Background: Among the many benefits associated with the consumption of probiotics, modulation of the immune system has recently received the most attention. Previously, researchers and scientists thought that the use of probiotics only improved the gastrointestinal tract, thereby aiding digestion. However, there is now evidence to support that intake of probiotics is effective in the prevention and/or management of many gastrointestinal diseases plus modulating immune functions in a person with normal immunological status and microbiota.
Methods: An online survey regarding knowledge of foods containing probiotics, consumption of these foods, frequency of probiotic supplementation, and recent illness was developed to determine the relationship between probiotic intake and immune health among college students. Researchers recruited Texas Christian University students through e-mail and social media. Once the target number of participants (>150) responded to the survey, data was analyzed using SPSS.
Results: Upon surveying participants (N=157), 58% (n=91) of respondents reported that they did not take a probiotic supplement, while 19.8% (n=31) reported taking a supplement every day or ≥3-4 times/week. There was a strong correlation between those who reported frequent probiotic supplementation and lower incidence of strep throat (p<0.01), lower incidence of nausea and vomiting (p<0.01), and lower incidence of constipation (p<0.05). There was also a correlation between the consumption of certain foods containing probiotics, yogurt specifically, and illness frequency, notably, lower incidence of fever (p<0.01) and cold (p<0.05).
Conclusions: There is a significant correlation between the consumption of probiotic supplements and positive effects with certain illnesses, but some foods containing probiotics show opposite or negligible results. For more conclusive results, further research should be conducted with controlled variables to determine the relationship between illness and intake of probiotic supplements versus probiotic-containing foods.

Background: Research indicates Millennials are more concerned about having healthy eating habits than following fad diets, and they exercise more than their Baby Boomer counterparts. The purposes of this study were 1) to determine reasons university students follow fad diets, and 2) to determine other methods students utilize for weight management.
Methods: In this un-blinded, randomized trial approved by TCU IRB, participants completed an online research questionnaire after providing informed consent. Population included 236 TCU male and female students, 18-22 years old. Analyses assessed students’ history of fad dieting and outcomes, perceived health status based on body weight and image, eating and exercise habits, and incidence of lifestyle practices such as smoking and alcohol use. Data was analyzed using SPSS (p<0.05). Frequency distributions and correlations were analyzed for trends in health maintenance behaviors.
Results: Participants self-identified as 76% females, 85% white, 6% Hispanic, and 4% other ethnicity. Only 32% of participants had followed a fad diet (p=0.01). Participants who followed fad diets included 30% Paleolithic®, 23% Gluten-Free®, 20% Weight Watchers®, and 14% Atkins®. Of those who followed the respective diets, 58% did not achieve desired results and reported feeling tired, had no change in health status, experienced temporary weight loss, and always felt hungry, and 56% of participants answered “no” when asked if fad diets work. Of those who followed a fad diet, 40% would not follow one again. Results also show a strong relationship between females and healthy eating habits, pressure to be a certain weight, and perceiving themselves to be a normal weight (p=0.01). Finally, weight loss behavior results show that 97% of participants exercise, while only 57% consciously eat less, and 55% count calories (p=0.01).
Conclusions: University students who followed fad diets experienced temporary or adverse results. Exercise was preferred rather than dieting to maintain weight.

Background: Up to 40% of food produced in America is wasted each year. Meanwhile over 42 million Americans are food insecure. The purposes of this study were to 1) identify contributing factors to local restaurant food waste, 2) describe barriers to restaurant food donations, and 3) describe barriers to donation acceptance by shelter employees.
Methods: Two electronic surveys were distributed to either local restaurant managers/owners or to employees involved in food donation acceptance in local shelters/kitchens following phone calls and/or personal visits by researchers to facilities. Data were coded into and analyzed using SPSS.
Results: There was a 17% (N=12/72) and 100% (N=14/14) response rate for restaurants and shelters requested to participate, respectively. While only 16% (N=2) of restaurant survey respondents (RSR) were concerned about food waste in their establishments, all RSR (N=12) agreed that reducing food waste in their facilities was important. Over 83% (N=10) reported having successful food waste prevention measures in their restaurants. There was a positive correlation with report of presence of prevention measures and knowledge of the Good Samaritan Act (r=.67, p<0.05). Approximately 42% (N=5) of RSR reported they would be interested in connecting with local shelters to donate food and also agreed that liability is a barrier to safe food donations.  Among shelter respondents, 81% (N=9) agreed that their facilities would benefit from excess restaurant food donations.
Conclusion: Although all RSR agreed that food waste prevention measures were important, the majority were not concerned about food waste in their facilities. Due to the overall poor response rates among restaurant owners/managers, the RSR in this survey may represent a segment that were more interested in food waste and more likely to respond to the survey.  The majority of respondents of both surveys agreed that partnering with restaurants and shelters for safe excess food donation was desirable.
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Funding Source: None

In this experiment we take the differential equation model from Heldt 2012 for the viral life cycle and apply a stochastic algorithm in order to simulate random events on a molecular level. We then introduce a known mechanism by which to mutate the produced virus particles and attempt to understand the relationship between surface proteins and these random mutations. This work will shed light on the efficacy of particular antiviral drugs that act on the binding of surface proteins to the cell membrane.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an extremely common viral respiratory infection that currently has no vaccine or treatment. One of the issues in developing a treatment has been that immune system responses in both humans and rats vary in their susceptibility to RSV across different age groups. In this study, we use a mathematical model to quantify the viral kinetics of RSV and analyze its relationship to age. After fitting the model to experimental data, six parameter values were determined and used to calculate the eclipse phase length, infection phase length, basic reproductive number, and infecting time. These values were compared by age and collection site. After running several statistical tests, there was no major trend with the parameter values in relation to either age or collection site. This result provides the foundations for further studies to explore how viral models can better represent RSV and understand the immune response in general.

Galaxies are not alone in space; often, they have neighboring galaxies with which they gravitationally interact. These interactions foster diverse characteristics, such as size, morphology, and color. This project studies the properties of galaxies in the context of their neighbors and environment. More specifically, I examine how the proximity between galaxies affects their evolution. I do this by exploring two samples: 1) galaxy pairs within a few galactic diameters of each other and 2) isolated galaxies separated from the next nearest galaxy by more than ~450,000 light years. Using existing Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory observations, part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV, I determine the various types of ionization conditions present at different radii throughout each galaxy. Through these efforts, I explore which processes promote and hinder star formation within galaxies.

Graphene is a promising material, due to its various inherent properties that will lead to better, smaller, faster, or flexible electronics. Graphene doesn’t exhibit optical emission, limiting its potential use in optoelectronics. However, graphene’s functional derivative Graphene Oxide (GO) maintains many of graphene’s properties and exhibits optical fluorescence emission in the visible/near-infrared, which makes it a candidate for novel applications such as optoelectronic transistors, light emitting diodes (LEDs), and solar cells. Therefore, finding a way to alter optical and electronic properties of GO will lead to more versatility and control among the aforementioned applications.
In this work, we studied the potential use of GO for microelectronic applications by observing the fluorescence of this material under the electric field. A dried GO/PVP film was subject up to 1.6 V/µm in between transparent conductive ITO electrodes resulting in observable quenching of fluorescence emission as the field was applied. The emission was further partially restored at 0 field. Additionally, microscopic flakes of graphene oxide deposited onto interdigitated 10 µm electrodes were subject to 100V/µm with no breakdown current detected. The fluorescence of individual flakes, observed via visible fluorescence microscopy, experienced substantial field-dependent quenching. In aqueous suspensions GO flakes exhibited electrophoretic migration signifying of charge separation. As a result of this work we suggest the potential of varying electronic and optical properties of graphene oxide via the electric field for the advancement and control over its optoelectronic device applications.

Within the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) galaxy, there are huge gaseous outflows that originated from violent supernovae explosions within this galaxy. Observing this outflow that is being kicked out from the LMC reveals that there is ionized gas present, which can be trace by using Ha emission. Using observations from the Wisconsin Ha Mapper (WHAM) in Chile, we are mapping out the Ha emission that is being kicked out of the LMC. In this project, I am removing the imprint of the Earth’s atmosphere in order to isolate the gas cloud. This will be used to determine how much gas is being thrown out of the galaxy. The more gas the galaxy loses, the more it would not be able to make stars in the future.

Respiratory tract infections are easily among the most diagnosed illnesses in modern medicine, especially involving infants and the elderly. Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are especially dangerous, often capable of producing lasting respiratory problems, increased hospitalization, and life-threatening illness. Our research is targeted towards uncovering a possible mechanism behind the spreading of LRTIs, in hopes of illuminating the connection between the diffusion of a given virus and the speed of mucous transfer within the respiratory tract. This project more specifically focuses on a system of nonlinear ordinary and partial differential equations which simulate the diffusion and advection driven dynamics of an infected respiratory system. With a more realistic spatiotemporal approach, we hope to find possible relationships between given rates of advection and diffusion, and the depth and duration of infection; a potential framework for understanding and preventing an otherwise refractory human affliction.

The current research examined childhood environmental factors driving the development of an unpredictability schema (a mindset about the world and people in it as unpredictable) and how maintaining such a cognitive schema impacts body awareness and eating in the absence of hunger. In Study 1, low childhood SES, parenting inconsistency, and poor childhood neighborhood quality predicted development of an unpredictability schema, which predicted lower body awareness. In Study 2, participants with an unpredictability schema had lower body awareness, less mindful eating, and more self-reported eating in the absence of hunger. In Study 3, this pattern was conceptually replicated in a laboratory eating task demonstrating that participants with an unpredictability schema had lower body awareness, which predicted more eating in the absence of hunger. Together, these results suggest that development of an unpredictability schema may be an important predictor of low body awareness and eating in the absence of hunger. Although these outcomes may have historically promoted survival in unpredictable environments, they may contribute to obesity in contemporary food-rich environments.