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Survey Of The Performance Of Gold Nanoparticles Within An Ssdna-Stabilized Biosensor For The Detection Of Hg2+, Madalyn Zagajowski

Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship

Methods

5 nm AuNPs were synthesized by combining solutions of HAuCl4 and sodium citrate, followed by dropwise addition of NaBH4 solution and aging for 24 hours. Additionally, Hg-bound poly(30)T ssDNA oligos were prepared by incubating with HgCl2 solution, with exonuclease I being added to denature unbound DNA. Aliquots of the AuNP solution were then treated with the ssDNA, either Hg-bound or non-Hg bound, and UV-vis and fluorescence spectra were taken of the samples with a Shimadzu UV-1280 spectrophotometer and a Hitachi F-2500 fluorescence spectrophotometer.

Results & Discussion

The UV-vis spectral data of the non-Hg bound AuNP/ssDNA complex samples did not …

Analysis Of Botulinum Toxin A And Interacting Proteins In Skeletal Muscle Cells: An Investigation Into The Mechanisms Of Botulinum Toxin A As A Treatment For Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, Lauren Kee

Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship

Background: Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) is a condition in which muscle tissue expands against the surrounding fascia during activity and is compressed along with the nerves and blood vessels within the muscle compartment, leading to abnormally high intracompartmental pressure (ICP) and debilitating pain. Treatment typically includes fasciotomy, which results in significant levels of CECS recurrence; however, botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection has recently been seen to decrease both ICP and pain through an unknown mechanism with little to no recurrence.

Methods: In this study, cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), prostaglandin E₂ receptor 4 (EP4), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), …

Can Prescribed Fire Reduce Tick Parasitism Of Birds?, Leslie A. Sterling, Kim Medley, Katie Westby, Solný Adalsteinsson

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Tick-borne diseases spread through enzootic transmission cycles that often involve ticks parasitizing bird hosts. Some avian species are competent reservoirs, amplifying the pathogens that cause tick-borne illnesses in humans. Prescribed burns in forests have the potential to reduce tick-borne disease risk if they limit interactions between ticks and infectious wildlife hosts. Although prescribed burns are increasingly being used for a variety of habitat management purposes, little is known about how they affect tick-host interactions. We hypothesize that if prescribed fires reduce tick abundance, then birds in burned forest plots will host fewer ticks than birds in unburned forest plots. Experimental …

The Earth's Magnetosphere, Soren Ormseth

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) is an Earth orbiting satellite launched in 2008; designed to map the boundary of our Solar System. In this presentation, we focus on how data collected by the IBEX-Hi sensor can be used to map the distribution of hot ions within the Earth's magnetosphere. As opposed to other satellites, IBEX images the magnetosphere from afar rather than by going through it. An improvement on the previous imaging techniques was developed, and we compare the new results to the old.