In medicine and biology, image analysis is often used to quantify outcomes for a wide range of applications, including diagnostics, surgery, and general research. Image analysis tasks can include counting the number of cells in a given area of a fluorescently stained image or measuring the geometry of tissues during surgery. Currently, in these situations, one of the more common and powerful programs used for image analysis is ImageJ. However, ImageJ is a computer application, so before an image can be analyzed, it has to be loaded and saved to the computer. On the other hand, while there are mobile image processing applications, most of them have limited functionality, performing manipulations such as adding filters and masks to pictures to make them look more appealing, qualitatively. My project focuses on creating a mobile application with various useful analytic functions, so that image analysis can be done quickly and without need for an external computer. Some of the functions that will be included are: cropping, zooming, measuring, counting, brightness, drawing/labeling, transforming, and masking

Human operators often experience large fluctuations in cognitive workload over seconds timescales that can lead to sub-optimal performance, ranging from overload to neglect. Adaptive automation could potentially address this issue, but to do so it needs to be aware of real-time changes in operators' spare cognitive capacity, so it can provide help in times of peak demand and take advantage of troughs to elicit operator engagement. However, it is unclear whether rapid changes in task demands are reflected in similarly rapid fluctuations in spare capacity, and if so what aspects of responses to those demands are predictive of the current level of spare capacity. We used the ISO standard detection response task (DRT) to measure cognitive workload approximately every 4 s in a demanding task requiring monitoring and refueling of a fleet of simulated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We showed that the DRT provided a valid measure that can detect differences in workload due to changes in the number of UAVs. We used cross-validation to assess whether measures related to task performance immediately preceding the DRT could predict detection performance as a proxy for cognitive workload. Although the simple occurrence of task events had weak predictive ability, composite measures that tapped operators' situational awareness with respect to fuel levels were much more effective. We conclude that cognitive workload does vary rapidly as a function of recent task events, and that real-time predictive models of operators' cognitive workload provide a potential avenue for automation to adapt without an ongoing need for intrusive workload measurements.

Sex determination in animals and fungi is regulated by specific sex-determining genes. The Aspergillus nidulans mating type gene matA and the human SRY (Sex-Determining Region Y) encode proteins containing a single HMG (high-mobility group) domain. Analysis of the amino-acid sequence of MatA and SRY transcription factors revealed significant structural similarity. The human SRY protein is able to functionally replace MatA and drives the sexual cycle in the fungus A. nidulans. Functional studies indicate that SRY drives early fruiting body development, and hybrid MatA protein carrying the SRY HMG box is fully capable of driving both early and late stages of sexual development, including gametogenesis. Our data suggest that SRY and MatA are both structurally and functionally related and conserved in regulating sexual processes. The fundamental mechanisms driving evolution of the genetic pathways underlying sex determination, sex chromosomes and sexual reproduction in eukaryotes appear similar.

Environmental factors can promote phenotypic variation through alterations in the epigenome and facilitate adaptation of an organism to the environment. Although hydrogen sulfide is toxic to most organisms, the fish Poecilia mexicana has adapted to survive in environments with high levels that exceed toxicity thresholds by orders of magnitude. Epigenetic changes in response to this environmental stressor were examined by assessing DNA methylation alterations in red blood cells, which are nucleated in fish. Males and females were sampled from sulfidic and nonsulfidic natural environments; individuals were also propagated for two generations in a nonsulfidic laboratory environment. We compared epimutations between the sexes as well as field and laboratory populations. For both the wild-caught (F0) and the laboratory-reared (F2) fish, comparing the sulfidic and nonsulfidic populations revealed evidence for significant differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs). More importantly, there was over 80% overlap in DMRs across generations, suggesting that the DMRs have stable generational inheritance in the absence of the sulfidic environment. This is an example of epigenetic generational stability after the removal of an environmental stressor. The DMR-associated genes were related to sulfur toxicity and metabolic processes. These findings suggest that adaptation of P. mexicana to sulfidic environments in southern Mexico may, in part, be promoted through epigenetic DNA methylation alterations that become stable and are inherited by subsequent generations independent of the environment.

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing disorder affecting an estimated 283 million individuals worldwide, with substantial health and economic consequences. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), particularly PPAR-α and PPAR-γ, have shown promise in preclinical studies as potential therapeutic targets for AUD. In this human laboratory study, we aimed to translate preclinical findings on the PPAR-α agonist fenofibrate to a human population with current AUD. We hypothesized that, relative to placebo, fenofibrate at the highest FDA-approved dose of 145 mg/d would attenuate responsiveness to in vivo alcohol cues in the lab and reduce drinking under natural conditions. However, the results did not show significant differences in craving and alcohol consumption between the fenofibrate and placebo groups. Reverse translational studies in rodent models confirmed the lack of fenofibrate effect at human-equivalent doses. These findings suggest that inadequate translation of drug dose from rodents to humans may account for the lack of fenofibrate effects on alcohol craving and consumption in humans with AUD. The results highlight the need for new brain-penetrant PPAR-α agonists to adequately test the therapeutic potential of PPAR-α agonists for AUD, and the importance of reverse translational approaches and selection of human-equivalent doses in drug development.