Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Analysis Of Morris Water Maze Data With Bayesian Statistical Methods, Maxym V. Myroshnychenko, Anton Westveld, Jefferson Kinney

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Neuroscientists commonly use a Morris Water Maze to assess learning in rodents. In his kind of a maze, the subjects learn to swim toward a platform hidden in opaque water as they orient themselves according to the cues on the walls. This protocol presents a challenge to statistical analysis, because an artificial cut-off must be set for those experimental subjects that do not reach the platform so as they do not drown from exhaustion. This fact leads to the data being right censored. In our experimental data, which compares learning in rodents that have chemically induced symptoms of schizophrenia to …

Exploring The Potential Of Agave As A Biofuel Crop On Arid Land, Rhea Conlu, Diana Ha, Jeffery Shen

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Worldwide awareness of global warming and depleting fossil fuel sources has made research into alternative resources, such as plant fuels imperative. Since groundwater irrigation is unsustainable, especially in desert climates, plants that are drought resistant or can utilize otherwise unusable water are more viable sources of future biofuel production. Agave nevadensis, a species belonging to the family Agavaceae are succulent plants native to Las Vegas. This experiment aims to expose A. nevadensis to both wastewater and drought conditions and observe its response. The results can help define Agave as a water-resourceful biofuel both tolerant of drought and capable of utilizing …

Sustainable Alternative To Non-Biological Nitrogen Fixation To Nitrate For Fertilizers, Patrick Freeze, Glenn Miller

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Currently, the industrial method of nitrogen fixation for use in fertilizers (Haber- Bosch process [N2 (g) + 3 H2 (g) <--> 2 NH3 (g)]) is our main source of non-biological conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. The proposed research experiment utilizes the catalytic mechanism of titanium dioxide which, in the presence of heat or sunlight, undergoes fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. This method of nitrate production could serve as a sustainable source of nitrogen for fertilizers. Variables in the experiment included the manipulation of thermal pressure, heat, and base addition to counteract hydrochloric acid production, a selflimiting byproduct.

Accumulation Of Polonium-210 In Different Species Of Fish In Lake Mead, Suraj Ghevarghese John, Shungmugam Nallaperumal, Vernon Hodge

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Discovered by Pierre Curie and Marie Skłodowska-Curie in 1898, polonium is a chemical element with an atomic number of 84. This rare naturally occurring radioactive element is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and forms in uranium ores. Polonium-210 is an naturally occurring radioactive element with a half-life of 138.376 days(1). This element is found in trace amounts in most organisms. Our research is focused on the accumulation of polonium-210 in fish that occupy in Lake Mead.

The sample species is chosen based on varying lake stratification (layers of the lake). This gives us a good idea of the difference …

The Effects Of Climate Change On Basic Animal Cell Functions, Michelle Fulbright, Andrew Andres

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Increasing global temperatures during the 21st century may have detrimental effects on basic cell functions within ectothermal animals. This project aims to systematically examine the effects of climate change on secretory cargo localization through the analysis of Rab Proteins found in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Rab Proteins play an essential role in vesicular transport within the cell and can be genetically manipulated to monitor the biological consequences of global warming.

Has Recent Climate Change Caused A Genetic Bottleneck In A Sierra Nevada Population Of The Bushy-Tailed Woodrat?, Mitchell Gritts, Angela D. Hornsby, Majorie D. Matocq

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Many montane species respond to climate change by shifting their range upslope as temperatures at lower elevations increase. An elevation range shift causes a range contraction that may result in a population bottleneck. Joseph Grinnell surveyed the fauna along the Yosemite transect from 1914 to 1920. In 2003 Craig Moritz and his colleagues began to resurvey the Yosemite transect to assess the faunal change during a century of climate change. The bushy-tailed woodrat suffered severe range contraction and population bottleneck between the two surveys. I will use evolutionary models to determine if the population has suffered a genetic bottleneck.

Characterization Of Ips Pini Ipsdienol Dehydrogenase (Idol Dh), Heidi Pak, Claus Tittiger, William Welch

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Ipsdienol is an important pheromone component for pine engraver beetle, Ips pini. Ipsdienol is a ten carbon monoterpenoid secondary alcohol and ipsdienone is the corresponding ketone. We are characterizing the activity of recombinant IDOL DH produced in Sf9 (insect) cells. The enzyme has a high stereospecificity: (-) ipsdienol was found to be a substrate while (+)-ipsdienol was neither a substrate nor inhibitor. Closely related monoterpenoids, such as nerol, geraniol, and citral, were neither substrates nor inhibitors. Smaller compounds, such as 2-propanol, also failed to act as an inhibitor or substrate. This indicates the binding site of this enzyme is highly …

Event Program, Carl Reiber, Nicholle Booker

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

UNLV Undergraduates from all departments, programs and colleges participated in a campus-wide symposium on April 16, 2011. Undergraduate posters from all disciplines and also oral presentations of research activities, readings and other creative endeavors were exhibited throughout the festival.