found. Through Let-7f targeting by antagomir,

we have discovered that down regulation of Let-7f inhibits

ureteric bud branching and greatly reduces nephron growth,

which allows us to draw the conclusion that Let-7f miRNA

is a key player during kidney development. Thus, under-

standing the mechanism of Let-7f miRNA in a functional

kidney promotes groundbreaking advancement in engineer-

ing a feasible, replacement bio-artificial transplant kidney.

Assessment of Effect of Exercise on Body Composition

Changes Following Spinal Cord Injury

By: Zejia Yu

Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) may become wholly

or partially paralyzed. Muscle atrophy, because of immobi-

lization and lack of exercise induces dramatic changes in

body composition. In the able-bodied population, exercise

programs are crucial in the prevention and control of many

metabolic syndrome-related disorders, such as carbohydrate

and lipid metabolism. To date, no standard guidelines have

been developed about exercise in the SCI population. In

addition, there have been no studies that examine the exist-

ing literature in order to summarize the relationship between

insulin sensitivity and exercise in those with spinal cord

injury. The goal of this comprehensive review was to exam-

ine the existing literature in the field of SCI medicine and

rehabilitation and to determine the variables reported that

may be associated with insulin resistance in the SCI popula-

tion. It is hypothesized that there will be a direct relation-

ship identified between body composition changes, duration

of exercise, type and intensity of exercise and the degree of

insulin sensitivity, or conversely lack of exercise, increased

fat mass, and/or loss of lean mass with insulin resistance.

The review study thus implicates that activity training with

duration from 8-52 weeks using the functional electrical

stimulation (FES) aerobic training method increases glucose

metabolism and insulin sensitivity, as well as prevents the

progression of insulin resistance to diabetes mellitus and

other associated metabolic disorders in patients with SCI.

WNT Signaling Protein LEF1 in Prostate Cancer Metas-

tasis

By: Valerio Zhang

?-catenin is a cadherin and a transcription co-factor that

plays a large role in the growth, invasion, and metastasis of

prostate cancer (PCa). ?-catenin during the Wnt signaling

pathway can be either degraded or partake as a downstream

effector for lymphoid binding-enhancer factor (LEF)1.

LEF1 in previous research has been identified as a mediator

in the Wnt/?-Catenin pathway (coordinating with Androgen-

Receptor (AR)) and regulator for cell growth and fate.

In this project we cultured PCa cell lines LNCaP, LNCaP-

AI, LNCaP-Lef1OE, LNCaP-AI-Lef1KD. The cells were

run through a 4% acrylamide gel electrophoresis detecting

for ?-catenin and 14-3-3?. A cell fractionation of the four

lines was run through a 10% acrylamide gel electrophoresis

detecting changes in the expression of ?-catenin and 14-3-3?

The results showed 14-3-3? to have higher concentrations in

the cytoplasm of the four cell lines and ?-catenin to be found

more concentrated in the nucleus than the cytoplasm with

the presence of 14-3-3?. When 14-3-3? was knocked down

with siRNA, ?-catenin had a significantly lower concentra-

tion in the nucleus than the cytoplasm. To confirm these

results, we used immunofluorescence microscopy with fluo-

rescent-dyes specific to ?-catenin, LEF1, and 14-3-3?.

In this experiment, we identified 14-3-3? as a chaperone

for ?-catenin and aids translocation of ?-catenin to and from

the nucleus. In addition, we will determine the cellular lo-

calization of both ?-catenin and 14-3-3? in multiple prostate

cancer cell lines

Reactive Oxygen Species Elicit Renin Release from Mast

Cells

By: Qinru Zou

Mast cells are present in myocardial tissue in close vicinity

to myocytes and nerve endings. Though these cells are best

known for their role in allergic reactions, research has

shown these cells are pivotal in the activation of a local car-

diac renin angiotensin system, a hormone system that is best

known for its regulation of blood pressure and water bal-

ance. Evidence suggests that mast cells constitute an addi-

tional source of renin in the heart. Human mastocytoma

cells and murine bone marrow-derived mast cells were incu-

bated with H2O2 to mimic ischemic conditions in the heart.

As a function of its concentration, H2O2 elicited mast cell

degranulation, as evidenced by the release of hexosamini-

dase, which was associated with a release of renin.

51

Award Winners in Biology 2012

American Academy of Neurology Neuroscience Prize

Vincent Shieh

Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalists Award

Sahil Agrawal, Bhargava Chitti, Olivia Munk, Talal Syed, Qian Kun Tan, Catherine Wang

ISEF Finalists

Shu Hui Liu, Talal Syed, Tongzhu Xu

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) Finalists

Bhargava Chitti, Christina Liao, Qian Kun Tan, Tongzhu Xu

New York City Science and Engineering Fair Finalists

Sahil Agrawal, Yuwen Cheng, Bhargava Chitti, Florence Dasrath, Matthew Eakle, Gabrielle

Frenkel, Michela Garabedian, Enkhmend Gereltogtokh, Vivek Gupta, Andreas Hadjigeorgiou,

Anthony Hagouel, John Hong, Tahsina Islam, Christina Liao, Shu Hui Liu, Anton Morozov,

Yaseen Morshed, Olivia Munk, Anne Qiu, Brianna Saunders, Andrew Shakalis, Vincent Shieh,

Talal Syed, Diptesh Tailor, Qian Kun Tan, Matias Tong, Tongzhu Xu

Siemens-Westinghouse Contest

Finalist: Yuwen Cheng

Semi-finalists: Anthony Hagouel, Vincent Shieh

Award Winners in Biology 2013

Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalists Award

Yashaswini Chittampalli, Daniel Donenfeld, Amanda Ruiz

ISEF Finalists

Uri Rosenshine

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) Finalists

Lubaina Haider

New York City Science and Engineering Fair Finalists

Tyler Bell, Daniel Donenfeld, Ekramul Gofur, Daniel Huang, Ian Kaplan, Rana Lamisa, Fred

Lin, Pratyusha Mutyala, Chirlien Pang, Ian Persaud, Elias Strizower, Maliha Sultana, Philip To

Siemens-Westinghouse Contest Semifinalist

Sarah Sutto-Plunz

52

Photo Credit: : Shutterstock / Sebastian Kaulitzki

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