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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Plastic Recycling Using Waxworms: Biotechnology Solutions, Lance Wood Nov 2023

Plastic Recycling Using Waxworms: Biotechnology Solutions, Lance Wood

Sustainability Conference

As small particles that do not degrade, microplastics harm the environment. Plastics are physically broken down rather than chemically during the traditional recycling process. An insect naturally found in honeybee hives known as the waxworm can break down the most common plastic: polyethylene. A literature review was conducted on a new method to recycle plastics involving the waxworm Galleria mellonella. Literary review studies suggest that recycling using waxworms is more efficient and faster than traditional methods due to oxidation by enzymes. After conducting a literature review, a bioinformatics study was carried out using published DNA and protein sequences. Two promising …


Identification Of Fire-Retardant Chemical Treatments Via Instrumental Analysis, Caitlin Dillon Jul 2022

Identification Of Fire-Retardant Chemical Treatments Via Instrumental Analysis, Caitlin Dillon

Discovery Day - Prescott

Fiber trace evidence is one of the most common forms of evidence found at a crime scene; these evidentiary items often have unique flame retardant chemical compositions or volatile chemical signatures. The retardant compounds can be used as an additional piece of evidence to trace a fiber from a victim to a source sample. This analytical comparison will require the use of specialized equipment available at the Prescott campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. This equipment and instrumentation includes scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS), using both liquid and volatile …


Monitoring Environmental Trends In Levels Of Influenza Virus And Sars-Cov-2 In Prescott, Az, Jade Blackert, Daniella Cowles Jul 2022

Monitoring Environmental Trends In Levels Of Influenza Virus And Sars-Cov-2 In Prescott, Az, Jade Blackert, Daniella Cowles

Discovery Day - Prescott

Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health agencies collect surveillance data for cases of influenza. During the flu season of 2019, SARSCoV- 2, which causes the symptoms known as COVID-19, caused a global pandemic. In turn, the surveillance and testing data showed a dramatic drop in influenza case numbers compared to previous years. Influenza is one of the deadliest viruses in human history, so it seems unlikely that this drastic change would occur due to the emergence of a similar virus. This research is designed to show that the prevalence of influenza in the community …


Let's Get Serious About It: Plastic-Free Campus Initiative, Geoffrey Kain, Camdyn Doucette, Regan Bossie Apr 2022

Let's Get Serious About It: Plastic-Free Campus Initiative, Geoffrey Kain, Camdyn Doucette, Regan Bossie

Sustainability Conference

On February 23, 2022, the UN agreed to start negotiating a world-first global treaty on plastic waste--since nearly 200 nations unanimously agreed to move toward a legally binding plastics treaty by 2024. In 2019 the UN Environmental Programme report highlighted that "our world is drowning in plastic." As with the climate change crisis (to which plastics production and disposal are also linked), the data resoundingly illustrate the imminent systemic threat that disposable plastics pose to the world's seas, freshwater sources, soils, food supply, air, and species. Nevertheless, plastics production is predicted to rise dramatically over the next 20 years, with …


Landscapes Are Cornerstones Of Sustainability Programs, Don Spence Apr 2022

Landscapes Are Cornerstones Of Sustainability Programs, Don Spence

Sustainability Conference

Typical American landscapes are not sustainable in an economic or biological framework. The essence of the idea of sustainable growth and development are centered on the idea that those activities are not degrading natural resources or that they are outstrip budgets. A significant piece of any sustainable management plan is tied to how we manage our landscapes, how we use plants; specifically, how much grass there is, and how many native plants there are. Sustainable landscapes should require less chemical and financial inputs, which in the end, saves money and increases the biological value of the land and creates a …


Environmental Dna Metabarcoding Detects Mammal Use Of Stock Tanks And Natural Springs On The Prescott National Forest, K. A. Smith, Berenice Carreras Mendiolea, C. E. Benson, F. B. Anaya Apr 2020

Environmental Dna Metabarcoding Detects Mammal Use Of Stock Tanks And Natural Springs On The Prescott National Forest, K. A. Smith, Berenice Carreras Mendiolea, C. E. Benson, F. B. Anaya

Discovery Day - Prescott

Recent research has shown the viability of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis as a tool for identifying species presence in aquatic ecosystems. However, there is limited research indicating the feasibility of eDNA as a survey tool in water sources such as springs and stock tanks. Because of the scarcity of water in the high desert landscape of Arizona, natural springs and stock tanks are an important water resource. In this study, we examined whether 16S rRNA metabarcoding could detect mammal eDNA in springs and stock tanks in the Prescott National Forest. During summer 2019, we collected and analyzed water samples at …


The Future Of Biodiversity Assessment: Using Environmental Dna And Next-Generation Sequencing To Characterize Biological Communities In The Central Highlands Of Arizona, Courtney Turner-Rathbone Oct 2018

The Future Of Biodiversity Assessment: Using Environmental Dna And Next-Generation Sequencing To Characterize Biological Communities In The Central Highlands Of Arizona, Courtney Turner-Rathbone

Undergraduate Research Symposium - Prescott

Historically ecological surveys require significant man hours in the field, utilizing methods which can stress species being observed. In using environmental DNA (eDNA) gathered from air, soil, and water, traditional methods may be supplemented or reduced in order to more efficiently utilize funding and reduce or eliminate stress on surveyed species. Water was collected in replicates using aseptic technique from two different sites, 60 miles apart, along the Verde River. Samples were vacuum filtered within 24 hours through 0.45 μm cellulose nitrate (CN) filters to collect eDNA. DNA extraction from the filters was performed. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was …


Personal Safety Culture: A New Measure For General Aviation Pilots, Bradley S. Baugh, Kimberly M. Bracewell, Urara Takano, Mattie N. Milner, Emily C. Anania, Nadine K. Ragbir, Mudhur Bharat Gupta, Diego M. Garcia, Drishti O. Valecha, Daniel A. Marte, Scott R. Winter, Stephen Rice Aug 2018

Personal Safety Culture: A New Measure For General Aviation Pilots, Bradley S. Baugh, Kimberly M. Bracewell, Urara Takano, Mattie N. Milner, Emily C. Anania, Nadine K. Ragbir, Mudhur Bharat Gupta, Diego M. Garcia, Drishti O. Valecha, Daniel A. Marte, Scott R. Winter, Stephen Rice

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Safety culture has been a subject of research for over three decades and is now widely accepted as a critical component of organizational safety programs both domestically and internationally. Through the development of a healthy safety culture, aviation organizations can improve safety processes, reduce mishaps, and mitigate risk more effectively. This is done through the holistic team efforts of an organization’s members and the organization’s leadership. How about aviators who are not part of an organization? Is it possible to identify a personal safety culture defined outside of the traditional organization? And, is it possible to create an instrument allowing …


Simulating Mars: Student Projects At Mars Desert Research Station (Mdrs), Ashley Hollis-Bussey, Lycourgos Manolopoulos, Marc Carofano, Hiroki Sugimoto, Cassandra Vella, John Herman Apr 2016

Simulating Mars: Student Projects At Mars Desert Research Station (Mdrs), Ashley Hollis-Bussey, Lycourgos Manolopoulos, Marc Carofano, Hiroki Sugimoto, Cassandra Vella, John Herman

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

No abstract provided.


Designing A Mobile Space Habitat Analog, Victor Kitmanyen, Matthew Burkhard, Timothy Disher Apr 2016

Designing A Mobile Space Habitat Analog, Victor Kitmanyen, Matthew Burkhard, Timothy Disher

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

No abstract provided.