Wilson Students Present Research at the 2024 Pennsylvania Academy of Science

Five Wilson College seniors presented the results of their research at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science (PAS), held April 12-14 at Messiah University, Mechanicsburg, PA.

The students began their projects in the spring of their junior year by writing a research proposal based on a specific question that they were interested in studying. In the fall semester, they completed the lab work and collected data. This semester they have been focused on data analysis, writing a thesis and preparing to communicate their results at PAS. All students represented Wilson College with confidence, poise and professionalism. The biology, biochemistry, and chemistry faculty are proud of the students’ efforts in the laboratory/field and their dedication in preparing for the meeting. They look forward to sharing their results on campus during Student Research Day.

The Pennsylvania Academy of Science judged oral presentations and posters and provided a monetary award for the top three places and honorable mentions in each category. Oral presentations were assessed in categories for scientific merit (ranging from experimental methodologies to analysis of results) and presentation qualities, including visual impact and fielding questions. The overall score was reflective of all subcategories.

Two Wilson students received awards at PAS for their oral presentations. Lydia Story, biology and chemistry major, received an honorable mention for her presentation entitled “The Effectiveness of Sulfur-Containing Compounds on the Inhibition of Growth of Streptococcus pyogenes. Lydia is the 2024 Disert Scholar and a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Society. Her research was funded in part by the Disert Scholarship and a Barsy-Colgan Student Research Grant. Lydia completed an internship at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University in the summer of 2023 and will participate in the USDA-ARS Plant Biological Science Internship program in summer 2024. She will attend graduate school at Michigan State University to pursue a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Connor Bowers, biology major, received an honorable mention for his presentation “Analyzing the Effect of Aldosterone on Symptoms of Vestibular Dysfunction in Mice”. His research was supported in part by an E. Grace White Summer Research Scholarship. He plans to attend medical school at the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine when the first class is admitted in fall 2025.

Three students participated in a poster session:

Chloe Antalek – “The effects of vitamins, supplements, and other naturopathic therapies on the outcomes of Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient
Allyson Reese – “Inhibition of Streptococcus equi growth by five types of equine bedding”

Abby Sentz – “Sarcoptic Mange Susceptibility in Juveniles and Adult Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) by Camera Trapping”

The faculty and students wish to thank Wilson College for supporting this research, which is an integral component of the curriculum for biology, biochemistry, and chemistry majors. The three semester research sequence prepares students to enter the job market or to pursue graduate or professional education.

Abstracts (in alphabetical order)

Chloe Antalek – majors in biology and animal studies, minor in psychology

The effects of vitamins, supplements, and other naturopathic therapies on the outcomes of Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a muscle wasting disease caused by mutations to the dystrophin gene. Treatment options such as exon-skipping and gene therapy are available but limited to certain patients depending on age or mutation location. Steroid treatment continues to be used as the standard of care to help slow the progression of the disease. While research correlating various genotype/mutations with Duchenne outcomes is currently being done, research into other factors that may improve outcomes, such as nutritional supplements, is limited. Supplements are a readily available option and can potentially help lessen the inflammation that contributes to devastating outcomes for Duchenne. This study aimed to determine if certain supplements had an impact on the outcomes of ambulation and cardiac and pulmonary function. Data used in this research were obtained from Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy’s Duchenne Registry (TDR) version dated 31OCT2023, which collects patient-reported data including a “Nutrition and Supplements” registry module detailing patients’ intake of vitamins and supplements. The supplements analyzed in this research were vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, B 50 complex, magnesium, CBD (cannabidiol), vitamin beta carotene, melatonin, calcium, and vitamin D. Data were analyzed to determine if there was a benefit in cardiac function based on the left ventricle ejection fraction determined from an echocardiogram, which is used to measure the amount of oxygen-rich blood pumped out to the body. Histograms and Welch’s two factor t-test (statistical software, R) indicated that there was no significant difference in cardiac function by patients taking the supplements (all supplements analyzed had a p-value > 0.05). Analysis on pulmonary function and ambulation status was difficult to effectively accomplish due to limited data.

Research Advisors: Brad Engle and Marit Delghandi

Connor Bowers – major in biology with minors in chemistry and psychology

Analyzing the Effect of Aldosterone on Symptoms of Vestibular Dysfunction in Mice.
Meniere’s disease is a debilitating malady, caused by endolymphatic hydrops, a build-up of fluid within the inner ear, which leads to a variety of symptoms including vertigo (dizziness), tinnitus (ringing in the ear), and hearing loss, which worsen with time. Meniere's has no true cure, causing individuals to rely on medications to alleviate symptoms. This study aims to focus on the impact of aldosterone in leading to symptoms associated with Meniere’s disease caused by endolymphatic hydrops. Aldosterone is a hormone that functions to retain fluid within individuals to help maintain homeostasis. Aldosterone in elevated amounts has been shown to lead to endolymphatic hydrops within the ear due to increased fluid retention. Behavioral tests and a behavioral ethogram will be used to examine the hypothesis that increased amounts of aldosterone given for a longer duration will lead to more severe symptoms of vestibular dysfunction than less amounts given for a shorter period. The data was tested for normalcy using histograms and a Shapiro-Wilkes test, and residuals normalcy examined with a quantile-quantile plot. These tests showed that the data was not normal, so either a robust parametric or nonparametric test would be required. Three single variable linear regression models were then used to determine that the amount of aldosterone given predicted the greatest variance on mouse balance with an r-squared value of 0 .100, the duration of aldosterone administered had a mid-level impact with an r-squared value of .04, and mouse gender had the least effect on balance with an r-squared value of 0.003. Behavioral data and aldosterone blood level data will continue to be collected and analyzed using regression models throughout the remainder of this experiment. This study will determine if further research into the impact of aldosterone on vestibular dysfunction seen in Meniere’s disease patients warrants further investigation.

Research Advisors: Jeffrey Bardwell, Brad Engle, Carolyn Tatsch

Allyson Reese – major in biology, minor in equine management

Inhibition of Streptococcus equi growth by five types of equine bedding
Streptococcus equi causes strangles, one of the most infectious domestic equid diseases, that affects horses, donkeys, mules, and ponies. Five types of equine bedding were tested including Pinus echinata (southern yellow pine), Linum usitatissimum (flax), Juniperus virginiana (eastern red cedar), Hordeum vulgare (barley straw), and shredded newspaper. S. equi is vectored to equines through bedding, contaminated equipment, and through direct contact with an infected equine. Although most equines recover from strangles, some may die from asphyxiation due to swelling around the trachea. The focus of this research was on whether specific types of equine bedding would inhibit the growth of S. equi. Mueller-Hinton agar plates were inoculated with S. equi. Seven wells were made in each plate and small particles of each bedding were placed in individual wells. One well remained empty as a negative control, one well contained sterile deionized water as a negative control, and one penicillin disk was placed in the center of each plate as a positive control. Plates were incubated at 37 ℃ for 24 hours and examined, and if zones of inhibition were present, they were measured. Using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test, it was determined that southern yellow pine (p=0.000024) and eastern red cedar (p=0.000007) were statistically significant in their ability to inhibit S. equi over the other three bedding types. The spread of S. equi could be reduced in equine facilities by using southern yellow pine, eastern red cedar, or a combination of both bedding types.

Research Advisors: Sherri Buerdsell and Deborah Austin

Abby Sentz – major in biology with a minor in conservation biology

Sarcoptic Mange Susceptibility in Juveniles and Adult Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) by Camera Trapping
Sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptie scabiei) is a highly contagious parasitic disease commonly found in over 100 mammal species worldwide. In North America, sarcoptic mange has been reported in fox species, coyotes, wolves, black bears, porcupines, rabbits, squirrels, and raccoons. It is essential to monitor this parasitic disease in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) population due to the high transmission rate of the S. scabiei mite. Red fox individuals were evaluated using camera trapping to determine the relative incidence of sarcoptic mange in juvenile and adult red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Motion-sensitive cameras were placed in six Adams County, PA locations for two months to determine the four most active sites for data collection. These sites were along farmland, national parks, creeks, and forests. The photos were then assessed for coat condition to determine if the red fox individual had sarcoptic mange. No symptoms of mange were observed in any fox individuals recorded. Chi-square analysis indicated that activity levels differed between seasons, with the highest activity occurring in the fall (spring: 8.63%, summer: 32.99%, fall: 49.75%, and winter: 8.63%). More fox activity occurred in areas that were close to humans (86.29%).

Research Advisors: Sherri Buerdsell and Brad Engle

Lydia Story – majors in biology and chemistry

The Effectiveness of Sulfur-Containing Compounds on the Inhibition of Growth of Streptococcus pyogenes.
This study focused on identifying chemical compounds that can be used as an alternative to traditional antibiotics to treat strep throat infections caused by the Group A Streptococcus (GAS) strain, Streptococcus pyogenes. Antibiotics often cause undesired side effects or are not effective against continually mutating microbes. To potentially combat this, allicin (diallyl thiosulfinate), dimethyl sulfoxide, diallyl disulfide, allyl methyl sulfide, and diallyl sulfide were tested as inhibitory agents. These compounds were evaluated to determine if certain functional group(s) were responsible for the effectiveness against S. pyogenes. Antimicrobial activity was assessed by a Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay, using each compound in the pure liquid form. Diallyl disulfide, allyl methyl sulfide, and diallyl sulfide, were mixed respectively with dimethyl sulfoxide to observe the effects of these combinations. The antibiotic penicillin was used as a positive control, to ensure the accuracy of the results. Measurements of the diameter of the zones of inhibition were used to determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of the solutions. Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey HSD (confidence level: 95%, alpha value: 0.05). The ANOVA ran for compounds, mixtures, and compounds v. mixtures, respectively had p-values of <0.00001. Results of the Tukey HSD indicated that the disulfide bond may be necessary for antibacterial properties. Diallyl disulfide (allicin metabolite) was statistically the most effective compound (p-value <0.001), following penicillin (positive control). A mixture of allyl methyl sulfide and dimethyl sulfoxide was also statistically more effective than the pure allyl methyl sulfide compound tested (p-value <0.001), suggesting an allicin molecule could be formed in situ. This research illustrates that compounds with disulfide bonds could serve as candidates for novel antibiotics against gram-positive bacteria. Future studies will need to be performed in vivo to ensure the disulfide compounds will be safe for human consumption at effective concentrations.

Research Advisors: Deborah Austin and Jeffrey Bardwell

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