Reducing the amount of error and introduced data variability increases the accuracy of Western blot results. In this study, different methods of normalization for loading differences and data alignment were explored with respect to their impact on Western blot results. GAPDH was compared to the LI-COR Revert total protein stain as a loading control. The impact of normalizing data to a control condition, which is commonly done to align Western blot data distributed over several immunoblots, was also investigated. Specifically, this study addressed whether normalization to a small subset of distinct controls on each immunoblot increases pooled data variability compared to a larger set of controls. Protein expression data for NOX-2 and SOD-2 from a study investigating the protective role of the bradykinin type 1 receptor in angiotensin-II induced left ventricle remodeling were used to address these questions but are also discussed in the context of the original study. The comparison of GAPDH and Revert total protein stain as a loading control was done by assessing their correlation and comparing how they affected protein expression results. Additionally, the impact of treatment on GAPDH was investigated. To assess how normalization to different combinations of controls influences data variability, protein data were normalized to the average of 5 controls, the average of 2 controls, or an average vehicle and the results by treatment were compared. The results of this study demonstrated that GAPDH expression is not affected by angiotensin-II or bradykinin type 1 receptor antagonist R-954 and is a less sensitive loading control compared to Revert total protein stain. Normalization to the average of 5 controls tended to reduce pooled data variability compared to 2 controls. Lastly, the results of this study provided preliminary evidence that R-954 does not alter the expression of NOX-2 or SOD-2 to an expression profile that would be expected to explain the protection it confers against Ang-II induced left ventricle remodeling.

This thesis identifies and explains two main problems students face during their internships. The first problem relates to feeling bored at internships due to the simplicity of projects or lack of work. From the interviews conducted, several strategies to avoid this boredom were created, including having employers design education plans for interns to further their knowledge in programs such as excel during their downtime. The second problem with internships discovered focuses on the gap between what is taught in schools versus what is expected of interns in practice. This thesis identifies several opportunities for improvement in education and strategies on how to handle feeling overwhelmed on intern projects due to lack of knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to create and establish an efficient and cost-effective solution to decrease the effects of sedentarism in pregnant women. Our team was given a propelling question, from which we had to narrow down our scope and conduct primary and secondary research to determine our ideal customers. The design of our study intends to imitate the development of a startup where ideas are created from scratch and the final deliverable is a business model plan that shows some sort of traction. Our first major finding is that a sedentary lifestyle can be treated without major challenges in low risk pregnancies. We determined that uncertainty and lack of concise and clear information is one of the main causes of an increased level of sedentary behavior in low risk pregnancies. A significant driver for women to do some sort of activity or exercise stems from feeling supported, which doesn’t necessarily come from their partner or couple, but instead from other women that are going to a similar process as them. There are apps in the market that intend to serve pregnant women; however, there is not one that incorporates a social aspect to achieve their goal. In conclusion, there is opportunity in the market for a socially integrated pregnancy fitness app. The Gleam concept has been consciously developed to decrease sedentary behavior through concise, clear, and reliable information and by encouraging women through a socialization platform.

Coverage of Black soccer players by Italian media outlets perpetuate narratives rooted in anti-Black racism. These narratives reflect the country’s changing attitude toward immigration. Historically a country from which citizens emigrated, it is now a recipient of immigrants from Africa. These changing demographics have also caused a shift in the focus of racism in Italy, from discrimination against southern Italians to anti-Black racism. As the country has explored what defines a unified Italian identity, Afro-Italians have been excluded. This study evaluates how these perceptions of Afro-Italian soccer players manifest according to various racial frames, and the frequency with which they do so in three Italian sports dailies: La Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport – Stadio, and Tuttosport. In this context, Afro-Italian refers to an Italian citizen of African descent, and anti-Black racism denotes any form of discrimination, stereotyping, or racism that specifically impacts those of African descent. For this study, a representative sample was collected consisting of website coverage published by the three sports dailies: articles devoted to Mario Balotelli that appeared between 2007 and 2014, and articles devoted to Moise Kean between 2016 and 2019. Three coders recorded the content of the sample articles on a spreadsheet organized by the type of racial frame applied to Black athletes. The analysis reveals that the players were frequently portrayed as being incapable of self-determination and of having an innate, natural athletic capability, rather than one honed through practice. The coders noted that in addition to explicit racial framing, there were also instances of implicit and subtle ways these racial frames manifest. In future research, the coding procedure will need to be adapted to account for these more layered and nuanced manifestations of anti-Black racism.

When examining the average college campus, it becomes obvious that students feel rushed from one place to another as they try to participate in class, clubs, and extracurricular activities. One way that students can feel more comfortable and relaxed around campus is to introduce the aspect of gaming. Studies show that “Moderate videogame play has been found to contribute to emotional stability” (Jones, 2014). This demonstrates that the stress of college can be mitigated by introducing the ability to interact with video games. This same concept has been applied in the workplace, where studies have shown that “Gaming principles such as challenges, competition, rewards and personalization keep employees engaged and learning” (Clark, 2020). This means that if we manage to gamify the college experience, students will be more engaged which will increase and stabilize the retention rate of colleges which utilize this type of experience. Gaming allows students to connect with their peers in a casual environment while also allowing them to find resources around campus and find new places to eat and relax. We plan to gamify the college experience by introducing augmented reality in the form of an app. Augmented reality is “. . . a technology that combines virtual information with the real world” (Chen, 2019). College students will be able to utilize the resources and amenities available to them on campus while completing quests that help them within the application. This demonstrates the ability for video games to engage students using artificial tasks but real actions and experiences which help them feel more connected to campus. Our Founders Lab team has developed and tested an AR application that can be used to connect students with their campus and the resources available to them.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a great need for United States’ restaurants to “go green” due to consumers’ habits of frequently eating out. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has caused this initiative to lose traction. While the amount of customers ordering takeout has increased, there is less emphasis on sustainability.<br/>Plastic is known for its harmful effects on the environment and the extreme length of time it takes to decompose. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), almost 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans at an annual rate, threatening not only the safety of marine species but also human health. Modern food packaging materials have included a blend of synthetic ingredients, trickling into our daily lives and polluting the air, water, and land. Single-use plastic items slowly degrade into microplastics and can take up to hundreds of years to biodegrade.<br/>Due to COVID-19, restaurants have switched to takeout and delivery options to adapt to the new business environment and guidelines enforced by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) mandated guidelines. Some of these guidelines include: notices encouraging social distancing and mask-wearing, mandated masks for employees, and easy access to sanitary supplies. This cultural shift is motivating restaurants to search for a quick, cheap, and easy fix to adapt to the increased demand of take-out and delivery methods. This increases their plastic consumption of items such as plastic bags/paper bags, styrofoam containers, and beverage cups. Plastic is the most popular takeout material because of its price and durability as well as allowing for limited contamination and easy disposability.<br/>Almost all food products come in packaging and this, more often than not, is single-use. Food is the largest market out of all the packaging industry, maintaining roughly two-thirds of material going to food. The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that almost half of all municipal solid waste is made up of food and food packaging materials. In 2014, over 162 million tons of packaging material waste was generated in the states. This typically contains toxic inks and dyes that leach into groundwater and soil. When degrading, pieces of plastic absorb toxins like PCBs and pesticides, and then each piece will, in turn, release toxic chemicals like Bisphenol-A. Even before being thrown away, it causes negative effects for the environment. The creation of packaging materials uses many resources such as petroleum and chemicals and then releases toxic byproducts. Such byproducts include sludge containing contaminants, greenhouse gases, and heavy metal and particulate matter emissions. Unlike many other industries, plastic manufacturing has actually increased production. Demand has increased and especially in the food industry to keep things sanitary. This increase in production is reflective of the increase in waste. <br/>Although restaurants have implemented their own sustainable initiatives to combat their carbon footprint, the pandemic has unfortunately forced restaurants to digress. For example, Just Salad, a fast-food restaurant chain, incentivized customers with discounted meals to use reusable bowls which saved over 75,000 pounds of plastic per year. However, when the pandemic hit, the company halted the program to pivot towards takeout and delivery. This effect is apparent on an international scale. Singapore was in lock-down for eight weeks and during that time, 1,470 tons of takeout and food delivery plastic waste was thrown out. In addition, the Hong Kong environmental group Greeners Action surveyed 2,000 people in April and the results showed that people are ordering out twice as much as last year, doubling the use of plastic.<br/>However, is this surge of plastic usage necessary in the food industry or are there methods that can be used to reduce the amount of waste production? The COVID-19 pandemic caused a fracture in the food system’s supply chain, involving food, factory, and farm. This thesis will strive to tackle such topics by analyzing the supply chains of the food industry and identify areas for sustainable opportunities. These recommendations will help to identify areas for green improvement.

Over 40% of adults in the United States are considered obese. Obesity is known to cause abnormal metabolic effects and lead to other negative health consequences. Interestingly, differences in metabolism and contractile performance between obese and healthy weight individuals are associated with differences in skeletal muscle fiber type composition between these groups. Each fiber type is characterized by unique metabolic and contractile properties, which are largely determined by the myosin heavy chain isoform (MHC) or isoform combination that the fiber expresses. In previous studies, SDS-PAGE single fiber analysis has been utilized as a method to determine MHC isoform distribution and single fiber type distribution in skeletal muscle. Herein, a methodological approach to analyze MHC isoform and fiber type distribution in skeletal muscle was fine-tuned for use in human and rodent studies. In the future, this revised methodology will be implemented to evaluate the effects of obesity and exercise on the phenotypic fiber type composition of skeletal muscle.

From exploring coffee plantations with an old Irishman in the mountains of Colombia to watching the sun set over the Strait of Gibraltar from the terrace of an ancient Moroccan cafe, this thesis sent Charles and Zane on an elaborate cafe-crawl across ten countries, with stops at a few of the world’s most interesting coffee houses. Some of these cafes, such as the world-renowned Caffé Florian (opened in 1720) and Caffé Greco (1760), are built on long-standing traditions. Others are led by innovators championing high-quality boutique shops, challenging mass production chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. These newer cafes fuel a movement classified as the “Third Wave”. With a foundation gained from specialized courses with Patrick O’Malley, North America’s leading voice in coffee, Zane and Charles conducted first-hand research into the unique coffee preferences of multiple cultures, the emergence and impact of the Third Wave in these countries, and what the future may hold for coffee lovers.

From exploring coffee plantations with an old Irishman in the mountains of Colombia to watching the sun set over the Strait of Gibraltar from the terrace of an ancient Moroccan cafe, this thesis sent Charles and Zane on an elaborate cafe-crawl across ten countries, with stops at a few of the world’s most interesting coffee houses. Some of these cafes, such as the world-renowned Caffé Florian (opened in 1720) and Caffé Greco (1760), are built on long-standing traditions. Others are led by innovators championing high-quality boutique shops, challenging mass production chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. These newer cafes fuel a movement classified as the “Third Wave”. With a foundation gained from specialized courses with Patrick O’Malley, North America’s leading voice in coffee, Zane and Charles conducted first-hand research into the unique coffee preferences of multiple cultures, the emergence and impact of the Third Wave in these countries, and what the future may hold for coffee lovers.

Since 1975, the prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled around the world. In 2016, 39% of adults, or 1.9 billion people, were considered overweight, and 13% of adults, or 650 million people, were considered obese. Furthermore, Cardiovascular disease remains to be the leading cause of death for adults in the United States, with 655,000 people dying from related conditions and consequences each year. Including fiber in one’s dietary regimen has been shown to greatly improve health outcomes in regards to these two areas of health. However, not much literature is available on the effects of corn-based fiber, especially detailing the individual components of the grain itself. The purpose of this preliminary study was to test the differences in influence on both LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides between treatments based on whole-grain corn flour, refined corn flour, and 50% refined corn flour + 50% corn bran derived from whole grain cornmeal (excellent fiber) in healthy overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2) adults (ages 18 - 70) with high LDL cholesterol (LDL ≥ 120mg/dL). 20 participants, ages 18 - 64 (10 males, 10 females) were involved. Data was derived from blood draws taken before and after each of the three treatments as well as before and after each treatment’s wash out periods. A general linear model was used to assess the effect of corn products on circulating concentrations of LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. From the model, it was found that the whole-grain corn flour and the 50% refined corn flour + 50% corn bran drive from whole grain cornmeal treatments produced a higher, similar benefit in reductions in LDL-cholesterol. However, the whole grain flour, refined flour, and bran-based fiber treatments did not influence the triglyceride levels of the participants throughout this study. Further research is needed to elucidate the effects of these fiber items on cardiometabolic disease markers in the long-term as well as with a larger sample size.