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Physical Sciences and Mathematics

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Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

The Next Small Step, Samiya Henry Apr 2022

The Next Small Step, Samiya Henry

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

As of right now, NASA and other space programs are estimating that by 2026, there will be people living in Space. Whether it be the Moon or Mars, one cannot have a functional society without a proper source of laws, especially since no one country has ownership over space. "One Small Step" will produce this source of laws, called the “Space Bill of Rights,” that will outline important matters like the trade of resources, medical care, government officials, and will ensure the preservation of our physical and figurative footsteps in space. This Space Bill of Rights is made up of …


Understanding The Effect Of Adaptive Mutations On The Three-Dimensional Structure Of Rna, Justin Cook Apr 2021

Understanding The Effect Of Adaptive Mutations On The Three-Dimensional Structure Of Rna, Justin Cook

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are variations in the genome where one base pair can differ between individuals.1 SNPs occur throughout the genome and can correlate to a disease-state if they occur in a functional region of DNA.1According to the central dogma of molecular biology, any variation in the DNA sequence will have a direct effect on the RNA sequence and will potentially alter the identity or conformation of a protein product. A single RNA molecule, due to intramolecular base pairing, can acquire a plethora of 3-D conformations that are described by its structural ensemble. One SNP, rs12477830, which …


Development Of A Rapid Drug Detection Method For Insects Using Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (Psi-Ms), Alexandria Plyler Apr 2021

Development Of A Rapid Drug Detection Method For Insects Using Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (Psi-Ms), Alexandria Plyler

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Insects have the ability to reflect the chemical environment that they have developed in. Thus, necrogenous insects can reflect the chemical environment of cadavers they have fed on. Forensic scientists can potentially utilize insect larvae as an alternate biological matrix to detect drugs in cadavers that are skeletonized, burned, or otherwise badly damaged. Analysis of insects using paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS), an analytical method requiring little to no sample preparation, could prove a rapid, cost-effective, and non-destructive alternative form of toxicological analysis. Traditional tissue analysis via GC and LC-MS often require lengthy sample preparation, use expensive reagents, and …


Modeling The Effects Of Fentanyl And Narcan On The Opioid Epidemic In Allegheny County Using Mathematics, Lindsay Moskal, Lauren Sines, Rachael Neilan Ph.D. May 2020

Modeling The Effects Of Fentanyl And Narcan On The Opioid Epidemic In Allegheny County Using Mathematics, Lindsay Moskal, Lauren Sines, Rachael Neilan Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Starting in the 1990s, physicians across the United States have increasingly prescribed opioid pain relievers, which has given rise to the current opioid epidemic. As a result, there has been a drastic increase in the number of overdose fatalities. In 2017, the number of opioid overdose deaths peaked and the U.S. declared the crisis as a public health emergency. One state that has contributed significantly to this epidemic is Pennsylvania, which ranks first for the greatest number of overdose deaths and third for the highest death rate. In fact, Allegheny County has witnessed an overdose death rate that is three …


Modeling The Effects Of Fentanyl And Narcan On The Opioid Epidemic In Allegheny County Using Mathematics, Lindsay Moskal, Lauren Sines, Rachael Neilan Ph.D. May 2020

Modeling The Effects Of Fentanyl And Narcan On The Opioid Epidemic In Allegheny County Using Mathematics, Lindsay Moskal, Lauren Sines, Rachael Neilan Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Starting in the 1990s, physicians across the United States have increasingly prescribed opioid pain relievers, which has given rise to the current opioid epidemic. As a result, there has been a drastic increase in the number of overdose fatalities. In 2017, the number of opioid overdose deaths peaked and the U.S. declared the crisis as a public health emergency. One state that has contributed significantly to this epidemic is Pennsylvania, which ranks first for the greatest number of overdose deaths and third for the highest death rate. In fact, Allegheny County has witnessed an overdose death rate that is three …


Fluoride Removal From Water Using A 3d Printed Calcium Carbonate Filter, Sophia Bakar, David Kahler, Benjamin S. Goldschmidt Apr 2019

Fluoride Removal From Water Using A 3d Printed Calcium Carbonate Filter, Sophia Bakar, David Kahler, Benjamin S. Goldschmidt

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Groundwater containing high concentrations of fluoride is the most common source of drinking water in rural areas in parts of east Africa, India, and China. The elevated levels of fluoride cause skeletal and dental fluorosis, which is the weakening and decay of bone structures due to the leeching of calcium from the body as calcium and fluoride bond by the process of adsorption. Over 150 million people are suffering from some form of fluorosis due to the consumption of groundwater. Calcium carbonate has been demonstrated to influence fluoride removal in several forms. To make fluoride removal a cost-effective and user-friendly …


Quantifying Iron Overload Using Mri, Active Contours, And Convolutional Neural Networks, Andrea Sajewski, Stacey Levine Apr 2019

Quantifying Iron Overload Using Mri, Active Contours, And Convolutional Neural Networks, Andrea Sajewski, Stacey Levine

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Iron overload, a complication of repeated blood transfusions, can cause tissue damage and organ failure. The body has no regulatory mechanism to excrete excess iron, so iron overload must be closely monitored to guide therapy and measure treatment response. The concentration of iron in the liver is a reliable marker for total body iron content and is now measured noninvasively with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI produces a diagnostic image by measuring the signals emitted from the body in the presence of a constant magnetic field and radiofrequency pulses. At each pixel, the signal decay constant, T2*, can be calculated, …