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The Relationship Between Historic Redlining Maps and Water Quality
Mary Valle
Mary Valle, GES 460/529: Environmental Field Methods and Analysis
Faculty Mentor: Professor Elisa Bergslien, Earth Science and Science Education
Water quality data is available for several different bodies of water across Western New York. For this project, the data that is publicly available over the internet will be complied to provide a general overview of the state of local bodies of water, particularly with respect to chemicals that are harmful to human health and ecosystems. Some of the chemicals of particular concern are Aluminum, Ammonia, Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Chloramine, Chromium, Copper, Fluoride, Lead, Nitrates, and Mercury. These chemicals have been proven to cause acute and chronic effects on the human body. Acute effects are effects that occur within hours or days after a person is exposed. Chronic effects occur after continuous exposure to these contaminants over the course of many years. Information on all of these contaminants may not be in available for every body of water, which is also useful information as it will show where there are gaps in our knowledge. The available data will be complied graphically and then this information will be compared, wherever possible, to the historic Redlining Maps created by agents of the federal government's Home Owners' Loan Corporation between 1935 and 1940 in order to determine if there is a relationship between water quality and the classification of the surrounding neighborhoods, with the prediction that the most contaminated bodies of water will be associated with a lower assigned neighborhood ‘quality’ grade. -
Manipulating Gap Junction Assembly and Communication in CHO Cells
Andrea Vines
Andrea Vines, Biology
Faculty Mentor: Professor Derek Beahm, Biology
Gap junction channels bridge the cytoplasmic compartments of neighboring cells, allowing for metabolic cooperation and synchronization of electrical activity. Almost all animal cell types express gap junction proteins and form channels with neighboring cells. However, different cell types can express similar protein levels but form very different numbers of channels. Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells are known to be gap junction competent but assembly inefficient. I examined effects of drugs that target different aspects of the gap junction assembly process to try and enhance gap junction communication between CHO cells. Cell-cell communication was measured by observing the transfer of a small fluorescent dye between cells. Lectin and neuraminidase treatments were used to reduce the density of large surface complexes that could possibly interfere with gap junction formation, but these treatments were ineffective. A proteasome inhibitor, ALLN, was used to extend the half-life of the gap junction protein Cx43 in the plasma membrane which has been shown to enhance gap junction formation in CHO cells. I also had positive results with ALLN, suggesting my protocols and technique were good. The most dramatic increase in gap junction formation resulted from treatments with forskolin, which stimulates cAMP production and is known to enhance the trafficking and assembly of gap junctions in other cell types. An unexpected finding was that gap junction assembly could only be stimulated in newly formed cell monolayers and not in older monolayers, suggesting a possible time-dependent down regulation of the gap junction protein in CHO cell monolayers. These studies expand on our general knowledge and understanding of mechanisms involved in gap junction formation.
