Students' Union Undergraduate Research Symposium
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Hosted by the Students' Union, the annual Students' Union Undergraduate Research Symposium is a campus-wide celebration of undergraduate research at the University of Calgary.
The Symposium features undergrads from across campus and faculties who have participated in research during their time at the University of Calgary. Using a broad definition of research, all forms of student work involving the development of scholarly ideas are considered with the intention of including undergraduate faculties in this event.
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Item Open Access The Mind-Gut Connection: A virtual reality education program on the relationship between the digestive system, nervous system, and microbiome.(2019-11-26) Lee, Ryan M.; Jacob, Christian; Sharkey, Keith A.The Mind-Gut Connection is a virtual reality education application on the relationship between the digestive system, nervous system, and microbiome. Together, these systems form the gut-brain axis and communicate with one another to carry out physiological processes associated with digestion. By illustrating this complex medical topic in a virtual reality environment, we have addressed the lack of accurate or comprehensive depictions of the gut-brain axis. Additionally, the use of virtual reality in education may allow for a broader audience to be exposed to this information. Learning about digestion in relation to the gut-brain axis is beneficial for everyone because of the impact our diets and lifestyles have on our physical and mental health. The use of this virtual reality program has the potential to better engage and inform the general public so that they are more aware of how our different body systems are interconnected. Not only is this program novel in addressing such a unique but important topic, it also exhibits innovation upon current virtual reality practices surrounding movement and motion sickness. The use of full-body virtual reality and a natural form of locomotion using arm swinging builds upon existing methods to improve the level of immersion and believability.Item Open Access Ethically-Justifiable Currency Fencing(2019-11) Sellers, Alexandra Y. L.Technological advances enable anyone to create digital currencies - not simply state actors - bringing currency debates out of political buildings and into everyday discussion. Digital currencies have the potential to be limited in access and used for ethical purposes but can also be manipulated and used for more nefarious purposes. My PURE-funded philosophical research involved cryptocurrency ethics literature review, defining a new use of a term (“fencing”), and examining the identified phenomenon for its ethical implications to determine if it can be ethically justified. This poster presents a short overview of my cryptocurrency ethics research.Item Open Access Determinants of Child Health in China: Examining Maternal Employment & Kindergarten Attendance(2019-11-26) Chan, Titus; Chen, Tian; Parker, Emily; Zhou, Yue; Kim, MinseopIn this study, we examined the effects of maternal employment and kindergarten attendance on a child’s body mass index (BMI) score. Children between the ages of 3 to 6 (n = 532) were selected from the 2010 wave of the China Family Panel Studies data-set for statistical analysis. Controlling for a range of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, multiple linear regression models were generated. Analysis indicates that kindergarten attendance is associated with a lower BMI score in children (p < .1). There was no significant evidence that maternal working hours had any observed effects on a child’s BMI. Further policy and practice implications within the field of social work are discussed.Item Open Access Mental health literacy: Amount of knowledge influences sentencing outcomes(2019-11-27) Bernier, Emily; Boyce, Melissa A.The project investigated how one’s mental health literacy (ML) affected punitiveness toward a person convicted of a crime. We hypothesized that participants with higher ML scores would recommend more lenient sentences than those with lower ML scores. Additionally, we hypothesized that participants assigned to the physical illness condition (i.e., brain tumour) versus mental illness (i.e., Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)) would recommend more lenient sentences, regardless of ML. Participants were recruited from two samples: the general population, and an undergraduate psychology student sample. Individuals were randomly assigned to read a vignette scenario describing a criminal case of aggravated assault in an online study. The vignette scenarios differed in description of defendant’s mitigating factors (high blood pressure, brain tumour, or PTSD). Based on the scenario, participants were instructed recommend a sentence. They then filled out two ML scales. Factorial ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate differences between recommended sentence length as a function of condition and mental health knowledge. A main effect was found between the sentence length and ML, wherein those with lower ML scores recommended harsher sentences overall compared to those with higher ML scores (p = .006). Though significance was found, further testing is needed to garner higher power. Implications include the potential to influence the current jury selection process. It may also educate about current biases amongst jury members.Item Open Access Pendulum Study: Active Visual Tracking Elicits Non-Selective Elevations in Cerebral Blood Flow(2019-04) Hodge, Sarah V. L.; Spence, Emma E. M.; Suraj, Rejitha; McGirr, Alexander; Phillips, Aaron AlexanderNeurovascular coupling (NVC) describes the effective matching of cerebral blood flow (CBF) to regions of neuro-metabolic demand. There is increasing interest to assess human NVC for both basic research and its potential role in vascular-cognitive impairment. The clinical utility of NVC relies on a standardized protocol for which the driving metabolic demands are highly-selective. Various research groups deploy divergent strategies to elicit visual NVC responses, including inactive processes (visual grating), passive visual tracking (target with predictable motion) and active visual tracking (target with unpredictable motion). These strategies differ in degree of cognitive and metabolic demand and may elicit different NVC responses, thus precluding study comparison. The present NVC assessment evaluated temporal and regional responsiveness of blood flow (transcranial Doppler) to the visual cortex [via the posterior cerebral artery (PCA)] and blood pressure (Finapres NOVA) during visual stimulation in 19 healthy subjects while also measuring middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow. Visual stimulation included 10 cycles of 30 seconds with eyes closed, followed by 30 seconds with eyes open tracking a moving computerized target. Each subject completed three trials of passive tracking and three trials of active tracking (114 NVC protocols, 1140 individual hyperemias). A custom eye-scanning apparatus followed eye motion to quantify visual target-tracking vigilance. Additional custom software was used to quantify NVC. The data demonstrated that active tracking elicited greater NVC responses compared to passive tracking. Specifically, there was 26% greater change in the mean elevation of PCA blood velocity (p=<0.000) and 13% greater peak NVC response (p<0.01). The MCA response was also greater during active tracking (mean response 111% greater, peak response 41% greater; both p<0.001). Visual target-tracking vigilance was linearly correlated to the degree of hyperemia in the MCA and PCA, as well blood pressure during NVC. It was observed that active and passive visual tracking elicit different NVC responses and cannot be reliably compared. That PCA and MCA responses were greater with active tracking suggests an elevated global CBF (i.e. not selective to regions perfused by the PCA) that may result from recruitment of brain centres responsible for sustained attention and executive function. In other words, active tracking leads to non-selective elevations in global CBF and greater target-tracking vigilance impacts the NVC response. These findings are a critical step to better understand and standardize the evaluation of NVC in humans and for potential clinical deployment of NVC assessments.Item Open Access Adult patient perspectives of the unknowns of living with epilepsy - results from a focus group study.(2019-11-24) Lee, Jeanie Y. Y.; Gelfand, Jennifer; Khan, Sundus; Crooks, Rachel E.; Josephson, Colin B.; Wiebe, Samuel; Patten, Scott B.; Korngut, Lawrence; Smith, Eric Edward; Roach, Pamela M.Background/Objectives: Epilepsy is one of the most common and debilitating neurological conditions that affects nearly 50 million people worldwide, yet there remains a stigma around this condition, which can impact the information-seeking behaviours of patients. As the Brain and Mental Health Research Clinics develop a website about registry-based research, including patient-facing areas, it is important to understand how patients look for information, and the types of information they are seeking out. The objective of this study was to encourage conversation and understand the patient perspectives of existing knowledge gaps between epilepsy patients and the resources they use to obtain information. Methods: A total of thirteen patients (mean (SD) age = 46.4 (16.1) years) from the Calgary Comprehensive Epilepsy Program Registry and four caregivers participated in one of the three focus groups completed in order to meet our aims. There were eight female and five male patients. A semi-structured guide was used to understand the patients’ experiences, top concerns, informational resources currently used, and resources or knowledge that patients felt are lacking. The focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic content analysis was conducted by two researchers who independently open-coded the transcripts using NVivo 11. The final analysis was done by team discussion and ongoing analysis of the codes to create themes and sub-themes. Results: The major themes that emerged from the data included: 1) daily management; 2) resources; and 3) medications and treatment. For daily management, the participants reported concerns about the effects of epilepsy on day-to-day activities such as driving, working, and the barriers they face in society due to their perceived lack of awareness and education about seizure management in the general public. The participants felt negatively impacted by the stigma and compared their experience with epilepsy with other disorders such as cancer or diabetes which they feel are much more accepted in society. The geographical location of the patient also plays a role in the support they receive for epilepsy management, with participants citing challenges and feelings of isolation in rural areas. To acquire more information about epilepsy, participants reported that they primarily asked their physicians or searched online. However, despite the conveniences of the internet, some individuals felt the volume and variation of quality of online information was overwhelming. Instead, they would prefer to go to trusted resources that are provided by healthcare professionals or websites affiliated with hospitals or universities. Updated information on medication, side effects, and research are examples of resources the patients would like to see provided on such websites. Conclusion: Overall, it is clear from our focus groups that resources and support for self-management and day-to-day living for individuals with epilepsy is paramount to reduce knowledge gaps. Not only is it important to provide daily management and medication information to patients through trusted organizational resources, but it is equally important to increase public awareness about epilepsy and seizure disorders to reduce the stigma attached to these conditions.Item Open Access The effect of simulated altitude on VO2max in humans(2019-11-19) Zhuang, Andrea Y.; Beever, Austin T.; MacInnis, Martin J.Item Open Access The effects of hyperglycemia on vascular responses in individuals with obesity(2019-01) Newton, Janna; Soares, Rogério Nogueira; Murias, Juan M.Objective: To evaluate the acute effects of hyperglycemia on the vasculature of lean and obese individuals. Methods: Nine normal-weight (BMI 18.1 to 24.9 kg/m2) and nine individuals with obesity (BMI 30.0 to 39.9 kg/m2) underwent five vascular occlusion tests (VOT) at baseline, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after ingesting 75 g of glucose diluted in 296 mL of water for an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was determined as the percent change in brachial artery diameter from baseline (mean of the 1 min diameter recordings prior cuff release) to peak in brachial artery diameter recorded during the 3 min reperfusion period. Results: Brachial %FMD was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced at 60 min (7.98 ± 4.33 %) after glucose ingestion when compared to pre (10.9 ± 3.99 %) in the obese group. Lean individuals showed no reduction in %FMD during hyperglycemia Conclusion: Hyperglycemia caused detrimental effects on brachial artery function at 60 min after glucose ingestion.Item Open Access Resting-State Functional Connectivity Differences in Pediatric Migraine(2019-11-17) Khaira, Akashroop; Bell, Tiffany; Noel, Melanie; Amoozegar, Farnaz; Harris, Ashley D.Pediatric migraines are highly prevalent but not well-understood. Neuroimaging can provide great insight to brain physiology, but few studies have applied imaging to study pediatric migraines. Previous adult literature has shown differences in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in migraine patients compared to controls; however, adult migraine findings may not be directly transferable to children. This study’s aim was to investigate rsFC differences between children with migraine and controls to better understand pediatric migraines. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data from 26 participants (10 controls and 16 migraines), between the ages of 7-16 years. Data was preprocessed and analyzed using FSL. An independent component analysis constrained to 30 components was used to identify resting-state networks across all subjects. Group average spatial maps were regressed into each subject’s dataset for a time course, which was then regressed into the subject-specific spatial maps. Permutation testing compared rsFC differences in the groups while controlling for age. Initial analysis indicated significant rsFC differences (p < 0.05) in two networks. In the frontoparietal network, there is decreased rsFC in the right motor cortex in the migraine group compared to controls. In the hippocampal/amygdala network, there is decreased rsFC in migraine patients in the right amygdala and right hippocampus. The frontoparietal and hippocampal/amygdala networks are relevant to migraine with roles in pain perception and processing, learning, emotion, and memory. Detecting differences in these networks in children with migraine compared to controls shows that even between migraines, there is intrinsically altered rsFC in pediatric migraine patients.Item Open Access Effect of Environment & Portion Size on Energy Intake(University of Calgary, 2019-11) Roberts, ArabyThis study utilized a 2(Environment: Lab, Lounge) x 2(Portion Size: Standard, Large) mixed-design factorial analysis of variance to examine the effect of environment and portion size and energy intake. Participants attended two sessions: one in a lab and one in a lounge. During both sessions, participants were provided with either a standard (100g) or large (200g) portion of popcorn. The data analyses were non-significant. There was no main effect of environment on energy intake and no main effect of portion size on energy intake. In addition, there was no interaction between environment and portion size on energy intake.Item Open Access The role of L tyrosine in oxazolone induced skin inflammation(2017-11-30) Tso, Marcus; Lin, Yujia; Liao, ShanPerinodal adipose tissues (PAT) are adipose tissue that directly surrounds lymph nodes (LN). Under local immune stimulation, PAT had been shown to breakdown fat and supply fatty acids essential to proliferating lymphoid cells. However, knowledge of the interaction between PAT and LN remains incomplete. Metabolomic analysis identified 458 common metabolites between the LN and PAT. Within these common metabolites, L-tyrosine was found to be significantly reduced in LN, PAT, and plasma during oxazolone (OX) skin sensitization induced inflammation. Literature show that immune cells can increase uptake of amino acids and alter their metabolic profiles to respond to immune stimulation. This study investigates the role of L-tyrosine in OX-induced skin inflammation. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), one of the major enzymes that metabolizes L-tyrosine, was found to be expressed in the lymph nodes of normal mice. Immunofluorescence imaging showed that TH was expressed by cells mostly in the T cell zone. TH expression pattern and co-staining with various cell markers suggested that TH was expressed by neurons in the lymph node. The TH expressing neurons appears to wiring CD4+ cells. Further experiments are needed to characterize TH-expressing cells, and to determine changes in TH expression between control and OX-inflamed LNs.Item Open Access Synergy of anti-leukemic effects between anti-thymocyte globulin, busulfan, and fludarabine(2017-11-30) Yang, Lucy; Dabas, Rosy; Storek, JanAntithymocyte Globulin (ATG) is an anti-GvHD (Graft versus Host Disease) drug that has recently been shown to have anti-leukemic effects. In Alberta, Busulfan and Fludarabine are used to treat acute myeloid leukemia. However, both drugs also lead to the death of healthy cells within the body, especially with increased doses. It would be beneficial to study ways to maintain their effects while decreasing their toxicity, such as synergy with ATG. Different concentrations of ATG were combined with different concentrations of Busulfan and Fludarabine separately to test their effects on pre-conditioned leukemia cell samples from acute myeloid leukemia patients. Cell death was quantified using flow cytometry. The cells from five patients were used and combined into graphs that compared cells dyed by 7AAD (dead cells) between the drugs. In some of the combinations, there appeared to be increased cell death in test tubes with a combination of ATG with Busulfan or ATG with Fludarabine. However, with the use of the Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Test, the difference was deemed not significant. Even though there were no significant differences, it could be due to the low sample size. Furthermore, other concentrations not tested in this experiment could yield better results. If synergy exists between ATG and Busulfan or Fludarabine, the two drugs should be moved up in patients’ conditioning schedules to allow synergism to occur, leading to more cancer cell death with less risk for side effects.Item Open Access Roles of muscle-associated cells during muscle regeneration.(2018-11-27) Yang, Lucy; Ruel, Tyler; Kocha, Katrinka; Huang, PengSkeletal muscles control many essential functions that we constantly perform including walking, eating, and breathing. Any diseases that compromise muscle function, such as muscular dystrophy, will have a noticeable impact on the quality of a person’s life. Understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying muscle regeneration will help design new therapeutic approaches to promote muscle injury repair and ameliorate different muscular disorders. Current research mostly focus on known muscle stem cells (satellite cells), while little is known about other types of muscle-associated cells and how they contribute to muscle regeneration. For example, some studies have found that fibro/adipogenic progenitors do not generate muscle fibers but create microenvironments that promote muscle stem cell activity during regeneration instead. My research project aims to determine the functions and responses of different muscle-associated cells during muscle injury repair using zebrafish as a model system. We hypothesize that each type of muscle-associated cell has a distinct regulatory function that aids the muscle regeneration process. To address this topic, I first optimized two complementary techniques to section adult muscle tissues — I used vibratome sectioning to generate thicker sections to maintain 3-dimensional architecture and cryosectioning to prepare thin sections for histological staining. Combining these techniques with different muscle injury models, I have performed detailed time course experiments to determine how muscle repair progresses with respect to either glycerol or cardiotoxin-induced injury. Preliminary results have shown that muscle injury repair in adult zebrafish is dependent on the type of injury. Thus far, glycerol-injected fish seem to suffer catastrophic muscle damage that is still evident 5 days post-injury. Next, I will determine how different types of muscle-associated cells contribute to muscle regeneration under different injury conditions.Item Open Access Revenge Tendencies and Procedural Justice Outcomes of Sexual Rejection(2018-11-27) Sohal, Pooja; Boon, Susan; Paulin, MelanieItem Open Access Using machine learning to find optimal locations for food bank depots(2018-12-06) Mercado, JosephAside from the main food bank location, the Calgary Food Bank also distributes food to clients through food distribution depots located throughout Calgary. The K-Means clustering machine learning algorithm was applied to Calgary Food Bank data to determine where future depots should be located in order to minimize the time clients spend travelling to depots. This would reduce carbon emissions and increase food accessibility in the city.Item Open Access Item Open Access Reconstructing Super-Resolution Microscopy Images to Resolve T-Loop Structures of Telomeres(2018-11-27) Au, Braedyn; Adam, Nancy; Wazen, Rima; Colarusso, PinaThe link between the macroscopic structure of telomeres and cellular health is an unanswered question in cellular research. An obstacle is the fact that conducting microscopic research on telomeres is challenging due to their small size limiting observations to the diffraction limit of light on standard optical microscopes. The novel techniques of super-resolution allow us to successfully image and accurately describe the macroscopic structure of telomeres. This takes steps towards uncovering more about the nature of telomeres and DNA.Item Open Access Modelling the impact of unemployment on Calgary Food Bank usage(2017-11-30) Mercado, JosephIf unemployment increases by one percent, how much more food will the Calgary Food Bank (CFB) distribute? CFB serves the city’s working poor, unemployed, and vulnerable. A predictive model was created, which also describes how food distribution has historically been impacted by unemployment.Item Open Access Enhancing course development through conversations(2017-11-30) Gilbert, Brian T; Musgrove-Richer, Amanda; Sandblom, NicoleAs many undergraduates in the Faculty of Science know, the unit on buffer systems in first year chemistry is one of the toughest parts of the course. However, despite this difficulty being commonly seen, there is still a large gap in the literature on the teaching and learning of buffer systems^1. Due to the gap in literature about teaching buffer systems, this undergraduate research project built upon the work of Orgiland Sutherland^2 and looked to determine if there really is a statistical backing to the claims of difficulty with buffer systems, determine why such a difficulty exists, and attempt to address the observed issues through the implementation of a learning simulation.Item Open Access Questioning the Use of Bedrails to Prevent Falls of Adults in Long Term Care(University of Calgary, 2016-12) Huynh, David; An, Mary; Lee, Olivia; Mannion, Cynthia; Ens, Twyla● Bedrails are commonly used to prevent falls (Healey, Oliver, Milne, & Connelly, 2008) ● Bed related falls à hospitalization, increase healthcare costs, and death (Bradley, 2011) ● Fall survivors may be left with permanent disabilities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015) ● 29-55% residents in long term care have fallen, 25% bed related (Healey, Oliver, Milne, & Connelly, 2008; Currie, 2008) ● Factors = environmental hazards, medications, vision problems, and impairments in strength or balance can increase the risk of falling (Bradley, 2011).