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The University of Akron

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The Affect Of Dha Concentration On Lipid Membrane Fluidity, Elise Rezabeck Jan 2023

The Affect Of Dha Concentration On Lipid Membrane Fluidity, Elise Rezabeck

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My proposed project will be creating large unilaminar vesicles with varying concentrations of DHA in the vesicles. The diffusion in and out of these vesicles will be tracked by using singular lipid molecules. These singular lipid molecules will be tagged with fluorescence and viewed using an internal reflection fluorescence microscope. The data collected over the course of this project will then be analyzed using Matlab. The result of the project will be to find the specific lipid diffusion constant of these unilaminar vesicles. The relationship between the concentration of DHA and lipid diffusion and membrane fluidity will be found as …


Effect Of An Oncogenic Her2 Mutant On Egfr Activity, Paige Kalik Jan 2023

Effect Of An Oncogenic Her2 Mutant On Egfr Activity, Paige Kalik

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Studies have shown that HERs are involved in the progression of human cancers. Researchers have found that HER2 mutations in colorectal cancer are similar to mutations found in breast cancer. Recombinant antibodies are effective therapeutic treatments for cancers. Antibodies can also be used to determine how proteins function under normal and pathophysiological conditions while also identifying interacting partners. In this Honors Project, my aim is to investigate the effect of an oncogenic mutant of HER2. Considering the information above, the question researched in this project was: how does the S310F mutation affect the organization and function of HER2? The specific …


Finding An Accurate Method To Measure Pollinator Visitation Rates, Claire Struhsaker Jan 2023

Finding An Accurate Method To Measure Pollinator Visitation Rates, Claire Struhsaker

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Pollinator visitation rates are a helpful way to monitor the health of ecosystems; however, there lacks a standardized method for obtaining these rates. The pollinator visitation rates for five plant species were collected and the relationship between the standard error of these rates and the time interval was determined. Monarda, Echinacea purpurea, Pycnanthemum muticum, and Baptisia alba all exhibit more accurate pollinator visitation rates as the time interval increased. Trifolium repens exhibited less accurate pollinator visitation rates as the time interval increased.


The Use Of Dynamic Light Scattering To Determine Mineral Precipitation In Bacteria., Isabella Manning Jan 2023

The Use Of Dynamic Light Scattering To Determine Mineral Precipitation In Bacteria., Isabella Manning

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Particulate calcium carbonate (PCC) is an important filler in industrial products, including paints, which are obtained through mining and sintering (heating to 1,100°C), which is responsible for up to 2% of global emissions. A potential solution to reduce these emissions is the use of calcium carbonate produced by bacteria from atmospheric , through a process called microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP). One of the primary uses of PCCs is in paint, requiring them to be a specific size (~700nm). When we have been collecting samples of PCCs produced by bacteria, which demonstrate clumping, making them too large for use in …


How Will The Expanding Agriculture Business Impact Wetland Graminoids?, Travis Darago Jan 2022

How Will The Expanding Agriculture Business Impact Wetland Graminoids?, Travis Darago

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

As human population increases in the years to come so too will the agriculture business. We already know that the use of chemicals such as fertilizers and other agriculture chemicals aid to promote accelerated crop growth so that we can harvest the most food for the most people. There is less research on the effects that the runoff of these chemicals have on wetland environments that are downstream from farmland. I would like to explore how some of these agricultural chemicals, like ammonium, will affect the growth of different types of wetland graminoids. I will be looking at Poa polustris, …


Chemogenetic Induced Tinnitus Model, Cara Bunner Jan 2022

Chemogenetic Induced Tinnitus Model, Cara Bunner

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will use chemogenetic drug activation in the inferior colliculus (IC) to formulate a new tinnitus model in animals. Gq-signaling DREADD [AAV8-CaMIIKa-HDM2(Gq)-mCherry] will be used to selectively activate glutamatergic neurons in the mouse, then the brain will be dissected to obtain the IC. The IC will be immunohistochemically stained to visualize the AAV mCherry, the glutamatergic neuron distribution, and the GABAergic neuron distribution within the IC. Thus, the findings of this study will better our understandings of the pathological mechanisms of tinnitus.


Will Covid-19 Be Eradicated?, Matthew Kieke Jan 2022

Will Covid-19 Be Eradicated?, Matthew Kieke

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this paper I want to define the meaning of “eradication”, explain the history of various diseases that have been eradicated, and compare and contrast them to covid-19, to answer the question of “Will covid-19 be eradicated”?


Effect Of An Acl Tear On Bone Density And Muscle Mass Contralaterally, Rebecca Beitko, Carly Anenson Jan 2022

Effect Of An Acl Tear On Bone Density And Muscle Mass Contralaterally, Rebecca Beitko, Carly Anenson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The research question that this experiment aims to answer is: "How does bone density and muscle mass of the upper and lower leg differ contralaterally in individuals who have had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear?" This project will examine how an ACL injury affects the bone density and muscle mass of both the upper and lower leg by comparing these values in the injured vs. the uninjured leg. We will acquire bone density and muscle mass values using a DEXA scan (x-ray imaging). In comparing the contralateral values, we will be able to identify if individuals who have suffered …


Sequential Block Copolymers Of Polyisobutylene And Polyolefins, Manwel Labib Jan 2022

Sequential Block Copolymers Of Polyisobutylene And Polyolefins, Manwel Labib

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A two-step approach will be utilized to synthesize random polyolefin multiblock-copolymers. This strategy takes advantage of a,w-terminated telechelic polyolefins. Polypropylene (iPP)/polyethylene (PE) are picked because of their strength, and polyisobutylene (PIB) because of its hemocompatibility. This copolymer is theorized to make for robust bio-inert plastic, which can be used for surgical mesh implants.


Effect Of Glaucoma On Melanopsin Retinal Ganglion Cells In Mice, Abigail Mcmullen Jan 2022

Effect Of Glaucoma On Melanopsin Retinal Ganglion Cells In Mice, Abigail Mcmullen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Within the mammalian retina, there are melanopsin-containing ganglion cells. These intrinsically photoreceptive cells help control behavioral aspects of vision as well as to aid in circadian rhythms. In this project, it will be determined whether or not glaucoma has an effect on these cells, and what that effect is, from different points in the disease. Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the retinal ganglion cells and eventually causes them to die, also it can be linked to irregular circadian rhythm. Many techniques will be used to prepare this project but computer imaging will be the primary method for determining …