The Ohio Journal of - The Ohio Academy of Science

Vol. 112(1)
The aromatase enzyme has been one of the targets studied
in an effort to fight breast cancer and is also of interest to
athletes and bodybuilders in a quest to optimize testosterone
in the body. This enzyme can be competitively inhibited
by either steroidal or non-steroidal inhibitors. Recent
studies have shown that various foods and alcohol contain
polyphenols that can inhibit aromatase activity. The goal
of this research is to find a polyphenol that will inhibit
the aromatase enzyme that is better than a steroidal one.
To do this, ELISA test are being used to compare several
polyphenol families and to find the polyphenol family that
inhibits aromatase the best. Next is to compare level of
inhibition with each derivative within its own polyphenol
family (i.e. Flavone: Chrysin, Apigenin, Acacetin, ect.).
These results will be compared with foods and beverages
that are known to contain variable concentrations of
each polyphenol. This will define what is the food and
beverage to consume to inhibit the aromatase enzyme
naturally. The last step is to look into the stereochemistry
of the polyphenols to see how varying the size, polarity,
and orientation of each might affect the inhibition of the
enzyme. Using these findings will produce a polyphenol
synthetically that can be used to help treat breast cancer
and also be used by bodybuilders and athletes.
Poster Board No. 022 THE MULTISENSORY PERCEPTION OF
FLAVOR: THE INFLUENCE OF ALTERED COLORATION OF FOOD
ON FLAVOR DISCRIMINATION. Moriah Plattner, mplattne@
capital.edu, (Kimberly Heym and Kerry Cheesman), Biological
& Environmental Sciences Dept, Capital University, 1 College
and Main, Columbus OH 43209
Visual and olfactory stimuli influence human perception
of food prior to gustatory stimuli. Olfactory signals arrive
to the brain milliseconds prior to visual signals, allowing
for the smell of foods and drinks to be recognized and more
directly correlated to taste than visual stimuli. However,
visual cues may strengthen or weaken the perception of
the flavors intensity. This study seeks to determine how
dyeing drinks blue influences taste perception. Blue
coloration is not a coloration of food found in nature;
nevertheless, marketing enterprises for food industries are
presenting people with foods that have been altered with
dyes to a blue coloration (eg: blue M&Ms and blue sports
drinks). College students (n > 100) are being asked to taste
three drinks of different flavors (lime, strawberry and
plum) where the color of the liquid has been dissociated
from the base flavor (eg: strawberry flavor and blue color
of the drink). Each flavor and each color (green, red and
blue) will appear once randomly within the trial samples.
Data regarding the ability to discriminate flavor and
whether or not those perceptions are altered when a food
or drink’s color is changed are being gathered in an effort
to determine which – if any – of the visual stimuli are more
influential in taste perception.
Poster Board No. 023 CREATING ANTIBODIES TO S. AUREUS
BY FUSION OF MYELOMAS WITH MOUSE SPLEEN CELLS
AND CLONING BY LIMITING DILUTION: Dawn M. Helterbran
(DMHelterbran@student.ysu.edu), Victoria M. Lesniak
(VMLesniak@student.ysu.edu), Diana L. Fagan (dlfagan@ysu.
edu), 146 E. Second St. Girard, OH. 44420
Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen that
can be difficult to treat, as it can be resistant to many
commonly used antibiotics. Creating antibody producing
cells is a technique that has been practiced and modified
for nearly 40 years. The purpose of the study is to create
antibodies against Staphylococcus aureus that could be
used to diagnose or treat staphylococcus infections. Fusion
was conducted by other researchers, and subcloning was
performed in this study. MRC-5 fibroblast cells were used
as feeder cells. These cells provide growth factors for the
P3X hybridoma clones that were added by limiting dilution
to a sterile 96-well plate. These cells were incubated in
RPMI media containing 20% FCS for four days. The wells
were then examined for single clones. Single clones were
fed three times a week until two-thirds confluent in a T25
The Ohio Journal of Science A-23
flask. These clones were tested for antibody production
using an ELISA. Four ELISAs were performed against the
antigens Staphylococcus aureus T3 and Staphylococcus
aureus T8. Of 69 subclones, three produced antibodies that
reacted with T8 S. Aureus. These antibodies were not type
specific, as they also reacted with T3 S. Aureus. Two clones
reacted with T3 S. Aureus and appear to be type specific, as
they did not react with T8. These results could be applied
to further diagnosis or treatment.
Poster Board No. 024 THE ABUNDANCE OF WINTER RAPTORS
ON A RECLAIMED SURFACE MINE IN SOUTHEAST OHIO.
Elizabeth M. Bullard ebullard@muskingum.edu, (Danny J.
Ingold, ingold@muskingum.edu); Biology Dept., Muskingum
University, 163 Stormont St., New Concord, OH 43762.
Over the past 30 years, grassland birds have declined more
than any other bird group in the Midwest. This decline
is mostly the result of anthropogenic influences such as
habitat degradation and fragmentation. The results of
several recent studies suggest that reclaimed surface mines
provide suitable nesting and wintering habitat for a variety
of obligate grassland birds. These studies have focused
mainly on the nesting success of grassland songbirds with
little research being done on fall and winter raptors. The
objective of this research is to use a driving transect to
survey different species of fall and winter raptors, as well
as to examine their perch and habitat preferences on a
reclaimed surface mine in southeastern Ohio (the Wilds).
Transect data will be collected from early November 2011,
through late February 2012, and compared to the results
that Ingold reported along the same transect route from
January through April 2009. Common species of migrant
raptors in this region include rough-legged hawks (Buteo
lagopus), northern harriers (Circus cyaneus), and shorteared
owls (Asio flammeus) while resident raptors include
American kestrels (Falco sparverius), red-tailed hawks
(Buteo jamaicensis), red shoulder-hawks (Buteo lineatus),
and Coopers hawks (Accipiter cooperii). By monitoring the
raptors on this reclaimed surface mine and comparing the
findings to a recent study on this site, it may be possible
to determine whether there are differences in raptor
abundances in the fall and early winter versus late winter
and spring. In addition, it will be interesting to note
whether short-eared owls show up at this location during
this study (they were absent from this site in 2009).
Poster Board No. 025 EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON CANCER CELL
GROWTH. Thomas Pierson 1 piersont1@findlay.edu, James
Hummel 1 hummelj@findlay.edu, Tess van Kan 2 vankant@
findlay.edu, Mark Frilling 2 frillingm@findlay.edu, Xiaodi
Hu 3 hu.350@buckeyemail.osu.edu, (Xu Lu 2 lu@findlay.edu),
Box 0973 1000 N. Main St., Findlay OH 45840. 1 University
of Findlay College of Pharmacy, Findlay OH 45840 and 2 The
University of Findlay College of Sciences, Findlay OH 45850,
and 3 The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210.
It has long been known that caffeine can inhibit cancer cell
growth. However, the exact cellular mechanisms affected
remain undetermined. The purpose of the project is to define
the effects of caffeine on cell growth at specific conditions
in vitro, as well as determining what molecular machinery
that is inhibited or destroyed due to the application of the
drug. The hypothesis is that the addition of caffeine during
cell growth will significantly decrease the growth rate of
cells tested. The human prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3),
colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116), and acute T cell leukemia
(Jurkat E6-1) cell lines were tested to investigate the effects
of caffeine on cell growth. PC-3 and HCT-116 cells were
cultured adherently on a welled plates in DMEM + 10%
FBS medium with 0—4 mmol concentrations of caffeine.
Cells were grown in a 37°C+ 5% CO 2 environment. Jurkat
E6-1 cells were cultured suspended in RPMI-1640 + 10%
FBS medium with identical caffeine and environmental
conditions. Cells were counted every 24 hours for three
days using a hemocytometer and light microscope. As
expected, growth inhibition of all cell lines occurred with the
addition of caffeine. In 1mmol caffeine concentration, PC-3