The lymphatic system, consisting of lymph vessels, ducts, nodes and tissues organized throughout the body, serves to regulate fluid homeostasis, defend against disease, and aid in the absorption of nutrients. To maintain a healthy environment, lymphatic endothelial cells continuously adapt and respond to mechanical changes arising from disease and immune response. Through this investigation, Human Dermal Lymphatic Endothelial Cells (HDLECs) were tested against shear stress from flowing media to test maintenance of their lymphatic phenotype.

This research is an investigation into the impact of contraceptive availability on desired family size and spacing in Burkina Faso, Africa. Burkina Faso reports the second highest fertility rate in the world at 5.35 children per woman, with these rates remaining stagnant despite the historical global trend. After pledging to Family Planning 2020 - a global partnership supporting the rights of women to decide if and when they want to have children - numerous family planning programs have been employed throughout the country in attempt to lower fertility rates.

The use of electronic cigarettes has increased significantly over the past decade. To determine how the abuse liability of electronic cigarette liquids (e-liquids) differs from nicotine alone, and to determine the impact of flavor, we compared nicotine-containing fruit and tobacco-flavored e-liquids, and their nicotine-free versions. To assess this impact mice voluntarily consumed oral nicotine, equivalent nicotine concentrations of fruit- and tobacco-flavored e-liquid, and equivalent dilutions of the nicotine-free versions in 2-bottle choice tests.

Eye level marketing strategies is a visual merchandising technique involving the specific shelf placement of products. In general, the theory is that consumers are more likely to purchase items that are in their immediate viewing range at eye level. It is implemented in many grocery stores, convenience stores, food service, apparel shops, hospitality, merchandise retailers, etc. In general, it has been shown to be a powerful tool to increase sales of the product in stores and thus the eye level shelves come at a premium and retailers can charge more for this service.

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD), a disorder associated with the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), can cause chronic pain within the jaw. Furthermore, estrogen status in females has been reported to significantly affect the incidence of TMD and alters the response properties of TMJ neurons. The trigeminal ganglia (TG) innervates the head, oral cavity and the TMJ and is closely associated with pain in TMD. Satellite glial cells (SGCs) surround sensory neurons within the TG and gap junctions between SGCs relay sensory information to neurons.

Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem of the modern world, which is predicted to only get worse. One of the main issues with resistance is the ability of bacteria to target a fundamental part of an antibiotic class and essentially gain resistance to many drugs simultaneously. Here, we attempted to characterize the structure of OleA, the first enzyme in a biosynthetic line capable of creating a β-lactone ring through X- ray crystallography. We have shown OleA to be a hydrophobic enzyme, requiring detergents for crystallization.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) occurs in 300,000 patients annually. VAP is caused by inserting PVC tubing connected to a mechanical ventilator into the lungs. While there are many causes of infection, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the leading pathogen in both morbidity and mortality. Previous work has demonstrated the importance of understanding community dynamics in the lungs, particularly the interactions between mucin, the primary glycoprotein of mucus, and bacterial communities. In this study, methods were developed to investigate the impact of mucin-coated PVC on P.

The ability to own farmland was important in 19th century New Zealand, yet the pattern of unequal land ownership and concentration of land was historically very visible. With passing the Land for Settlements Act in 1894, the government was able to purchase 223 estates totaling 1.3 million acres which were then subdivided for purchase or lease by independent farmers. This project focused on examining land distribution in New Zealand after this land ballot system was enacted, which was supposed to make distribution more equal.

Group members: Jasmine Do, April Hagemeister, Hannah Littel, Emma Manick, Christina Meleck, and Srivats Yer

Group members: Abigail Spoden and Abbey Sterkowitz