Education Commons^™

Adaptive Sports And Fitness Night, Kendra Clary, Drew Gannon

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

In Health and Human Performance, an overarching objective is to address the obstacles that restrict physical activity in daily lifestyles. At Fort Hays, we are dedicated to expanding community inclusion and reaching diverse populations, promoting our commitment to diversity and inclusion excellence.

Mission Statement:

Empowering Community Through Inclusive Movement

Vision Statement:

Our adaptive sports and fitness night cultivates community engagement, builds relationships, fosters motor and skill development, and promotes health and well-being for individuals of all abilities.

A recent systematic review found that only 9% of adults with ID meet the minimum requirement of 150 min of moderate to vigorous …

Using Artificial (Ai) To Predict A Structure Of Protein Complex, Yiqing Zang

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Proteins play pivotal roles in essential life processes and elucidating their three-dimensional (3D) structures is crucial for understanding their functions. AlphaFold2, an advanced artificial intelligence-based method developed by Google DeepMind, has emerged as a promising tool for predicting protein structures. In this study, we evaluated the predictive capabilities of AlphaFold2. Our findings highlight AlphaFold2's efficacy in providing valuable insights into protein structure prediction, albeit with certain limitations. While AlphaFold2 represents a significant advancement in the field, its utility is best realized when integrated with complementary experimental approaches. Consequently, combining the strengths of AlphaFold2 with experimental validation remains essential for achieving …

Screening Environmental Soil Samples For Antibiotic Production, Paige Mattick

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Antibiotic resistance is a detrimental worldwide challenge, producing bacterial infections that are progressively more difficult to treat and cure. To attempt to help alleviate this issue, we screened soil samples for the presence of antibiotic-producing microorganisms. Soil samples were collected and diluted to 1:100 and 1:1000 ratios of soil and distilled water. These soil mixtures were then streaked onto tryptic soy agar (TSA) plates and incubated at 30℃ until colonies developed. These colonies were then selected and plated on a lawn of Serratia marcescens, which was utilized as the target organism.

Serratia marcescens was selected due to its known resistance …

A Novel Study Of Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon Pyrrhonota) Feather Coloration In Relation To Habitat Characteristics, Colony Size, And Body Condition, Sonja Brandt, Medhavi Ambardar

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Feather coloration is used for social signaling in many avian species, and can be associated with their ability to live and breed in habitats with high quality resources (Jenkins et al. 2013, Saino et al. 2013). It can signify individual quality, (Saino et al. 2013) and influence mate choice (Bennet et al. 1996). We analyzed different aspects of Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) feather coloration in relation to morphology and habitat characteristics. We measured luminance, hue (theta and phi), and saturation for four different color patches on the swallows. We predicted that individuals in brighter coloration would be able to settle …

Presence Of Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus C In Domestic Pigs In Kansas, Avery Welton, Eric T. Gillock

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

There is currently a shortage of organs available to perform allotransplants in humans, prompting the exploration of xenotransplantation as an alternative. Xenotransplantation is the transplantation of living tissues between different species, with porcine tissues being a promising option. However, concerns arise regarding cross-species transmission, particularly in relation to Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses (PERVs). PERVs are retroviruses that are integrated into the germ-line cells of pigs and are permanently embedded in the host cell’s DNA, allowing for vertical transmission. Of significant concern is the infectious nature of two PERV subtypes, A and B, to humans, which can potentially recombine with the third …

Ty4 Retrotransposon Presence In Yeast Strains, Maria P. Walters, Eric T. Gillock

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Yeast is used in everyday life. It is important to understand the genetic components of yeast. In various laboratory yeast strains, there are findings of TY1, TY2, and TY3. TY1 through TY3 have been well studied, while TY4 and TY5 are retroelements that have yet to be thoroughly studied. It is known that TY4 is found at only one to three copies per haploid genome.

TY4 is a retrotransposon, which shares similarities with retroviruses, making it essential to study its presence in

yeast. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of TY4 among lab strains, brewing strains, and baking strains …

Anything But Another Essay: Understanding Undergraduate Stem Student Perceptions Of Creative, Project-Based Learning, Emily M. Redding, Lorelei E. Patrick

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

The training of innovative and diverse scientists starts with creative teaching practices. Much of the pedagogy literature on incorporating nontraditional teaching practices in college STEM courses focuses on the use of in-class active learning activities. Less study has been devoted to creative, project-based assignments, such as “UnEssays”. The “UnEssay” is a semester-long assignment that challenges students to complete a library research project on a topic of their choosing and present it using anything but an essay. Although gaining popularity, few studies have assessed STEM student's perceptions of the assignments. To do so, Zoology students were asked to complete pre- and …

Preliminary Analysis Of Native Bee Community Adjacent To Sorghum And Wheat Fields In Western Kansas, Katelyn Strack, Sarah Elzay

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Agricultural practices have significant and often negative effects on native bee populations. It is imperative that we understand how current agricultural practices affect native bees. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is cultivated heavily in western Kansas and is grown in rotation with winter wheat. This analysis presents preliminary results from a study conducted in summer 2023 in which pan traps were placed adjacent to two sorghum and two wheat fields in Ellis Co. Kansas. This data is part of a larger study examining the relationship between native bees and sorghum in western Kansas.

Preliminary Analysis of Native Bee Community Adjacent …

Hira Gene Mutation In Arabidopsis Via Crispr, Kelly Chen, Claire Shippy, Tara Phelps-Durr

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

The purpose of this study is to mutate the Histone Repressor A (HIRA) gene in a mustard plant (Arabidopsis) using CRISPR technology. HIRA is a chromatin-remodeling protein that is required for proper development in both plants and animals. Creating new changes (mutations) in HIRA will help us better understand the mechanism of how HIRA regulates transcription, which is important for understanding developmental disorders in animals, as well as how improper development leads to a reduction in crop yields in plants

Vigilance And Foraging Behaviors Of Two Sciurid Species Between College Campuses And Urban Environments, Patrick Geyer, Zoe Buffington, Lorelei E. Patrick

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

A comparison between the extent that sciurid specimens display vigilance and foraging behaviors on college campuses against specimens within urban environments. Observations of fox squirrels and western gray squirrels were taken from the Squirrel-Net behavioral database used for this project. We found there was a significant difference between the percent vigilance behaviors and foraging behaviors on college campuses compared to urban environments. This suggests that squirrels residing on college campuses are more desensitized to pedestrian activity and foot traffic compared to squirrels that inhabit urban areas.