Pub Date : 2021-10-07DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.169
S. Daniel, Angela Wang, M. Elias
This study investigated the relationship between adolescent students' gender and racial/ethnic backgrounds and their likelihood of being identified by their peers as having leadership qualities. A survey designed to gauge peer perceptions of leadership qualities was administered to 1003 middle school students from three diverse public middle schools in a Northeastern US city. The survey asked students to nominate as many students as possible who possess specific leadership characteristics. Female students consistently received more nominations across all survey items at two schools. This pattern was observed for five out of the ten survey items at the third school. At a school with a Hispanic majority, Hispanic students received more nominations for most survey items than Asian, Black, and White students. Additionally, at a school with a Black majority, Asian students received more nominations for all survey items compared to Black and Hispanic students and for nine survey items compared to White students. The results indicate that students' gender and schools' racial/ethnic composition may have some influence on peer perceptions of leadership. Furthermore, significant differences in how youths perceive leadership among peers of different backgrounds may be indicative of bias. Educators and administrators can use this information to make sure that students from marginalized backgrounds have opportunities to grow as leaders.
{"title":"Observing the Demographic Factors of Peer-Nominated Leaders in Urban Middle Schools","authors":"S. Daniel, Angela Wang, M. Elias","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.169","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the relationship between adolescent students' gender and racial/ethnic backgrounds and their likelihood of being identified by their peers as having leadership qualities. A survey designed to gauge peer perceptions of leadership qualities was administered to 1003 middle school students from three diverse public middle schools in a Northeastern US city. The survey asked students to nominate as many students as possible who possess specific leadership characteristics. Female students consistently received more nominations across all survey items at two schools. This pattern was observed for five out of the ten survey items at the third school. At a school with a Hispanic majority, Hispanic students received more nominations for most survey items than Asian, Black, and White students. Additionally, at a school with a Black majority, Asian students received more nominations for all survey items compared to Black and Hispanic students and for nine survey items compared to White students. The results indicate that students' gender and schools' racial/ethnic composition may have some influence on peer perceptions of leadership. Furthermore, significant differences in how youths perceive leadership among peers of different backgrounds may be indicative of bias. Educators and administrators can use this information to make sure that students from marginalized backgrounds have opportunities to grow as leaders.","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132212759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-07DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.173
Jinay Patel, S. Arora
The objective of this study was to gather data, create a database of the compounds present in Ocimum tenuiflorum (O. tenuiflorum), and gather related literature on the compounds found. A thor-ough literature search was performed to gather in-formation on compounds present in O. tenuiflorum, including chemical structures, relative abundance, presence in different plant parts, and availability from chemical supply vendors. The compounds’ chemical structures were refined using Discovery Studio Visualizer and Chimera software for future in-silico docking studies. The structures with cleaned structural geometry were obtained through D.S. Vis-ualizer for docking in the future. From the literature search of previously presented articles, it was found that methyl eugenol had the greatest percent com-position in O. tenuiflorum. After searching the Pro-tein Data Bank, COX-1, COX-2, and NF Kappa B were found to be the main protein targets of O. ten-uiflorum compounds in the arachidonic acid inflamematory pathway. Thus, the anti-inflammatory proper-ties of O. tenuiflorum have been analyzed in this ar-ticle for future in silico docking.
本研究的目的是收集资料,建立藤香中化合物的数据库,并收集有关化合物的相关文献。我们进行了全面的文献检索,以收集有关黄茎草中存在的化合物的信息,包括化学结构、相对丰度、在不同植物部位的存在以及从化学品供应商处的可得性。使用Discovery Studio Visualizer和Chimera软件对化合物的化学结构进行了细化,以用于未来的硅对接研究。通过D.S.可视化器获得结构几何清洗后的结构,为今后对接提供依据。从文献检索中发现,甲基丁香酚在黄草中的含量最高。通过对protein数据库的检索,我们发现在花生四烯酸炎症通路中,COX-1、COX-2和NF Kappa B是O. ten- uflorum化合物的主要蛋白靶点。因此,本文对黄花草的抗炎特性进行了分析,为今后的硅对接打下基础。
{"title":"Systematic Analysis of Compounds Present in Ocimum Tenuiflorum (Tulsi) Regarding its Anti-Inflammatory Properties Using In-Silico Techniques","authors":"Jinay Patel, S. Arora","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.173","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this study was to gather data, create a database of the compounds present in Ocimum tenuiflorum (O. tenuiflorum), and gather related literature on the compounds found. A thor-ough literature search was performed to gather in-formation on compounds present in O. tenuiflorum, including chemical structures, relative abundance, presence in different plant parts, and availability from chemical supply vendors. The compounds’ chemical structures were refined using Discovery Studio Visualizer and Chimera software for future in-silico docking studies. The structures with cleaned structural geometry were obtained through D.S. Vis-ualizer for docking in the future. From the literature search of previously presented articles, it was found that methyl eugenol had the greatest percent com-position in O. tenuiflorum. After searching the Pro-tein Data Bank, COX-1, COX-2, and NF Kappa B were found to be the main protein targets of O. ten-uiflorum compounds in the arachidonic acid inflamematory pathway. Thus, the anti-inflammatory proper-ties of O. tenuiflorum have been analyzed in this ar-ticle for future in silico docking.","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"85 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114263932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-07DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.177
Tanvi Banota, Alexa Murray, Laura E. Armstrong, B. Kong, G. Guo, A. Gow, D. Laskin
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver condition that affects millions of individuals in the United States, of which approximately twenty percent of cases progress to non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH). NASH is characterized by macro-vascular steatosis and persistent inflammation in the liver, which can lead to fibrosis. Evidence suggests potential effects of NAFLD and NASH on the devel-opment of pulmonary pathologies, but the interaction between the liver and the lung is not well under-stood. In this study, we assessed the impact of NASH development on lung inflammation and fibrosis over time. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed control (10% kCal) or high-fat (HFD) (60% kCal) diets. Liver tissue, lung tissue, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were collected after 1, 3, and 6 months of feeding. Histopathologic evaluation of livers from HFD-fed mice at 6 months confirmed the development of NASH. In the lung, we observed histopathologic al-terations, including inflammatory cell infiltration, li-pid-laden macrophages, septal damage, and epi-thelial thickening at 6 months. Gene expression anal-ysis of whole lung tissue revealed changes in genes related to inflammation (IL-1B), fibrosis (CTGF), and lipid metabolism (ApoA1). These results characterize an association of pulmonary complications during simple steatosis to NASH transition, suggesting lung-liver crosstalk.
{"title":"Pulmonary Inflammation and Injury in a Mouse Model of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis","authors":"Tanvi Banota, Alexa Murray, Laura E. Armstrong, B. Kong, G. Guo, A. Gow, D. Laskin","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.177","url":null,"abstract":"Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver condition that affects millions of individuals in the United States, of which approximately twenty percent of cases progress to non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH). NASH is characterized by macro-vascular steatosis and persistent inflammation in the liver, which can lead to fibrosis. Evidence suggests potential effects of NAFLD and NASH on the devel-opment of pulmonary pathologies, but the interaction between the liver and the lung is not well under-stood. In this study, we assessed the impact of NASH development on lung inflammation and fibrosis over time. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed control (10% kCal) or high-fat (HFD) (60% kCal) diets. Liver tissue, lung tissue, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were collected after 1, 3, and 6 months of feeding. Histopathologic evaluation of livers from HFD-fed mice at 6 months confirmed the development of NASH. In the lung, we observed histopathologic al-terations, including inflammatory cell infiltration, li-pid-laden macrophages, septal damage, and epi-thelial thickening at 6 months. Gene expression anal-ysis of whole lung tissue revealed changes in genes related to inflammation (IL-1B), fibrosis (CTGF), and lipid metabolism (ApoA1). These results characterize an association of pulmonary complications during simple steatosis to NASH transition, suggesting lung-liver crosstalk.","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124838833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-07DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.172
Lauren Rha, S. Silver
Women authors from the 19th-century have had a profound impact on the literary world due to their critical approach to and inclusion of various so-cial phenomena within their work, such as women's rights, sexuality, and human psychology. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion by quantifying thematic similarities in eight select novels by various female authors of the 19th-century. These novels were chosen due to their contribution to literature and their popularity, common use in college courses around the world, and the prominence of the female authors. This study included utilizing a programming environment known as R Studio to perform a topic model. Performing a topic model allowed for the discernment of ten main themes or topics that can be generally seen across all eight selected novels, and by extension, 19th-century literature by female authors. The research found initial evidence to sup-port the general understanding of said literature as an endeavor of the themes of social critique and in-dividual consciousness; however, the results were not absolute in conclusion because of the limited size of the corpus. A larger corpus of documents (novels) is necessary to reach further conclusions.
{"title":"Topic Modeling and Analysis: Comparing the Most Common Topics in 19th-Century Novels Written by Female Writers","authors":"Lauren Rha, S. Silver","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.172","url":null,"abstract":"Women authors from the 19th-century have had a profound impact on the literary world due to their critical approach to and inclusion of various so-cial phenomena within their work, such as women's rights, sexuality, and human psychology. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion by quantifying thematic similarities in eight select novels by various female authors of the 19th-century. These novels were chosen due to their contribution to literature and their popularity, common use in college courses around the world, and the prominence of the female authors. This study included utilizing a programming environment known as R Studio to perform a topic model. Performing a topic model allowed for the discernment of ten main themes or topics that can be generally seen across all eight selected novels, and by extension, 19th-century literature by female authors. The research found initial evidence to sup-port the general understanding of said literature as an endeavor of the themes of social critique and in-dividual consciousness; however, the results were not absolute in conclusion because of the limited size of the corpus. A larger corpus of documents (novels) is necessary to reach further conclusions.","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125054419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-07DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.168
M. Tschang, M. Schachner
Like other conditions affecting the central nervous system, spinal cord injury (SCI) is difficult to treat with molecular therapies because the blood-brain barrier makes intravenous treatments largely ineffective. For example, a synthetic peptide chain derived from the effector domain (ED) of myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS) has been found to improve functional recovery after SCI in female mice; however, peptides do not always pass the blood-brain barrier and are easily degraded due to natural proteases and are excreted during kidney filtration. Therefore, the ED peptide cannot access the central nervous system to exhibit its effects if administered intravenously. Instead of injecting the ED peptide into the bloodstream, we propose to find compounds that can pass the blood-brain barrier in place of the ED peptide, improving treatment compatibility. To find such alternatives, we screened compound libraries via competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and identified five potential ED peptide mimetics—compounds that mimic the structure and function of the ED peptide. We then used another competitive ELISA to verify their structural similarity to the peptide. After performing toxicity tests to determine the appropriate concentrations of the mimetics to use in functional assays, we found that all five mimetics trigger a significant increase in neurite length in neurons from female mice, but not male mice, when compared to the vehicle control solution. Although more functional tests are necessary, these results suggest that these mimetics trigger ED peptide functions and may provide a more efficient treatment alternative for SCI.
{"title":"Investigating Mimetics of a Peptide Derived from the Effector Domain of MARCKS as Possible Therapeutics for Spinal Cord Injury","authors":"M. Tschang, M. Schachner","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.168","url":null,"abstract":"Like other conditions affecting the central nervous system, spinal cord injury (SCI) is difficult to treat with molecular therapies because the blood-brain barrier makes intravenous treatments largely ineffective. For example, a synthetic peptide chain derived from the effector domain (ED) of myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS) has been found to improve functional recovery after SCI in female mice; however, peptides do not always pass the blood-brain barrier and are easily degraded due to natural proteases and are excreted during kidney filtration. Therefore, the ED peptide cannot access the central nervous system to exhibit its effects if administered intravenously. Instead of injecting the ED peptide into the bloodstream, we propose to find compounds that can pass the blood-brain barrier in place of the ED peptide, improving treatment compatibility. To find such alternatives, we screened compound libraries via competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and identified five potential ED peptide mimetics—compounds that mimic the structure and function of the ED peptide. We then used another competitive ELISA to verify their structural similarity to the peptide. After performing toxicity tests to determine the appropriate concentrations of the mimetics to use in functional assays, we found that all five mimetics trigger a significant increase in neurite length in neurons from female mice, but not male mice, when compared to the vehicle control solution. Although more functional tests are necessary, these results suggest that these mimetics trigger ED peptide functions and may provide a more efficient treatment alternative for SCI.","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"169 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121312131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-07DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.175
Dennis Aldea, Rohit Aita, S. Hassan, Evan S. Cohen, Joseph Hur, Oscar Pellon-Cardenas, Lei Chen, M. Verzi
Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a transcription factor that mediates calcium absorption by intestinal epithelial cells. Although calcium absorption is ca-nonically thought to occur only in the small intestine, recent studies have shown that VDR activity in the co-lon alone is sufficient to prevent calcium deficiency in mice. Here, we further investigate VDR activity in the colon. We assess VDR-DNA binding in mouse duodenal crypt, duodenal villi, and colonic epithelial cells using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation se-quencing (ChIP-seq). We find that most VDR-respon-sive elements are common to all intestinal epithelial cells, though some VDR-responsive elements are re-gionally-enriched and exhibit greater VDR-binding affinity in either duodenal epithelial cells or colonic epithelial cells. We also assess chromatin accessibil-ity in the same three cell types using Assay for Trans-posase-Accessible Chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq). By integrating the VDR ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq data, we find that regionally-enriched VDR-re-sponsive elements exhibit greater chromatin acces-sibility in the region of their enrichment. Finally, we assess the transcription factor motifs present in VDR-responsive elements. We find that duodenum- and colon-enriched VDR-responsive elements exhibit different sets of transcription factor motifs other than VDR, suggesting that VDR may act together with dif-ferent partner transcription factors in the two re-gions. Our work is the first investigation of VDR-DNA binding in the colon and provides a basis for further investigations of VDR activity in the colon.
{"title":"Vitamin D Receptor Binding with DNA in Duodenal Crypt, Duodenal Villi, and Colonic Epithelial Cells of Mice","authors":"Dennis Aldea, Rohit Aita, S. Hassan, Evan S. Cohen, Joseph Hur, Oscar Pellon-Cardenas, Lei Chen, M. Verzi","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.175","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.175","url":null,"abstract":"Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a transcription factor that mediates calcium absorption by intestinal epithelial cells. Although calcium absorption is ca-nonically thought to occur only in the small intestine, recent studies have shown that VDR activity in the co-lon alone is sufficient to prevent calcium deficiency in mice. Here, we further investigate VDR activity in the colon. We assess VDR-DNA binding in mouse duodenal crypt, duodenal villi, and colonic epithelial cells using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation se-quencing (ChIP-seq). We find that most VDR-respon-sive elements are common to all intestinal epithelial cells, though some VDR-responsive elements are re-gionally-enriched and exhibit greater VDR-binding affinity in either duodenal epithelial cells or colonic epithelial cells. We also assess chromatin accessibil-ity in the same three cell types using Assay for Trans-posase-Accessible Chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq). By integrating the VDR ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq data, we find that regionally-enriched VDR-re-sponsive elements exhibit greater chromatin acces-sibility in the region of their enrichment. Finally, we assess the transcription factor motifs present in VDR-responsive elements. We find that duodenum- and colon-enriched VDR-responsive elements exhibit different sets of transcription factor motifs other than VDR, suggesting that VDR may act together with dif-ferent partner transcription factors in the two re-gions. Our work is the first investigation of VDR-DNA binding in the colon and provides a basis for further investigations of VDR activity in the colon.","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132668798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-02DOI: 10.14713/ARESTYRURJ.V1I2.156
Robert Buckelew, Ethan Catalanello, A. Scacchioli
Free-floating satellites with onboard robotic manipulators are subjected to widely varying loads resulting from the motion of the robotic manipula-tors. As there are no fixed supports in space, these loads will cause the satellite to move. By modelling the motion of the onboard robotic arms, determin-ing the necessary reaction loads (which must be sup-plied by the satellite to keep the arm fixed), and sim-ulating the resulting satellite dynamics, we designed a model of a satellite-arm system. We found that a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control scheme, with disturbance-estimating capabilities, was effective in maintaining satellite position and ori-entation during the operation of the onboard ro-botic manipulator. The MATLAB-based Simulink modeling environment was used to perform the sim-ulations of satellite dynamics and control.
{"title":"Control of Satellites with Onboard Robotic Manipulators","authors":"Robert Buckelew, Ethan Catalanello, A. Scacchioli","doi":"10.14713/ARESTYRURJ.V1I2.156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/ARESTYRURJ.V1I2.156","url":null,"abstract":"Free-floating satellites with onboard robotic manipulators are subjected to widely varying loads resulting from the motion of the robotic manipula-tors. As there are no fixed supports in space, these loads will cause the satellite to move. By modelling the motion of the onboard robotic arms, determin-ing the necessary reaction loads (which must be sup-plied by the satellite to keep the arm fixed), and sim-ulating the resulting satellite dynamics, we designed a model of a satellite-arm system. We found that a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control scheme, with disturbance-estimating capabilities, was effective in maintaining satellite position and ori-entation during the operation of the onboard ro-botic manipulator. The MATLAB-based Simulink modeling environment was used to perform the sim-ulations of satellite dynamics and control.","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"143 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114464549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-21DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i1.127
Anusha Patil
Currently, there are no effective treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI). This is because the mechanisms behind post-injury neuroinflammation are not well understood. This project studies a novel signaling pathway responsible for the activation of microglia post-TBI. Its goal is to identify epigenetic factors of neuroinflammation that may be targeted with future therapies. We are examining the possibility that class IIa Histone Deacetylases (HDACs), particularly HDAC7, are responsible for initiating the inflammatory response after TBI. In addition, we plan to explore what its upstream regulation factors may be. One possible upstream regulation factor explored is regulating Kinase 2, also known as Par1b (Par1b/MARK2), since prior research indicates that a deficiency in Par1b/MARK2 increased the inflammatory response of microglia in a mouse model of TBI. In our experiments, we examined brains from sham mice (i.e., without head injury) and mice subjected to closed head injury (CHI). Our experiments made use of wild-type mice and mice deficient in Par1b/MARK2. Qualitative analyses were conducted using fluorescent microscopy imaging of immunohistochemistry. Using cell-specific markers of inflammation, we found an increase in astrocytic marker GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) and microglial protein IBA1 (ionized calcium binding protein) expression in the cortex of the mice after CHI. These increases were dramatic ipsilaterally (same side) to the injury, but only moderate contralaterally (opposite side). In the control brains (sham operates), little to no increase in these markers were detected. In our experiments, we observed increased expression of HDAC7 in post-TBI microglia as well as in reactive GFAP-expressing astrocytes. Others have observed that Par1b/MARK2 may negatively regulate HDAC7 activity and there is evidence that HDAC7 is an inhibitor of anti-inflammatory genes.
{"title":"Targeting the Epigenetic Factors of Neuroinflammation","authors":"Anusha Patil","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i1.127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i1.127","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000Currently, there are no effective treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI). This is because the mechanisms behind post-injury neuroinflammation are not well understood. This project studies a novel signaling pathway responsible for the activation of microglia post-TBI. Its goal is to identify epigenetic factors of neuroinflammation that may be targeted with future therapies. \u0000We are examining the possibility that class IIa Histone Deacetylases (HDACs), particularly HDAC7, are responsible for initiating the inflammatory response after TBI. In addition, we plan to explore what its upstream regulation factors may be. One possible upstream regulation factor explored is regulating Kinase 2, also known as Par1b (Par1b/MARK2), since prior research indicates that a deficiency in Par1b/MARK2 increased the inflammatory response of microglia in a mouse model of TBI. In our experiments, we examined brains from sham mice (i.e., without head injury) and mice subjected to closed head injury (CHI). Our experiments made use of wild-type mice and mice deficient in Par1b/MARK2. Qualitative analyses were conducted using fluorescent microscopy imaging of immunohistochemistry. Using cell-specific markers of inflammation, we found an increase in astrocytic marker GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) and microglial protein IBA1 (ionized calcium binding protein) expression in the cortex of the mice after CHI. These increases were dramatic ipsilaterally (same side) to the injury, but only moderate contralaterally (opposite side). In the control brains (sham operates), little to no increase in these markers were detected. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000In our experiments, we observed increased expression of HDAC7 in post-TBI microglia as well as in reactive GFAP-expressing astrocytes. Others have observed that Par1b/MARK2 may negatively regulate HDAC7 activity and there is evidence that HDAC7 is an inhibitor of anti-inflammatory genes. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"204 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132752677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-21DOI: 10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i1.122
V. Levin
A unique resource for the Rutgers University community, the Aresty Research Center promotes the integral value of research in undergraduate education.This inaugural issue of the journal expands the scope of research activities the Center offers to Rutgers undergraduates to include the peer-reviewed publication process – a crucial element of any structured research activity. Students can engage with the journal in a variety of roles that all professional researchers take at different times – those of the authors of scholarly publications, those of peer reviewers who ensure the quality and soundness of the published work, and those of editors who coordinate the review process.
{"title":"Foreword to first issue of the Aresty Undergraduate Research Journal","authors":"V. Levin","doi":"10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i1.122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i1.122","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 \u0000 \u0000A unique resource for the Rutgers University community, the Aresty Research Center promotes the integral value of research in undergraduate education.This inaugural issue of the journal expands the scope of research activities the Center offers to Rutgers undergraduates to include the peer-reviewed publication process – a crucial element of any structured research activity. Students can engage with the journal in a variety of roles that all professional researchers take at different times – those of the authors of scholarly publications, those of peer reviewers who ensure the quality and soundness of the published work, and those of editors who coordinate the review process. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":196784,"journal":{"name":"Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal","volume":"3 4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133700216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}