Trinity’s Summer Science Research Program, which started in May, wrapped up last week. Approximately eighty students conducted research, gave presentations, and had the opportunity to hear what alumni were doing.
The final day featured five presentations by six students, with two of those teams looking at the ketogenic diet. Audience members were able to ask questions following the brief presentations, with some questioning various researchers’ methods, a practice that pushes learners toward more sound decisions in the future.
Several of the students indicated that their research is ongoing. Shelby Labe and Laura Nee
were looking to see if gastrointestinal issues were alleviated in mice on the autism spectrum when fed a ketogenic diet. In their work, they had no samples yet for a “normal mouse” on the ketogenic diet. Jake Rubin, who is researching this diet’s impact on the purinergic modulation of the mesocortical dopamine system in mice” also indicated his work is ongoing.
Tommy Hum-Hyder looked into the “differences in prospective memory and executive functioning in individuals with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder who consume stimulant medication.” In short, this was a study on the use of stimulants for those who had been diagnosed formally, and those who had no such diagnosis, who in some cases were self-medicating. He began by citing an older study that claimed 1/5 of college faculty and other professionals were using stimulants without prescriptions.
Mona Deng worked with Dr. Margaret McLaren of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center to evaluate if using 24-hour weight instead of birth weight for infants would affect breastfeeding. She explained that when mothers are given spinal and epidural anesthesia, the fluids are absorbed by the baby, adding to its birth weight. When babies lose too much weight in the hospital, interventions include giving formula. Deng looked into how at Hartford Hospital, using the 24-hour weight instead of birth weight for healthy babies carried to term and delivered by C-section in mothers planning to breastfeed had a positive outcome. Typically, she said, 700 of the 1300 babies delivered there annually would be breastfed exclusively during the hospital stay. With this change in policy for how weight is recorded, an additional 250 would be breastfed. The result: babies did not lose more weight, they were not more jaundiced, and the hospital stay was reduced by three hours on average. Doctors and nurses indicated that they have seen less parental anxiety. “Do things the natural way,” she said. “It’s more healthy.”
