Anthropogenic impacts to the environment form a suite of problems that are detrimental for native species: habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation, pollution, climate change, and the global re-distribution of non-native species. Wildlife rehabilitation centers are on the front lines of identifying and quantifying human impacts. This research uses historical records from the Stark Parks Wildlife and Rehabilitation Center, focusing on the taxa admitted to the clinic and the recovery rate of those taxa as a function of the cause of injury; natural or human-caused. We will also analyze results with respect to age and sex of the admitted species and the seasonality in which individuals are admitted. Learning more about what causes such injuries, whether it be pollution, predation, park visitors, etc., will give listeners a more well-rounded perspective of the importance of rehabilitation treatment and preventative measures.

A short comic illustrating and celebrating the life of Frederick Douglass in an analogous and modern setting. The comic focuses on his enslavement from an early age, his education, his incredible escape, as well as his eventual remarkable success and the influence that had. Also will be discussed; however, is Douglass’ famous speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” in which he detailed his experiences with slavery and the hypocrisy of a day commemorating freedom from tyrants in a nation where a sharply increasing number of people must live their lives as slaves. Connections between the past and the present will be made, uncovering why he made his speech at that time as well as what we can still learn from its wisdom and utilize in the modern day, such as the reasons that it did persuade his white audience and the effects of oppression on an individual.

Previous research has suggested that preoccupying thoughts caused by food craving can impair performance on working memory tasks. This study tests this hypothesis by giving a baseline test of working memory and then randomly assigning participants to one of three experimental groups: 1) cookie craving unsatisfied, 2) cookie craving satisfied, and 3) a control group. Participants in the craving unsatisfied group were given a large chocolate chip cookie and told to look at it and smell it, but not eat it. Instead, they were given celery to eat. Participants in the craving satisfied group were permitted to eat the cookie. We hypothesize that working memory will decline for the craving unsatisfied group but rebound for the group that is allowed to eat the cookie. Implications for the role of preoccupying thoughts in working memory performance will be discussed.

This presentation focuses upon the lack of U.S. response to the German discovery of Polish mass graves in the forest of Katyn near Smolensk, Russia (1942-1943). The German military had found evidence of Soviet culpability; this evidence was labeled as propaganda by the United States government and ignored. In order to bolster their own findings, the German Reich requested numerous Red Cross investigations, and formed an investigative coalition constructed of forensic experts from outside of the German Reich. Although the evidence did suggest Soviet blame, no sanctions were ever made against the United States’ newly founded wartime ally, nor were any ever made post WWII; it was even suggested at Nuremberg that the Germans were responsible for the Polish deaths! In 1956, a U.S. congressional commission (the Madden Commission) investigated the happenings at Katyn; it found that the upper echelon of the United States government in place during 1942-1943 did know of the Soviet crime, and had swept it under the metaphorical rug for the good of the war effort by feeding the public statements declaring “German propaganda”. By analyzing primary documents collected by Polish historians Eugenia Maresch, Anna Cienciala and also the findings of the Madden Commission, it is the goal of this paper to demonstrate that the original evidence presented by the German Reich in 1943 was indeed enough to have raised an alarm, and to have been acted upon. Ignoring this evidence, the United States overlooked a humanitarian catastrophe in order to maintain a tempestuous alliance that would only lead to further conflict and for reasons of self-preservation.

Employers are looking for more than great grades; internships have become the gold standard in job readiness. The Great Lakes Grant that was recently awarded to Kent State Stark has given greater opportunities to students to participate in paid internships within the community. In order to better serve the students of Kent State at Stark, The Corporate University is working with community organizations to create meaningful internship opportunities and it is necessary to assess the quality of such internships. Through interviews with HR professionals, Kent State’s Communication Program, and The Corporate University, as well as a review on the literature on this topic, we created new internship evaluation forms, which allow both the students and employers to assess the internship. We will be presenting a poster that highlights the importance of internships to Kent State students as well as ideas that the university can use to improve the internship process.

We have previously shown that both the acylethanolamide oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and its metabolically stable analog AM3102 (N-[(1R)-2-hydroxy-1-methylethyl-9Z-octadecenamide) induces apoptosis in OV2008 ovarian adenocarcinoma cells independent of PPAR-α receptor signaling pathway. This cytotoxicity is reversed in the presence of α-tocopherol, indicative of reactive oxygen species (ROS) involvement in cell death. We have also shown that palmityl trifluoromethyl ketone (PTK), independent of its inhibitory effect on phospholipase A2, enhances the toxicity of OEA (ASCB 2012, Abstract #888). The enzyme neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase 1 (NCEH1) has also been shown to be a target of trifluoromethylketones (Nat Biotechnol 21:687, 2003). Furthermore, inhibition of NCEH1 leads to reduced migration of SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells in vitro and their growth in vivo (Chem Biol 13: 1041, 2006). Therefore, in this study, using Chlorpyrifos-Oxon (CPO), a potent inhibitor of the enzyme NCEH1, we explored the relationship between OEA and NCEH1 in the OV2008 ovarian cancer cell line. Cytotoxicity was observed in response to both OEA (IC50: 14-21 μM) and CPO (IC50: 48-50 μM). When the compounds were administered together, cytotoxicity was enhanced (OEA IC50: 8-9 μM; CPO IC50: 15-19 μM) with evidence of weak synergism. However, Western blot analysis of OEA and CPO treated cells indicated, when compared with control, no change in the expression of NCEH1. Live cell labeling with dihydroethidium showed an increase superoxide by about 10% in the presence of OEA. CPO itself did not increase the ROS in cells. Live cell fluorescence microscopy using MitoSOX Red also revealed an increase in superoxide anion in the mitochondria in the presence of OEA. The results of our study suggest that one mechanism by which OEA induces cytotoxicity in OV2008 cells is via superoxide generation. It is possible that OEA-mediated increase in ROS makes the OV2008 cells further susceptible to CPO (This undergraduate student research was supported by funds from the University Research Council).

Feeding habits of Lepidoptera are sometimes categorized into two feeding guilds, flower-visitors (nectar feeders) and non-flower-visitors (sap and rotting fruit feeders). The structure of the proboscis tip of non-flower-visitors (brush-like) has an adaptive value, facilitating fluid uptake from surfaces; however, the adaptive value of smooth proboscises of flower-visitors is understudied. This study’s purpose was to quantify the overall hydrophobicity of the drinking region of proboscises of flower- and non-flower-visiting butterflies and provide evidence for the potential adaptive value of a smooth proboscis. We used Nile red to stain the hydrophobic structures on proboscises of butterfly species from both feeding guilds. Stained proboscises were imaged on a confocal microscope and the percent hydrophobicity was quantified using Lenseye® color analysis. Our results indicate that smooth proboscises are more hydrophobic than brush-like proboscises. The hydrophobic nature of smooth proboscises might aid in retrieval of nectar from floral corollas by having less adhesive surfaces.

For this project, I have interviewed the administrators at three local agencies to explore and identify the perceived needs of pregnant adolescents. The questions focused on in this study include the values and mission of these local agencies, how the agencies protect the minor rights of young pregnant teens, and perceptions on how to make the available resources better known. The outcome of this project is a pamphlet that presents current research on the topics identified by the organizations which can be passed out among the agencies. The goal of creating such a pamphlet is to help pregnant adolescents feel informed, educated, and to aid in any pregnancy-based decision making.

We studied the pollination biology of three nocturnal moth species collected at the Biopond at Kent State Stark. The purpose of this research was to quantify the pollen load on the mouthparts (proboscis and labial palpi) of moth species. We hypothesized that moth species would differ in their pollen load; therefore, moth species differ in their role as pollinators. Moths were collected at the Stark Campus Biopond at night using a white sheet and a 250W mercury vapor light and stored in a -80 degree C freezer. Moth mouthparts were studied with a stereoscope and confocal microscopy to assess pollen load. Our results indicate significant differences in pollen load among species and that pollination patterns might not be based on family-level phylogenetic relationships, but represent species-level, moth-flower interactions. We suggest that additional studies are needed regarding this important insect-plant interaction.