Spectrum, Winter 2019, Volume 9 (3)

SPECTRUM Journal of Student Research at Saint Francis University

Volume 9 (3) Winter 2019

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SPECTRUM: Journal of Student Research at Saint Francis University Volume 9 Issue 3 Faculty Editors: Balazs Hargittai Professor of Chemistry bhargittai@francis.edu

Grant Julin Associate Professor of Philosophy gjulin@francis.edu

Student Editorial Board: Gabrielle Beck Jacob Boehme Eric Horell ’13 Jonathan Miller ’08 Madison Palmer Rebecca Peer ’14 Hannah Retherford Devon Tozer

Managing Designer: Grace McKernan

Allison Bivens ’12 Kayla Brennan Emily Miller Steven Mosey ‘14 Shaelyn Parry Miranda Reed William Shee ’17 Staci Wolfe

Managing Editor: Megan Snider

Table of Contents Caffeine Consumption Among Undergraduate Students: Do Students Increase Caffeine Consumption Upon Entering College?

Miranda N. Reed; Shlomit Flaisher-Grinberg

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Puppy Power: The Effect of Canine Companionship on Collegiate Athlete Burnout Shaughn M. McDonald; Shlomit Flaisher-Grinberg

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The Comparison of α-Crystallin and Caffeine in the Prevention of Cataracts Hannah E. Boyd; Dayna S. DeSalve; Balazs Hargittai

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Call for papers

20

(Student authors’ names underlined.)

Cover: Photo by Ivory Krise (“Iced Berry”)

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Caffeine Consumption Among Undergraduate Students: Do Students Increase Caffeine Consumption Upon Entering College?

Miranda N. Reed Psychology Department School of Health Sciences and Education mnr100@francis.edu

Shlomit Flaisher-Grinberg, Ph.D. Psychology Department School of Health Sciences and Education sfgrinberg @francis.edu

The field of psychopharmacology studies the effects of drugs on the physiological and psychological functioning of human and non-human subjects. Research focusing on the student population has traditionally investigated the effects of caffeine on student’s sleep, stress and health parameters. It is unclear, however, which environmental factors may predict patterns of caffeine consumption in students. The current project evaluated whether students increase their caffeine consumption upon entering college. A survey, assessing various caffeine consumption parameters, was administered to seventy-five male and female undergraduate students at Saint Francis University. It was found that the majority of participants indicated that they did increase their caffeine consumption once they entered college, and that their consumption is driven by the attempt to stay energized and alert. Contrary to literature, it was also found that the participants preferred coffee or tea over energy drinks. These findings could indicate that students during their freshman year are more susceptible to the development of unhealthy caffeine consumption habits, and that further education about the topic within this population may be requires. Future research could focus on the investigation of the possible reasons that contribute to these findings, or on the assessment of the efficacy of various intervention and education strategies.

Introduction The field of psychopharmacology studies the effects of drugs on the physiological and psychological functioning of human and non-human subjects. Caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant, is consumed by 80-90% of adults in the US on a regular basis (“Psychopharmacology, Second Edition,” n.d.). In the form of various beverages, and as an additive to numerous food items and drug formulations, it is considered the most widely consumed drug in the world (Donovan & DeVane, 2001). While its psychostimulant properties account for much of its popularity, caffeine can have dangerous effects when consumed in high doses, for a prolonged amount of time, or alongside other psychoactive drugs. For instance, chronic caffeine use has been found to disrupt sleep, while the consumption of caffeine at high doses (1000 mg or more per day) has been linked with a condition known as “Caffeinism”, characterized by restlessness, nervousness, insomnia, tachycardia, and gastrointestinal disturbances.

Caffeine

withdrawal can include headache and fatigue, impaired concentration and psychomotor performance, as well as mild anxiety or depression (“Psychopharmacology, Second Edition,” n.d.). In addition, both human and animal research indicate that caffeine can cause harmful interactions when administered with other prescription drugs or with recreational drugs (McNamara, Kerans, O’Neill, & Harkin, 2006; Simon et al., 2015).

A trend, similar to the one seen within the general population, is demonstrated by college students. Specifically, research demonstrates that the consumption of caffeine, including caffeinated energy beverages, is prevalent among college students (Al-Shaar et al., 2017; Cabezas-Bou et al., 2016; Champlin, Pasch, & Perry, 2016; Poulos & Pasch, 2015). In fact, between 2004-2009, the amount of energy drinks consumed in the US increased by 240%. This escalated consumption of energy drinks is associated with increased prevalence of health problems associated with caffeine consumption. In 2007, over 20,000

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emergency room visits were connected with excess caffeine consumption from energy drinks, and the age range of patients who made up these emergency room visits was 18-25 years, the typical age of college students (Faris, 2014; Heckman, Sherry, & Mejia, 2010). One of the main reasons that collegeaged students provide for the high consumption of caffeinated substances is so that they can stay focused, stay alert, fight sleep, and be more productive during their busy lives (Champlin et al., 2016; Faris, 2014).

The consumption of caffeinated drinks, including energy drinks, is also prevalent among athletes. Buxton and Hagan (2012) found that 62.2% of their research subjects (all athletes) consume energy drinks. Almost 80% of those respondents reported drinking one or two energy drinks per week, while 20% reported drinking up to four drinks per week. The most common reasons these athletes provided for drinking energy drinks, according to Buxton and Hagan, was that they believe that the drinks replenish the energy they have lost, supplies them with energy in general, replaces lost fluids, and improves performance. However, while an athlete might feel more energized after consuming one of these beverages, is has been indicated that these drinks have a small duration of effect. After the peak performance, it is predicted that the athlete will experience a significant decline in energy, also known as a “crash” (Buxton & Hagan, 2012).

Research focusing on the student and athlete population has traditionally investigated the effects of caffeine on subjects’ sleep, performance, stress and health parameters. For instance, Lohsoonthron et al. (2013) found that 58% of surveyed students consumed caffeinated beverages and 48.1% of those same subjects reported having some kind of sleep disturbances or poorer quality of sleep after consuming caffeinated beverages. It was also found that 67% of subjects reported that they consume caffeinated substances to stay awake and alert when they are feeling tired and drowsy (Lohsoonthorn et al., 2013). Champlin et al. (2016) found a negative correlation between the consumption of caffeinated substances and students’ GPA. The authors suggested that these effects might result from a lack

4 of time management skills, driving students to consume caffeine in order to stay awake and finish projects or assignments on time (Champlin et al., 2016). However, little research has been dedicated thus far to the study of the environmental factors which may predict caffeine consumption in students.

Based on findings suggesting that older students consume more caffeinated substances than younger students (Champlin et al., 2016; Shohet & Landrum, 2001), the present project was designed to evaluated caffeine consumption in college students, and hypothesized that students will increase the consumption of caffeinated substances upon entering college.

Methods Subjects. Seventy-five students from Saint Francis University completed a questionnaire assessing caffeine consumption. The ages of the participants ranged from 18-23 years. Among the surveyed population, 56 were freshmans, 7 were sophomores, 2 were juniors, and 10 were seniors. Of those participants, 54 were females and 21 were males.

Instruments and Procedure. A questionnaire was created, to incorporate questions frequently asked in similar research projects (Shohet & Landrum, 2001). The questionnaire (see picture 1) included demographic questions and questions related to caffeine consumption (e.g., “On average, how many caffeinated substances do you consume in one week?”, “What time of day do you consume the most amount of caffeine?”, etc.). The anonymous questionnaires were distributed in multiple classroom settings and took place during class time. The time to complete the questionnaires took about five minutes.

Data Analysis. The collected data included the number of participants who reported an increase in their caffeine consumption upon entering college.

We also analyzed the student’s preferred source of caffeine consumption (options included soda, coffee, tea, energy drinks, or other). In addition, we examined the reasons that students provided for the consumption of caffeinated substances.

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5 Surprisingly, it was found that the majority of students, 68%, preferred coffee or tea over all other sources of caffeine, while only 3% of students admitted to drinking energy drinks as a source of caffeine (Question 8, see Figure 2).

Picture 1. Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire

Figure 2. Preferred source of caffeine consumption.

Results The results demonstrated that just over half of the participants (39 of 75) indicated that they increased their caffeine use since entering college, by replying “yes” to the question “Since entering post-secondary education, do you think that your caffeine consumption has increased?” (Question 10, see Figure 1).

Finally, it was indicated that the most common effect caffeinated substances have on participants in this study is that they feel more alert and energized [reported by 43 out of the 75 students (57%), Question 6, see Table 1].

Table 1. Participant’s reports of the effect that they experience after caffeine consumption.

Figure 1. Number of students who reported an increase of caffeine consumption upon entering college. Thirty-six students reported that they did not increase their consumption.

Thirty-nine reported that they increased caffeine use upon entering college.

Discussion Based on our results discussed above, it can conclude that undergraduate students do in fact increase their caffeine consumption upon entering college, and that the majority of surveyed students prefer coffee or tea over energy drinks as a source of caffeine. These findings are in line with Lohsoonthorn et al. (2013), which found that 50.8% of college students consume stimulant beverages, but in contrast to Cabezas-Bou et al, (2016), which

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found that 21% of college students consume energy drinks, Faris (2014), which found that 28.5% of college students consume energy drinks, and Poulos & Pasch (2015), which found that 17.5% of college students consumed energy drinks in the week prior to the study (Cabezas-Bou et al., 2016; Faris, n.d.; Lohsoonthorn et al., 2013; Poulos & Pasch, 2015).

These findings are of importance, in light of the possible negative outcomes associated with the consumption of energy drinks [e.g., poor academic attainment, sleep disturbances, and even increased prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts (Kim, Kim, & Seo, 2018; Sampasa-Kanyinga, Hamilton, & Chaput, 2018; Smith & Richards, 2018).

The fact that the majority of surveyed participants indicated that they increased their caffeine consumption upon entering college requires some consideration. Given that students indicate that their caffeine consumption is driven by the attempt to stay energized and alert, one might wonder if the length or quality of sleep is interrupted in college students. Since poor sleep quality has been found to be strongly associated with daytime dysfunction and sleep-enhancing medication use (Assaad, Costanian, Haddad, & Tannous, 2014), these findings may directly affect students’ success and performance in the academic environment.

Various reasons may explain the indicated findings. For instance, it is possible that upon the transition to college, many students lack the time management skills needed in order to prioritize and complete academic tasks, and thus require longer hours of wakefulness. Alternatively, since caffeine has been indicated to reduce stress in some individuals (Ratliff-Crain & Kane, 1995), it is also possible to assume that the stress induced by the transition to the college environment and demands (Filipkowski, Heron, & Smyth, 2016; Wilson, Darling, Fahrenkamp, D’Auria, & Sato, 2015) may explain the findings discussed above.

This study also includes some limitations which must be considered. First, the study did not directly evaluate the factors which may lead to increased caffeine consumption in college students. Second, the study did not evaluate the prevalence of some of the health-risk behaviors associated with caffeine

6 consumption [e.g.. higher sugar-sweetened soda and fruit juice intake, junk food consumption, skipping breakfast, etc. (Larson, Laska, Story, & NeumarkSztainer, 2015) in the surveyed population. Third, the study did not evaluate the association between caffeine consumption and stress/learning habits, and fourth, the study did not assess the efficiency of any type of intervention, from education to stress relief.

It is thus recommended that future studies will expend the findings indicated within the scope of the current study and examine whether the increase in caffeine consumption upon entering college is increased, maintained, or attenuated along the four years of undergraduate education. To summarize, the current study points to an important behavioral trend among freshman college students, an increase in caffeine consumption upon entering college, which may require some attention as well as strategic interventions.

Works Cited Al-Shaar, L., Vercammen, K., Lu, C., Richardson, S., Tamez, M., & Mattei, J. (2017). Health Effects and Public Health Concerns of Energy Drink Consumption in the United States: A Mini-Review. Frontiers in Public Health, 5, 225.

Assaad, S., Costanian, C., Haddad, G., & Tannous, F. (2014).

Sleep patterns and disorders among university students in Lebanon. Journal of Research in Health Sciences, 14(3), 198–204.

Buxton, C., & Hagan, J. E. (2012). A survey of energy drinks consumption practices among student -athletes in Ghana: lessons for developing health education intervention programmes. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 9, 9.

Cabezas-Bou, E., De León-Arbucias, J., Matos-Vergara, N., Álvarez-Bagnarol, Y., Ortega-Guzmán, J., Narváez-Pérez, K., Cruz-Bermúdez ND, Díaz-Ríos, M. (2016). A Survey of Energy Drink Consumption Patterns Among College Students at a Mostly Hispanic University. Journal of Caffeine Research, 6(4), 154–162.

Champlin, S. E., Pasch, K. E., & Perry, C. L. (2016). Is the Consumption of Energy Drinks Associated With Academic Achievement Among College Students? The Journal of Primary Prevention, 37(4), 345–359.

Donovan, J. L., & DeVane, C. L. (2001). A primer on caffeine pharmacology and its drug interactions in clinical psychopharmacology. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 35(3), 30–48.

Faris, N. N. (2014). Energy Drinks: Factors That Influence College Students' Consumption, 196. A Thesis Submitted in

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Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master Degree in Public Health, Department of Health Education and Recreation, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Psychopharmacology, Second Edition. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2018, from

https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2413&con text=theses

Ratliff-Crain, J., & Kane, J. (1995). Predictors for altering caffeine consumption during stress. Addictive Behaviors, 20(4), 509–516.

Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., Hamilton, H. A., & Chaput, J.-P. (2018). Sleep duration and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and energy drinks among adolescents. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.), 48, 77–81.

Shohet, K. L., & Landrum, R. E. (2001). Caffeine consumption questionnaire: a standardized measure for caffeine consumption in undergraduate students. Psychological Reports, 89(3), 521–526.

Simon, D. K., Wu, C., Tilley, B. C., Wills, A.-M., Aminoff, M. J., Bainbridge, J., … Wong, P. S. (2015). Caffeine and Progression of Parkinson Disease: A Deleterious Interaction With Creatine. Clinical Neuropharmacology, 38(5), 163– 169.

Smith, A. P., & Richards, G. (2018). Energy drinks, caffeine, junk food, breakfast, depression and academic attainment of secondary school students. Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 32(8), 893–899.

Wilson, S. M., Darling, K. E., Fahrenkamp, A. J., D’Auria, A. L., & Sato, A. F. (2015). Predictors of emotional eating during adolescents’ transition to college: does body mass index moderate the association between stress and emotional eating? Journal of American College Health: J of ACH, 63(3), 163–170.

Filipkowski, K. B., Heron, K. E., & Smyth, J. M. (2016). Early Adverse Experiences and Health: The Transition to College.

American Journal of Health Behavior, 40(6), 717–728. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.40.6.4

Heckman, M. A., Sherry, K., & Mejia, E. G. D. (2010). Energy Drinks: An Assessment of Their Market Size, Consumer Demographics, Ingredient Profile, Functionality, and Regulations in the United States. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 9(3), 303–317.

Kim, J.-S., Kim, K., & Seo, Y. (2018). Associations Between Korean Adolescents’ Energy Drink Consumption and Suicidal Ideation and Attempts. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 32(3), 331–336.

Larson, N., Laska, M. N., Story, M., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2015). Sports and energy drink consumption are linked to health-risk behaviours among young adults. Public Health Nutrition, 18(15), 2794–2803.

Lohsoonthorn, V., Khidir, H., Casillas, G., Lertmaharit, S., Tadesse, M. G., Pensuksan, W. C., Rattananupong T., Gelaye B., Williams MA., Williams, M. A. (2013). Sleep quality and sleep patterns in relation to consumption of energy drinks, caffeinated beverages, and other stimulants among Thai college students. Sleep & Breath., 17(3), 1017– 1028.

McNamara, R., Kerans, A., O’Neill, B., & Harkin, A. (2006).

Caffeine promotes hyperthermia and serotonergic loss following co-administration of the substituted amphetamines, MDMA (“Ecstasy”) and MDA (“Love”).

Neuropharmacology, 50(1), 69–80.

Poulos, N. S., & Pasch, K. E. (2015). Energy drink consumption is associated with unhealthy dietary behaviours among college youth. Perspectives in Public Health, 135(6), 316–321.

http://sites.sinauer.com/psychopharm2e/index.html

Miranda Reed ('18 B.S., Psychology) graduated with a major in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. She plans on attending graduate school to receive her Ph.D. in Neuropsychology and to someday implement her knowledge and practice at a Children's Hospital.

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Puppy Power: The Effect of Canine Companionship on Collegiate Athlete Burnout Shaughn M. McDonald Psychology Department School of Health Sciences and Education smm140@francis.edu

Shlomit Flaisher-Grinberg, Ph.D. Psychology Department School of Health Sciences and Education sfgrinberg @francis.edu

The field of Psychology explores all aspects of human behavior and development, focusing on topics such as stress, motivation, and psychophysiological functioning. Among the populations that is continually exposed to stress is college student-athletes; which demonstrate significant burnout levels throughout their academic careers. Given the documented deleterious effects of chronic stress on health and well-being, the need for novel interventions aimed to reduce stress and athlete burnout has been recognized. Since it has been demonstrated that the human-animal bond is beneficial for many populations and conditions, the current project was designed to evaluate the effect of canine companionship on the burnout levels of Division I, collegiate student athletes. The study included two on-season women athletic teams within Saint Francis University, selected to either interact with a canine throughout the semester (experimental condition), or to have no interaction with a canine (control condition). Data was collected using a modified version of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire at the beginning and near the end of the semester. Results indicated that only a small set of measures were modified by the exposure to a canine, suggesting that while the human-animal bond has the potential to impact athlete burnout, additional intervention strategies are required in order to significantly affect this psychological measure. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed, and recommendations for future projects are indicated.

Introduction The field of Psychology aims to explore the normal and abnormal processes which affect human health and well-being. It spans topics such as human emotion, motivation, cognition and physiology (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2015). One of the factors which significantly affects human development and performance is stress. Chronic stress has been documented to contribute to the acceleration or exacerbation of pre-existing conditions such as burnout, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Marin et al., 2011; Staufenbiel, Penninx, Spijker, Elzinga, & van Rossum, 2013). One population that is consistently exposed to the deleterious effects of stress is collegiate student athletes, who demonstrate the maladaptive psychological outcome sometimes associated with sport participation, known as athlete burnout (Lonsdale, Hodge, & Rose, 2009; Nicole Dubuc-Charbonneau, Natalie Durand-Bush, & Tanya Forneris, n.d.). Athlete burnout is defined as

“psychological, emotional, and sometimes physical withdrawal from an activity in response to excessive stress” (Almodóvar, 2017). Athlete burnout is further categorized as a syndrome characterized by: (i) emotional and physical exhaustion; (ii) sport devaluation; and (iii) a reduced sense of accomplishment [for review see (Lonsdale et al., 2009)]. Consequently, preventing or minimizing the occurrence of burnout has been viewed as an important issue in the sport psychology literature (Goodger, Gorely, Lavallee, & Harwood, 2007; Lonsdale et al., 2009).

One of the promising avenues for the attenuation of stress effects on psychological functioning is the use of animal companionship. The HumanAnimal Bond is defined as “a mutually beneficial relationship between people and animals” (“HumanAnimal Bond,” n.d.). The positive effects of canine interaction on human psychological functioning has been well-documented in various populations. For instance, in military personnel diagnosed with

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PTSD, the presence of a service dog was associated with lower anxiety, anger, sleep disturbance and alcohol abuse, compared to individuals on the waiting list (Rodriguez, Bryce, Granger, & O’Haire, 2018). In the same population, canine interaction was found to increase assertiveness, improve stress management, communications, morale and emotional regulation (Krause-Parello, Sarni, & Padden, 2016; Owen, Finton, Gibbons, & DeLeon, 2016). In non-military populations, the presence of pet dogs was found to improve preadolescents' emotional responses to social stress (Kerns, Stuart‐ Parrigon, Coifman, Dulmen, & Koehn, 2018), and pet-ownership was found to be associated with improved cardiovascular functioning, increased physical activity, and reduction in depression, anxiety, and social isolation parameters (Schreiner, 2016). The assistance of animals in counseling and intervention has also been documented to enhance emotional regulation, motivation, self-esteem and personal adjustment in populations such as children, the elderly, physically disabled persons and psychiatric patients [for review see (Chandler, 2017). Importantly, not much is currently known in regard to the effects of animal companionship on athletic performance.

Given the need to explore novel methods which may reduce or relieve athlete burnout, and in light of the scarce knowledge in regard to the impact of animal companionship on athletic performance, the current project was designed to evaluate the effect of canine interaction on student-athlete burnout levels.

Since canines were demonstrated to elicits positive psychological benefits in various populations, it was hypothesized that exposure to canines would attenuate college-student’s athlete burnout levels throughout the semester, as the athletic season progressed. In order to enable athletes to interact with a canine often (around practice and around game times), a canine was trained to provide positive, gentle interactions to individuals in its surrounding. Two athletic teams at Saint Francis University (SFU) were selected to participate in the study. The experimental team (women volleyball) frequently interacted with the canine throughout the entire season, while the control group (women

9 soccer) received no canine-interaction and maintained its regular routine. Burnout levels in both groups were monitored using a modified version of the “Athlete Burnout Questionnaire” (Raedeke & Smith, 2001). It was expected that frequent interactions with a canine will attenuate emotional and physical exhaustion, reduce sport devaluation and promote a sense of accomplishment in the experimental group, in comparison to the control group.

Methods Subjects. Subjects were all female college students, age 17 to 22. All subjects were members of either the Saint Francis University Division I women’s volleyball (n=15) or soccer team (n=23).

A four-year-old female Pitbull mix, named Ray, was fostered from the Central PA Humane Society at Altoona PA, and trained for basic obedience and agility (e.g., walk nicely on a leash, sit, stay, etc.).

Ray lived with its student trainer throughout the entire semester, so its behavior could be monitored at all times.

Procedure. The volleyball team and the soccer team were randomly assigned into the experimental conditions. Throughout the entire semester, the volleyball team (experimental group) was allowed to interact with the canine for approximately thirty minutes before and after each practice and every game. The control group (soccer team) went about their regular practice and game routine with no specific intervention. An anonymous modified version of the “Athlete Burnout Questionnaire” (Raedeke & Smith, 2001) was delivered twice throughout the semester (at approximately the beginning and end of the semester). Specifically, questions assessing the three domains of burnout (Sport Devaluation, Emotional/Physical Exhaustion, and Reduced Sense of Sport Accomplishment) were scrambled, to reduce the effects of one question over the next. Participants responded using a 10-point rating scale (1 = ”Strongly disagree” and 10 = “Strongly agree”).

Previous research has supported the reliability as well as the factorial and convergent/divergent validity of the “Athlete Burnout Questionnaire”

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scores (Lonsdale et al., 2009; Raedeke & Smith, 2001). The participants were also requested to indicate their race/ethnicity, college year, and whether they are the first person in their family to attend college. In order to evaluate the possibility that a student who is not comfortable with dogs was chosen to interact with one (experimental group), a specific question which measured comfortability interacting with a dog was included in the questionnaire. All participants signed an informed consent letter, and all researchers received the appropriate SFU IRB training. All procedures were approved by the SFU Institutional review board (IRB) and by the SFU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC, Protocol # 00017).

Data Analysis. A statistical analysis evaluated the difference between students’ burnout levels across the semester in both the experimental and control group (Two-way ANOVA analyzed with GraphPad Prism7). Significant effects were evaluated using post-hoc analysis, and significance was determined at p<0.05. A T-test comparison was used to assess possible differences in the age of subjects in the experimental and control groups. The responses of students in the experimental group (canine exposure) to the question “How comfortable would you say you are interacting with a canine?”

(Likert scale1 = “Not so comfortable”, 10 = “Very comfortable”) were also assessed, in order to evaluate the possibility that an individual who is afraid of canines/dislikes canines was exposed to a canine.

Results The results indicated that while some differences in burnout levels can be attributed to athletic team affiliation, or to the progress of the semester, the exposure to canine companionship exerted a mild effect on each one of the athlete burnout domains (see Table 1). Specifically, the current study revealed that in comparison to the soccer team, the volleyball team demonstrated higher pre-existing burnout level, which persisted across the season.

This tendency is demonstrated by the stronger indication of sport devaluation as well as

10 emotional/physical exhaustion, as measured using the questions “Volleyball is less important to me than it used to be”, “I feel physically worn out from volleyball/soccer”, “I don’t care as much about my athletic performance as I used to”, and “I feel less concerned with being successful in volleyball than I used to” (questions 1, 2, 4 and 10, respectively). In addition, an increase in burnout level (sport devaluation and reduced sense of sport accomplishment) across the season was indicated, as measured using the questions ”I’m just not into volleyball/soccer like I used to be”, “I feel less concerned with being successful in volleyball/soccer than I used to”, “The effort I spent on volleyball/soccer would be better spent doing other things”, and “My playing level is really going downhill” (questions 7, 10, 13 and 15, respectively).

However, the specific effect of canine exposure was noticeable in all three domains of athlete burnout (questions 17, 7 and 15). While an increase in emotional/physical exhaustion, as measured using the question “I feel fatigued when I think about having to go to practice” (Question 17), was indicated by the soccer (control) team, a slight reduction was indicated by the volleyball (experimental) team (Two-way ANOVA Interaction effect, p=0.09, see Figure 1). Similarly, while a modest increase in sport devaluation, as measured using the question “I’m just not into volleyball/soccer like I used to be” (Question 7) was indicated by the volleyball (experimental) team, a much more pronounced increase was indicated by the soccer (control) team [Post-hoc analysis, Soccer; beginning vs. end of the semester p<0.05, volleyball; beginning vs. end of the semester p=0.77, see Figure 2)]. Finally, while a modest decrease in sense of sport accomplishment, as measured using the question “My playing level is really going downhill” (Question 15), was indicated by the volleyball (experimental) team, a pronounced decrease was indicated by the soccer (control) team a [Post-hoc analysis, Soccer; beginning vs. end of the semester p=0.06, volleyball, beginning vs. end of the semester p=0.69, see Figure 3)].

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Domain

11

Mean (SD)

(Question Number) & Question

Time (beginning vs.

Team (soccer vs.

Interaction

end of the semester)

volleyball)

F(1,71)=1.24, NS

F(1,71)=17.47, p<0.0001*

F(1,71)=0.14, NS

F(1,71)=2.24, NS

F(1,71)=4.50, p<0.05*

F(1,71)=0.13, NS

F(1,71)=7.04, P<0.01*

F(1,71)=0.37 NS

F(1,71)=1.78, NS

F(1,71)=3.76, p=0.056

F(1,71)=5.07. p<0.05*

F(1,71)=0.13, NS

F(1,71)=4.56, P<0.05*

F(1,71)=0.09, NS

F(1,71)=0.51, NS

F(1,71)=2.44, NS

F(1,71)=0.01, NS

F(1,71)=0.06, NS

F(1,71)=0.86, NS

F(1,71)=1.83, NS

F(1,71)=0.19, NS

F(1,71)=0.01, NS

F(1,71)=3.69, P=0.058

F(1,71)=0.01, NS

F(1,71)=0.58, NS

F(1,71)=2.12, NS

F(1,71)=0.36, NS

F(1,71)=1.08, NS

F(1,71)=3.04, p=0.08

F(1,71)=0.02, NS

Sport Devaluation (1) Volleyball/soccer is less important to me than

S1=1.54 (1.0)

it used to be

S2=2.21 (1.62) V1=3.6 (2.55) V2=3.93 (2.46)

(4) I don’t care as much about my athletic

S1=1.63 (1.29)

performance as I used to

S2=2.04 (1.29) V1=2.26 (1.66) V2=2.93 (1.94)

(7) I’m just not into volleyball/soccer like I used to

S1=1.94 (1.22)

be

S2=3.52 (2.39) V1=2.25 (1.28) V2=2.73 (1.43)

(10) I feel less concerned with being successful in

S1=2.13 (1.78)

volleyball/soccer than I used to

S2=2.91 (2.02) V1=3.06 (1.83) V2=4.2 (2.75)

(13) The effort I spent on volleyball/soccer would

S1=2.18 (1.53)

be better spent doing other things

S2=3.52 (2.29) V1=2.66 (1.84) V2=3.33 (2.22)

(16) Sometimes I wonder if volleyball/soccer is

S1=2.86 (1.86)

worth all the time and energy I put into it

S2=3.78 (2.37) V1=2.93 (1.94) V2=3.6 (2.38)

(18) I feel volleyball/soccer is positively

S1=8.13 (2.03)

influencing my life (Inversed Scale)

S2=7.60 (2.13) V1=7.06 (2.31) V2=7.60 (2.21)

Emotional/Physical Exhaustion (2) I feel physically worn out from

S1=3.95 (2.36)

volleyball/Soccer

S2=3.95 (2.12) V1=4.93 (2.55) V2=5.06 (2.25)

(5) I feel overly tired from volleyball/soccer

S1=3.18 (1.86)

team participation

S2=3.26 (1.96) V1=3.6 (2.47) V2=4.27 (2.12)

(8) I just feel like I don’t have any energy

S1=3.18 (1.89) S2=3.82 (2.18) V1=4.2 (2.62) V2=4.66 (2.47)

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12

(11) I feel so tired from my training that I

S1=3.90 (2.15)

have trouble finding the energy to do other

S2=4.17 (2.55)

things

V1=3.86 (2.47)

F(1,71)=0.64, NS

F(1,71)=0.07, NS

F(1,71)=0.12, NS

F(1,71)=1.74, NS

F(1,71)=0.00, NS

F(1,71)=0.12, NS

F(1,71)=0.04, NS

F(1,71)=1.75, NS

F(1,71)=2.96, p=0.09

F(1,71)=0.86, NS

F(1,71)=1.88, NS

F(1,71)=0.19, NS

F(1,71)=0.58, NS

F(1,71)=0.10, NS

F(1,71)=0.09, NS

F(1,71)=1.08, NS

F(1,71)=0.47, NS

F(1,71)=0.05, NS

F(1,71)=0.83, NS

F(1,71)=0.24, NS

F(1,71)=1.39, NS

F(1,71)=2.22, NS

F(1,71)=0.63, NS

F(1,71)=0.01, NS

F(1,71)=5.92, p<0.05*

F(1,71)=0.03, NS

F(1,71)=0.55, NS

V2=4.53 (2.69) (14) I feel “wiped out” from

S1=3.40 (2.15)

volleyball/soccer

S2=3.70 (2.22) V1=3.06 (2.12) V2=4.13 (2.16)

(17) I feel fatigued when I think about

S1=2.59 (1.65)

having to go to practice

S2=3.61 (2.27) V1=4.20 (2.95) V2=3.40 (2.13)

(19) I feel emotionally drained from my

S1=2.95 (1.78)

volleyball/soccer team participation

S2=3.96 (2.14) V1=3.93 (2.89) V2=3.28 (2.05)

Reduced Sense of Sport Accomplishment (3) It seems that no matter what I do, I don’t

S1=3.59 (1.84)

play as well as I should

S2=3.39 (1.58) V1= 3.86 (2.61) V2=3.4 (1.18)

(6) I am not performing up to my

S1=3.40 (1.91)

volleyball/soccer ability

S2=4.04 (2.63) V1=3.86 (2.2) V2=4.27 (1.83)

(9) I feel successful at volleyball/soccer

S1=6.81 (2.10)

(Inversed Scale)

S2=5.74 (2.41) V1=6.46 (2.16) V2=6.6 (1.99)

(12) I don’t feel confident about my

S1=3.09 (1.54)

volleyball/soccer ability

S2=3.87 (2.18) V1=3.53 (2.83) V2=4.2 (2.17)

(15) My playing level is really going

S1=2.45 (1.75)

downhill

S2=4.08 (2.48) V1=2.93 (2.08) V2=3.8 (2.27)

Table 1. (previous 2 pages) Athlete Burnout. Athlete burnout levels measured in the volleyball team (experimental group) and soccer team (control group) at the beginning and end of the season. * Statistical significance set at p<0.05.

S1=soccer, beginning of the semester; S2=soccer, end of the semester; V1=volleyball, beginning of the semester; V2=volleyball, end of the semester. The 3 domains of athlete burnout marked in bold. Measurements modified by canine exposure marked in italic.

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13 Importantly, there were no significant differences between the participants’ demographic parameters across both sport teams (see Table 2).

Comfort level of all participants exposed to a canine ranged 7-10, with one participant rating comfortability level at indicated at 1 (beginning of the semester) and 3 (end of the semester).

Parameter

Figure 1. The effects of canine companionship on athlete burnout: Emotional/physical exhaustion domain. Students’ rating of the item “I feel fatigued when I think about having to go to practice” (Question 17) at the beginning and end of the semester. Interaction effect, P = 0.09.

Age

Race/Ethnicity

College year

First person in

Soccer Team

Volleyball Team

(n=23)

(n=15)

M=19.32,

M=19.47,

T(35)=0.3266,

SEM=0.32

SEM=0.30

NS

95.4% Caucasian,

86.7% Caucasian,

4.3% Non-

13.3% Non-

Caucasian

Caucasian

36% freshman,

33% freshman,

23% sophomore,

20% sophomore,

18% junior,

14% junior,

23% senior

33% senior

Yes=0.8%

Yes=0.6%

family to attend college

Table 2. Demographic parameters of study participants.

Figure 2. The effects of canine companionship on athlete burnout: Sport devaluation domain. Students’ rating of the item “I’m just not into volleyball/soccer like I used to be” (Question 7) at the beginning and end of the semester. *P<0.05.

Figure 3. The effects of canine companionship on athlete burnout: Reduced sense of sport accomplishment domain.

Students’ rating of the item “My playing level is really going downhill” (Question 15) at the beginning and end of the semester, P = 0.06.

Discussion The data described above demonstrates that while the interaction with a canine throughout the athletic season exerted some modest effect on athlete burnout levels, a canine cannot serve as the absolute solution to this important psychological measure, and much more effort is required in order to significantly understand, attenuate and prevent athlete burnout. The fact that both athletic teams demonstrated an increase in sport devaluation and reduction in sense of sport accomplishment when measured across the season suggest that athletes in both teams were susceptible to the harmful effects of stress, and that various factors may play a role in disrupting or improving the psychological wellbeing of college athletes. For instance, it has been demonstrated that prosocial teammate behaviors predict low burnout levels, while the opposite is true for antisocial teammate behaviors (Al-Yaaribi & Kavussanu, 2017). Environmental factors such as long-term development focus, holistic quality

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preparation and communication were also found to negatively predict athlete burnout (Li, Wang, & Pyun, 2017), while Ill-being coach-athlete dyad positively predicted athlete burnout (Stebbings, Taylor, & Spray, 2016).

The fact that the exposure to the presence of a canine, and the opportunity to interact with a canine throughout the season, attenuated some of the measurements of athlete burnout is in line with research demonstrating the utility of this approach in other populations [e.g., military, preadolescent and pet owners (Kerns et al., 2018; Owen et al., 2016; Rodriguez et al., 2018; Schreiner, 2016). The positive effects of canine presence can be attributed to the improvement of various psychological factors [social behavior, assertiveness, stress management, communications, morale, emotional regulation (Owen et al., 2016)], yet, some athletic-related physiological parameters might have also been affected. For instance, it has been demonstrated that animal ownership is associated with reduced risk factors for cardiovascular diseases [e.g., lipids, glucose, obesity, and heart rate variability, (Schreiner, 2016)]. Lower blood pressure and plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, attenuated responses to laboratory-induced mental stress and improved survival following myocardial infarction were also demonstrated in pet owners, in comparison with non-pet owners (Arhant-Sudhir, Arhant-Sudhir, & Sudhir, 2011). It has even been suggested that animal companionship offered through animal-assisted therapy may be a useful addition to cognitive rehabilitation therapy following brain injury (Stapleton, 2016). Thus, the exposure to a canine may have led to an improvement of athletic physiological measures, which directly or indirectly contributed to improved performance and reduced burnout levels.

Although the current study suggest that canine companionship may offer a promising strategy in the management of athlete burnout, it is important to note that canine interaction did not reduce, but rather lessened the increase in athlete burnout throughout the season. These findings support the notion that despite the increase in the amount of studies aiming to investigate the topic of athlete burnout, there

14 remain a number of unresolved questions and issues, including the precise set of symptoms, antecedents, and consequences of athlete burnout, as well as the effectiveness of novel methodologies of prevention and treatment of athlete burnout (Gustafsson, DeFreese, & Madigan, 2017).

The current study also revealed some difference between the athletic teams chosen for participation.

Specifically, the volleyball team demonstrated poorer scores across many measures of athlete burnout. While these differences cannot explain the indicated pattern of results described above, they call for some further exploration. Factors which may explain these differences possibly pertain to personnel (e.g., coach and coaching strategy), load of traveling and season length (the volleyball season goes longer than the soccer season), and athletic success (the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soccer team at SFU has traditionally been more successful that the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volleyball team). An alternative explanation may have to do with the fact that the soccer team was aware of the fact that the volleyball team got to interact with a canine, and that knowledge may have directly or indirectly affected their questionnaire scorings. In order to reduce the variability associated with these possible factors, it is recommended that future research will attempt to match two identical sport teams (e.g., soccer or volleyball) from two similar yet distinct institutes. It is hypothesized that such a design will allow better control of the experimental manipulation and may extend the current findings.

To summarize, the current project expanded current psychological knowledge regarding athletic performance by focusing on the possible effects of canine companionship on athlete burnout levels. The results imply that canine interaction can affect the rate of athlete burnout throughout the season.

However, more research must be done in order to determine if the trend recognized in the current project can be replicated in additional athletic teams, environments etc., if the beneficial effects of canine companionship on athlete performance can be enhanced, and if additional strategies can serve as valuable interventions aimed to decrease athlete burnout.

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Works Cited Almodóvar, A. (2017). Examining burnout in Division I collegiate athletes: Identifying the major factors and level of importance in an athlete’s life. Siegel Institute Ethics Research Scholars, 2(1). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/siers/vol2/iss1/1

Al-Yaaribi, A., & Kavussanu, M. (2017). Teammate Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors Predict Task Cohesion and Burnout: The Mediating Role of Affect. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 39(3), 199–208. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2016-0336

Arhant-Sudhir, K., Arhant-Sudhir, R., & Sudhir, K. (2011).

Pet ownership and cardiovascular risk reduction: supporting evidence, conflicting data and underlying mechanisms. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology & Physiology, 38(11), 734–738. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14401681.2011.05583.x

Chandler, C. K. (2017). Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling. Taylor & Francis.

Goodger, K., Gorely, T., Lavallee, D., & Harwood, C. (2007).

Burnout in Sport: A Systematic Review. The Sport Psychologist, 21(2), 127–151. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.21.2.127

Gustafsson, H., DeFreese, J. D., & Madigan, D. J. (2017).

Athlete burnout: review and recommendations. Current Opinion in Psychology, 16, 109–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.05.002

Kerns, K. A., Stuart‐Parrigon, K. L., Coifman, K. G., Dulmen, M. H. M. van, & Koehn, A. (2018). Pet dogs: Does their presence influence preadolescents’ emotional responses to a social stressor? Social Development, 27(1), 34–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12246 Krause-Parello, C. A., Sarni, S., & Padden, E. (2016).

Military veterans and canine assistance for post-traumatic stress disorder: A narrative review of the literature. Nurse Education Today, 47, 43–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2016.04.020

Li, C., Wang, C. K. J., & Pyun, D. Y. (2017). Impacts of talent development environments on athlete burnout: a selfdetermination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(18), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1240370 Lonsdale, C., Hodge, K., & Rose, E. (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(8), 785–795. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410902929366

Marin, M.-F., Lord, C., Andrews, J., Juster, R.-P., Sindi, S., Arsenault-Lapierre, G., … Lupien, S. J. (2011). Chronic stress, cognitive functioning and mental health.

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 96(4), 583–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2011.02.016

15 Nicole Dubuc-Charbonneau, Natalie Durand-Bush, & Tanya Forneris. (n.d.). Exploring levels of student-athlete burnout at two Canadian universities. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Volume 44(2), 135–151.

Owen, R. P., Finton, B. J., Gibbons, S. W., & DeLeon, P. H. (2016). Canine-assisted Adjunct Therapy in the Military: An Intriguing Alternative Modality. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 12(2), 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2015.09.014

Raedeke, T. D., & Smith, A. L. (2001). Development and Preliminary Validation of an Athlete Burnout Measure.

Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 23(4), 281–306. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.23.4.281

Rodriguez, K. E., Bryce, C. I., Granger, D. A., & O’Haire, M. E. (2018). The effect of a service dog on salivary cortisol awakening response in a military population with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Psychoneuroendocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.04.026

Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., Wegner, D. M., & Nock, M. (2015). Introducing psychology (Third edition). New York, NY: Worth Publishers, A Macmillan Education Imprint.

Schreiner, P. J. (2016). Emerging Cardiovascular Risk Research: Impact of Pets on Cardiovascular Risk Prevention. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-016-0489-2

Stapleton, M. (2016). Effectiveness of Animal Assisted Therapy after brain injury: A bridge to improved outcomes in CRT. NeuroRehabilitation, 39(1), 135–140. https://doi.org/10.3233/NRE-161345

Staufenbiel, S. M., Penninx, B. W. J. H., Spijker, A. T., Elzinga, B. M., & van Rossum, E. F. C. (2013). Hair cortisol, stress exposure, and mental health in humans: a systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(8), 1220–1235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.11.015 Stebbings, J., Taylor, I. M., & Spray, C. M. (2016).

Interpersonal Mechanisms Explaining the Transfer of Welland Ill-Being in Coach-Athlete Dyads. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 38(3), 292–304. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2015-0172

Shaughn McDonald ('18 B.A., Psychology) graduated with a major in Psychology and a minor in Sports Management. He was a member of the SFU Men’s Volleyball team. After graduation he has been serving as a Volunteer Assistant Coach for the University of Pittsburgh Women’s Volleyball team.

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16

The Comparison of α-Crystallin and Caffeine in the Prevention of Cataracts Hannah E. Boyd Chemistry Department School of S.T.E.A.M. heb106@francis.edu

Dayna S. DeSalve Chemistry Department Biology Department School of S.T.E.A.M. dsd105@francis.edu Balazs Hargittai, Ph.D. Chemistry Department School of S.T.E.A.M. bhargittai@francis.edu

For many individuals, cataracts can cause severe vision loss, which leads to unforeseen expenses and decreased quality of life. Cataracts form through the aggregation of misfolded peptides, which are the result of oxidation reactions. Naturally, α-crystallin proteins act as a chaperone to prevent the reactions. However, the amount of α-crystallin proteins present in the body is limited. Likewise, antioxidants such as caffeine halt oxidation reactions, and could potentially prevent cataract formation. The goal of this study was to build upon previous studies focused on determining alternate pharmacological methods of preventing the development of cataracts. The preventative effectiveness of α-crystallin and caffeine was compared. This was achieved by obtaining lenses from cow eyes, which were treated with solutions of either caffeine or αcrystallin, as well as a fixed amount of sodium selenite, which was added with the goal of expediting cataract formation via biochemical redox reactions. Calcium concentrations were determined by analyzing each supernatant via spectroscopy, since previous research suggested that higher concentrations of calcium indicate cataract formation. Qualitative evidence showing the development of cataracts suggested that cataract formation was slowed by the use of a caffeine solution treatment. However, statistical analysis of the measured calcium concentrations in the lenses showed that no conclusive evidence about the formation of cataracts was obtained. Further trials are being completed in order to verify the results of the study.

Introduction For many individuals, cataracts can cause severe vision loss, which may lead to unforeseen economic expenses and decreased quality of life. Cataracts are often treated solely through surgery. Although this surgery is fairly low-risk, it is a costly and uncomfortable procedure. To help patients avoid the economic and health risks of surgery, recent studies focus on the development of preventative medicine in order to reduce the instances of cataract formation in aging adults.

The goal of this study is to build upon previous research focused on determining alternative pharmacological methods of preventing the development of cataracts in eye lenses, and to

propose additional treatments for their prevention.

Ideally, pharmacological prevention should be costefficient, easily accessible, and easy to use, in order to ensure maximum patient access and compliance across the economic spectrum. Our research aims to further the understanding of the chemical processes behind both the development and prevention of cataracts. Primary focus is concerned with further understanding the redox reactions behind cataract development, and using this knowledge to develop targeted preventative measures. This knowledge can then be used to develop practical and economical preventative treatments in the future.

A protein called crystallin makes up about 90% of an adult human eye lens.1 The function of this

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protein is to ensure that light passes through the lens unobstructed. In other words, crystallin helps keeps the lens clear. Biochemical studies have shown that cataracts form whenever amino acids on the crystallin protein are oxidized, deamidated, glycated, or truncated.1 These changes in the primary structure of crystallin cause changes to the tertiary structure. With changes to the protein’s overall shape, the physical and chemical properties of crystallin change. One such change is a decrease in crystallin’s solubility within the aqueous humor of the lens.1 This reduced solubility causes crystallin to precipitate, producing a build-up in misfolded crystallin proteins. From the buildup of misfolded crystallin, the scattering of light which is characteristic of cataracts occurs.1 In order to prevent the build-up of unfolded crystallin proteins and the resulting vision loss, the eye naturally produces a chaperone protein known as α-crystallin (Figure 1).2 As a chaperone protein, α-crystallin binds to misfolded crystallin, thus preventing them from aggregating and inducing the pathology of cataracts.1 However, only a finite amount of α-crystallin is present in the eye1.

Therefore, as the α-crystallin protein is damaged or lost, the lens looses its ability to prevent the buildup of misshapen crystallin. Because crystallin is allowed to aggregate, light becomes obstructed in the lens, and the patient begins to experience the symptoms of a cataract. This gradual reduction of crystallin highlights why aging individuals are more likely to suffer from cataracts as opposed to younger patients.

Figure 1. Richardson diagram of the molecular tertiary structure of α-crystallin.2

17 Because cataracts form from the aggregation of crystallin proteins on the lens of the eye, recent studies have attempted to find compounds which could act similar to α-crystallin by preventing the build-up of crystallin.3 Some studies have evaluated the effectiveness of caffeine, a known antioxidant, on the prevention of cataracts. Since caffeine acts as an antioxidant, researchers believe that it can stop the biochemical reactions which lead to the development of cataract pathology. By preventing the oxidation of crystallin, the need for chaperone proteins to maintain lens clarity is reduced.3 The results presented throughout the studies highlighted above have affirmed that lenses treated with caffeine indeed showcase less cataract development than those not treated with caffeine3.

Materials and Methods Methods from this study were derived from work completed by previous research by Varma, Hegde, and Kovtun, as well as Maddirala, Tobwala, Karacal, and Ercal.3,4 All chemicals were supplied

by Sigma Aldrich. Fifty bovine eyes were obtained from Carolina Biological Supply Company. Once the lenses were isolated, each lens was placed in a vial containing 10 mL deionized water and 0.4 mL of a corresponding selenite/caffeine solution (Figure 2). These solutions were drained and replaced every other day for 20 days. Visual observations were made to document increased cloudiness and other noticeable macroscopic changes.

Figure 2. Schema representing the visual changes which occurred to the lenses throughout the procedure. A: Original isolated bovine lenses before they were placed in solution. B: Initial set-up for the reaction: contains one bovine lens in a solution consisting of 10 mL deionized water as well as 0.04 mL of the corresponding sodium selenite: caffeine solution. C: Resulting supernatant from lenses dissolved and centrifuged in concentrated HCl, before their measurement on the atomic adsorption spectrometer.

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18

After 20 days, the lenses were placed in a 110â °C oven for 24 hours. The dried lenses were dissolved with concentrated HCl and centrifuged for 10 minutes (Figure 2). Calcium concentrations were determined by analyzing each supernatant via a Thermo S Series Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer.

Results Standard Deviation (ppm) 13.777

Standard Error 4.357

40.255

6.944

2.196

44.320

9.762

3.087

40.949

11.233

3.744

37.245

9.127

2.886

Table 1. Average Calcium Concentration for Each Group of Bovine Lenses

Table 1 depicts the calcium concentration for the supernatant of each dissolved lens as was determined by the Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The average of each lens group was taken, as well as statistical standard deviation and error tests used to evaluate both accuracy and precision.

Figure 3 depicts the slow quantitative development of cataracts over time. Over the course of 20 days, it was observed that lenses generally became cloudier, thus suggesting that cataracts were being induced via the sodium selenite solution.

Biological markers were evaluated in order to confirm these visual observations.

To quantitatively evaluate the inducement of cataract development and its consequent inhibition by caffeine, Ca2+ concentrations were measured via atomic absorption spectrometry.4 Data was statistically analyzed in order to identify statistically significant data among data sets (Figure 4). Overall, it was concluded that there was no statistically significant inhibition of cataract development when caffeine was introduced to the redox system.

Figure 3. A: Light shown through 1 mg caffeine solution lens 1 on May 12, 2017. B: Light shown through 1 mg caffeine solution lens 1 on May 30, 3017. Shows a slight development of cloudiness in the lens over time.

Average Ca2+ Concentration

Lens Name Control lens 0 mg caffeine 0.5 mg caffeine 1 mg caffeine <1 mg Îą-crystallin

Average Calcium Concentration (ppm) 43.741

60.000 50.000 40.000 30.000 20.000 10.000 0.000

Lens Group

Figure 4. Plot depicting the average Ca2+ concentration for each group of lenses with varying caffeine concentration.

Discussion Qualitatively, all of the lenses showed a relative pattern of aging. For example, as can be seen by Figure 3, lenses gradually became cloudier over time. The cloudiness which appeared in the bovine lenses suggest cataract formation. Therefore, it can be suggested that cataract development was successfully induced in the bovine lenses. However, it was difficult to objectively evaluate lens cloudiness, resulting the lenses being analyzed quantitatively.

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Quantitatively, studies have shown that as the calcium concentration in lenses increase, so does the likelihood that the said lens has developed a cataract.4 As can be seen from both Table 1 and Figure 4, there is no clear pattern between caffeine concentration and calcium concentration.

Furthermore, statistical tests between each of the lens groups show that there was no significant difference between the calcium concentration in any of the lenses. In other words, any differences in calcium concentration between the lenses are due to chance. Therefore, since there were no significant differences in calcium concentration between lenses in any of the five lens groups, the possible formation of cataracts, as well as the effects of caffeine or αcrystallin in inhibiting the formation of cataracts could not be determined.

There are possibly many factors which contributed to the inconclusive results of the investigation. With a sample size of 50 lenses, leaving only 10 lenses per group, there is not enough data to present conclusive evidence. Likewise, as can be seen by Table 1, as well as Figure 4, it is clear that a large amount of error was present within each lens group. This error further contributes to the inconclusiveness of the study, and suggests that improvements in technique must be made.

In the future, the comparison between caffeine and α-crystallin’s impact on the cataract formation should be repeated so a larger, more reliable data set is created. It is suggested that current methods will successfully produce statistically significant results on a long-term scale. By increasing the amount of caffeine solution added daily to each lens, the inhibition of cataract formation can be accelerated until statistically significant results are obtained.

Likewise, by allowing a longer amount of time for the lenses to dissolve in the concentrated HCl, it will be more likely that all calcium will be released into the supernatant, making the measurement of calcium concentration by a Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer accurate and reflective of the calcium concentration within the solid lens.

Current work highlights the potential which this method holds for modeling the inhibition of cataract

19 development via caffeine. Through extensive method development, the chemical process causing cataract growth were successfully modeled through qualitative observations. However, as results are not currently statistically significant, more work is necessary to model the chemical processes inhibiting cataract growth.

By repeating the investigation with the altered methods described above, conclusive evidence can be obtained. Once the effect of caffeine in inhibiting the formation of cataracts is determined, other antioxidants, including theobromine and theophylline can be evaluated for their preventative properties.

Works Cited 1. Moreau, K.; King, J. Protein Misfolding And Aggregation In Cataract Disease And Prospects For Prevention. Trends in Molecular Medicine 2012, 18, 273-282.

2. Our Approach: Stabilizing Alpha-Crystallin — ViewPoint Therapeutics https://www.viewpointtherapeutics.com/science-2/ (accessed Jan 23, 2019).

3. Varma, S.; Hegde, K.; Kovtun, S. Inhibition Of SeleniteInduced Cataract By Caffeine. Acta Ophthalmologica 2010, 88, e245-e249.

4. Maddirala, Y.; Tobwala, S.; Karacal, H.; Ercal, N. Prevention And Reversal Of Selenite-Induced Cataracts By N-Acetylcysteine Amide In Wistar Rats. BMC Ophthalmology 2017, 17.

Hannah Boyd ('19) is a Chemistry major with a concentration in biochemistry and minors in mathematics, neuroscience, and biology. She is a member of the Honors Program, the Saint Francis University Band, and the Chemistry Club. Off campus, Hannah works as a pharmacy technician. After graduation, Hannah plans to attend an osteopathic medical school to receive her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Degree.

Dayna DeSalve ('20) is a Biology and Chemistry double major. She is a member of the Honors Program, the Delta Epsilon Sigma Honor Society, the Flash Leader Institute, and the track and field team. After graduation, Dayna plans attending the medical school and becoming a physician.

Call for papers Submission Guidelines The purpose of SPECTRUM is not merely to disseminate new results, but also to inform and enlighten.

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