Digital Commons Network^™

Coupling Methods For 2,2’-Bipyridines As Precursors For Novel Ru-Bipyridine Complexes, Ava Pasnon, Sabrina Vasquez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The project aims to streamline the synthesis of 2,2’-bipyridine adducts, so they can be quickly and conveniently synthesized as precursors for ligands in novel organometallic ruthenium complexes. Specifically, the compounds being synthesized are 4,4’-methylated and 5,5’-methylated, 2,2’- bipyridines. The synthesis requires the homocoupling of brominated pyridines in the presence of an air sensitive nickel catalyst. The methodology has been developed as to ensure an air-free environment by assembling the closed reaction chamber in a nitrogen glovebox. Additionally, the prior literature reported an equimolar, in situ generation of the nickel catalyst, but the efficacy of the catalyst has been increased by …

Death Related Thoughts: A Mortality Salience Study, Eddie Zacka, Alyssa Garcia, Chethani Chitraacharige, Kelsea Marchasll

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Being conscious of one’s inescapable death is a fundamental attribute of humankind; it is what separatesus from other species. Salience of our own mortality motivates individuals to behave in ways matching accepted cultural standards (Landau et al., 2004). Since mortality salience usually arouses anxiety, it has been suggested that individuals either suppress death-related thoughts following reminders of mortality or individuals increase thoughts not related to death to distract from death-related thoughts (Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 1999). To date, no study has tested this hypothesis. To examine this hypothesis, the current study randomly assigned participants to a mortality salience, negative life …

Mdm2 Inhibitors As Potential Anti-Cancer Agents For Treating Osteosarcoma, Veerkaran Banga, Roshan George

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common type of bone cancer that affects thousands of young adults every year and requires immediate attention. One major regulatory pathway that is activated in cancer cells is the inhibitory interaction between Murine Double Minute 2 (MDM2)-p53 tumor suppressor gene. Hence, blocking the MDM2-p53 interaction has long been considered to offer a broad range of cancer therapeutic strategy. In this study, we determined the differential mechanism of apoptosis induced by the two small-molecule inhibitors of MDM2, RG-7388, and Nutlin-3, in SJSA-1 Osteosarcoma cells. Interestingly, RG-7388 was able to enhance the phosphorylation of anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1 …

Multi-Decadal Assessment Of Heavy Metals In Body Tissue And Vibrissae Of Select North Pacific Marine Mammals, Tanya Juneja, Emily Pope

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Since the 1970s, marine mammal populations, including harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in the northwest Pacific Ocean have undergone significant population changes. The effects of environmental contamination on marine mammal health are of concern related to population dynamics, yet limited information is available on heavy metal concentrations for these species. Archived vibrissae (whiskers) and body tissues from these four species were collected from the Bering Sea and throughout the Gulf of Alaska from 1990 to 2013. The concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Co, …

Pulmonary Embolism: Flow Analysis Of One-Degree Inferior Vena Cava Filters, Onesiphore Augustin, Ian Trotta, Keenan Kramer

Undergraduate Student Symposium

An estimated 200,000 deaths stem from pulmonary embolism (PE) annually, with most cases being caused by a condition known as deep vein thrombosis. Inferior Vena Cava Filters (IVCFs) were designed to reduce the risk of PE by hooking onto the IVC walls via surgical insertion and capturing the clot. In this project, we simulated and analyzed the average blood flow velocity of the IVCF containing a filter at different occlusion levels to determine any possible dangers and solutions associated with these levels. All simulations were performed using ANSYS CFX. The inlet’s normal velocity was set to5 cm/s. For the outlet, …

Quantitative Measurement Of Aversive Learning And Intoxication Rates In Caenorhabditis Elegans In Response To An Engineered Nematicidal Bacterium, Pallavi Velagapudi, Krunal Patel, Ashleigh Riddell

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Despite their global prevalence, there are very few strategies to prevent infections due to parasitic nematodes. Recent studies have shown that bacteria engineered using the principles of synthetic biology may serve as an alternative approach to intoxicating nematodes. While these engineered bacteria were initially shown to be relatively efficacious in intoxicating the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the nematodes quickly learned to avoid the engineered bacteria through aversive associative learning. In this study, we sought to understand how associative aversive learning affects intoxication of C. elegansusing our engineered nematicidal bacteria. Towards this end, we tuned the rate of attractant production and …

Snap, Aidan Rivas, Michael Lynn

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The short film we are producing will be a narrative short film. The film follows the story of college student whose life deteriorates rapidly over the course of a week. The culmination of multiple conflicts causes prospective fear, anxiety, and despair. This leads him down a path of self-destruction, causing him to have epiphanies of what could have been had he corrected his course earlier. These bring about the anticipation of life change, but the end result is left to interpretation.

An inspiration for this project was the film The Graduate (1967) - The ending scene from this movie isthe …

Characterization Of Coastal Marina Fish Assemblages In South Florida Using An Observation- Class Rov, Louis-Pierre Rich

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The Florida Intracoastal Waterway is a highly trafficked system of canals connecting major ports to the interior of the state. Urban development along these canals has created manmade fish habitats such as pilings, walls, as well as floating docks and boats. Previous to development, these areas would have been natural estuarine habitats, such as mangrove thickets and seagrass beds. Estuarine fish assemblages in urbanized habitats have not been extensively studied in South Florida. Previous studies have used underwater visual surveys using SCUBA or snorkeling. However, this can be a hazardous undertaking in marinas due to boat traffic and the frequent …

A Simple Fixed–End Kundt’S Tube To Measure The Speed Of Sound In Air, Marquis Chapman

Undergraduate Student Symposium

We designed, developed, and tested a simple, yet robust, device to measure the speed of sound in air.The apparatus is based on modified Kundt’s tube that maintains a fixed length, in which the frequencyof standing sound waves is to be determined electronically using a microcontroller board (Arduino). The system works by emitting sound waves, at different frequencies, that are to be detected at the opposite end of the tube. Resonance is detected by measuring the phase difference between the emitted and received waves. To improve the accuracy of the calculations, the frequency of the sound waves is varied several times. …

Investigating The Microbiota Of Stormwater Treatment Areas, Romany Harkas

Undergraduate Student Symposium

One of the negative impacts of agriculture is the imbalance of nutrients in the environment. Such an imbalance of nutrients allows nonnative species of plants and organisms to thrive and native species become out-competed in their natural ecosystem. In an effort to maintain and protect the natural ecosystem the South Florida Water Management District has constructed Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs). STAs are artificial wetlands that remove nutrients that are foreign to the natural ecosystem from water before the water is returned to the ecosystem by utilizing aquatic plants to cleanse contaminants from water. Microorganisms certainly play a role in the …

Just Like You: The Reality Of Arab American Stereotypes, Maha Barakat

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This is a documentary short film which focuses on stereotypes surrounding the Arab community. Three different interviewees express their feelings and experiences on the matter. Popular opinions on topics such as religious terrorism, home life, and more are touched upon in this piece. In addition, the subjects go into detail on their personal beliefs and practices when it comes to their culture and religion. Home videos and candid shots are strung together to form an in-depth view of what it is really like to be a part of the Arab community.

Improvements In Test-Retest Variability Of Visual Field Testing By Censoring Results With Low Sensitivity In Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients, Anushka Mistry, Rakin Khan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Purpose: Variability of visual field data in ocular disease patients is a significant challenge when monitoring for vision changes. Omitting points in severely damaged areas in glaucoma patients reduced test-retest variability. We tested whether this approach would yield similar findings in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patients. Methods: 40 eyes of 20 RP patients with vision worse than 20/70 completed Humphrey visual fields, twice per visit, on 3 separate visits (6 fields per eye), with threshold values determined for 76 test points. 95% coefficients of repeatability (CR) were calculated for each eye for all threshold values (uncensored), and for points that only …

In The Wings, Dekel Nahum, Lucia Minniti, Maha Barkat

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Based on a true story, “In the Wings” is a short film about a young theatre student who discovers that a fellow peer with nowhere to stay is residing in their school’s theatre. After this discovery, an unexpectedcompanionship begins to form. The film is directed by Maha Barakat, Lucia Minniti, and Dekel Nahum. Crew members are Maha Barakat, Lucia Minniti, and Dekel Nahum. Actors are Lucia Minniti and Dekel Nahum.

Identifying Snps Frequencies In Genetic Data Of De-Identified Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients For Potential Diagnostic Biomarker Establishment, Pallavi Samudrala, Melanie Perez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease with unknown causes. It is known that Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) play an important role in gene expression. Changes to that can manifest as phenotypic changes. Prior to this ongoing study, there existed no known databases of SNPs in patients diagnosed with ME/CFS.Our objectives are to create and continually update a novel database of SNPs that are specific for ME/CFS patients, and to analyze the relative frequency significance in our cohort of specific SNPs. A genetic database was created on- site through the use of a secure user-friendly online platform, REDCap©, …

Histology Of Gonad Tissue In A Sequential Hermaphrodite Fish, Qaas Shoukat

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) is a sequential hermaphrodite. It is protogynous: on reaching sexual maturity hogfishes are all female, and transition to male on reaching a size of 30cm (at about 3 years of age). This transition is marked by a change in coloration (from drab and tan to orange with dark bands) and a major restructuring of gonadal tissue as it transforms from ovaries to testes. However, the histological changes associated with this transition have not been sufficiently documented. Therefore, hogfish gonad histology was examined in relation to fish length, age, condition, and coloration. Hogfishes were collected by spear …

Heavy Metal Concentration In Loggerhead (Caretta Caretta) And Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia Mydas) In Broward County, Jenna Klingsick

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Seven extant species of sea turtles are either threatened or endangered and one of the leading causes for their population decline is believed to be pollution. Heavy metals are a potential contaminant and their concentrations can be influenced by anthropogenic effects. An accumulation of non-essential heavy metals and an excessive amount of essential heavy metals can have life-threatening effects on these organisms. Concentrations of 9 heavy metal concentrations from loggerhead and green sea turtle eggshells turtles are used as a proxy for adult female turtles which nest along Broward County beaches. An Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer is used to test for …

Feasibility Of Using Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon Sensors To Detect Magnifier Usage By Low Vision Patients, Rakin Khan, Rakin Khan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Purpose: Bluetooth low energy beacons are an emerging technology involving sensors that record temperature and humidity, which we hypothesize could be used to collect data from low vision patients regarding their usage of optical magnification devices. This could help ascertain device abandonment in a timely manner to prompt a telerehabilitation session to resolve issues. We evaluated whether Bluetooth beacon data could indicate when low vision patients used hand-held optical magnifiers for reading.

Methods: We recorded temperature and/or humidity data from Estimote sticker and BlueMaestro Tempo DiscTM beacons attached to optical magnifiers used for reading by low vision patients in clinic …

Do Bilinguals Have An Advantage Over Monolinguals When It Comes To Executive Functions?, Stephanie Hernandez, Trixie Berthin, Morgan Musgrove

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The prefrontal cortex regulates processes necessary to support goal directed behaviors. These processes, known as executive functions (EF), include shifting ability, inhibitory control, and updating. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex is believed to be essential for language control in people who speak more than one language. That is, leading theorists propose non-target language is inhibited when a bilingual speaks. In support, prior research from our laboratory has shown differences favoring bilinguals over monolinguals in neural inhibitory control. In this study, we speculated that bilinguals would not only outperform monolinguals on tests of inhibition, but that a bilingual advantage would also extend …

Undetected Exoplanet Populations In The Galaxy, Alisha Rickman, Alex Wild

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The observation of stars and their planets in our galaxy have been made significantly easier with the advent of more efficient telescopes in ideal locations lacking light pollution. Exoplanets, however, are still difficult to identify because of the limitations of technology. Thus, a large fraction of exoplanets has not been detected. In this poster, we explore the populations of exoplanets that slip though current observations. We discuss what exoplanets will be discovered by more sensitive telescopes and advances in observation technologies. We describe the properties of these populations and ultimately show how common these exoplanets are.

The Hottest Fashion To Conquer College, David Naranjo

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“The Hottest Fashion to Conquer College” is a short film in which the protagonist gets ready for his firstday of class and doesn’t know what to wear. He wishes he had a fashion “guru” to help find the perfect outfit. Out of nowhere, two fashion “gurus” come out and help him pick outfits. However, instead ofserious outfits for the occasion, they tell the protagonist crazy/dumb outfit tips for the situation (e.g., wearing a sports jacket with a shirt cut in half and calling it business casual). However, they realize that they did not make any fashion choices for women, after …

“Delacroix 1830-Chaos And Purpose” And Its Inherent Surrealism, Kathleen Crapson

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The varied collection of the Boca Raton Museum of Art houses many elaborate pieces. “Delacroix 1830-Chaos and Purpose” (stylized as “Chaos and Purpose”) is no exception. Created by Larry Rivers in1993, “Chaos and Purpose” is an “oil painting on canvas that is mounted to sculpted foam board” that sits 80 1/4 x 98 1/4 inches. Although based upon “Le 28 juilet: La Liberté guidant le people [July 28:Liberty Leading the People]” (stylized as “Liberty Leading the People”) by Eugene Delacroix, Larry Rivers made crucial edits to the original to craft a unique piece. Distinct features of “Chaos and Purpose” correlate …

The Effects Of Pre- And Post-Exercise Cooling On Performance, Irfan Khan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of post-exercise Cold Water Immersion (CWI) on muscle performance. Methods: Participants (N = 20) underwent baseline measurement and intervention administration. In 24-hours participants repeated measurements, performed High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and receiving the intervention. In 48-hours participants retook measurements. The CWI group was immersed in an ice tub for 15 minutes, while the control group received nothing. The Likert scale measured muscle soreness, while the Sit-n-Reach, Vertical Jump, Squat 1-Repetition Maximum (1RM), 5-10-5 shuttle, and 10-yard dash measured muscle performance. Results: A significant difference was found in agility, strength, …

Performance Evaluation Of Inferior Vena Cava Filters, Felipe Souza

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a major cause of death and morbidity in the world. Conventional treatments for embolisms include anti-coagulant drugs (Warfarin® or Heparin®), clot anti-thrombotic therapy (streptokinase®), bypass surgery, and thrombo-aspiration. In cases where the patient shows contraindication, failure or complication to anticoagulation drugs, the patient usually receives an inferior vena cava filter (IVCF). Despite its increase in popularity, complete and exhaustive blood flow analysis need to be performed for scenarios that can lead to IVCFs failure. Such scenarios include basket over- filling and filter tilting, among others. This study was conducted to analyze the average blood flow velocity, …

A Search For Type Iii Secretion System Inhibitors Produced By Soil Bacteria, Miguel Portales Guemes

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Due to the misuse of antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria have become prevalent in modern day. To circumvent this, instead of directly affecting bacterial growth with antibiotics, the virulence factors can be targeted. Type III secretion system (T3SS) pathogens exude toxins through needle-like protrusions found on their cell membrane. If the secretion of these toxins is inhibited, then the severity of the illness will be reduced. The purpose of this research is to find a T3SS inhibitor for pathogens through the analysis of soil bacteria. While T3SS pathogens are known to target humans, many are soil-dwelling plant pathogens. By studying the …

Florida’S Migrant Worker Industry: How Necessary Is This Evil?, Nafisa Nazir

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The United States’ of America’s development is rooted in a history of forced, intensive labor —annually, approximately 3 million migrant travel to the United States of America to cultivate much ofthe produce found in one’s local grocery store. One quarter of these aforementioned migrant workers are located in South Florida, with Broward County being home to a notable community of Haitian and Mexican migrant workers alike. The migrant worker industry provides low income laborers across the seas with a means of work — however via the deeply integrated system of debt peonage, immigrant families are often forced into stagnant cycles …

Exploring How Cell Phones Influence Behavior Across Cultures, Aldana Foigel, Toussaint Campbell

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This film will explore how cell phone use has affected human interactions across select cultures by interviewing international students from different backgrounds. Smartphones, although relatively new, feel as if they have been around forever. While they allow people to be more productive and connected, they have also created a bubble that can separate people from their communities and environments. The impact of this phenomenon varies by culture.

The Relationship Between The Actn3 Genotype And Measures Of Stress, Exercise Performance And Body Composition, Sarah Knafo, Anya Ellerbroerk, Leonel Vargas

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the expression of the ACTN3 gene (RR homozygous or RX heterozygous) and measures of stress, performance (i.e., bench press strength and endurance), and body composition. Strength was determined via a 1-RM (one- repetition maximum) for the bench press, and muscular endurance was determined by the number of repetitions to failure that were performed on the bench press at 60% of 1-RM. Body composition was assessed via a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). One hundred and five subjects completed the study ([mean ± SEM]: body weight: R/- group: 73.8 ± 1.7 …

X-Ray Crystallography Of -Peptide Foldamers, Kian Memari

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This research project explores theoretical and practical aspects of X-ray crystallography in the context of an ongoing international collaboration with the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. By utilizing symmetry elements and computational techniques of X-ray crystallography, I am attempting to determine the solid- state structure of a -amino acid oligomer foldamer from an incomplete data set. The goal of this research project is to obtain an accurate and precise final structure for this amino acid foldamer. Through elaborate computational analysis, a preliminary single crystal X-ray diffraction structure has been solved as isopropylNH-(ACPC-Aib)3-OBn and is currently under crystallographic refinement. Once future refinement has …

The Clinical And Economic Costs And Benefits Of Continuous Glucose Monitoring, Mira Salama

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this study is to investigate the economic and clinical costs and benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients based on current literature. Continuous glucose monitoring is a new technology that allows patients to measure glucose levels in real-time throughout the day and night. A tiny electrode, called a glucose sensor, is inserted under the skin to measure glucose levels in tissue fluid; this sensor is connected to a transmitter that wirelessly sends blood glucose information to a monitoring device. Unlike a typical blood glucose monitor (BGM) which provides just a …

College Vitality As Measured By The Sehs-He And A Behavior Checklist Predicts Success In Diverse First-Year College Students, Sravya Emmadi, Tianna Harris

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Academic competence is tightly linked to social and emotional competence in first-year college students (Wyatt & Bloemker, 2013). The Social Emotional Health Survey, or SEHS-HE, assesses emotional intelligence as a measure of co-vitality, which is made up of four aspects: belief-in-self, belief-in-others, emotional competence, and engaged living (Furlong, You, Shishim & Dowdy, 2016). Emotional intelligence factors such as these have been shown to be essential for understanding the successful transition from high school to college, especially for ethnically diverse students (Brackett, Rivers, & Salovey, 2011). Persistence, retention, and academic achievement are all reliant on emotional intelligence skills and the SEHS-HE …