Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Media In Times Of War, Alana Trombetta, Diane Kedzierski, Monique Mendez, Jane Fray

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Throughout time and most recently, the media has been presumed to have a great impact on the way the general population forms opinions about a wide range of topics. Research shows that the media may not affect people directly, but can change their attitudes about someone or something because of the manner in which it is presented, especially highly controversial topics (Gunther & Storey, 2003; Reedy, 2003). The purpose of this study is to determine whether the media has an effect on subjects’ views on a hotly debated topic such as the Iraq War. A fifteen item questionnaire was designed …

The Targeting Of Women In The Advertising And Weight-Loss Industries, Lauren Adamczyk

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“The most powerful diet pill ever discovered! No diet or workout required. The secret weight-loss pill behind Fitness models, Show Biz and Entertainment professionals! No prescription required to order” (USFTC 14).

There is an ever-increasing desire to be thin among women in the United States. Why is this? Advertising is one of the primary reasons pencil thin women have become the ideal. Previous to the depiction of women as extremely thin, full figured women were the sign of health, beauty, and status. Now that the advertising industry has chosen these images to portray success and attractiveness, the weight loss industry …

Tgf-β Signaling And Oncogenesis, Nika Ferdowsi

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The objective of this literature-based investigation is to review the current model used to describe how TGF-β signaling is involved in the oncogenic process. The transforming growth factors-β are a group of signaling polypeptides that control cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. TGF-βs and their receptors are expressed in virtually all tissues. TGF-β works as tumor suppressor in pre and early oncogenic stages. However, as tumor growth progresses, TGF-β switches to pro-oncogenic activities. TGF-β type proteins work via a signal transduction pathway that involves the activation of key proteins known as Smads. Smads are directly involved in transcription by entering the …

Social Perceptions Of Jealousy In Relationships Over Time, Crystal Carrio, Jaclyn Mombrea, Ed Vargas, Rudy Brown

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The proposed research investigates people’s opinions regarding emotional aspects of jealousy in a relationship over time. Previous research has established that young men are more focused on the sexual aspects of a relationship than young women (Buss & Kanrick, 1998; Eagly & Wood, 1999). More specifically, men tend to be more jealous when their spouses have sexual affairs with other men, whereas women tend to be more jealous when their spouses have emotional affairs with other women. The present study extends these initial findings by looking at how elderly people experience jealousy in a relationship. We surveyed 206 people on …

Social Perceptions Of Cohabitation In Undergraduate College Students, Lela Rogers-Whitson, Natasha Romero, Sivan Shammay, Ana M. Rodriguez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The present study investigated undergraduate college students’ perceptions, attitudes, and values about cohabitation. Cohabitation is operationally defined as a couple living together in an intimate, heterosexual union, without being legally married (Sassler, 2004). Current research demonstrates that cohabitation is becoming a transitional stage between singlehood and marriage in the United States (Seltzer, 2000). This study was designed to examine differences between individuals who never cohabitated versus those who would. Participants were from a private southeastern college campus. Recruited college students (N = 195) completed a Likert-test scale consisting of 50 questions about their attitudes toward cohabitation and 10 demographic questions. …

Should The Consumer Population Purchase Juvenon To Slow Down The Aging Process?, Katina Campos

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have conducted a clinical study which claims to slow down the aging process of cells, by restoring proper carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT) function via combining the substrate acetyl L-carnitine (ALCAR) with alpha lipoic acid (LA). CAT is an enzyme involved in the breakdown of food molecules in the mitochondria. One result from this study is the commercially available health supplement, Juvenon. This "award winning team of scientists" claim that Juvenon, as advertised in Popular Science magazine promotes healthy brain cell functioning, slows down the clock on your aging cells, sustains energy levels …

Rna Analysis Prior To Use In Microarrays, Zakiat Darojat

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Extracting RNA from an organism and isolation of mRNA is an intermediate step done prior to its use in further applications. Therefore, assessment of RNA presence, including its quality is important. There are many techniques that are currently available; however, they can be time consuming or sample consuming. The purpose of this experiment was to determine an efficient way to assess RNA prior to using the sample in a microarray-based study. Twenty hours after Saccharomyces cerevisiae was plated on YEPD media, RNA was extracted using Ambion’s RiboPure Yeast Kit. Different protocols were examined to determine an efficient way to analyze …

Lung Cancer And Angiogenesis, Ruzeen Patwa

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Lung cancer usually forms from cells that line the airways and nearby glands since these cells come into contact with the air we breathe which may contain carcinogens (such as tobacco smoke, asbestos, and benzene). Specifically lung cancer can be divided into two major groups: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) and Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of this literature review project is to discuss how angiogenic activators such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF) have a prognostic significance in the development of lung cancer. Lung cancer occurs over a …

Further Studies To Determine Subspecies Identity Of Panthers By Examining The Nadh-5 Gene Obtained Originally From Clotted Blood And Hair For Conservation Applications, Marta Hubert, Marimer Gonzalez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The goal of this project to further research done previously to determine the subspecies identity of a panther (named Sasha) currently living in a zoo in Ecuador. Although Sasha is thought to be a South American puma (Puma concolor concolor). This is primarily due to local belief and she is likely to actually be a Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) brought to Ecuador from south Florida in the early 1980s. The mitochondrial gene NADH-5 (ND5) has been used as a genetic marker in several large- scale studies establishing genomic ancestry and subspecies identity of pumas. As …

Neurocardiogenic Syncope, Alisha Van Hoose

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This research was conducted by reviewing studies conducted on neurocardiogenic syncope, primarily in the United States and India, in an attempt to better understand the causes of the condition.

Neurocardiogenic syncope, also referred to as vasovagal syncope vasodepressive syncope, neurally mediated syncope, and neurally mediated hypotension, is the most commonly diagnosed form of syncope, accounting for 3-5% of emergency room visits and from 1-6% of hospital admittances yearly.

The condition is incompletely understood and quite often difficult to diagnose: the most common diagnostic tool, the Head-Up Tilt Table Test, results in false positives 2-6% of the time through passive testing, …

Exploration Of Personality Preferences Between College Students And College Student Athletes, Taylor Liput

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The goal of this research study was to explore whether there existed differences in personality preferences between college non-student-athletes and college student-athletes. Participants were given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is a personality survey with questions relating to general perceptions about oneself. The researchers handed out surveys to students in their school environment and asked them to fill out the questionnaire. The 93-question survey took around 10 to 20 minutes for each person to fill out. 90 undergraduate students at Nova Southeastern University completed the MBTI, 41 of which were student-athletes and 49 of which were non-student-athletes. t- tests …

Do Cells Grown In The Same Environment At The Same Time Express The Same Genes: Got Cdna?, Maria Farrell

Undergraduate Student Symposium

An innovative and powerful tool for analyzing gene expression is the microarray. In this experiment, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast cells) were examined to determine whether gene expression would be similar for two samples grown in the same environment. RNA was extracted and its quality and quantity was assessed. cDNA was made from the mRNA (taken from the total RNA sample) and its subsequent presence was verified by amplifying a known gene that should always be expressed, TDH1, and visualizing it on an agarose gel. The cDNA samples were labeled with the appropriate fluorescent dyes and hybridized to the array. The slide …

Cosmic Ray Telescope, Andrew Barry, Rezwan Alam, Adriana Ardeljan, Moataz Behairy, Fahd Sattar, Sally Gaertner, Shweta Shah

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this project was to construct an apparatus known as a “Cosmic Ray Telescope” and use it to detect cosmic ray activity by detecting the frequency and intensity of muon emittance by these cosmic rays. Muons are subatomic particles that travel at relativistic speeds and contribute to a harmless amount of “background radiation” originating from outer space. The presence of this radiation was first recorded in 1911 by Austrian physicist Victor Hess during a series of experiments with a Geiger counter in a hot air balloon to detect the radiation at that elevation level. This project has similar …

An Investigative Study Using Computer Games As A Method For Creating Friendships, Thomas Brown

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This research projects examines, if any, the relationship between establishing friendships and computer games. As more people start to play Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games or MMORPG, the chance to interact with multitudes of other people arises. The question that this research examines is whether computer games, in particular MMORPG, can be used as a basis to establish friendships. It seems only natural that friendships could be formed from playing these types of games considering the fact that on a daily basis people are interacting with one another. Unfortunately, most of the current research involving computer games is about computer …

Application Of Culture Manipulation To Investigate Life Histories, Diversity And Ubiquity Of Naked Amoebae From Mangroves, Justine Ben-Hain, Sophie Buzgon, Tatianna Vassilopoulos

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Three high school students from the University School of NSU manipulated cultures of mangrove amoebae to investigate the hypothesis that naked filose amoebae are actually stages in the life cycle of dinoflagellates. As these protists have been implicated in harmful algal blooms, any new information concerning their life histories would help to develop successful models for predicting bloom events. Additional objectives of the culture manipulation trials include the identification of emerging species, naming and describing of novel species, and enumeration of the diversity of species found under a variety of culture conditions. This final aspect addresses the hypothesis that most, …

Adhesion Of Transferrin To Fda Group I And Group Iv Contact Lenses, Kaliope Tsirogiannis, Andre Graves, Vicky Kosakowski, Viviana Sumi Lee, Graham Rasanen, Areege Afaneh, Urbano Zamora

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The adhesion of tear proteins to contact lenses contributes to lens deterioration and ocular pathology. Tears contain a number of proteins, among them being lysozyme, albumin, transferrin, lactoferrin, immunoglobulins and tear lipocalin. Here we examine the adhesion of transferrin to FDA group I (low water non-ionic) and group IV (high water ionic) contacts lenses. Lenses were incubated in a solution of transferrin for 1, 2, 3, and 4 days, and transferrin adhesion was determined using the bicinchoninic acid assay. Transferrin adsorbed to Group I lenses in a steadily increasing pattern, resembling the pattern seen with albumin but not with lysozyme. …

The Roaring Twenties?, Tahira Omphroy

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The “roaring twenties” is remembered as an era of good times and prosperity. While this is true, there were serious problems under the surface. Prohibition, an attempt to end vice in society, led to the rise of organized crime in America. The National Origins Act of 1924 sought to curb immigration trends and further Nativist attitudes. Both actions served as a contrast to the positive feeling of the 1920s.

The Power Of The Written Word, Alaina Siminovsky

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Two great American authors, John Steinbeck and Herman Melville, both wrote pieces regarding those with defective mental faculties. In addition, these characters were giants, strong and hard working. This compensation was to show society’s treatment of these people. We often judge based on actions alone and not on person. These two giants committed crimes, but not of their own true doing. Either manipulation or the sheer failure to know one’s own strength caused each to falter, committing the greatest crime: murder. How to treat these criminals was the central question of each tale. In Of Mice and Men you pity …

The Princess And The Dragon, Jennifer Keating

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Even if one kingdom was on friendly terms with Edinburg, King Farvuew would have to relinquish his whole kingdom to the other. Then how could he face his ancestors who had been fighting for this land for generations. No, his daughter would have to marry a knight. The thought of a man not brought up in the royal ways taking his place humiliated Farvuew, but not as much as passing over the kingdom. King Farvuew was witnessed now and again pacing around the castle muttering, “a prince? No, it must be a knight. But a knight is so degrading. But …

Untitled, Angela Cuyugan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

I stood there, not even knowing of his existence, and he approached me with a cheap line.

Who woulda known he would throw me off, and sweep me off my feet?

I shoulda known, from the bottom of what was left of my needy heart,

He came, to say hello, and a possible talk.

How much I would give to return to the innocence of adolescence.

To feel as confident, yet knowing my unsurpassing naïveté.

Hay No!!!, Victoria Drescher

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Coming to Florida,

Yo no creo que almost

Todas las personas

Hablan espanol.

In my native country Austria,

Die mehrzahl der Leute spricht

Obviously deutsch.

Over here in southern florida,

Especialmente en Weston,

Donde I have muchos amigos,

It is almost impossible

To comprende something,

If you don’t habla espanol.

Gracias Garcia, Danielle Garcia

Undergraduate Student Symposium

I entered the room

and within minutes they hit me

“Hola”

“Cómo se llama”

“De donde eres”

“Cómo está”

“Y tú” “Bien” “Gracias” “Igualmente”

Unfamiliar words rolling off their tongues

I stood still trying not to attract any attention

“Hola niña, entra”

“Cómo se llama”

De donde eres”

“Cómo está”

Final Exam, Stephen Deck

Undergraduate Student Symposium

A lighthearted and nonsensical little poem about distraction during a final exam. Set in the form of an internal monologue, the poem uses stream of consciousness to convey the scattered mind of a test taker. To this end, the poem shifts from a serious musing on the nature of a final exam and what it means, into a recognition of life outside the classroom, though the speaker does not permit itself to pursue these tangents far enough for analysis.

God, Angela Cuyugan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Sunshine, how you dance upon my face, when you sneak

     between the shadows of the tree leaves.

Breeze, enlighten me; when the ocean’s still becomes a ripple,

     walk upon the shore and rush up to my ear and whisper.

Earth, feel so healthy beneath my soles and lively in the

      atmosphere, rise up, and rise up to the universal limit.

Emily Dickinson’S Essence Of Renaissance, Stephen Deck

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This paper seeks to establish Emily Dickinson’s abnormally isolated life and works as a microcosm of the American Renaissance movement. Emily Dickinson, though largely unread in her own time, is counted among the major forces in the American Renaissance, and in the Transcendentalist movement. Her abnormally isolated life and unique temperament make her life and work a microcosm of the American Renaissance. The paper focuses not on any biographies, or secondary sources, but an analysis of Dickinson's own letters to independently establish the facts of her life. A brief look is given to her literary relationship with Susannah Huntington Gilbert …

Different Approaches To A Moral Dilemma, Nancy Philippe

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this philosophical analysis was to demonstrate some of the different viewpoints that can be used to evaluate a moral dilemma. The moral dilemma discussed in this paper involves keeping a promise. Jeffrey, best friend and cousin of Elijah, made a promise to Elijah to keep to a certain piece of information confidential, which went against his beliefs and values. Jeffrey was faced with a problem that seems to have only two options: breaking the promise and doing what was right, or keeping the promise and ultimately his cousin’s friendship. In discussing these two options that Jeffrey had, …

Crisis In Haiti, Rafia Chodhry

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Hurricane Jeanne impacted Haiti in the most devastating way. This journalistic piece of writing is the author’s opinion about what our society is not doing to help aid Haiti in its crisis against poverty. The article also discusses Haiti’s cry for help especially during the hurricane season where hurricane Jeanne caused much devastation to the already poverty stricken Haiti.

Coming Of Age, Angela Cuyugan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

...I still hold the last pieces of broken glass. I sit alone, wondering, all by myself, over the years trying to repair the shattered window; the only looking-glass that was to our future, our past, and even our present. God, how I pathetically still stare at the jagged fragments of sharp objects scattered on the floor like leaves blown off a tree. Staring blindly into an unknown realm, I try to peer out of the now unprotected hole in the wall. So secure, so untouched, and now it was judgment day. Time to finally accept time, time to finally accept …

Death Penalty: The Easy Way Out For Criminals, Rafia Chodhry

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This journalistic piece of writing is an opinion about the death penalty. The author describes her opposing views regarding the death penalty and proposes life without parole as an alternative. Throughout the article there are several examples provided and in addition to statistical evidence.

Beautiful On The Inside, Angela Cuyugan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

It’s warm in here she says...

It’s soft in here she says...

It’s deep in here she says...

And she’s beckoning you to come inside...

It’s hard in here she says...

It’s tight in here she says...

It’s wet in here she says...

And she’s encouraging you to feel inside...