Research Days Posters 2020

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  The Netherlands: Legalized Prostitution vs. Illegal Trafficking

  Veronica Rich

  According to the Palermo Protocol, "The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant. This statement implies that there is no consent in the practice of prostitution. This raises the question about a conflict between legal prostitution and illicit trafficking. Despite the legalization of prostitution in 2000 in the Netherlands, allowing the government to tax prostitutes who are labeled as "entrepreneurs" many of the sex workers in the Netherlands are illegally trafficked into the industry. Through an analysis of Dutch laws that pertain to human trafficking as well as recommendations made in the seventh edition of the Dutch Rapporteur to edit current Dutch human trafficking laws, this study will attempt to measure actions the Dutch government has taken to combat illegal sex trafficking in the sex work industry. With the support of secondary research, this project will contribute to the debate on whether or not the legalization of prostitution is a simple solution to the problem of the sexual exploitation of persons in human trafficking.

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  Norepinephrine and Corticosterone in the neoCLOM Animal Model of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Effects of Treatment and Sex

  Hannah Rockwood, Jason Howard, Lea Safarpour, and Kate Lerner

  This study examined a novel animal model of OCD, the neoCLOM model, in which rats are treated twice daily from postnatal Days 9-16 with 15 mg/kg of the serotonin-norepinephrine uptake inhibitor clomipramine. Results showed there was an effect of neonatal TREATMENT on levels of norepinephrine (NE) measured from micropunches of post-mortem brain tissue using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Compared to control males, neoCLOM males had higher levels of NE in the amygdala and the lateral thalamus. Compared to control females, neoCLOM females had higher levels of NE in the motor cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and the hypothalamus. There was also an effect of SEX. Versus control males, control females had higher levels of NE in the lateral thalamus, ventral striatum, and anterior cingulate cortex. Conversely, levels of NE in the hypothalamus were lower in the control females versus males. Compared to neoCLOM males, neoCLOM females had higher levels of NE in the prefrontal cortex and the motor cortex. SEX (but not treatment) had a significant effect on corticosterone levels (rat analog of cortisol) in post-mortem trunk blood. The current finding that the elevation of NE evidenced in OCD was mirrored by increased levels of NE in brain structures of the neoCLOM rats adds support for the validity of this new animal model.

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  Population Control=Not Controlling Climate Change

  Natasha Ruscoll

  I plan to have children in about ten years. I do not know how many, but I would like that to be a decision I make with my future family without any limitations. Unfortunately, this may not be possible, because of the growing interest in the idea of population control to help with the climate crisis. Some scholars, like Sarah Conly, believe that population control should be implemented because it is harmful to some of our basic human rights. However, enacting population control infringes on three other basic rights: the rights of future generations, the right to a family, and women's reproductive rights. Anja Karnein, another scholar, argues that it's unfair for us to make decisions for future generations who aren't here to make decisions for themselves. In regard to the second and third rights, we are not legally allowed to limit a woman to having "X" amount of children. This paper will further discuss how population control violates these three rights, and how instead we should be focusing on environmental solutions for climate change. This topic is extremely relevant because, climate change is a problem that has become unavoidable, and will directly affect over 79% of the world population.

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  Host-Parasite Interactions in the Presence of Microplastic Contamination

  Brianna Sander and Nick Buss

  Microplastics are gaining increased attention as a ubiquitous anthropogenic contaminant. Despite the fact that freshwater systems may represent a major source for marine microplastic pollution, less data exists regarding environmental contamination and the biological effects of microplastics in freshwater environments. Taking an ecological approach, this experiment looks at the potential effects of the presence of polyester microfibers (a common form of microplastic) on the dynamics of a host-parasite relationship. We use wood frog tadpoles and trematode parasites common to local Northeastern wetlands as our model system.

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  Girls' Right to Education in India: Bridging the Gap Between Intention and Implementation

  Caroline Sandleitner

  We "must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected." Hillary Clinton's words at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing reverberated throughout the globe. Despite international legal documents such as CEDAW, legal frameworks commonly prove ineffective in substantially safeguarding the rights of women because of their ambiguous language and the inability of the international community to enforce these expectations. My research is rooted in women's right to education, as education is a vital mobilizer when uplifting marginalized groups. I am focused on evaluating the reformed Indian public education system and the gaps in the legal framework for these nation-wide educational programs. The Indian Government's Department of School Education and Literacy passed the Right to Education Act (RTE) in August 2009 theoretically giving women and girls equal access to schooling, but in practice only serving a fraction of the country's female population. By shadow writing the RTE and other legal foundations relevant to India's transition towards gender equality, I aim to uncover the linguistic weaknesses in India's legal framework and propose amendments to these documents that could better protect women's right to education during the implementation process.

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  Acceptance of Primary Care Providers Acquiring Buprenorphine Waivers for Opiod Use Disorder Population in Rural Upstate New York

  Julia Schultz

  2.6 million Americans have opioid use disorder (OUD), but only 10.6% have received treatment, mainly because there are not enough buprenorphine waivered providers, especially in rural areas. There is a need to address attitudes and barriers of why primary care providers are reluctant to get buprenorphine waivers. A recent study reported that only 28.6% of family medicine residencies have a required addiction medicine curriculum and only 31.2% had at least one graduate obtain a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine in the past year. Promoting buprenorphine treatment through training and education increases the number of buprenorphine providers. An educational program was presented to health care providers in rural upstate New York. The goal of this presentation was to improve provider knowledge about the need for buprenorphine waivered providers in the rural primary care setting. A pretest and posttest were given to measure attitudes and barriers before and after the presentation. There was significance found between pretest and posttest attitude scores. (p=0.001) Providers that had buprenorphine training in residency or took a buprenorphine class, were more likely to have their buprenorphine license (p=0.001). This presentation improved provider attitudes in treating patients with OUD with buprenorphine. Education increases discussion and it is recommended that medical professionals who already have their buprenorphine licenses, facilitate this presentation to fellow providers in an effort to educate and mentor them.

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  Self-Expression in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

  Natalie Schuster

  Among the numerous human rights violations that take place in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, one that is less focused on is the violation of the right to expression. Detainees on the base make artworks in the form of paintings, poetry, sculptures, and more, but as soon as prison authority finds it or is made aware of it, the work is taken away and immediately classified so that no one outside the base may see it. It can be argued that this is a violation of the human right number 19, the right to self-expression. Within this issue, there is another when it comes to the right to property (human right number 17), because detainees create their art on styrofoam cups and toilet paper and pass these objects between each others' cells; the objects could be referred to as the property of the detainees, and not that of the US government. In the research to follow, the violations of human rights numbers 17 and 19 by the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp will be analyzed in order to bring to light the violation of the right to self-expression and property among the other human rights violations that take place in the Camp.

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  Pain-related Disability is Associated with Greater Consequences of Cannabis Use

  Ashley Shayya, Michael Shaw, Brendan Walsh, and Callon Williams

  Background: Chronic pain and cannabis use are highly prevalent in college student populations. A growing literature indicates maladaptive responses to pain are associated with problematic substance use. However, no studies have examined associations between pain-related disability and cannabis use among college students. Methods: Psychology undergraduates reported frequency of cannabis use, negative cannabis-related consequences (Marijuana Adolescent Problem Inventory [MAPI]) and pain-related disability (Graded Chronic Pain Scale- Disability Scale [GCPS]) for course credit. Linear regressions were used to test associations of GCPS scores, frequency of cannabis use and MAPI scores among the subset of participants who reported cannabis use (N = 167). Results: Regression analysis indicated that greater pain-related disability was positively associated with negative cannabis-related consequences (β = 0.264; p = 0.001), and that the association was stable across both male and female students (p = 0.251). However, frequency of use was not found to be associated with negative cannabis-related consequences (β =0.051; p = 0.520). Conclusion: Results are in concordance with findings derived from adult populations and suggest that pain may also be important to consider when assessing substance use among college students. Future studies are needed to determine causal associations between pain-related disability and cannabis use.

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  Drug Usage in Heart Disease as a Risk factors for Mental Illness using Machine Learning

  Jay Sivakumar

  Patients with increased mental illness like depression, anxiety or schizophrenia can lead to heart failures among mid-life and old age patients. Although the significance of mental illnesses (such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia) on the cardiovascular disease is well documented, mental illnesses as a side effect due to heart disease is vaguely studied. In this research, we investigate the role of cardiovascular disease as a risk factor for mental illness. During investigation, long term use of antibiotics, along with gender, age, BMI, hypertension and the usage of drugs like clarithromycin, Z-pak, folate, CoQ, omega3fish oil, vitamin B6 were considered as few other risk factors. Predictions using deep learning model have 74% accuracy with 67% specificity for depression, 80% accuracy with 80% specificity for anxiety, 84% accuracy with 73% specificity for disease and XGBoost have 63% accuracy with 70% specificity for schizophrenia. The prospective study is to conclude whether there an association and significance of these predictors on mental illness.

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  Quantum yields of photoredox catalyzed alpha-arylation of amines

  Ethan Spielvogel

  Photoredox Catalysis is a powerful tool for the formation of chemically challenging bonds that normally require high temperatures, high pressures, and harsh chemicals to synthesize. Despite widespread method development for use in pharmaceuticals and organic synthesis, a detailed mechanistic understanding of photoredox catalysis is needed. A major obstacle to understanding the photochemistry of photoredox catalysis is the lack of data on reaction quantum yields. In this study we analyze the quantum yields of an alpha arylation reaction of amines catalyzed by an Iridium polypyridyl photosensitizer. We will present our investigations into the quantum yields of this reaction with an emphasis on the effects of wavelength, light intensity, and reaction time.

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  Predictors and Correlates of Psychological Health Through Ecological Momentary Assessment

  Briana Squires, Stacy Ellenberg, Michael Georgescu, and Dori Polovsky

  Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) entails taking surveys multiple times daily on a smartphone. EMA has been widely used to monitor moment-to-moment fluctuations in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as they occur naturally in one's environment. The current study investigated how depression, productivity, and sleep, fluctuate across time and how these variables covary together in undergraduate participants using EMA for two weeks. Participants were either assigned to EMA which included items about mindfulness (Mindfulness-EMA) or without mindfulness items (No-Mindfulness EMA). Participants were asked to report upon current depression, stress, irritability, productivity, fatigue, and sleep, up to three times daily. Multilevel modeling was used to examine trajectories of change and how variables may increase or decrease over the span of two weeks. The sample (n=103) included 60.9% female, 37% non-white, and 11% Latino/Hispanic participants, with a mean age of 19 (SD = 1.24). Nearly half (47.8%) were freshmen. Preliminary analyses reveal a significant time effect for stress (p=.000); anxiety (p=.001); irritability (p=.002); and sleep disturbances (p=.004), such that all variables improved over two weeks for all participants. Fatigue, depression, and dissociation did not significantly change. Subsequent analyses will examine how trajectories of change covary by demographics, such as sex and year in college.

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  Opioid Abuse as a Result of Work Related Trauma

  Alex Szczepanski, Julien Maarek, and John Mercaldo

  Our studies examine and observe the widespread impact that prescription opioids have left on the United States, with a specific focus on working-class Americans and veterans. By narrowing our reach to Americans who are forced to handle large amounts of physical labor we have found a strong correlation between these workers getting injured on the job and opioid abuse. Finding that the it is generally attributed to overprescription and unnecessary prescription from physicians. The information was drawn from studies, surveys, dissertations and censuses. Observing these works on injuries/trauma caused by these occupations has yielded important information to the origin of this epidemic. These works can lead to understanding the problems associated with this correlation and further look for potential fixes that can be implemented. Although the number of prescriptions has lowered in recent years the number of prescriptions is still far too high to warrant neglecting this topic.

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  Identifying Genes Associated with Elevated Rates of Mitochondrial DNA Instability in a Yeast Model System

  Austen Tinz-Burdick

  Mitochondria are multifunctional organelles whose principal function is to produce chemical energy for cells. Instability of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) interrupts mitochondrial function, which in turn can beget a variety of diseases. We assayed several hundred strains of yeast for differences in the rates of mtDNA loss and performed a genome-wide association study to identify nuclear genes that influence mtDNA stability. We validated our findings by employing a collection of yeast strains, each bearing a knockout of a different gene. Our results show that genes involved in cell cycle regulation (WHI4) and proteins associated with oxidative phosphorylation (COQ11, YAT1) had significant effects on the rate of mtDNA loss. We were, however, surprised to find a number of genes involved in protein degradation to have an equal and sometimes greater effect on the efficacy of mitochondrial function. This suggests that the efficiency of mitochondrial function is strongly influenced by genes that are not directly associated with the mitochondria. By expanding our knowledge of factors that influence mitochondrial function, improved screening procedures for mitochondrial diseases can be developed, and new treatment avenues can potentially be explored.

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  Understanding the Metal-Insulator Transition in Certain Metal-Oxides

  Keith Tirpak, Galo Paez Fajardo, and Christopher Singh

  With the increasing interest in finding novel methods of computing comes a complementary interest in studying the potentially useful electronic properties of Transition Metal Oxides. Some such oxides of particular interest are those which undergo a temperature-dependent metal to insulator transition (MIT), where this change in resistivity allows these materials to exhibit a property known as negative differential resistance, which makes them useful for implementation into memristive devices. These memristors are integrally important to a new circuit design that is engineered to emulate the spike-based processing of biological neurons, known as a neuristor. One important element that must be understood before we are able to adequately scale these devices down to practical sizes is the underlying nature of this transition, whether it is a structural distortion or a purely electronic transition, or some combination of the two. To that end, we used various spectroscopic and computational techniques to study the MIT's of two promising materials which are known to undergo this type of metal to insulator transition, VO2, and Ti2O3 to find the underlying mechanisms driving their electronic transitions.

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  Vaping: Exploring perceptions and behaviors of students and ENDS products

  Randi Traison, Jennifer Carney, Samantha Cosme, Shira Ellenbogen, Cassidy Go, Candace Kim, Ilana Neusner, Michael Papillo, and Gregory Slonim

  Background: Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have increased in use and media exposure with a 78% rise in usage between 2017 to 2018. While a gateway to addictive products, users are also unaware of the ingredients and their effects on the body. Interventions are limited. Further research is needed to investigate perceptions of ENDS and identify effective cessation strategies for young adults. Purpose: To explore the knowledge and attitudes of HS students regarding ENDS products and compare data collected over the year to determine effects of recent media exposure. Methods: Six focus groups (n = 45) were held in a rural high school. Students were asked four open ended questions which elicited dialogue regarding attitudes and behaviors about ENDS and suggestions for educational interventions. Results: Emerging themes were social and behavioral influences (peer pressure; nicotine addiction) ; knowledge deficit; media promotion or prevention. Suggested educational methods were explanation of the ingredients in ENDS, dramatic relief and visual depiction of the consequences. There was more focus in the media on prevention than last year. Conclusion/Implications: A knowledge deficit regarding the dangers of ENDS, including the damaging effects of nicotine, still exists. Data will lead to development of innovative interventions to decrease ENDS use in high schoolers.

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  How is climate change endangering indigenous Andean cultures?

  Eliezer Ugarte

  Over one-sixth of the world's population relies on rapidly-disappearing tropical glaciers.* These glaciers exist in close proximity to the equator due to the high altitude of the mountains where they are found. The tropical glaciers of the Andes in South America have been an intrinsic part of the survival of both the indigenous peoples living there and their culture. Increased glacial melt due to climate change causes deadly floods that threaten mountain communities and deplete their long-term water sources. The United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights applies to this situation, but an organized international effort to find a solution has yet to be launched. Meanwhile, climate change increasingly puts the continuation of many indigenous communities and their cultures in jeopardy. In this study, I examine the threat climate change presents to the indigenous peoples and cultures of the Andes through the following lenses: the scientific explanation for the geophysical processes threatening indigenous peoples, the cultural destruction that climate change is causing, the legal argument for protections besides the right to property, and the overall impact and probable consequences of this developing loss on a global scale. * Konkel, Lindsey. "What Are Tropical Glaciers and Why Do They Matter?" Science Line, December 15, 2008. https://scienceline.org/2008/12/ask-konkel-tropical-glaciers-melting-andes-mountains-runoff-groundwater/.

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  Design and optimization of a turn-on fluorescence assay for the identification of improved ADC linkers

  Caitlin Vitro, Jared Miller, and Samantha Benjamin

  Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of drugs used for targeted delivery in the treatment of cancer. The prototypical linker used for such ADCs is the lysosomally cleaved Val-Cit-PABC linker: emerging as a result of its rapid cleavage rate by the lysosomal enzyme cathepsin B as well as its stability in human plasma. However, recent studies have shown that this system is frequently unstable in the presence of various enzymes including neutrophil elastases and carboxylesterases. To mitigate this issue, we have designed a peptide library that can be readily screened in order to identify sequences with improved properties. In short, the library was designed to utilize a turn-on fluorescence assay: a simple assay made possible by a fluorophore, AMC (7-Amino-4-methylcoumarin), known to be non-fluorescent when bound to a peptide, but highly fluorescent upon cleavage. Therefore, AMC can be employed as a fluorescent probe for rapid determination of amide bond cleavage – specifically that of ADC linkers. Lysosomal ADC processing relies on cleavage of the amide bond between the linker and the payload, and therefore the turn-on fluorescence assay provides a simple method for determining whether or not particular peptide linkers are susceptible to such cleavage.

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  Hazardous drinking is associated with expectancies for the simultaneous use of alcohol and e-cigarettes

  Brendan Walsh, Callon Williams, Mike Shaw, and Ashely Shayya

  Background: Alcohol and tobacco use are especially prevalent among college students, with co-use rates being as high as 59% (Weitzman, 2005). Related adverse health outcomes are further magnified during simultaneous use. Expectancies for substance use are consistently associated with heaviness of use and substance-related consequences. Therefore, the current study examined associations between expectancies for e-cigarette use and heaviness of alcohol use. Methods: College students (N = 362; Mage = 19.32, SD = 0.98, 72% Female) completed psychological measures (i.e. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Nicotine and Other Substance Interaction Expectancies-E-cig Revised (NOSIE-ER). Results: Half (51%) of participants endorsed both lifetime e-cigarette and alcohol use. Of these, 30% use an e-cigarette at least once a month and 62% report hazardous drinking (AUDIT ≥ 8). AUDIT scores were associated with expectancies that drinking increases e-cigarette consumption (r=.29, p < .001), with expectancies that e-cigarette consumption increases drinking (r=.17, p < .05), and with overall expectancies for the simultaneous use of alcohol and e-cigarettes (r=.30, p <.001). Conclusions: Results suggest that as college students engage in more hazardous drinking, they report greater expectancies for simultaneous use of alcohol and e-cigarette. Future studies should use experimental paradigms to test causal links between alcohol and e-cigarette use, especially across individuals with varying degrees of alcohol and nicotine consumption.

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  Esters in ADC linkers: Optimization of stability and lysosomal cleavage

  Kelsey Watts, Brittany Brems, Courtney Jackson, Samantha Benjamin, Yetrib Hathout, Tchilabolo Alayi, and L. Nathan Tumey

  Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) present a unique opportunity to increase the safety of highly toxic drugs by utilizing the specificity of antibodies to deliver (typically amine-containing) payloads to specific tissues. However, there are few technologies for attaching alcohol-containing payloads to an antibody. Theoretically, this would be simplest with the use of an ester linkage. However, little is known about the lysosomal and plasma stability of ester linkages on ADCs. Herein, we describe various experiments evaluating this stability in both human/mouse plasma and in lysosomes, as well as the design of a lysosomally cleavable peptide-linked ester. The stability of ester-linked payloads was demonstrated by observing an ester-linked ADC in the presence of lysosomes. The ester remained intact while the antibody backbone was proteolytically degraded. The lysosomal stability of this linkage was additionally confirmed in a cell-based system using SKBR3 cells. We next undertook the design of a novel linker that is stable in mouse plasma, but upon lysosomal uptake, undergoes immolation, resulting in spontaneous ester cleavage. With this research, we hope to further our knowledge of ester linkages in ADCs as well as to develop a feasible way to release an unmodified alcohol-containing drug into a chosen cell type.

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  Floods and Climate Change in Broome County

  Maya Wolf

  Floods "are the second deadliest of all weather-related hazards in the United States" (Ashley & Ashley, 2008), and they are only becoming more common and more dangerous due to climate change. The Binghamton area has a further elevated risk due to its proximity to the Chenango and Susquehanna river confluence, as demonstrated by the floods here in 2006 and 2011. While there are several flood and climate change mitigation options available, there is little information about the perspectives coming out of Binghamton on these issues. Through semi-structured interviews with community members and local legislators, I will learn how individuals feel they have been affected by floods, as well as what they know about and how they respond to the different mitigation options and efforts. This research could reveal a gap between what representatives think people want and what they actually want, or divides between the needs and incentives of different parts of Broome County. Understanding and reconciling these differences would make Binghamton more prepared to weather the next big flood, or make sure the flood does not get so big in the first place.

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  Creating a Standardized Approach for Satellite-Based Remote Sensing Analysis for Detecting International Humanitarian Law Violations

  Allie Wu

  Technological advancements have given way to satellite-arrays capable of producing high-resolution imagery from outer space. Accordingly, there has been much controversy surrounding the use of satellite imagery in forensics in detecting international humanitarian law violations because of the absence of a standardized analysis strategy. As a result of this, international courts remain hesitant to utilize such imagery analysis for evidence to corroborate decisions. This work aims to explore an approach for conducting satellite-array imagery analysis to detect humanitarian law violations that may be standardized for future forensic use. The investigation focuses primarily on case studies of various conflict-torn regions, including Syria, Sudan, and Rohingya. Imagery from Planet Lab's micro-satellite array was used to conduct change-analysis of the region from before and after the ordered withdrawal to track the trajectory of pertinent objects, local destruction, and regional activities to detect infractions. The methodology presented in this work may be applied in future attempts at detecting humanitarian law breaches beyond aforementioned regions. We recommend that such tactics should be repeatedly tested for their potential to create a universally accepted standard for forensic use.

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  The Use of Spectral Remote Sensing to Detect, Monitor, and Predict Harmful Algal Bloom Location and Intensity

  Kelly Young

  Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are becoming an increasing worldwide concern due to the rapid increase of eutrophic waters across the globe. In New York State specifically, cyanobacteria and harmful algal blooms are present in over 70,000 acres of water with 63,000 located in Western New York. Current methods for monitoring HABs are expensive, laborious and slow which decreases the efficiency of bloom management and demonstrates the need for more effective bloom documentation. This project represents a pilot study prefacing the use of hyperspectral sensing via both aerial and waterborne vehicles as a method of monitoring HABs in Lake Chautauqua and Lake Seneca. In this study Landsat 8 imagery was processed to obtain chlorophyll-a and algal biovolume data for both lakes. Time series modeling was used to create comprehensive figures diagraming the location and intensity of the blooms. The results showed that blooms had the highest volumes between May and October. Blooms formed in the southern basin of both lakes which was likely due to the presence of stagnant waters. Correlation coefficients of chlorophyll-a concentrations to algal biovolume reveled 0.95-0.99 correlations. This project will ultimately produce a chlorophyll-a and cyanobacteria concentration map, methodology for calibration of hyperspectral data and an algorithm for future cyanobacteria detection.

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  Stone, Wood, Fire: Remembering the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan and Binghamton

  Linda Zheng

  The purpose of "Stone, Wood, Fire: Remembering the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan and Binghamton" was to collect oral stories and learn about the Armenian Genocide through the lens of descendants of the survivors. To facilitate this research, interviews were conducted with Armenian diaspora from St. Gregory's Armenian Church here in Binghamton as well as Armenians in Yerevan, Armenia. A podcast was created from the research to establish background for the Armenian Genocide and bring to life diverse stories and perspectives in an accessible manner.

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  Extending Empathy: From Photograph to Engagement

  Carolyn Zou

  An image of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old child who died escaping Syria, went viral in 2015. Depicting his small body lying face-down in the sand of a Turkish beach, this photograph prompted visceral emotional responses from online spectators, inciting awareness and reaching world leaders. UK Prime Minister David Cameron was "deeply moved" but did little regarding refugee policy changes. By 2016, support had waned and more EU member states closed their borders to Syrians. In this paper, I explore the implications of photographs of human rights crises, focusing on the death of Alan Kurdi. I interpret the widespread sharing of this image on social platforms as a sort of moral pornography, and call into question our current ocular epistemology, reading the proliferation of this image as what Wendy Hesford calls "spectacular rhetoric". Questioning the neutrality of using visual spectacles to spur empathy from distant others, I interrogate the current mode of human rights photography and how it systematically leaves other non-victim parties (such as spectators or perpetrators) out of the parameters of legibility, causing apathy. Evaluating statistical data on donations earmarked for aiding Syrian refugees, I propose solutions to turn short-term shock into material relief for victims.

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  Therapeutic Effects of Knocking out Validated Oncogene Targets kRAS and MYC in Ovarian Cencer Cell Lines

  Jorge Zuniga and Annalisa Ferrotta

  Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women and accounts for the most deaths of any cancer involving the female reproductive system. In 2019, there were an estimated 22,000 new cases and 14,000 from ovarian cancer. Two oncogenes, MYC and kRAS, whose amplification is associated with more aggressive disease, have been put forth as potential targets in ovarian cancer to mediate cell death or enhance chemotherapeutic efficacy. The CRISPR CAS9 system allows for gene editing and thus the knocking out of specifically selected genes. Here, we investigate the effects of knocking, MYC, kRAS, or both, in ovarian cell lines with amplified kRAS (OV56, SKOV-3) in terms of their morphology and chemotherapeutic efficacy. kRAS and MYC targeted knockdowns in OV56 and SKOV-3 were carried out via CRISPR-CAS9 transfection. Knockout of target oncogenes was verified via PCR and gel electrophoresis and protein expression was monitored by western blot. Once knockouts were verified, culture conditions were changed to form cell aggregates in suspension by changing culture medium and vessels to grow "spheroids" that more closely mimic in vivo ovarian tumors and stem cells. Various stably transfected OV56 cell lines were seen to have a morphology change. Possible morphology changes while grown into spheroids, is being monitored. Changes in cell cytotoxicity of pre and post knockouts of both cells line when treated with chemotherapeutics are being compared. Successful transfection of OV56 and SKOV-3 cells with MYC and kRAS combination knockouts will allow for future investigations.