Digital Commons Network^™

Utilizing Item-Analyses Method To Identify Opportunities For Improving Mental Health Literacy Training Programs, Aashi Chhabra

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Mental health literacy (MHL) refers to the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that are linked to actions in recognizing, managing, and preventing mental health disorders. Acknowledging the importance of quantifying this information, the study aims to explore differences in mental health literacy among various groups. Understanding these disparities is crucial for designing targeted educational campaigns that address specific concerns within the training curriculum.

Participants (n = 170) enrolled in a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) certification course completed a 15-item pre-survey measuring knowledge and attitudes about mental health. Demographic data was collected, and results were stratified by age, race, gender, and …

What Is Categorized As A War Crime Depends On Who Commits It: An Asymmetry In Moral Judgments Of Acts Of War, Alexis Lass

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Should all acts of aggression carried out in war be categorized as War Crimes? The Geneva Conventions and the International Criminal Court set specific parameters as to what does and does not constitute a war crime. Research in the domain of moral psychology displays that individuals are guided by the justness of cause when making moral judgements about combatant behavior. However, minimal research has evaluated the differentiation of atrocities being categorized as a war crime or not. Across two studies, this research seeks to investigate the role aggressors play in lay people’s categorization of war crimes. Do pre-existing beliefs about …

What Is The Level Of Knowledge And Awareness Among Healthcare Providers In Neonatal Intensive Care Units (Nicus) Regarding Prelinguistic And Linguistic Development In Premature And Newborn Infants?, Brooke Gallo, Preye Ford

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Healthcare professionals in the Neonatal/Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are charged with education and competencies to maximize life support and viability in premature infants and medically fragile term infants. Often, the neonate’s first experiences with communication occur while in the hospital environment. It is well established that neonates and infants who spend more than five days in the NICU are at an increased risk for developmental delays, including language delays, speech sound disorders, motor speech disorders, and/or cognitive delays. Research indicates that 'Up to 50% of infants born less than 32 weeks of gestation develop disadvantaged outcomes, including language and …

An Approach To Using X-Ray Crystallography To Understand Peptidomimetics, Mariapaz Velez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Peptidomimetics can fold into a variety of well-defined shapes. The goal of this project is to understand shape selection in a beta peptide foldamer with an alpha amino acid cap. This research represents interdisciplinary collaboration between KAIST, a research university in South Korea, and NSU. We solved the single crystal x-ray structure and found that the crystals of this molecule were orthorhombic in P2₁2₁2with unit cell dimensions a=22.655(6), b=30.008(8), c=18.271(5) and a unit cell volume of 12421.2 ų (Z=8). We observed a total of 6 intermolecular hydrogen bonds within the beta peptide foldamer. Each of …

Changes In Neuromuscular Function Across A Competitive Collegiate Cross-Country Season, Riley Schemel, Alexis Arena, Isabella Vargas-Blanchard

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Resistance training strengthens neural adaptations that aid in improving neuromuscular functions such as the rate of force development (RFD) and power execution during an explosive task like a countermovement jump (CMJ). Distance runners do not engage in heavy resistance training and the effects of endurance running on neuromuscular functions are less known but may provide crucial biomarkers for monitoring performance and injury. The purpose of this intervention study was to evaluate changes in neuromuscular function from 7 weeks of competitive distance running without heavy resistance training. Thirteen university runners (age, 19.8±2.2 yrs; height, 1.74±0.10 m; mass, 61.9±9.0 kg) performed 3 …

Evaluation Of The Effects Of Mdmx And Mdm2 Inhibitors Causing Cell Death In Prostate Cancer Cells, Saaketh Palli, Revanth Madamsetty

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Objective: In this research, we examined the molecular mechanisms by which inhibition of the MDM2 and MDMX pathways induces cell death in prostate cancer cells. Background: In the United States alone, more than 3 million men are living with prostate cancer. Though significant advances have been made in treating prostate cancer, the need for new anti-cancer drugs and treatment methods still persists to fight this deadly disease. Therefore, our study explored the intracellular link between MDMX and necroptosis, to determine how manipulating this molecular target can lead to cell cycle arrest and cell death. Methods: The LNCaP Prostate Cancer cells …

Resveratrol-Inspired Synthetic Compounds For Glioblastoma Stem Cell Cytotoxicity, Nhi Van, Daniela Otero-Wincher, Elaine Chen, Brianna Calderon, Eliezer Gurovich, Marissa Bonsangue, Maria Moreno Hollweg, Eduardo Veliz Ph.D., Steven Vanni Ph.D.

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that poses a formidable challenge in terms of treatment due to its infiltrative nature and lack of effective conventional therapies. The presence of treatment resistant glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) is hypothesized to be responsible for tumor growth; therefore, successful elimination of GSCs is necessary to prevent post-therapy tumor recurrence and patient death. Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural polyphenolic stilbene found vastly in plant products, such as the skin of red grapes. RSV and its analogs are known for their antimicrobial, neuroprotective, antiaging, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and blood-sugar lowering properties. A challenge of utilizing RSV in …

Social Anxiety Disorder In Gerontological Populations: Analysis Of Retirement, Spousal Loss, And Health-Related Challenges In Older Adults, Nathan Tinu

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This study will explore Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in gerontological populations, specifically examining how it manifests in the context of retirement, spousal loss, and health challenges. Employing surveys, interviews, and clinical assessments, the research will investigate both the subjective experiences and objective markers of SAD among older adults. The study will delve into the impact of retirement on social interactions, identity, and self-esteem to uncover potential contributions to social anxiety symptoms. Additionally, the research will observe the repercussions of spousal loss, using advanced statistical modeling to analyze longitudinal data and identify temporal patterns in the development of social anxiety. The …

Measuring Drug Metabolism Efficiency Of P450 Enzyme, Rachel Gruboy, Kena Patel

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Cytochrome P450 enzyme is responsible for the majority of drug metabolism in the human body, generally increasing the drugs’ solubility for secretion. Drug companies have routinely tested how fast drugs are metabolized and the metabolites they produce, but the low efficiency of drug metabolism makes this measurement a challenging task. The purpose of this project was to increase metabolism efficiency by changing the reaction conditions. The drug metabolism of cytochrome P450 enzyme was measured using commonly prescribed medications. The P450 enzyme uses NADPH to reduce the heme iron- O₂ complex making it highly reactive. This highly reactive center is …

Comparative Genomics Across Streptomyces Murinus Strains To Study Conservation Of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters Producing Antifungal Compound Pentamycin, Sheril Mathew, Niah Johnson, Vamsi Korisapati, Dhivyan Kurani, Sathvi Gandra, Rebecca Thomas

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Streptomyces are filamentous, Gram-positive bacteria in the phylum Actinobacteria that are known to produce a diverse array of antimicrobial metabolites. A bacterial isolate, labeled Streptomyces murinus strain SPC1, recovered in Davie, FL, from ripe berries of foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata) exhibited antimicrobial activity against fungal pathogens of palms (Dhillon and Chakrabarti 2023). Interestingly, the genome of Streptomyces strain SPC1 contains a complete secondary metabolite cluster for antifungal metabolite pentamycin (fungichromin) biosynthesis. Secondary metabolite clusters (SMCs) or biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) are groups of genes responsible for the production of bioactive compounds, such as antibacterial and antifungal agents. In …

Dehydration And Traumatic Brain Injury, Lauren Gray

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Boxers lose up to 15% of their body weight and on average 6.7% prior to weigh in. Boxers dehydrate to make the weight class and will rapidly rehydrate before fighting. During fights, boxers receive traumatic brain injuries. There is reason to believe that if boxers are not properly rehydrated the traumatic brain injuries could be exacerbated, however, this hypothesis had never been explored. This study aimed to determine the extent of fluid loss and traumatic brain injuries. This study utilized 48 mice. Half of the mice received dehydration followed by rehydration while the other half had normal fluid intake. Half …

Diabetes Progression: From Statistical Analysis To Mathematical Modeling, Sandeep Dronavalli

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Diabetes constitutes one of the leading neuroendocrine conditions with nearly 9.4 % of the US population showing symptoms of it. Noteworthy, type 2 diabetes (T2D) accounts for 90 to 95 % of all cases. It is a chronic disease, and the clinical manifestations include hyperglycemia (prolonged blood glucose levels above normal), hyperinsulinemia (excess levels of insulin circulating in the blood) along with insulin resistance. This presentation includes a statistical analysis based on a cohort of 440 individuals where both, demographic and laboratory measurements are included. Based on these results, a mathematical model accounting for the obtained associations is solved. It …

Exploring Alternative Binding Locations Of 5-Ht Antagonist Ketanserin In Microtubules; Implications For Future Research, Caleb Siguenza, Tatum Hedrick

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Recently, it’s been demonstrated that classic psychedelic action is mediated via intracellular mechanisms rather than action at membrane receptors. This intracellular action elicits neuroplastic effect. The conclusion is that these effects are due to activation of intracellular 5-HT2AR based on using ketanserin as a selective antagonist based on its selectivity to bind to the membrane 5-HT2A serotonin receptor. However, neuroplasticity is dependent upon multiple mechanisms and signaling cascades including the dynamics of neuronal microtubules. As the targets of ketanserin’s biological intracellular activity are not fully elucidated, here we investigate the binding potential of ketanserin to domains of the microtubule constituent …

How The Molecular Vibrations Of Water May Prevent Skin Cancer, Jarlynn Ramirez, Angelina Georg, Colette Costello, Mahi Desai, Sandeep Dronavalli

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Studies have shown that when DNA absorbs ultraviolet light it can become structurally damaged leading to a mutation and possibly skin cancer. However, exposing skin to sunlight rarely leads to a mutation. This indicates that after the ultraviolet light is absorbed by the DNA the energy from the light can either cause a structural change to the DNA (a mutation) or be dissipated in a way that does not damage the DNA. Absorption of ultraviolet light causes molecular vibrations in DNA and these vibrations are what likely leads to structural changes in the DNA. One way the structural changes could …

In Their Own Words: Collaborative Assessment Of Undergraduate Intellectual Curiosity, Amenia Farraj, Jaylynn Sylvain

Undergraduate Student Symposium

For the last decade, college enrollment across the U.S. has trended downward, which has been attributed to factors including increased college tuition and impacts of the pandemic (Welding, 2022). Others predict that digital technologies like AI will end academia as younger generations lean less into their intellectual curiosity (Marche, 2022). Yet, some universities like Nova Southeastern University have seen an increase in enrollment even while college enrollment generally declined by 7% between 2019 and 2022 (Welding, 2022). Much of these educational forecasts do not come from students but from older generations who sense a shift in how students learn. By …

Influence Of Variables On Vaping Behaviors Among College Students, Michelle Tiji

Undergraduate Student Symposium

E-cigarette use among youth in the United States has increased in the past decade, with the majority of vaping advertisements targeting adolescents and young adults. There are a multitude of individual, interpersonal, and community-level risk factors that influence the uptake of vaping behaviors. This study investigated the influence of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic and parental/guardian vaping and smoking history on vaping behaviors among undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Additionally, this study evaluated the extent to which vaping history influences the perceived effectiveness of anti-vaping advertisements. A survey was administered to current students to measure their vaping behaviors and …

Modeling The Binding Of Tetrodotoxin And Saxitoxin To The Nav1.7 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel, Smrithi Mukund, Isabella Fiore, Laasya Buddharaju

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Approximately 1.5 billion people suffer from chronic pain, with 68 million people suffering in the U.S alone. Chronic pain is pain that persists longer than 12 weeks despite medication or treatment. Within the U.S. about 5.5 million cancer patients experience chronic pain. Around 20% of these pains have neuropathic origins and develop from radiation therapy. Halneuron, a new drug in development, seeks to provide pain relief to those suffering from chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain. This drug includes Tetrodotoxin (TTX), a potent neurotoxin found in species of pufferfish. Our 3D-printed model displays the structural details of TTX as a pore blocker within …

Survivorship And Bleaching Prevalence Of Nursery-Grown Massive Stony Corals In Southeast Florida, Emma Horton

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Coral cover on Florida’s reefs has severely declined due to anthropogenic stressors. A major impact on corals is thermal bleaching, where corals expel their endosymbiotic microalgae, leaving them vulnerable to mortality. Some coral species are more resilient to thermal bleaching and thus may be prime candidates to support coral reef restoration. This study examines post-bleaching survivorship of massive stony coral species in Nova Southeastern University's offshore nursery to identify which species to include in future restoration efforts. In September 2022, 172 fragments (<3cm dia) from six massive species were secured on cement pucks and deployed to mid-water PVC trees in the nursery. Over a 14- month period, the survival and bleaching prevalence of each species were recorded during four monitoring time points. After 14 months in the nursery, total fragment survivorship was 80%, with Pseudodiploria strigosa experiencing the highest survival (100%) and Orbicella favelota experiencing the lowest (61%). Water temperature was …

Assessing Cardiologists' User Experience With Electronic Medical Records And Generative Artificial Intelligence Visualization, Colin Pulickathadam, David Giordano

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 17.3 million deaths per year. Artificial intelligence has gained prominence in recent years, and there is a significant interest in exploring how artificial intelligence can improve patient outcomes and decrease hospitalization rates. This study will identify the most critical values that cardiologists consider when evaluating patients’ charts, including factors such as medical history, diagnostic results, and current medications. Additionally, the study explores cardiologists' attitudes towards the integration of AI-generated imagery based on these critical values to enhance the efficiency and quality of patient care. A comprehensive survey will …

Characterization Of Exosomes From Melanoma Cells, Kishan Goli

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Melanoma is a specific type of skin cancer associated with the melanocytes developing into malignancy. Melanocytes produce a pigment that provides protection from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Melanocytes produce this pigment when ultraviolet radiation hits the skin, causing damage to the epidermis. When the epidermis is damaged, it triggers a signal to produce melanin to protect against ultraviolet radiation. However, too much exposure can cause DNA damage within the epidermis, especially within melanocytes, leading to the inhibition of regulated mitosis. Hence, non-regulated mitosis can lead to excessive melanocyte production, which may result in melanoma. Exosomes are vesicles generated by all …

Bees And Bvocs: Characterization Of Scents From Flowers And What Bees Leave Behind, Chase Pagley, Dana Kraska, Maria Castellon

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Insect pollinators, such as bees, are an essential component to their ecosystem and surrounding plant life. Flowers emit odors, also known as biological volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), to attract bees to themselves during pollination. Additionally, when bees visit flowers, they are known to leave “scent marks” to communicate with other hive members which flowers to select or avoid for pollination. While BVOCs have been identified for many flowering species, there has not been extensive work analyzing odors from flowers that are popular with bee pollinators, such as Bidens alba (Spanish Needle). Furthermore, studies have not explored which odors are scent …

Repurposing Renin-Angiotensin System-Targeting Medications For Later Stage Treatment Of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy And Associated Cognitive-Behavioral Deficits In Tg-Swdi Mice, Ariana Hernandez, Chana Vogel, Iliana Uribe, Eleanor Wind, Victoria Pulido-Correa, Mikayla Jeneske, Bianca Echeverria, Julianna Bonetti, Natalia Noto

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), the accumulation of amyloid proteins in the cerebral vasculature, is highly comorbid with Alzheimer’s disease, and on its own, increases the risk of stroke and vascular dementia. Epidemiological studies suggest that certain renin-angiotensin system (RAS)-targeting drugs, commonly used for treating hypertension, decrease the risk of dementia. This study assesses whether two FDA-approved RAS-targeting drugs: telmisartan [a moderately brain-penetrant angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)], and lisinopril [a brain-penetrant angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor]; can be repurposed to treat CAA. At ~8 months of age, male and female Tg-SwDI mice (CAA model) began treatment with telmisartan (1 mg/kg/day) or lisinopril …

True Wilds, Justin Abonce, Gabrielle Spankus

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“True Wilds” is a documentary filmed in Miami-Dade County covering the concern of the conservation of South Florida’s Pine Rockland ecosystem. Miami Wilds, a projected water park, was to be built adjacent to Zoo Miami and within their property, which contained most of the remaining Pine Rocklands acreage. The documentary informs viewers on South Florida’s ecological history, displays the opinions of local residents rallying against the construction of Miami Wilds, and brings awareness to the larger ongoing issue of South Florida’s loss of nature to urbanization. The film is directed by Justin Abonce and Gabrielle Spankus. Other crew members include …

The Portrayal Of The Femme Fatale: The Evolution Of Gender Roles In The Depiction Of A Femme Fatale, Esperanza Barrios, Amanda Perez Romero

Undergraduate Student Symposium

When male authors describe the word ‘femme fatale’, it is always a synonym for a seductive woman who brings disaster to an unfortunate male hero. But, when a female author writes the story, the definition changes to women who become victims of patriarchy. In turn, they transform into unfeeling women who use their charms to survive in a world where they are viewed as subdued, mink, and consenting objects for a male’s pride and satisfaction. There are two femme fatales who although they struggled to obtain their happiness, kept striving forward and did not let any difficulty fracture their minds …

Is Generative Ai A Pandora's Box? Towards The Application Of Gai To Support Unity In Diversity In Higher Education, Martha M. Snyder

Diversity Summit

No abstract provided.

Fostering Diversity In The Classroom: How A Culturally Diverse Curriculum Can Enrich Students’ Learning Experience And Improve Their Academic Success., Nahum Jean-Louis

Diversity Summit

No abstract provided.

Contributions Of Barad's New Materialism To Well-Being Research, M. Isidora Bilbao-Nieva, Alejandra Meyer

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we discuss the contributions that Karen Barad's theorizations can make to the study of well-being, particularly their ontoepistemological framework, “agential realism,” that emphasizes the inseparability of matter, ethics, and knowledge, as the relational entanglements of agencies. We use these ideas to imagine well-being as differential materializations, entanglements of human, and the non-human agencies that “intra-act” with each other and are inseparable from how we know about them and our responsibilities in their reconfigurations. From this perspective, we see well-being as a phenomenon, underpinning its dynamism and processuality. Analyzing an interview fragment, we exemplify how Barad's theorizations can …

Juggling Academic Practice And Care: Collaborative Autoethnography Within A Basque University Research Group, Asunción Martínez-Arbelaiz, Aingeru Gutierrez-Cabello, Estibaliz Aberasturi-Apraiz, Jose M. Correa-Gorospe

The Qualitative Report

Many university scholars, including the authors of this article, acknowledge that they feel like they are riding an emotional roller coaster with academic success, as well as many project failures. Except for our PhD thesis, many of us complete our research tasks in relatively established research groups. However, little research has examined the potential these groups might have to mitigate feelings of academic isolation. To fill in this gap, we designed two methodological steps. First, we adopted the Woolfian metaphor of a room of our own, where we composed individual vignettes regarding our feelings of isolation. We read each other's …

Expanding Frameworks: Conducting Discourse Analysis In Counseling Research, Chloe Lancaster, Melissa J. Fickling

The Qualitative Report

Discourse analysis encompasses a variety of disciplinary approaches that broadly aim to understand how individuals and groups use language to construct and maintain their psychological and social realities. A central concept in discourse analysis is we all use discourse to accomplish our communication goals despite being unaware of most discourses we evoke. While discourse studies could help counseling professionals to better understand how they deploy discourses to maintain identities, inequalities, and status quo, the method is not well-represented in counseling research in the United States. This methodological guide presents an introduction to discourse analysis and an overview of the analytic …

Students’ Experiences When Using Real-Time Automated Captions And Subtitles In Live Online Presentations: A Phenomenological Study, Anymir Orellana Ed.D., Elda Kanzki-Veloso Ph.D., Georgina Arguello Ed.D., Katarzyna Wojnas

The Qualitative Report

According to the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, as a text-based alternative to auditory information in videos or presentations, captions can make the content equally accessible, and multilingual subtitles can promote a cross-linguistic understanding of the content. We conducted a phenomenological study to understand the common meaning of the participants’ experiences when using real-time automated captions/subtitles during live online class presentations. Twenty-four remote student participants were placed in three study groups. All participants were fluent in spoken and written English, eight could read in one or more additional languages, and none had a hearing disability. We used Microsoft PowerPoint …