ABSTRACT SAMPLES
Sample Format of Heading and Body of an Abstract
Title of Project/Presentation*
Billy Bob Hartley**
Mentor: Dr. William J. Decent***
Abstracts must include sufficient information for reviewers to judge the nature and significance of the topic, the adequacy of the investigative strategy, the nature of the results, and the conclusions. The abstract should summarize the substantive results of the work and not merely list topics to be discussed. An abstract is an outline/brief summary of your paper and your whole project. It should have an intro, body and conclusion. It is a well-developed paragraph, should be exact in wording, and must be understandable to a wide audience. Abstracts should be no more than 250 words. An Abstract highlights the major points of the content and answers why your work is important, what was your purpose, how you went about your project, what you learned, and what you concluded.
* If your title includes scientific notation, Greek letters, bold, italics, or other special characters/symbols, make sure they appear correctly here in Microsoft Word.
** Include additional undergraduate co-authors, whether they are presenting or not presenting, if applicable
*** Include additional faculty mentors, if applicable
Samples
Persistent Global Activation of the Aplysia Serotonergic System After Sensitizing Stimuli
Bobby Stills
Faculty Advisor : Dr. Bill Finger
The marine mollusk Aplysia responds to noxious stimulation with a stereotyped arousal reaction that includes escape locomotion, increased heart rate and sensitization of defensive reflexes. Although previous studies have shown that serotonin (5-HT) is important for most of these behavioral responses, it is still unclear how the 5-HT system is activated in response to noxious stimuli. To address this question, I used a specific staining of the 5-HT neurons in the living central nervous system (CNS) that allowed me to (1) systematically record their electrical activity following a noxious stimulus, and (2) trace their projections using the neuronal tracer Neurobiotin. I found that in response to tail-nerve shock, a procedure known to mimic a noxious tail stimulus, the vast majority of 5-HT neurons increased their firing rate for several minutes and became more excitable. 5-HT neurons were found to project toward various peripheral targets such as the gill, heart, body wall, tail, siphon, head, and tentacles as well as to other ganglia in the CNS. This study shows that the Aplysia 5-HT system is globally and persistently activated after a noxious stimulus. Such an activation might serve to synchronize the different aspects of the arousal reaction in Aplysia.
Deoxynivalenol: toxicology and potential effects on humans.
Karly Simpson
Faculty Advisor : Dr. Joe Finks
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin that commonly contaminates cereal-based foods worldwide. At the molecular level, DON disrupts normal cell function by inhibiting protein synthesis via binding to the ribosome and by activating critical cellular kinases involved in signal transduction related to proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Relative to toxicity, there are marked species differences, with the pig being most sensitive to DON, followed by rodent > dog > cat > poultry > ruminants. The physiologic parameter that is most sensitive to low-level DON exposure is the emetic response, with as little as 0.05 to 0.1 mg/kg body weight (bw) inducing vomiting in swine and dogs. Chinese epidemiological studies suggest that DON may also produce emetic effects in humans. With respect to chronic effects, growth (anorexia and decreased nutritional efficiency), immune function, (enhancement and suppression), and reproduction (reduced litter size) are also adversely affected by DON in animals, whereas incidence of neoplasia is not affected. When hazard evaluations were conducted using existing chronic toxicity data and standard safety factors employed for anthropogenic additives/contaminants in foods, tolerable daily intakes (TDIs) ranging from 1 to 5 microg/kg bw have been generated. Given that critical data gaps still exist regarding the potential health effects of DON, additional research is needed to improve capacity for assessing adverse health effects of this mycotoxin. Critical areas for future DON research include molecular mechanisms underlying toxicity, sensitivity of human cells/tissues relative to other species, emetic effects in primates, epidemiological association with gastroenteritis and chronic disease in humans, and surveillance in cereal crops worldwide.
Hepatotoxic cyanobacteria: a review of the biological importance of microcystins in freshwater environments.
David Larson
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mark Limpling
Cyanobacteria possess many adaptations to develop population maxima or "blooms" in lakes and reservoirs. A potential consequence of freshwater blooms of many cyanobacterial species is the production of potent toxins, including the cyclic hepatotoxins, microcystins (MCs). Approximately 70 MC variants have been isolated. Their toxicity to humans and other animals is well studied, because of public health concerns. This review focuses instead on the production and degradation of MCs in freshwater environments and their effects on aquatic organisms. Genetic research has revealed the existence of MC-related genes, yet the expression of these genes seems to be regulated by complex mechanisms and is influenced by environmental factors. In natural water bodies, the species composition of cyanobacterial communities and the ratio of toxic to nontoxic species and strains are largely responsible for total toxin production. Cyanobacteria play vital roles in aquatic food webs, yet production, accumulation, and toxicity patterns of MCs within aquatic food webs remain obscure. |
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STLAURS
2009
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