While prior editions of the Review dating back to 2014 are available online, this is the first entirely-virtual launch of the journal. By publishing the Review online, we hope to maintain the spirit of open access and collaborative research that has defined the Review since its beginnings. Please enjoy!

In addition, we are opening applications for a new Editor for the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences! If you are interested in joining the staff of the Review, fill out this application form and we will contact you with further steps.

-The Editors

Ghina Ammar

Kristina Atanasoff

Courtney Monaco

Maxi Wardcantori

Join us for URCAD Online happening NOW through April 29th!

URCAD.umbc.edu

Rakaia Kenney, Fenge Ni

Mentors: Weihong Lin, Biological Sciences; Tatsuya Ogura, Biological Sciences, UMBC

Abstract:

While e-cigarette usage and associated diseases have been a hot topic for the past year, little research has been done on the adverse health effects caused to the upper respiratory system from vaping. I have been conducting an analysis of how goblet cell proliferation in the mouse nasal respiratory epithelium (RE) is affected by e-cig vapor exposure. Goblet cells are mucus secreting cells, reacting to tissue irritation through increasing their density and producing more mucus, which can block alveoli and indicate inflammation. In my experiment, mice were exposed to nicotine containing e-cig vapors for four weeks, with control mice being exposed under the same conditions but with air. The mice are euthanized, dissected, and the head is preserved, after which coronal sections are placed serially on slides. I proceed with a hematoxylin and eosin stain and take 10- or 20-X images using a light microscope. The goblet cells are manually counted, respiratory epithelia length is measured using ImageJ, and goblet cell density is calculated and compared. I have found a significant difference in goblet cell density in nicotine exposed mouse’ RE of the nose compared to control mice, indicating an inflammatory response in the nose in response to e-cigarettes.

URCAD online is happening NOW through April 29th! 

Role Of N-myc Downstream Regulated Genes Family In Low Oxygen Adaptation

Nguyet Le
Mentor: Rachel Brewster, Biological Sciences

Oxygen deprivation decreases ATP production dramatically. In humans, the loss of ATP in organs with high metabolic rate, such as the brain and kidney, can lead to cell death. However, zebrafish embryos enter a hypometabolic state that enables them to conserve ATP and survive for up to 50 hours without oxygen. Currently, the mechanisms that promote this hypometabolic state are unknown. Our previous mass-spectrometry study revealed a significant increase of lactate concentration in zebrafish under anoxia. Lactate was previously shown to stabilize N-myc Downstream Regulated 3 (NDRG3) in hypoxic cancer cells to promote angiogenesis and cell survival. We hypothesize that lactate/NDRG signaling could also be utilized in normal cells of the zebrafish embryo to arrest ATP-demanding processes and enhance survival. To address this, I investigated the mRNA distribution and transcriptional regulation of NDRG family members. In situ hybridization revealed that NDRGs are enriched in the brain and kidney and expanded to other tissues such as the olfacoty placode and vasculature in response to anoxia. RT-qPCR revealed both up- and down-regulation of different NDRG members in response to anoxia. These studies will shed light on how NDRG family members contribute to low oxygen adaptation in normal cells of an intact organism.

This investigation was sponsored by NIH/NIGMS MARC U*STAR T3408663 National Research Service Award to UMBC.

Come see this and other research and creative work:

URCAD.umbc.edu

URCAD.umbc.edu

Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: Using Afrofuturist Theory To Examine Themes Of Black Visibility

Kiara Bell
Dr. Maleda Belilgne, Africana Studies

How are black lives today still affected by America’s deep roots in chattel slavery? Christina Sharpe’s book, In the Wake: On Blackness and Being (Duke University Press 2016), studies theories of Blackness as it relates to visibility and aspiration. Sharpe examines cross-cultural representations of Black life to build her theme of “the wake,” which she defines as the climate of anti-Blackness that shapes post-slavery America. I will use the Afrofuturist theory from two chapters of Sharpe’s book, “The Hold” and “The Weather,” to examine elements of Black visibility in Claudia Rankine’s experimental book, Citizen (Graywolf Press 2014). A central tool used by Sharpe is the use of ‘Black annotation’ and ‘Black redaction’ to offer an alternative reading of how information is presented, past “the logics of the administered plantation.” The definitions she presents of ‘Black annotation and reaction’ can be used to analyze scenarios of Black aspiration in Citizen. Both authors use the aforementioned tools in their writings to address Black visibility. Using Sharpe’s theoretical work on ‘anagrammatical Blackness,’ ‘Black annotation,’ and ‘Black redaction,’ I will explore how Citizen promotes themes of Black visibility in “the wake.”

Come see Kiara's research presentation and other undergraduate research and creative work, April 22-29th at URCAD.umbc.edu!

Why not celebrate by checking out one of our earth-related student projects online?  

For a list of all presenters:

You might be entered to win a free globe* (pictured)!

*free globe actually not free, more like around $50.

First- you may wish to show yourself in front of your computational device looking at your own presentation (see my example).  Or, (and this may very well blow your mind), show yourself looking at a friend in front of their computational device and have them look at your presentation too.  YOU ARE BOTH LOOKING AT YOUR OWN PRESENTATION!!!  What an incredible time to be alive!

Second- try taking a selfie in front of something that you use in your research.  Might be a microscope, a paint brush, or a heap of old suitcases in your basement.  Remember- research can be anything.  

Once you have mastered these techniques (and I am confident you will), upload your selfie to FaceBook, Instagram and/or Twitter using #umbcURCAD for a chance to win one of four gift cards to the UMBC Bookstore!  

Categories:

• Best Overall Selfie: Take a photo with a UMBC notable… (President Hrabowski, Provost Rous, Dean Cole…) or ??! … get creative!
• Best with Mentor
• Best “making of” VT presentation
• Best with Presentation

Post your photos by 12pm on Monday, May 4, 2020 for a chance to win a gift card to the UMBC Bookstore!

UMBC kinetic sculpture team members will present an overview of their redesign efforts during the Fall semester of 2019: adding water propulsion, creating a more durable sharkskin out of recycled materials, and transforming pontoons into functional artwork. These design efforts were part of an interdisciplinary course, INDS 430 Kinetic Sculpture Project, which drew upon methods from sustainable design, project management, and biomimicry to build a new 20 foot shark sculpture named “MC Hammerhead.”

Mentor: Steven McAlpine, Individualized Study

This work was funded, in part, by the Alex Brown Center for Entrepreneurship URA Award.