The oral microbiome is home to some of the most diverse and vital bacteria. It is important to understand how it works in its home environment and in laboratory settings to see if any discrepancies come from the different settings. It is also important to see how different bacteria interact with each other to either support or hinder different functions of all the bacteria.

Social media’s wide-reaching global presence has prompted researchers to attempt to identify and quantify any psychological or physical effects of its use. Thousands of studies published have identified various benefits or harms from social media use in varying degrees. Despite this, there has been no comprehensive analysis of how the effects of social media use should be legally regulated, if at all. This systematic review fills that gap by comparing the conclusions of current scientific research to the legal coding in California State. Six main harms were identified from social media use. Of these, addiction was identified as the best candidate for legal reform due to its role as a catalyst in worsening the other five harms and its absence from the legal literature.

Cell immunotherapies have revolutionized clinical oncology. While CAR T cell therapy has been very effective in clinical studies, off-target immune toxicity limits eligible patients. Thus, NK cells have been approached with the same therapy design since NK cells have a more favorable safety profile. Therefore, the purpose of this research project is to explore DNA nanotech-based NK cell engagers (NKCEs) that force an immunological synapse between the NK cell and the cancer cell, leading to cancer death. DNA tetrabody (TB) and DNA tetrahedron (TDN) are fabricated and armed with HER2 affibody for tight adhesion to HER2+ cancer cell lines like SKBR3. Overall, relationship between TB-NK treatment and cancer cell apoptosis is still unclear. TB-NK treatment induces an apoptotic profile similar to PMA/IO stimulation. Pilot cell assay needs to be replicated with additional controls and a shortened treatment window. For DNA TDN fabrication, HER2 affibody polishing with Ni-NTA affinity chromatography achieves high purity with 20% to 100% high-imidazole elution gradient. ssDNA-HER2 affibody conjugation is optimal when ssDNA is treated with 40-fold excess sulfo-SMCC for 4 hours. In conclusion, the manufacturing of DNA-based NKCEs is rapid and streamlined, which gives these NKCEs the potential to become a ready to use immunotherapy.

Understanding why individuals vary in the onset and progression of aging-related diseases is important for developing interventions to extend healthy human lifespans. A possible mechanism underlying variation in aging and disease is increased somatic mutations with age. One result of somatic mutation, clonal hematopoiesis (CH), is the overrepresentation of blood cells originating from a single progenitor stem cell. When these clones become more frequent (≥4% of white blood cells), it is called “clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential” (CHIP), which is associated with aging, pre-cancer, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. Frequency of these mutations may also be predicted by facets of individuals’ environments, such as experiencing significant adverse life events, which have been linked to acceleration of other aspects of aging. We hypothesize that older individuals, particularly those that have experienced environmental adversity, will be more likely to have CH mutations. We also expect to see expansion of CHIP clones over time within individuals. We are testing these hypotheses in a population of free-ranging rhesus macaques, which have similar immune systems to humans and experience various types of environmental adversity. We have sequenced DNA from this population and are working to identify animals with CHIP. We plan to test whether demographic and environmental factors (i.e., adversity, sex) influence the development of CH driver mutations during aging, along with analyzing clonal dynamics and phenotypic effects in individuals with CHIP. Our findings will provide insight into the factors that influence CHIP development and progression, ultimately contributing to interventions to delay or prevent CHIP.

Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome is not a well-known disorder, and there are not many treatments dedicated to alleviating the severe symptoms that children and adults with Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome suffer through. The purpose of this study is to create questionnaires tailored to Pitt-Hopkins syndrome. With the dearth of Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome research, more knowledge on the disorder and treatments to aid in daily functioning and quality of life can be attained through specialized symptom tracking questionnaires. During this study, the research team designed and finalized two Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome symptom specific questionnaires. Some of the most notable results included the discovery of the most severe symptoms: verbal expression, cognition, social activity, and attention. Additionally, through cross-correlational analysis interrelated symptom clusters that can be targeted for treatment have been discovered.

Puberty is a critical stage in the human life course. Specifically, puberty is the physiological transitionary period that marks the beginning of human reproduction capability. These physiological changes are markedly different in boys and girls and accordingly typically occur on different timelines. Furthermore, these timelines are not a set guideline for every child as some may develop earlier and others later. This age of onset is a general range that has been observed and considered to be the normal age of onset. The normal age of onset of puberty is typically between ages 8 and 13 for girls or 9 and 14 for boys (Brito & Latronico, 2015, 93). Any development seen before these ages is typically defined as early onset and development seen after is late development. Professionals have further defined different stages of puberty in both boys and girls. In girls, this involves breast development, body hair growth, changes in height and weight, and menarche (Wheeler, 1991, pg. 2). In boys, pubertal development often involves genital growth, body hair growth, deepening of voice, and growth spurts (6). Puberty onset has been a popular topic of study in the health sciences as the age of onset can indicate the impact of biological and environmental factors. In particular, inequality in research of pubertal onset, the effects of early/delayed onset, and race/ethnicity is of special interest. For instance, there is a lack of existing literature on the role that culture plays on pubertal onset in Latino youth. This analysis intends to investigate the relationship between the integration of Hispanic culture in children’s lives and pubertal onset.

Extreme heat is an increasingly major issue for urban areas worldwide due to the effects of climate change. There are a variety of actions that can be taken to combat this heat, with the most beneficial being sustainable heat actions. These actions address extreme heat, and also aim to be long-lasting, equitable and just for people and nature. Teaching future generations of professionals about extreme heat issues and solutions approaches to address them prepares these individuals for their future roles in society. To teach these solutions to future professionals, a two week long study abroad program focusing on urban heat adaptation and sustainable solutions has been created for students at Arizona State University. The city of study used for this curriculum is Freiburg, Germany, a city well-known for its sustainable actions and policy. This curriculum is broken down into pre-course modules and abroad modules. The pre-course modules occur online prior to the course while the abroad modules take place in Freiburg. There are 23 modules included in this curriculum in total. These modules give students an introduction to the city, introduce types of heat actions, provide examples of sustainable heat solutions, and culminate with a final presentation comparing the city of Freiburg, Germany with students' home city, Tempe, Arizona. This curriculum can be used by schools and universities worldwide to study sustainable heat solutions in the context of Freiburg, Germany. Due to the ease with which Tempe-based sections can be switched out, the course is adaptable to multiple learning scenarios. The curriculum is highly place-based in relation to the city of Freiburg and the course is an untested program intended to act as a two week course, providing some limiting factors and considerations. A final learning reflection highlights the main findings from the curriculum writing process.

Mindfulness meditation is a form of mental training that helps in managing thoughts and guiding individuals to redirect them to be more positive. In the past years, its popularity has grown immensely. Its main appeal is the broad and versatile ways it can be used especially in a healthcare setting. For instance, research on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia has recently been focused on whether chronic stress has a role in inducing these diseases. Since Alzheimer’s disease has no treatment at this point in time, incorporating mindfulness meditation into Alzheimer’s patients’ care/treatment may have a drastic effect on their quality of life by reducing stress. Ideally, practicing mindfulness meditation at a young age would help reduce the probability of chronic stress causing Alzheimer’s disease. However, many people who have already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease do not have that option. The goal of this research is to find at what stage would the implementation of meditation best help to reduce current symptoms and slow the development of current symptoms and development of Alzheimer’s disease in already diagnosed patients.