Special Emphasis

Abstracts

LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

Brad Andersh, Department of Biology
Stem Cell Targeting and Antineoplastic Effects in Ovarian Cancer Cells
Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of the gynecologic malignancies. Despite significant advances in chemotherapy, the cure rate for advanced stage ovarian cancer has not changed significantly over the last 20 to 30 years. The search for a more effective and less toxic therapy for ovarian cancer is ongoing. Circulating bone marrow-derived stem cells are recruited from the blood into peripheral solid organs during times of stress or injury. A similar environment is found in the hypoxic microenvironment of solid tumors, including those originating from the ovary. We hypothesize that stem cells from bone marrow will preferentially migrate to and engraft in metastatic ovarian tumors. Our first specific aim is to assess effect of ovarian cancer cells on stem cell migration. We will measure migration of human stem cells in response to chemotactic factors secreted by ovarian cancer cells. Student associates will assess stem cell migration following exposure to conditioned media derived from ovarian cancer cells. They will also examine stem cell migration in multicellular tumor spheroids. Our second specific aim will evaluate apoptosis in ovarian cancer cell lines following co-culture with human bone marrow stem cells. Student associates will assess late apoptotic events using morphologic characteristics of cancer cells and early apoptotic events by evaluating changes in plasma membrane asymmetry using Annexin V. Data from these experiments will generate preliminary data for Illinois Department of Public Health and NIH proposals.

Dean J. Campbell, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Exploratory Research in Directing the Growth of Metal Nanoparticles
The goal of the proposed research is to examine influences of various surface-active compounds on the morphology and properties of colloidal noble metals, seeking methods to produce monodispersed, nonspherical colloidal particles. The localized surface plasmons of non-spherical (lower-symmetry) colloidal metal particles can extinguish more light with different energies than plasmons of spherical particles; therefore, synthetic methods for the nonspherical particles are of interest to scientists. Conditions that will be varied during particle syntheses include composition and concentration of metal precursors and surface active agents. The particles themselves will be characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. This research will be performed with undergraduate co-workers in all of its stages.

Steven Dolins, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems
Presenting a Data Analysis Software Environment to the Smithsonian Tropical Rainforest Institute
In 2006-2007, the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems is offering a new course called Capstone Project. This course requires students to work on a significant software team project. For the initial offering of this course, we are working on a project with the Smithsonian Tropical Rainforest Institute (STRI). We are building a database and data environment for storing, managing, editing, and reporting the diameter of trees, a count of species in a given area of forest, and a comprehensive list of species. This work is based upon database design work performed by Bradley University students in the 2004-2005 academic year. The initial focus is on the rainforest in Panama, but the database and software needs to support data and users from tropical rainforests in other countries, including Ecuador, Cameroon, and the Congo. We propose that the class present their work at a meeting with the client (STRI), the client’s major donor, and world renowned botanists from other institutions including Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Wayne C. Evens, Department of Sociology
Attitudes of People Using Social Services in the Peoria Area
This is research project being conducted by students in a social work research class. The survey is a replication of a survey conducted in the New York City area by the Community Service Society (CSS). CSS has granted Bradley permission to replicate their survey and have approved all modifications. The survey has been distributed to six social service agencies in the Peoria area. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the attitudes of these people toward various political issues and service programs in the area. Results will be compared to the New York findings.

Sam Fan, Department of Biology
Modulation of Macrophage Functional Capacities
This proposal is to provide an environment to engage students in research, offering them the broadest possible choices and the opportunity to develop a novel direction in research, thus enhancing their experience above and beyond that of being assigned a role in a project with limited scope. This environment will be built around a research program to discover how xenobiotics and endogenous factors affect macrophage function. Because macrophages are pivotal members of both innate and adaptive immunity, alterations in macrophage functions would have profound consequences on body defenses. Xenobiotics under investigation are cigarette smoke condensates, hydrolysis products of glucosinolates, and synthetic ?-opioid receptor agonists. While all the lines of studies have progressed to varying degrees, they all involve assessing the macrophage functions affected by the agents, identifying the stimuli that normally lead to those functions, and determining the signaling process undermined by the agents. In the future, we hope to devise mechanisms to reverse these effects. An endogenous factor under investigation is the transcription factor STAT4. Our aim is to determine STAT4 function in human macrophages, and to develop a detail understanding of how STAT4 production and activation is regulated. One of these lines of research has already led to two publications with seven Bradley undergraduate co-authors, and an additional line is poised to bear publication fruit, again with Bradley undergraduate co-authors.

Janet L. Gehring, Associate Professor, Department of Biology
Identification of Factors Influencing Hybrid Success in Gentians
Two congeneric plant species, Gentiana puberulenta and G. flavida, are spontaneously hybridizing in a restored prairie near Kickapoo, Illinois. These two species are reported to be adapted to different habitats but, based on corolla color differences, approximately half of the gentians in the prairie restoration are hybrids. The goal of the proposed investigation is to determine if comparatively high fitness is contributing to hybrid success at the restored prairie. We will genotype and quantify corolla color of the gentians in seven 2 x 2 meter plots to definitively assign plants as G. puberulenta, G. flavida or as hybrids. Fitness will be estimated with flower number and water-use traits.

Jackie Hogan, Women’s Studies Program and the Center for Wellness
The Body Project
Research indicates that one in five college-age women suffers from an eating disorder (NEDA 2006). Countless other young women and men suffer from body image disturbances that have a negative impact on their health, development and academic performance. While many universities and colleges have programs to educate the campus community on these issues, Bradley does not have such a program. With the aim of filling this gap, the Women’s Studies Program and the Center for Wellness are in the process of developing The Body Project, a multifaceted and collaborative research and service project involving academic faculty, wellness staff and students. The project aims to investigate the scope and nature of body image disturbances among Bradley students, educate the campus community on issues related to body image and eating disorders, improve access to existing resources and expand campus resources and programs in this area. To this end, we are seeking a seed grant under Bradley’s Special Emphasis Initiative. Once we have implemented the Project, we will seek external funding to cover on-going expenses.

Keith A. Johnson, Department of Biology
Cloning of the Mercury-Resistance merA gene
Environmental mercury exposure is an international concern because of its direct toxicological effects (e.g., neurotoxin, mutagen) on humans and wildlife. The primary focus of my research over the past eight plus years (3 at Colby College, Waterville, Maine and 5 at Bradley University) has been to characterize mercury-resistant bacteria from environmental sources, primarily focusing on hatchery-reared salmonids (lake, rainbow and brook trout). The characterization has entailed the isolation of mercury-resistant bacteria from these environmental sources, determination of species identity using molecular techniques, and characterization of antibiotic-resistant traits in these bacteria. There is a strong correlation between mercury-resistance and antibiotic-resistance (Summers et al., 1993; Wireman et al., 1997; Stepanauskas et al., 2006) and the different bacteria that have been identified to date demonstrate maximal antibiotic-resistance to up to 15 of 22 antibiotics tested. I plan to continue to work on characterizing the genetic link between mercury- and antibiotic-resistance in these bacteria.

Timothy E. Koeltzow, Department of Psychology
Behavioral Psychopharmacology
This proposal aims to accelerate student engagement in the newly established Drug Abuse Research Laboratory in two important ways: First, among students enrolled in Independent Research, we propose to evaluate the ability of a putative drug addiction pharmacotherapy to influence the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior in a rodent model of cocaine craving and relapse. Second, we wish to establish the parameters of a novel drug delivery device in an animal model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder for students participating in summer research. The results of these studies will be presented by student participants at regional conferences and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Monica McGill, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems
Minorities in Computer Science Education Outreach Project
With the number of women and minorities in the field of computer science falling dramatically in the last few years, the field faces a crisis. The Minorities in Computer Science Education Outreach Project is a service program being created for the Spring 2007 semester by four female students studying computer science as either a major or minor. The learning goals for this project are to introduce Bradley students to the formal method of outcome based learning, to provide a forum for Bradley students to explore the issue of women and minorities in education, and to expose PK12 students, particularly females and minorities, to the field and the job opportunities within it. The visit program will be modeled after several other school programs, including Carnegie-Mellon University’s CS Road Show program [CMU] and the University of Indiana’s Just Be program [Indiana] presented by undergraduate and graduate women studying computer science. The project will target local Peoria community schools.

Kristi L. McQuade, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Marcel Bartik (senior student), Vicki Wu (graduate student)
Examining oligomerization of gp96 in vitro and in vivo
Gp96 is a chaperone protein that binds peptides and proteins in vivo. We have shown previously that in vitro heat treatment causes gp96 to assemble into several distinct homooligomeric species, a process that is inhibited by ATP. We propose here to explore whether higher order oligomers can be observed in vivo under a variety of conditions, including ATP depletion. We also plan to develop methods for preparative separation of the gp96 oligomers of different masses so that their molecular weights/stoichiometries can be determined and so that any differences in their properties can be explored. Finally, we plan to design and prepare site-directed mutants of gp96 that will allow us to begin define the structural origins of oligomerization.

Derek E. Montgomery, Department of Psychology
Measurement of individual differences in attentional control among preschoolers
The purpose of the proposed research is to create a measurement of individual differences in attentional control among preschoolers. Student research assistants will create experimental stimuli that require children to suppress a practiced response over a series of trials. Children’s inhibitory control—their suppression of the interfering response—will be related to the extent they control and monitor their attention to the experimental stimuli. Student research assistants will administer the test to preschoolers, code and analyze the data, and participate in the presentation of the data in professional outlets.

Kelly R. Roos and James Craig, Jr., Department of Physics
Self-Assembly of Metallic Nanowires on Si Surfaces
We propose a multifaceted project involving studies of the formation, structure, thermal decay, and the electrical properties of self-assembling metallic nanowires on various Si substrates. We will bring to bear on this important topic of scientific and technological interest the extensive surface measurement capabilities in the Bradley physics department. This project will have a very large educational impact on several undergraduate students in our department by providing them with the opportunity to engage in all aspects of scientific research, including operating and maintaining sophisticated scientific instrumentation, gathering data, disseminating the research results via presentations at national meetings and contribution to the writing of publications, and also through contributing to the grant-writing process for the purpose of securing extramural funding. These skills are invaluable for undergraduates to acquire, and will greatly benefit our students as they move beyond Bradley into their scientific careers.

Bob Wolffe, Sherri Morris and Kelly McConnaughay Teacher Education and Biology Departments
Are Scientific Research Experiences for Teacher Education Majors an Effective Pedagogical Tool?
At Bradley University, education majors are offered a fairly unique option, Science 101, to partially fulfill program requirements in science. This course, developed through the collaborative work of faculty in three colleges, allows students to learn science through inquiry-based, cross-disciplinary, thematic instruction that models best practices in science pedagogy. This project will assess the possibility of an additional inquiry opportunity for education majors. In the past few semesters, some education majors have also participated in a special section of BIO 280. These students have had a research immersion experience where they participate in actual, on-going research projects. Anecdotal evidence indicates positive benefits to both education and science majors. This course offering has been developed on-the-fly and there has been no formal assessment plan.We propose to assess the impact on students of being involved in research experiences involving majors and non-majors as we develop a more permanent structure that can (a) serve as a one-credit hour lab course that would meet teaching certification standards, and (b) be employed by a wider group of science and engineering faculty members. To reach this end, we propose to (1) develop through the collaborative efforts of a cross-disciplinary Working Group, Research Immersion for Educators, a 1-credit hour laboratory science course; (2) assess through a student/faculty collaborative research project, whether this course is furthering our objective of preparing a new cadre of science education professionals, and, (3) (if warranted) prepare a course proposal and accompanying major change proposal for submission to C&R.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Patricia N. Chrosniak, Teacher Education Department
Dissemination/Presentation Phase of A Research Study
A Presentation of Applications of Cognitive Reading Strategies in High School Classrooms in Conjunction with a Research Study into the Reading Behaviors of Adolescents. In spring 2006, three secondary education majors participated as junior scientists in a study of the effectiveness of using a language scanning device, the Readingpen?, by junior high and high school students who are characterized as struggling readers. Funded by Wiscom Technologies and Bradley University Center for Research and Service, this study required weekly collaborations between each junior scientist and two students in three Central Illinois schools. Data were collected regarding student perceptions of their reading behaviors as well as the frequency of accessing words and subject terminology using the Readingpen. Pre- and posttests were given to document changes in reading fluency. Subsequently, all data was coded by a graduate assistant and analyzed jointly by the primary investigator and all junior scientists. Together with the PI, they will present a session on strategic reading at the annual
conference of the Illinois Reading Council in March 2007. An article to a distinguished journal, The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, is in preparation with all members of the research team as co-authors.

Nina Collins, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
Waterless Cookware Comparison Study
This study will be conducted by Family and Consumer Sciences’ Students in collaboration with Dr. Nina Collins and the Healthy Gourmet Cookware Company. Healthy Gourmet specializes in high-end kitchen supplies. Our purpose is to determine the effects of cooking techniques of vegetables and meat in Healthy Gourmet Cookware compared with another high-end gourmet cookware (Calphalon Cookware) and the resulting nutrient retention, color retention, cooking time, and consumer taste acceptability.

Nina Collins, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
Cookware trends among engaged couples attending Bradley University
This study will be conducted by Family and Consumer Sciences’ Students in collaboration with Healthy Gourmet Cookware. Healthy Gourmet specializes in high-end kitchen supplies. Our purpose is to determine what factors influence consumer choice of cookware, particularly engaged-to-be married, college students. We plan to conduct a focus group with engaged couples at Bradley University in February 2007. The focus group will include a discussion, interviews, and a cooking demonstration with Healthy Gourmet cookware. Based upon a literature review on trends in consumer cookware choice we developed questions and research strategy to use with focus groups. This information will be disseminated to Healthy Gourmet to aid them in their marketing efforts.

Nina Collins, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
Fashion and Diabetes
The Department Chair of Family and Consumer Sciences was asked by an alumnae, Nicole Herron, RD, LDN, CDE who works for Smith Medicals as a Diabetes Sales Specialist to design diabetic pumps for children and youth who are required to wear an Insulin Pump. Six Family and Consumer Sciences Students and three FCS faculty will meet with Ms. Herron and these children and youth on December 4, 2006. After this meeting the Bradley students will design pump pack kits for these children and youth. The exact content of the kit will be determined as the design for the pump pack is developed. The goal is for each diabetic child to have at least one specially designed pump pack for them and a kit to assist them or a family member is making other pump packs for their life style. A second event will be held in late March where the diabetic youth will be presented with their pump pack and have an opportunity to “model” the design that students have created. This grant requests funds to purchase materials for the pump pack kits for up to 20 diabetic youth materials including fabric and embellishments.

Jeannette Davidson, Professor & Director Didactic Program in Dietetics
Molly Hammar, senior in dietetics
Dietary intervention and aerobic capacity in elite cyclists
Sports nutrition, an emerging field of practice for registered dietitians, is the chosen career of the student. She is well-prepared for this study: she is a certified personal trainer, she gained experience in sports nutrition as summer intern at the Cooper Institute (Dallas, TX), she participated in assessment of elite high schools swimmers and has completed a literature review regarding VO2max assessment. The faculty has extensive expertise in nutrition and sport performance internationally. The study will explore the link between nutrition, fitness and performance in elite cyclists. Comprehensive physical, dietary and aerobic assessments will guide nutrition guidelines. All assessment equipment is available, except for aerobic testing, which is critical for assessing baseline and changes in fitness during training and prediction of fat oxidation. In this study, the interests of the student and expertise of the faculty will be combined to provide advanced learning to enhance student’s preparation for her career in sports nutrition. Through this vital learning experience, she will gain knowledge about the relationship between aerobic fitness and exercise fueling, important experience in research, cross-train with the faculty in assessment techniques, and obtain real-life experience in designing nutrition guidelines for enhanced aerobic performance. Of major advantage to the faculty, is learning more about nutrition guidance and performance outcomes in aerobic sports, establishing aerobic testing protocol that will enhance her field of expertise and provide future avenues of learning and research. This team effort will be enable us to complete the research in one semester, impossible to find the time to do individually.
The purchase of the equipment to assess aerobic capacity is pivotal; without it, no aerobic assessment is possible.

Dawn Hall, Department of Physical Therapy & Health Science
Physician Perceptions of Physical Therapy: A Pilot Study
The purpose of this descriptive survey research was to explore physicians’ perceptions of the education and skill set of the profession of physical therapy. A sample of 63 Central Illinois family practice physicians who are members of a practice-based research network known as the Ambulatory Network for Scholarship and Research were mailed a survey which was developed from the Normative Model of Physical Therapy Education and a demographic form. Thirty-four surveys were returned. Frequency counts for demographics data as well as means and cross tabulations for the knowledge and skill sets data were analyzed using SPSS. Of the participants, 58.8% were introduced to physical therapy during medical school, primarily through observation; 20.5% reported that there is a graduate degree requirement for entry level physical therapist; and 17.6% were uncertain as to the minimum entry level requirement. Physicians were asked to rank physical therapy education and skills from not skilled to expert. Physicians rated physical therapist as less than competent in taking vitals as well as in head, eyes, ears, nose and throat; cardiopulmonary, developmental delay, abdominal, cancer and metabolic disease screenings. With the progressive changes in the physical therapy education both in degree and content, it is apparent that physicians are unaware of the depth and breadth of physical therapy education and the basic skills of a physical therapist. There is still a need to educate physicians on the physical therapy education and skill set.

Wendy C. Kooken, Francesca Armmer, Erica Peterson (Senior Nursing Student)
Department of Nursing
Use of an Arts Program to Promote Self Expression and Communication
in a Population of Chronically Homeless Men
This Special Emphasis collaboration proposes to develop and present an arts program, in collaboration with nursing students, for the men in the Safety Net program at the Salvation Army. Men in Safety Net are a chronically homeless population, many of whom exhibit symptoms of mental illness and substance abuse. Nurses have many responsibilities in the engagement of persons with mental illnesses; specifically a duty to develop therapeutic relationships and facilitate client self-expression. Populations such as the men in Safety Net often feel isolated and have difficulty expressing themselves. In nontraditional psych mental health settings nurses must be creative in ways to engage clients who may need treatment, but do not meet the requirements for hospitalization. We believe an arts program using hand-drumming, vocal music, and spoken word/poetry, embedded within our standard clinical experiences, may address client issues of isolation and difficulty in self-expression. Eight nursing students enrolled in the psych mental health nursing practicum, have volunteered to participate in a clinical experience that uses artistic expressions as a communication medium. Each week, the students will engage the men using the aforementioned techniques for a total of eight meetings under the guidance of faculty member Wendy Kooken, PhD(c), RN and arts experts from the community. Progress will be measured by weekly student logs; client attendance, client and students comments, and the preparation of a manuscript for publication.

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Riyadh Hindi, Department of Civil Engineering and Construction
Axial Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Columns
This research investigates the behavior of reinforced concrete columns subjected to axial load. The columns are reinforced and confined with single (common) spiral and double and opposing (new technique) spirals in order to enhance their strength and ductility or to increase the spiral spacing (pitch) to facilitate the flow of concrete during construction. The new confinement technique is meant to increase the spacing of the confining spiral without jeopardizing the strength and ductility of the column or to improve the ductility and strength without reducing the spiral spacing and hindering the flow of concrete during construction. Eighteen reinforced concrete circular columns confined with different reinforcement content will be experimentally tested subjected to concentric axial compressive loading. The axial force, axial displacement and strains in the concrete and confining and longitudinal reinforcement will be measured during the testing. The columns are 1000 mm long and 350 mm diameter. The experimental results will be compared and utilized to develop design guidelines of reinforced concrete columns using the new confinement technique. The design guidelines will facilitate the implementation of the new technique in deign codes and standards such as the American Concrete Institute (ACI) to be used by structural engineers.

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

George Brown and Jim Ferolo, Department of Theatre Arts and the Multimedia Program
The Collaborative Development and Presentation of Elmer Rice's 'The Adding Machine'
The project will join students, faculty, and staff from the Department of Theatre Arts and the Multimedia Program at Bradley University with student, faculty, and staff from the University of Waterloo (Canada), the University of Central Florida (USA), and Cumbria School of the Arts (UK) to collaboratively develop, rehearse, and present a fully mediatized production (integrating virtual scenery, broadcast video via Internet2, recorded video, avatar performers, photographs, graphics and sound) of Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine. Written by Nobel Prize winning author Elmer Rice in 1923, The Adding Machine is a funny and slightly nightmarish look at advancing technology and its effect on human relationships. The play chronicles the life of Zero, a hapless cog spinning aimlessly in the corporate word, who, after 25 year of service, is replaced by a machine. Scheduled for performance in March 2007 as part of Bradley University Theatre's performance season, students and faculty from all four institutions will work together on a peer level over the year to conceptualize, problem-solve, establish methods, determine best practices, develop proof-of-concepts supporting the integration of technology into a live performance event, and create the mediatized and theatrical design elements that will be utilized in rehearsal and presentation. This collaboration will be facilitated through a process of joint decision-making and interdependent critical thinking, with a hierarchy appropriate to our disciplines, and shared responsibility by the students and faculty for the process and final outcome of the collaboration.

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