Zika virus (ZIKV) is a virus that was originally discovered in 1948 but has had little attention until the recent outbreaks in central and south American. In 2016, ZIKV infections found in Brazil were linked with congenital abnormalities such as microcephaly, calcium deposits and death. Therefore, scientists retroactively looked at the outbreaks in the past decade including the outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013. For 80% of adults the infection is asymptomatic, however there is an increased risk of the Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune inflammatory neurological disorder. There is also an increased risk of birth defects if the mother is infected during pregnancy. The is some evidence for dysregulation of the interferon pathway of the innate immune system in these infections. The gene products of this pathway contribute to RNA editing dysregulation mostly by ADAR. Due to these increased risks and the complexity of the molecular mechanisms underlying the infection, public education about Zika virus is both critical and complicated. Here we focus on the use of visual representation of data about Zika Virus in an attempt to increase overall awareness and understanding of ZIKV. The use of flow chart and scientific diagrams to convey complicated pathway analysis may aide in the public education of the risks associated with Zika infection.

The Zika Virus (ZIKV) originally discovered in 1947 received little recognition as a serious infection until the WHO designated it as an international public health emergency in 2016. ZIKV is a flavivirus that has been linked to congenital ZIKV syndrome with symptoms including microcephaly. The Dengue Virus (DENV), another pathogenic flavivirus, has been associated with major infections including Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and Dengue Shock Syndrome, but has not been linked to congenital symptoms. We hypothesize that this is due to ZIKV generating a stronger innate rather than adaptive immune response, whereas DENV is still initiating an innate immune response, but triggers a stronger adaptive immune response. By provoking the innate immune system, ZIKV is activating interferon (IFN) type 1 pathways, causing a cascade that ultimately activates Adenosine Deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs). If ADARs are dysregulated by ZIKV infection the changes in (mis)edited proteins may be responsible for observed neurodevelopmental defects. Using AIDD (a novel pipeline) and publically available RNA-seq datasets from three distinct human embryonic neural progenitor cell lines treated with either ZIKV or mock infection, we delineated gene expression patterns with a particular interest in ADAR1. Gene enrichment and pathway analysis was performed using DAVID and PANTHER. Our results indicate that ADAR1 is upregulated in two of the cell lines but not in the third, suggesting that the IFN type 1 pathway plays a significant role in ZIKV infection, and that changes in ADAR1 expression – and editing of neural targets - may be contributing to CZS symptoms.

Waste in the garment industry has always been a problem, however recently has come to light. More and more people are beginning to acknowledge the waste affair that occurs during the creation of the garment as well as throughout the lifecycle of a garment. In majority of garment’s lifecycle, they end up going to waste and in the creation excess fabric is wasted. Due to this unfortunate truth, I accepted the challenge to attempt to produce a garment with zero-waste. I believe this is important for me as a designer to make an impact on my side of a garments lifecycle: the creation. I was originally overwhelmed with the challenge, but took the best approach I know. I turned to algebra and geometry to calculate how I would not waste any fabric. Originally the math started simple, but got more complex in my pursuit to achieve a spherical shape and including seam allowance necessary to construct the garment. This resulted in the creation of four zero-waste garments that I was unsatisfied with, however the trial and error was necessary to reach my goal. The fifth garment I had finally achieved success. I was most definitely frustrated in the midst of the challenge sewing several garments that I was not satisfied with and always having to return to my math, however all of the calculations and trial and errors proved to be worth it in the end. I can honestly say, I am more then satisfied with the outcome of the garment.

The athleisure market’s newest innovation is producing a 100% cotton fabric that is comfortable, soft yet durable and light enough to be used for athletic activity. Athleisure wear is a large market that cotton has started to capitalize on. This study will question on how performance cotton compares to the favored characteristics of man-made performance fibers when being used during intensified workouts. To answer this research question, this study will design an experiment that will be demonstrated on girls, ages 18-23. During this study, each person will perform a workout in 100% cotton performance wear and then perform a work out in man-made fabric activewear with the same intensity of workout. Then all subjects will be asked a series of questions, common words/phrases from answers will be counted to fully understand their thoughts and comparisons about the feeling and comfortability of each of the activewear fabrics. This research method will provide the appropriate data to answer our research question, but will also conduct a survey for additional insight. The survey will have the same research group guidelines as the experiment to collect more thoughts about performance cotton from a larger amount of girls. After executing the two studies, the expected result is that cotton activewear will be preferred due to the comfort, movability and sustainability. This proposal supports the idea of a softer activewear that people can not only wear to work out in, but also run errands and wear throughout the day while still being comfortable.

The Fashion Industry has been a long time consumer of natural resources; specifically water. It strongly depends on other industries to survive, including agriculture and manufacturing. With the rise of fast fashion, it is no surprise that with more demand for clothing creates a need for more and more natural resources to be used. Proper disposal of waste is crucial in order to not affect the surrounding ecosystems. Companies are now starting to acknowledge the unsustainable practices of their manufacturing process, and are beginning to develop new technologies in order to battle the current pollution output and natural resource consumption. Our research will focus on the how natural resources are used, the negative environmental effects, and how companies are developing new strategies and technologies to combat environmental pollution and consumption. The main form of research that will be conducted is a content analysis due to its efficiency. Using the most up to date database resources we will evaluate the information and form our consensus on what is being done to change the current problem. From the sources we have gathered thus far, we can see that companies are taking the environment into consideration when producing clothing, but may not be doing all that they should. Some possible outcomes of our research may show the rapid decline of natural resources that are crucial to keep ecosystems balanced, or that companies are not doing enough. After all research has been conducted, based on our findings, we will offer recommendations on how to better the processes in order lower the water use and waste.

In today’s apparel driven world, athleisure is one of the fastest growing sectors of all. Unfortunately, cotton has been losing its competitive edge to more popular synthetic materials (Morrison, 2017). In order to combat synthetic materials, top athleisure companies are offering new cotton developments (Friedman, 2016). The purpose of this study is to identify if the new cotton products within the athleisure market are meeting millennial women's expectations. To answer this research question, two research methods will be included: first, a study followed by a survey of applicable consumers, and accompanied with an analysis of the reviews millennial women left on cotton athleisure products on Amazon. The results of the study reveal what millennial women expect in newly developed cotton athleisure. The expected outcome will include: changing the perception of cotton into common sports through marketing education will increase sales. Increasing the thickness and warmth of the cotton blend will increase interest, and one main barrier to entry is price and availability differences between cotton and synthetic fibers (Demand, 2016). The study will conclude with a discussion and analysis of methods that work best for the millennial generation for marketing, the most important feature of a garment, and what drives millennial consumers to purchase.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S and represents a major public health concern. Recent evidence showed that chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, spontaneously develop the pathological hallmarks of AD- amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. We conducted a study to get a better understanding of the relationships amongst the risk factors of AD pathology, including cardiac disease and metabolic syndrome in chimpanzees. Cardiac disease is the leading cause of death for captive chimpanzees and evidence indicates that they also develop metabolic syndrome, however, it is unclear if these are interrelated. In addition, severe age- or pathology-associated cognitive decline has not been documented in this species. Serum biomarkers, hematology, and echocardiogram data were analyzed to evaluate the relationships among disease processes. We specifically analyzed glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, and total protein levels of 90 chimpanzees, housed at Yerkes, since elevated levels of these chemistries are associated with cardiac disease and metabolic syndrome in humans. Student’s t-test revealed a significant effect of cardiac disease status with age (t = -4.82, p < 0.002), cholesterol (t = -3.27, p < 0.00), and lymphocytes (t = 2.43, p < 0.002). There was an increase in cholesterol with age, which is greatly associated with cardiac disease. Lymphocytes were also elevated in individuals with cardiac disease, which may be indicative of a pro-inflammatory state. These data revealed that chimpanzees may share similar risk factors for the development of AD pathology as humans.

Water usage in the Fashion Industry creates a huge impact on the environment and the industry. With focusing on areas such as water waste management, raw materials usage, cost and availability and the role of consumers there is hope that the production of apparel can become more sustainable. Water is a major resource needed in cotton production, therefore finding ways to foster water conservation in cotton production and utilization would have a sizeable impact on water use in the fashion industry.

The apparel production industry needs to take water usage and other natural resources into consideration because it is harmful to the environment but also affects other natural resources. The purpose of our project is to discover sustainable practices for growing cotton and conserving water. We want to find a solution for making the cotton and fashion industry more sustainable to help the environment. We want to get a better understanding of the millennial consumers knowledge of the subject and apply that to a wider range of consumers to spread awareness and make a bigger impact.

Our expected outcomes from our research will result in water conservation worldwide, as well as clean water, especially in less developed countries where clean water is unheard of, raising awareness among consumers about water scarcity and educate them to demand better practices, and inspiring more brands and designers to become more sustainable through their work ethic and apparel production process, and take the environment into deeper consideration.

VR is a womanswear collection, designed by Leticia Dimushi. This collection attempts to answer the question on how to reuse scraps in the industry, designing around the material found and leaving as little waste behind.

75% of all fabric is not recyclable, therefore every scrap that ends up in soil, causes exponential damage in the long run. The problem chosen to give an alternative solution to, is closing the loop from fabric production to garment manufacturing.

The collection is made of 90% scraps and donated fabric, with the addition of purchased trims and findings. The inspiration being VR games relates to the secondary reality that this concept is attempting to create, a reality where resources are used to their full potential, minimizing waste and reusing what is thrown out of the cycle. The collection serves as a metaphor to use resources consciously and work towards a reality of minimal waste, where consumerism is no longer a global culture, and the production system improves in its waste management ethics.

Creating a Virtual Reality, where the missing chain in to close the loop is found, and proposing a solution to how to use scraps are the main issues this collection addresses. Refining this collection and self-understanding as a designer through the process of research and industry design have been key points to the development and defined ideas on using the symbolic and chosen visual inspirations into giving answer to these issues.

Sexual assault preceding comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) has been widely established, but the nuanced influences of the gender of the victim and perpetrator bare further examination. This study sought to examine which victim/perpetrator gender dyad (female/male, female/female, male/female, male/male) leads to a greater risk of comorbidity of PTSD and SUD. Men are more likely to have an SUD, but women are more likely to turn to substances because of trauma (Nida, 2016; Truchman, 2010). While many other factors play into the development of PTSD/SUD comorbidity, research suggests that that sexual trauma is an especially high-risk factor (Dworkin et al., 2017). The most common victimization dyad is female victims with male preparators (female/male dyad) (Dube et al., 2005). Thus, the study hypothesized that female victims with male perpetrators (the female/male dyad) would exhibit the highest PTSD/SUD comorbidity.

Potential participants were recruited from the ADM Crisis Center in Summit County, Ohio. The center offers detoxification to patients presenting with an SUD upon admission, and more than half of our sample also met diagnostic criteria for comorbid-PTSD. Participants were administered questionnaires, including the PCL (PTSD screen), ASSIST (SUD inventory), and SES-SFV (sexual trauma inventory) to gather data. Data is in the process of being analyzed, and will be presented at the poster presentation.