Digital Commons Network^™

Social Justice Internship Girlforward- Hernandez Giselle, Giselle Hernandez

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

My presentation gives insight into my internship experience at GirlForward, funded through the Social Justice Internship at Loyola Chicago.

L-Dopa Interaction With The Human Gut Microbial Community In Parkinson’S Disease, Emily Kring

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

L-DOPA is a dopamine precursor that is commonly used to treat Parkinson’s Disease patients to alleviate their motility and mobility symptoms1,2. L-DOPA, also known as L-dihydroxyphenylalanine or levodopa, is synthesized from L-tyrosine via the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase, and converted to dopamine via DOPA decarboxylase1. Dopamine can also be synthesized from tyramine via CYP2D4, however L-DOPA is significant because it can cross the blood brain barrier to replenish dopamine deficits in the dopaminergic pathways of the brain, unlike dopamine and tyramine1.The purpose of this project is to investigate how the introduction of exogenous dopamine or …

Assessing Methods For Thin-Sectioning Teeth, Luz Castrejon

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The goal of this study is to determine best techniques for thin sectioning, while also examining the necessity of this destructive method. Several parameters of the thin-sectioning technique were assessed, including epoxy type, epoxy block production, and de-gassing versus non-de-gassing the epoxy. Results show that alternative epoxy types are functional (Epo-Tek 301) as long as they are low viscosity. Placing the tooth in the mold first and de-gassing the epoxy prior to curing resulted in the fewest number of air bubbles, improving the accuracy of the sawing process. In conclusion, these updated parameters are recommended for future work.

When Do Cook County Residents Support Calling The Police?, Andrew Byrne

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

A presentation on what cook county residents believe the role of police in society should be along with an evaluation of how these attitudes differ between different ethno-racial groups and political party identification. Data is presented with tables and regression analysis.

Comparing Aquatic Invertebrate Samples Collected From Chicagoland Waterways To Midwest Biodiversity Institute Waterbody Quality Reports., Madeline Misicka

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

My project was focused on comparing the field work and research that I completed with Natalia Szklaruk in fall 2021 to the research done by Midwest Biodiversity Institute. The goal was to see if there is a correlation between the health of a waterway, specifically conductivity levels, and the amount of species and taxa present in that area. The process consisted of sampling various waterways in the Chicagoland area, sorting and identifying the species collected, and then researching how our results compared to others and what the implications of this research may be. The results indicated that there is no …

Water Conservation And Efficiency In Recreational Buildings At Loyola’S Lake Shore Campus, John Gorman, Elizabeth Hallissey, Kelly Tanquary, Reanne Baniqued

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Water scarcity is a rapidly worsening problem, stemming from water-intensive lifestyles. Reduction in water usage can come in a variety of ways, including via increased appliance efficiency and increased attention to water usage. Both methods were used during this project. A water audit was conducted to assess ways for Loyola to reduce water consumption in recreational buildings on the Lake Shore Campus. Additionally, students were engaged via posters around campus encouraging the reduction of direct and indirect water usage in their daily lives.

Community-Led Exposure Assessment In Otsego, Michigan, Joely Gonzalez

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This project is in collaboration with Mary Zack of Justice for Otsego and the residents of Otsego, Michigan. We believe that community driven research in which academic partners simply provide technical support rather than holding complete control over research, allows community members to reclaim agency and self-efficacy. Following this model, we are looking to address the problem of growing human health concerns in the town of Otsego due to possible exposure to toxicants such as lead, dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These toxicant levels will be quantified using mass spectrometry analysis to perform exposure analysis in local venison. The …

Stories Of Building Food Sovereignty In Chicago In Bipoc Communities, Lori Cornelius

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The dominant narrative within sustainable food systems largely reflects white experiences and perspectives. BIPOC communities disproportionately suffer from areas where people do not have access to fresh, healthy food and are also excluded from many financial benefits. BIPOC leaders are recreating ecological and social relationships as they produce food for themselves and others in their communities. This research aims to document the experiences and perspectives of BIPOC individuals involved in the Chicago region as urban growers or food business entrepreneurs through narrative interviews. This research also aims to highlight the personal benefits of connecting with nature through urban farming.

Assessing Influence Of Ssris On The Human Gut Microbiome, Kathya Delgado

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

We sought to find whether orally administered SSRIs affect the microbial composition of the human microbiome. To identify how the microbial communities in the samples changed over time and treatment, the collected microbial samples were subjected to DNA extraction. The DNA were sent for marker gene amplification and next generation sequencing at the Loyola Genomics Facility. Upon receiving this data, our lab used a bioinformatic pipeline to analyze the genetic sequences of the marker genes in these microbial communities to determine what differences, if any, different concentrations of SSRIs have on the human microbiome.

Invasive Rusty Crayfish Have Displaced Native Crayfish In Nearshore Lake Michigan Habitats., Jonathan Herald, Reuben Keller

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

In 1987 a Loyola master's student submitted a thesis involving the sampling of crayfish in nearshore Lake Michigan habitats, only native crayfish were found. Utilizing the same methods Dr. Keller and I found invasive rusty crayfish have displaced a majority of the population. Based on invasions in other waterbodies it is likely that the rusty crayfish will have drastic impacts on Lake Michigan food webs.

Do Water Quality Improvements In Coastal Communities Affect Geographic Mobility? Evidence From The Great Lakes, Jillian R. Hyink

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

In this study, we measure the effect of cleaning up water pollution on residential moves to coastal communities using a two-stage sorting model. We use the first stage to estimate the mean utilities of geographic locations and the second stage to estimate the effect of water quality on mean utility. Specifically, we measure the effect of cleaning up Great Lakes Areas of Concern—which are heavily polluted coastal locations prioritized for restoration—on willingness to pay of Michigan residents. Despite substantial improvements in water quality in recent decades, we do not find precise evidence that restoring Areas of Concern affects geographic mobility; …

​Webtracker: Real Webbrowsing Behaviors, Daisy Reyes, Eno Dynowski, John Mikos

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

With increased privacy concerns, users are now turning to anonymity tools such as VPNs and Tor. However, packet metadata may still be able to be identified by an adversary, known as website fingerprinting. Previous work have tried to evaluate potential of this vulnerability while assuming that victims visit one website at a time. We create a private webbrowser extension called “WebTracker” to analyze user browsing patterns to further investigate the feasibility of fingerprinting.

Analyzing Variation In Fruit Shape Across Varieties Of Astragalus Lentiginosus, Olivia Knizka

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Species evolve to their local environmental conditions, accounting for the biodiversity seen through phenotypic variation. Phenotypic changes are commonly quantified using morphometrics to learn how populations change over time, as well as the mechanism of evolution that are driving the change. Here I examine the fruit shape of Astragaluslentiginosus, one of the most taxonomically diverse flora in North America with over 40 varieties. The varieties of A. lentiginosus are commonly characterized by fruit shape, however it is unclear to what extent fruit shape varies within and between varieties and what is driving this variation. Variation could be due to natural …

Prudential Financial Stock Report, Henri Pfaff

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

A presentation recommending the purchase of Prudential Financial Inc. common stock in response to a brief report

The Clown Clique, Romil Yadav, Sean M. Mulligan, Robert G. Oliva, David A. Roa, Nicolas Castellanos, Lucas Apparecido

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Exercise is a large part of most healthy people's daily lives. As consumers who are concerned with our physical health, our group chose to research the question: what factors of a gym drive the general population to buy a gym membership? This deliverable allows us to survey the general population, particularly those who prioritize an active lifestyle, about their exercise habits and preferences. In addition to this we also intend to collect qualitative data through interview and observations. We did this on the basis of knowing our research goals and questions prior to data collection.

Characterizing Lentic Habitats In Golf Courses And Adjacent Green Spaces Surrounding The Chicago Metropolitan Region: Diversity And Abundance Of Aquatic Insects, Ashriya Ashik Patel

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Urban green spaces should be utilized to maximize biodiversity. Golf courses are great examples of urban green spaces with lentic habitats dispersed among them. This study aims to compare the diversity and abundance of macroinvertebrates across permanent golf course ponds, permanent forest preserve ponds, and ephemeral forest preserve ponds across the Chicago Metropolitan region.

Relation Between Bilingual Child Gesture Use And Language Development, Carla Jauregui, Perla B. Gámez Phd

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Gesture serves as a bridge for communication for children who cannot yet fully communicate verbally. Child gesture is closely related to future vocabulary scores (Rowe & Goldin-Meadow, 2009). Many studies with similar results have an English monolingual sample but not many studies have a bilingual sample. In this study, 45 bilingual participant’s gestures and their vocabulary growth were measured to see if a relation between the two existed. We found a negative relation between gesture use at 18-months and vocabulary growth from 18 to 30 months. This is an unexpected result as it does not agree with previous literature.

Physical Fitness Profile Of Air Force Rotc Cadets, Caitlin Tarpey, Aly Rahmatullah

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Air Force ROTC cadets engage in physical training each week to keep up with the demand of military lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current fitness status of Air Force ROTC cadets and compare their fitness levels to norms and the data of age and sex matched peers. 20 male Air Force cadets (age of 21.35 ± 1.4 years, height of 176.51 ± 4.16 cm, and weight of 76.15 ± 6.88 kg) participated in this study. To conclude, the ROTC cadets possess an above average fitness level in comparison to the fitness norms.

Whale Squad Athleisure Project, Nathaniel Balli, Ethan Magrady, Emmanuel Cano, Filippo Chiaramondia, Isaac Reyes, Lennert Krueger

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Whale Squad is a group of research-ready students who are researching the market trends of leisurewear, specifically Athleisure. Athleisure, which is athletic type wear as casual wear, has become a growing trend in today’s fashion world. With its increase in popularity and influencer promotions, we are aiming to understand the factors that have, and continue to, contribute to this quickly growing industry vertical including the environment, the pandemic, branding, competition, style, advertising, etc. The ways we focused on solving the problem were utilizing market research abilities, such as Qualtrics (Surveys) and Mintel (Trend Research). Some of the variables that take …

Investigation Of Carbon Monoxide (Co) Oxidation On Rh(111) With Irras, Christina Grytsyshyn

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Fourier-transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is widely applied to identify small molecules adsorbed to metal surfaces. Here, FTIR was coupled to an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system where the sample environment was carefully controlled to eliminate interference from atmospheric species. IR reflection measurements from a metal surface were performed under UHV conditions and the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2) over Rh(111) was investigated. This reaction was used as a probe reaction to determine the relative reactivity of various oxidic species. We determined the binding sites on oxygenated Rh(111) and determined their chemical significance towards heterogeneously catalyzed oxidation …

Demolition Derby: Sequencing Escherichia Coli Strains, Esabella Yon

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This experiment is part of the Demolition Derby, in which a team took 11 strains of E. coli and mixed them to observe which strain would outcompete the rest and make up the largest population. Results varied immensely from predictions as Ara-2 won. This experiment was performed to confirm our results were repeatable. Competition between Ara-2 and its ancestral strain was performed to better understand the fitness of Ara-2. Through calculating fitness by finding the strain's population size and how many times it divided per day, we confirmed Ara-2 had great fitness levels and it made sense it won the …

Impact Of Religion And Green Space On Local Suicide Rates In The United States, Linsie Zou

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This study aims to understand whether access to green spaces, such as forests, or affiliation to religious groups had an impact on American suicide rates in the years 2000 and 2010, times of economic expansion and recession, respectively. Multivariate regressions are estimated using a variety of county-level data, and the results will be compared for changes between 2000 and 2010. The results and analyses illustrate that urban spaces (rather than forested areas) have relatively lower rates of suicide. Counties with higher rates of adherents to the Catholic religion also had relatively lower rates of suicide when controlling for other economic …

Ethical Implications Of Brain-Computer Interfaces: A Comparison Of Public And Provider Perceptions, Maya Roytman

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are computer-based systems that enable communication between the brain and a device. BCIs hold promise for improving the lives of people with neurotrauma and cognitive and movement disorders, either directly or in conjunction with assistive and rehabilitation technologies. As knowledge regarding computational modeling of brain function advances, BCIs will continue to become more prevalent in clinical therapeutics.

Given BCI technology is an “iterative, goal-directed intervention in the nervous system,” BCIs raise ethical concerns regarding who (i.e. clinicians, patients, etc.) controls the device. While individual perceptions on BCIs and technical expectations have been explored, limited data comparing perspectives …

Cook County Community Survey: Medical Discrimination At The Intersection Of Race And Body Mass Index, Emma O'Driscoll

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

My research addresses whether Black and Latine respondents in the overweight or obese BMI categories experience higher levels of medical discrimination and avoidance than white respondents in the overweight and obese categories. My findings show that Black and Latine respondents experience higher levels of medical discrimination regardless of BMI than white respondents, and that white and Latine respondents who are obese experience comparable levels of medical avoidance.

Dynamics Of The A-2 Subclade Within The Demolition Derby Experiment (An Extension Of The Long-Term Evolution Experiment), Jessica Tiv

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This project aims to determine the cause of the disruption in negative frequency-dependent selection previously displayed between the large (L) and small (S) populations in the A-2 subclade in the Demolition Derby experiment (an extension of the Long-Term Evolution Experiment). The A-2 subclade consists of two stable and co-existing colony types: large and small. Sequenced data provided from the Demolition Derby experiment revealed that the negative frequency-dependent section displayed between the L and S colonies was no longer present. To determine the cause, we performed competition experiments between the A-1 and A-2 subclade and between the A-2 and A+3 subclade …

Improving Trapping Methods To Manage Invasive Crayfish In The Chicago Region, Emma Donnelly

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This presentation highlights research done to improve the removal of invasive crayfish from the North Shore Channel of the Chicago Area Waterway System. Invasive crayfish disrupt the ecosystems of native species by changing food webs, altering ecosystem services, and causing biodiversity loss. Continued research to improve the removal of invasive species is necessary to reduce this harm. My results show that modifying standard traps increases the efficiency of invasive crayfish trapping.

Effects Of Dna Looping Behavior Using Smfret, Natalie West

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This study developed a single-molecule-based assay to track the looping of dsDNA molecules. DNA encodes our genetic information through a combination of four nucleotides; base pairing forms dsDNA molecules in a double-helical form. The genome achieves a three-dimensional architecture; the mechanical properties of dsDNA are sensitive to sequence, resulting in genomic misfolding linked to many disorders. Modified dsDNA molecules were constructed that permit observation of dsDNA looping by fluorescence microscopy. The assay shows that DNA looping is a highly dynamic process and is sensitive to ionic conditions and molecular crowding. Future work will probe how defects alter the looping behavior.

Exxonmobil Investment Report - Antonio Gonzalez Iii, Antonio Gonzalez Iii

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

A deeper look into the company of ExxonMobil with a forecasted target price for the future based of key drivers and valuations.

United Health Group Stock Pitch, David Venkatesan

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Issuing a buy recommendation for shares of UnitedHealth Group due to the rising demand for healthcare as well as the growth in the Optum business.

The Effectivity Of Sodium Monofluorophosphate In Inhibiting Streptococcus Mutans Growth In Comparison To Sodium Fluoride, Cassidy Richerme

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This semester I have been assessing if MFP is a better chemical in inhibiting the growth of a bacteria found in the mouth. The data has been in comparison to NaF, which is an ingredient in toothpaste. Part of my work included biofilm assays of MFP and NaF, but both were unsuccessful. The second part of my research has focused on using the minimum inhibitory concentration to evaluate if MFP is more effective in preventing bacterial growth.