5th Annual Poster Session
List of Participants

Sarah Bachman ’05
Advisor: Giséle Muller-Parker, Ph.D., Western Washington University

Effect of feeding by the leather star Dermasterias imbricate on the symbiotic algae in the host Anthopleura elegantissima
The effect of predation by the leather star Dermasterias imbricata on the endosymbiotic zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae of the anemone Anthopleura elegantissima was examined in flow-through water sea tables at Shannon Point Marine Center in Puget Sound during the months of July and August 2004. Productivity, photosynthetic pigments, and mitotic index (% cells dividing) were used as indicators of algal health; fecal algae were compared with algae freshly isolated from anemones. Two types of waste products were collected that contained algae, pellets egested from the mouth after partial digestion (pseudofeces), and fecal streams released from the anus. All zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae collected from sea stars were photosynthetic (mean maximum production for zooxanthellae in control = 4.66, pseudofeces = 1.40, and feces = 3.86; zoochlorellae control = 2.27, pseudofeces = 1.07, feces =0.36), maintained normal chlorophyll levels (mean zooxanthellae chl a in control=5.06, pseudofeces = 4.11, chl c in control = 1.30, pseudofeces = 1.41; mean zoochlorellae chl a in control=4.11, pseudofeces = 2.42, chl b in control = 2.08, pseudofeces = 2.06), and divided at rates not significantly different from those of freshly isolated control samples (mean mitotic index in zooxanthellae controls = 1.79, pseudofeces = 2.30, feces = 1.37; zoochlorellae controls = 6.73, pseudofeces = 5.46, feces = 5.05). Released algae may represent a source of symbiotic algae for Anthopleura larvae or other hosts. This study may have important implications for Western tropical reefs where the predatory crown of thorns starfish and coral bleaching are concerns.

Kathryn Banahan ’05
Faculty Advisor: Olivia Harriott, Ph.D., Fairfield University
Project Advisor: Jeremy Collie, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island

Resource partitioning between four species of flounder in Narragansett Bay
In this study, we investigated the diets of four species of flounder in Narragansett Bay: summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), fourspot flounder (Paralichthys oblongus), and windowpane flounder (Scophthalmus aquosus). These four species are abundant in Narragansett Bay during the summer months and are therefore likely to be important components of the benthic food web. Living in the same region, these flounder share the same resources and may therefore directly compete. We investigated whether the four flounder species partition the resources by means of their diets and spatial area. Flounder were collected at weekly intervals at two stations in the bay from June to August of 2004. Stomach contents were sorted to the lowest taxonomic level possible, counted, and weighed. While there was some prey overlap, diet composition analysis by weight showed that each species of flounder had a different prey preference. The dominant prey categories in summer flounder were fish and mantis shrimp, winter flounder preferred worms and amphipods, fourspot flounder ate squid, and windowpane flounder ate mostly Crangon. The only significant prey overlap between summer, fourspot, and windowpane flounder was for Crangon, however, the high abundance of this prey in the summer makes competition unlikely. The diet of summer flounder varied between station, reflecting the prey available at each location; in contrast, the winter flounder diet was the same at both stations. Fourspot and windowpane flounder were not collected at the mid bay site; therefore their diets were not analyzed by location.

Michelle Carbuto ’05
Faculty Advisor: Linda Henkel, Ph.D.

The effects of evidence on source memory for actions
Past research on false confessions has shown that people can be convinced that they have performed actions that they did not perform, even gruesome murders. In fact, many common interrogation techniques, such as showing suspects pictures and evidence from the crime scene, can contribute to false confessions. The main goal of this experiment was to determine under which circumstances will people think that they performed an action that they in fact only imagined. With this past research on false confessions in mind, it was hypothesized that showing a person evidence that an imagined action was performed will place doubt in the person’s head and cause more source errors.

Subjects were asked to perform or imagine performing a series of 60 actions (30 performed and 30 imagined), all of which would leave some sort of evidence that the action had been completed. After performing and imagining performing the actions, the subjects viewed a slideshow providing evidence that some of the imagined actions had been completed. For example, the subject would imagine breaking a toothpick and then later see a broken toothpick in the slide presentation. Of the 30 imagined actions, 10 were in the slideshow once, 10 were in the slideshow three times, and 10 were not in the slide show at all. One week later, the subjects were given a memory test that included the 60 actions, as well as 15 new actions, and asked to indicate whether each action was actually performed, imagined, or new.

The main source error of interest in this study was when a subject remembered performing an action that they only imagined performing. It was hypothesized that the subjects would be more likely to remember performing the imagined actions that they saw in the slideshow than the imagined actions not included in the slideshow. The results thus far support my hypothesis and it seems only a very small percentage of the time will subjects remember performing an action they only imagined if they were not exposed to evidence that they performed the action (that is, if they did not see the item in the slide show).

Erin Daly ’05 and Adam Blom ’05
Faculty Advisor: Matt Kubasik, Ph.D.

H/D Exchange Studies of Short Helical Peptides
We have investigated the three-dimensional solution phase structure of short polypeptides through 1H FT-NMR studies of amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange kinetics. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange is a mature technique for the investigation of biomolecular structure. In this technique, the rates at which amide hydrogen atoms of the biomolecule exchange with deuterons available from solvent indicate the “solvent accessibility” of the hydrogen atoms. Amide hydrogen atoms can be protected from exchange by being buried within a biomolecule or by intramolecular hydrogen bonding, or both. In our study, octameric and tetrameric peptides of the amino acid residue alpha-aminoisobutyric acid were interrogated with H/D exchange. We found significant protection from exchange, indicated stable intramolecular hydrogen bonds consistent with 310 helical structure for our peptides.

Stacy DeGabriele ’05
Program Advisor: James Udy, PhD., Marine Botany Department, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program of Queensland, Australia: Results of a Nitrogen Monitoring Study
Sewage effluent is discharged into many estuarine and coastal waters throughout Southeast Queensland. It is important to trace the source and extent of sewage effluent in receiving waters to broadly gauge the contribution of wastewater to nitrogen pools in the receiving estuaries and Moreton Bay. This is achieved by Sewage Plume Mapping, which measures the uptake of the stable nitrogen isotope 15N by the microalga Catenella nipae. In this experiment, Catenella samples were deployed at the Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program’s (EHMP) monthly water quality sites. After four days, the samples were collected, dried, and ground in the laboratory. They then underwent stable isotope analysis. Based on the knowledge that within the last six years there have been considerable upgrades of many of the sewage treatment plants that discharge into Moreton Bay, it was predicted that lower concentrations of 15N would be found in the Catenella samples. The results of the stable isotope analysis supported these predictions and it was found that the release of effluents into the Moreton Bay area, overall, were lower than previous years.

Melissa DeSantis '05 and Talia Pettini '06
Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Gardner, Ph.D.

Explicit attitudes of Fairfield University undergraduates toward homelessness as an investigation of order effect
The present study was designed to measure Fairfield University students’ attitudes toward homelessness and to see whether manipulated empathy had any significant influence on these measurements. Students completed two surveys under separate conditions that varied the order of presentation. One condition displayed a sympathetic view of the homeless followed by a general attitude scale, and the second condition provided the general attitude scale first. Overall scores indicated a slightly sympathetic attitude toward people who are homeless. Students’ scores were analyzed under each condition and then compared. No significant differences were found between the conditions; however the qualitative statistics have shown an overall indifference on the part of Fairfield University Undergraduates toward the homeless population.

Kristen Desy ’05 and Bethany Sprung ’05
Faculty Advisor: Olivia Harriott, Ph.D.

Molecular characterization of cyanobacteria populations in local freshwater bodies
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the diversity of cyanobacteria in local freshwater ecosystems using amplification and sequence analysis of phycocyanin genes. This will contribute to the larger goal of determining the potential for toxin production by these populations. Total DNA extracted from five freshwater ponds and lakes was used as templates for PCR using phycocyanin-specific primers. These primers are often used to differentiate cyanobacterial species in the environment. Thus far, only one phycocyanin PCR product was obtained. This product was cloned, from which three individual phycocyanin gene fragments were sequenced. These sequences were analyzed and compared to DNA sequences in GenBank to determine the genus and species of cyanobacteria present in the sample. From this analysis it was determined that the three sequenced gene fragments had statistically significant similarity to published results for physocyanin genes from Synechocystis sp. and Microcystis aeruginosa. Both genera are known to have genes for toxin production. The results confirm from the sequence analysis conflict with microscopic studies (Dr. Klug and Betsy Sedlack), which suggest an abundance of other cyanobacterial species. The conflicting results probably reflect the incomplete sampling of phycocyanin clones in our library. In future studies, additional clones from the library will be analyzed to obtain a more complete representation of the cyanobacteria in the sample.

Zachary Freedman ’05
Faculty Advisor: Hugh Lefcort,Ph.D.

Adult Lumnea palustris show preference to heavy metal pollution at low concentrations
The detrimental effects of heavy metal poisoning on living organisms is well documented. The goal of our research was to determine if at low amounts of heavy metal pollution, snails would favor a polluted solution over a control solution. To test this hypothesis, 2 gravitational flow through y-maze tubes were used, giving the test organism a choice between two streams of solution. An adult Lymnea Palustris was placed at the base of the glass Y-maze and given 25 minutes to make a choice between the two streams. After 40 trials, the total number of control and heavy metal solution decisions were counted and the avoidance trends were graphed. Solutions with trace amounts of zinc and cadmium pollution were favored by snails. Above a given concentration, snails avoided the heavy metal solution.

Cassandra Godman ’05
Advisor: Glenn Sauer, Ph.D.

Development of RT-PCR Techniques for Metallothionein Detection in Human Articular Chondrocytes
Metallothioneins (MT) are a family of low molecular weight cysteine-rich metal binding proteins that can be induced by exposure to metals. Following metal exposure, they provide tolerance to toxicity by binding to metals present in the system and reducing their concentrations (Sauer et al., 1998). Recent studies have shown that MT may also provide resistance to cellular oxidants and in this way delay the onset of apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to develop techniques for studying MT gene expression in apoptotic human chondrocytes. In this study, human articular chondrocytes were grown in culture and subjected to several varying concentrations of different inducing agents including Zinc, Cadmium, dexamethason, and hydrogen peroxide. After treatment, total RNA was extracted and subjected to reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) using primers designed to produce a 201 bp product from the expressed region of the human MT-II gene. PCR products were separated on a 1.5% agarose gel and stained with ethidium bromide. Presence or absence of metallothionein is indicated by the incidence or lack of bands on the gel. Thus far, only a limited amount of results are available and further adjustment to the protocols is necessary for the optimal identification of metallothionein expression.

Julie Gryguc ’06 and Kelly Steele ’05
Faculty Advisor: Diane Brousseau, Ph.D.

Bay scallop growout in Holly Pond, Stamford, Connecticut: A feasibility study
This study was an attempt to grow bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) in Holly Pond, Stamford, Connecticut over a six-week period from October to November 2004. Holly Pond is an impounded estuary where salt water from Long Island Sound meets freshwater from the mouth of the Noroton River. The null hypothesis that there would be no difference in growth rate among three locations in the pond was tested. Growth and survival of scallops suspended in pearl nets were measured weekly. Temperature, salinity, turbidity and chlorophyll a were determined for each location during the study period. Scallops located at the site closest to the SoundWaters Environmental Center had the highest rate of growth (1.05 ? 0.09 mm/wk). Overall survival of scallops at all sites was 85%. Growth rates in Holly Pond were lower than those reported by Widman & Rhodes (1991) for scallops suspended in Long Island Sound, but survival rates were comparable. Studies to assess growth during the spring-summer, when water temperatures are more favorable for growth, are needed but this study suggests that Holly Pond may be a suitable location for the growout of Atlantic Bay Scallops.

Jessalyn Ierardi ’05
Project Advisor: Sheila Stiles, Ph.D., National Marine Fisheries

Effects of temperature on the larval development of oyster, Crassostrea virginica
American or Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica, represents the largest quantity of United States oyster production. Larval development of American Oysters can last from 10 to 21 days depending on water temperature, salinity, and food availability. The purpose of this experiment was to observe the effect of low water temperature (11°C) on the development of oyster larva, Crassostrea virginica. Hypothesis was that larvae held at room temperature would grow faster. Growth rates of larvae were determined every other day. Oyster larvae grew larger and developed faster at room temperature than at 11°C. Average growth rates for the larvae held at room temperature after 15 days were 7.28 (+0.716), 7.58 (+1.46), and 7.39 (+0.922) µm/day. Average growth rates for larvae at 11°C after 7 days were 8.09 (+1.21) and 8.21 (+0.355) µm/day. Temperature had a significant (p=0.0008) effect on the growth rates of oyster larvae. Some larvae in the room temperature treatment reached the pre-pediveliger stage by Day 11, but this stage was not reached in the experimental treatment. Larvae kept at room temperature grew consistently at a higher average growth rate. Survival rates were higher for larvae held at room temperature. The 11°C treatment decreased the growth rate and survival of oyster larvae.

Meagan Leduc ’05 and Emily Mis ’05
Faculty Advisor: Phyllis Braun, Ph.D.

Inhibitory effects of green tea extract on biofilm formation in Candida albicans
During the last decade an increased incidence of biofilm-related infections have been reported. One of the most prevalent biofilm-forming organisms is Candida albicans. Biofilm infections have occurred due to the fact that C. albicans growing in a biofilm formation is resistant to most antifungal treatments. Currently, green tea extract is being recognized for its ability to treat and prevent a number of medical problems. In this study, yeast biofilm formation and cell viability with XTT colorimetric assays were used to determine the effects of green tea extract on Candida albicans. Green tea extract promotes metabolic cell activity on cells forming a biofilm, whereas results indicated that higher levels of green tea extract inhibit biofilm formation and reduce cell viability.

Shealing Luong ’05
Faculty Advisor: Glenn Sauer, Ph.D.

Cytotoxicity of Apoptosis-Causing Agents on Cultured Chondrocytes
Articular chondrocytes produce and maintain the extracellular matrix of cartilage in skeletal joints. Recent studies have shown that the breakdown of cartilage associated with osteoarthritis can be triggered by apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Apoptosis can be caused by a variety of chemical agents and by various mechanisms of action. In this study, different concentrations of six apoptosis-causing agents were incubated at 37ºC for 24 hours with cultured chondrocytes to determine the effective concentrations causing cell lysis. Results indicate that sodium nitroprusside (NaNP) and staurosporine were the most effective at inducing apoptosis. While the calcium ionophore, A23187, cycloheximide, and actinomycin D concentrations had no significant effect on cell death. Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO), a carrier for delivery of several of the compounds to the cells had a modest effect on cell lysis. These results will be used to design future studies aimed at understanding the cellular mechanisms of apoptosis in chondrocytes and the role of intracellular zinc in this process.

Liana Martuccio ’05
Faculty Advisor: Adam King, Ph.D.

An examination of the time left procedure in the mouse
Memory has been shown to be inaccurate in animals and understanding why this is so has become important for many reasons. We are particularly interested in discovering why this is true and how it can help us understand how memory works. The time left procedure gives us insight into the inner workings of memory in subjects. This procedure, developed by Gibbon and Church (Time Left: Church & Gibbon, 1981) examines how internal, subjective time and external, clock-measured time are related. In their analysis Gibbon and Church trained rats and pigeons to respond to two stimuli referred to as the comparison and the standard. The comparison primed food after C sec and the standard primed food after C/2 sec. The standard choice was offered at a variable time T which was either: T<C/2, T=C/2, or T>C/2. They found that subjects favored the standard when T<C/2, were indifferent when T=C/2, and favored the comparison when T>C/2. This behavior demonstrated that subjects could compute the difference between two temporal durations! The present experiment mimics the procedure performed by Gibbon and Church using mice. It modifies the procedure by introducing a continuous potential time T and the ‘freezing’ of time that forces subjects to make a choice in order for the trial to proceed. These adaptations are intended to aid in analysis, remove criticisms related to subjects memorizing specific times, and eliminate the possibility of subjects not responding.

Kathleen May ’05
Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Gardner, Ph.D.

Baseline Survey Showed Increased Knowledge of Prejudice and Discrimination
In PY 291 Cognition, culture, race, and identity, students filled out a Baseline Survey (Plous, 2003) at the beginning and end of the semester. Scores indicated an increase in knowledge providing evidence of the effectiveness of classroom learning in increasing understanding of prejudice and discrimination.

Jamie Morley ’06, Jamie Cahill ’06, Kaitlyn Salem ’05, Lynda Wilmott ’05
Faculty Advisor: Shannon Harding, Ph.D.

The effects of excitotoxic lesions on the restoration of male rate sociosexual behaviors
Although the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) is known to play a critical role in female rat sexual behavior, its role in male reproductive behaviors is less clear. The present study was conducted to determine whether cell bodies contained in the VMN are necessary for sociosexual behaviors (copulation, partner preference, ultrasonic vocalizations, and scent marking). Male rats were tested for behaviors before and after castration, and were subsequently assigned to groups. One group received the excitotoxin NMDA to selectively destroy cell bodies in the VMN, while a second group received the non-toxic stereoisomer, NMLA. On the day of stereotaxic surgery, animals also received two 10-mm Silastic capsules filled with testosterone to restore hormones to endogenous levels. Restoration of behavior was assessed in the three weeks that followed. Preliminary data suggest that NMDA lesions produced some impairments in copulation, ultrasonic vocalizations, and scent marking. These results imply that the integrity of VMN cell bodies is critical for the full expression of male rat sociosexual behaviors.

Glenn Newman ’05
Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Gardner, Ph.D.

Quiz and Team Learning with Feedback Comparable to Absorb/Relate
Absorb and Relate papers (A/R) were compared with a quiz with team-based learning and immediate feedback (Q+TBL+IFAT), both, or neither as preparations for essay test questions. Results suggested A/R and Q+TBL+IFAT are equally effective in helping student’s master material. When A/R and Q+TBL+IFAT were combined as preparation, test performance was significantly higher when compared with neither as preparation.

Lauren Puma ’05
Faculty Advisor: Linda Henkel

Age differentiation in source maturity for naturally occurring conversations
Studies show that older adults make more errors than do young adults on source monitoring tests in which they indicate the source or origin of their memories (e.g., was it imagined or perceived? Was it seen or heard? Did person A say it or person B?) Such declines in source memory are due in part to age related difficulties with inhibitory control and the ability to focus their attention. Research has shown that focusing on perceptual details (i.e. voice and physical attributes) while experiencing events helps bind the information to its source and leads to improved source memory. However, older adults generally focus more on their own feelings while experiencing events. Some studies show that when older adults are told to focus on external emotional aspects (i.e., other people’s feelings), it helps them to focus less on their own reactions and more on perceptual characteristics, which improves their source monitoring performance.

This study was designed to further address whether an external emotional focus improves source performance for older adults. In addition, it examines several different components of source memory that have not been previously studied in this manner.

Subjects were instructed to either focus on people’s perceptual features or emotional responses while watching two videotaped scenes consisting of four individuals having natural conversations. In the scenes, each individual makes positive, negative, and neutral statements. Later they were presented with a list of statements and were to indicate (1) if the statements were said or not said and (2) the source of the statements, including who said them, and in which scene they were said.

Subjects also completed the Memory Self Efficacy Questionnaire in which they rated how confident they are in their ability to remember details in various natural settings, and they rated how well they thought they did on the source memory test as well.
It was hypothesized that overall younger adults would perform better on the source monitoring test than older adults. It was expected that older adults in the emotional focus condition would perform better on the source monitoring test than older adults in the perceptual focus condition, but that younger adults in the perceptual focus condition would perform better than younger adults in the emotional focus condition. In addition, it was expected that older adults would overestimate how accurate their source performance actually is, whereas younger adults were expected to be more accurate in their self-assessments.

Data analyses are currently underway and will be presented in the poster. Support for these hypotheses is expected.

Betsy Sedlack ’05
Faculty Advisor: Jen Klug, Ph.D.

Occurrence of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in western Connecticut aquatic systems
Cyanobacteria, photosynthetic bacteria that are members of the phytoplankton community, are capable of producing toxins that are potentially harmful to animals, including humans. High concentrations of cyanobacteria increase the likelihood of high toxin levels. Cyanobacteria blooms are more common in bodies of water with high temperatures and low nitrogen to phosphorous ratio but high nutrients over all. This study surveyed a number of bodies of water in the area to look for the presence of potentially toxic species. Water quality, including temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, as well as total nitrogen and phosphorus, was measured at each site. In addition, phytoplankton community composition was determined by microscopic analysis. Correlation analysis suggests that cyanobacteria abundance is not dependent on a single environmental factor. We did see a positive relationship between temperature results and cyanobacteria concentration. Because nuisance blooms are difficult to predict, monitoring bodies of water that are prime areas for cyanobacteria will lead to a better understanding of these communities. Alerting ecologists and individuals in contact with the water of dangerous densities of cyanobacteria is important so that high density areas can be avoided and controlled.

Carolyn S. Stankiewicz ’05
Advisor: Shelley Phelan, Ph.D.

The role of protein kinase C and MAP kinase in regulating Peroxiredoxin 6 expression
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are typically found within cells as a byproduct of normal metabolic activity. Cells may also be exposed to ROS from their environment. Antioxidant proteins such as Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx 6) are part of the cell’s defense system that helps to control levels of ROS and protect the cell from ROS-associated damage. We have discovered that expression of the Prdx 6 gene is down-regulated in liver cells that have been deprived of serum, and strongly induced with subsequent treatment of growth factors, cytokines or hormones. However, the pathways that mediate this induction remain unknown. Therefore, this study was done in order to elucidate the signal transduction pathways and regulatory sequences that play a role in the expression and induction of Prdx 6 in response to the known inducers keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?), and dexamethasone (dex). Since protein kinase C (PKC) and MAP kinase (MAPK) pathways have been found to mediate the effects of numerous ligands implicated in cell growth and differentiation, it was hypothesized that either one of both of these pathways may play a role in the induction of Prdx 6. Mouse epithelial cells from the H2.35 cell line were grown to subconfluence and then serum deprived. Chemical inhibitors were used to inactivate the PKC or MAPK pathway, and then cells were induced with either KGF or TNF-? for 8 hours. RNA was analyzed by Northern Blot to evaluate levels of Prdx 6. It was found that the inhibition of PKC lowered both basal and TNF-?-induced expression of Prdx 6 suggesting that PKC plays a role in TNF-? induction. Currently, we are investigating the involvement of MAPK, as well as the effects of these inducers on peroxide accumulation and H2O2 toxicity. Our studies implicate a role in these pathways in both basal and induced Prdx 6 expression and support the involvement of Prdx 6 in the oxidative stress response associated with growth and differentiation.

Michael Vendetti ’05
Faculty Advisor: Susan Rakowitz, Ph.D.

Diminishing the Effects of the Framing Effect: Need for Cognition and Processing
The framing effect is when respondents provide different decisions for objectively equivalent situations. Previous studies have found the Need for Cognition (NC) and higher amounts of situational processing to be able to lessen the framing effects in subjects. Thirty-five participants were presented with 4 situations, which were randomly assigned so each had 2 positive frames. Half of the participants were in a processing condition where they were asked to make a choice and provide a justification for their choices; the others had to provide a choice. Finally, Participants completed the NC scale, and had a median-split to determine high vs. low NC scores. The current study delves further into the investigation of possible negating effects on the framing effect.

David Wilson ’05
Faculty Advisor: Glenn Sauer, Ph.D.

The effects of four different apoptosis inducing agents on the Caspase activity of articular chondrocytes
The effects of four different apoptosis inducing agents were measured through spectroflourometric quantification of the specific activity of cellular caspases. The Caspase family of proteases has been shown to play a role in the cascade of cleavage events which lead to the systematic disassembly of dying cells. Etoposide a DNA NaNP were used to treat the articular chondrocytes and induce apoptosis. Four different time periods were used to measure Caspase activity over time, as T-0 cells were exposed only momentarily and T-1, T-2 and T-3 cells were exposed to each apoptosis u inducer for 1, 2 and 3 hours respectively. The CaspACE™ Assay System used flourochrome 7-amino-4-methyl coumarin (AMC) to label the Caspase substrates provided by the assay kit. The levels of AMC released as a result of cleavage by Caspase enzymes were recorded and understood to represent a proportional amount of Caspase activity present in the sample. As was expected, the activity due to Caspase among T-0 cells with only momentary exposure to inducing agents was minimal. With exception to some inconsistencies with those cells treated by etoposide and staurosporin the cells demonstrated increased Caspase activity as the treatment time increased. The most noticeable activities came from T-3 cells, which demonstrated significant Caspase activity in all treatments except staurosporin. In general, the data tends to suggest glucose oxidase as the most effective inducer of apoptosis which compared to the other three treatments.

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