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Microbial Photodynamic Inactivation (Pdi) With Meso-Pyridyl Porphyrin Isomers Under Metabolic Gene Knockouts, Dylan Mavlyanov, Kenneth Supersano Apr 2026

Microbial Photodynamic Inactivation (Pdi) With Meso-Pyridyl Porphyrin Isomers Under Metabolic Gene Knockouts, Dylan Mavlyanov, Kenneth Supersano

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Photodynamic Inactivation (PDI) is an antimicrobial technique that functions independently of conventional antibiotic resistance by combining light, photosensitizers, and oxygen in order to eliminate pathogens. Drug-resistant microorganisms have long posed a global challenge, increasing the need for methods that prevent microbes from acquiring further immune adaptations. Photosensitizers serve as compounds that, upon light activation, generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in order to induce microbial membrane damage and cell death, while also showing effects against cancerous mammalian cells. An investigation was conducted on three meso-Tetra(N-methyl-pyridyl) porphyrin tetrachloride isomers, examining their three conformations of nitrogen substitutions in both freebase and copper-metalated …

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Environmental Monitoring Of The Coral Nursery Lagoon At Peanut Island, Lindsay Scherer, Kamille Jackson, Madelyn Hooper, Briana Badowski, Nicole Mazhar Apr 2026

Environmental Monitoring Of The Coral Nursery Lagoon At Peanut Island, Lindsay Scherer, Kamille Jackson, Madelyn Hooper, Briana Badowski, Nicole Mazhar

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, and pH are critical abiotic factors influencing coral reef ecosystems. Enclosed lagoons, such as the one at Peanut Island, often experience reduced water exchange, making them prone to environmental fluctuations that may stress corals. The purpose of this project was to investigate potential correlations between water quality and coral health within the Peanut Island Coral Nursery Lagoon in Palm Beach County, Florida over a year-long period. Three Onset HOBO data loggers were deployed: U22-001 to measure temperature and pH; U26-001 to measure dissolved oxygen; and U24-002-C to measure salinity. The data loggers were deployed near …

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Red Mangrove Heavy Metal(Loid)S Accumulation In Contaminated Sediments Of The South Florida Intracoastal Waterway, Sophia Welch Apr 2026

Red Mangrove Heavy Metal(Loid)S Accumulation In Contaminated Sediments Of The South Florida Intracoastal Waterway, Sophia Welch

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Mangroves, recognized as hyperaccumulators, can tolerate and store high concentrations of heavy metal(loid)s without visible toxicity. While metal accumulation in mangroves has been extensively studied worldwide, data remain limited for North America, particularly in southeastern Florida, where urbanization and port activity increase contamination risk. This study quantified 16 heavy metal(loid)s in roots, branches, and leaves of red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) and associated surface sediments collected across four sites within Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park at Port Everglades using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Sediment samples were collected at distances of 0, 10, 50, and 100 …

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Hsc-3 Spheroid Enhances Macrophage Autophagy Through Upregulation Of Hgf Activator, Dhara Patel Apr 2026

Hsc-3 Spheroid Enhances Macrophage Autophagy Through Upregulation Of Hgf Activator, Dhara Patel

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Autophagy plays a critical role in regulating macrophage function within the tumor microenvironment. Hepatocyte growth factor activator (HGFA) can modulate autophagy-related pathways, potentially affecting macrophage function. This study aimed to test HGFA expression in oral cancer cell cultures and its effect on macrophage autophagy in a co-culture system. THP-1- derived macrophages were co-cultured with human oral cancer cells (HSC-3) in two-dimensional (2D) monolayers and three-dimensional (3D) spheroids generated using the hanging drop method. HGFA expression in HSC-3 cells was quantified by qPCR. After 72 hours of co-culture, macrophage polarization and autophagy were assessed by flow cytometry. To evaluate the functional …

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Nanomedicine-Based Modulation Of Parkinson's Disease Pathology Through Integrated Biological And Computational Approaches, Emma Hickey, Annu Joji, Abdallah Samarah, Larry Delgado, Parushi Porwal, Jonathan Tran, Jaashvi Chandagari Apr 2026

Nanomedicine-Based Modulation Of Parkinson's Disease Pathology Through Integrated Biological And Computational Approaches, Emma Hickey, Annu Joji, Abdallah Samarah, Larry Delgado, Parushi Porwal, Jonathan Tran, Jaashvi Chandagari

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons and the aggregation of α-synuclein, a protein that misfolds into neurotoxic fibrils. Current therapies primarily alleviate motor symptoms but do not slow disease progression, leaving PD pathology unaddressed. Biocompatible nanoparticles, known as carbon nanodots (CNDs), represent a promising therapeutic approach by penetrating the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and distrupting amyloid structures. Preclinical studies in zebrafish models of neurodegeneration have shown that our CNDs, developed by the LeBlanc Lab, reduce tau and amyloid-β aggregation, decrease neuroinflammation, and improve neuronal function, emphasizing their translational potential for PD. Here, …

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Dual Mechanisms Of External Pressure: The Impact Of Sanctions And Aid On State Capacity In Iraq And Jordan, Emily P. White Apr 2026

Dual Mechanisms Of External Pressure: The Impact Of Sanctions And Aid On State Capacity In Iraq And Jordan, Emily P. White

Global Tides

This essay examines the influence of external economic pressures on state capacity in the Middle East through a comparative analysis of Iraq and Jordan. In the late twentieth century, both states faced fiscal shocks, including rising prices for staple goods, elevated unemployment, and revenue shortfalls that constrained regime distributive capacity. Against this backdrop of mounting domestic volatility, contrasting instruments of international economic statecraft were employed, namely, comprehensive UN sanctions against Iraq and sustained Western-led foreign aid to Jordan. Through exogenous state-building, foreign actors sought to exert punitive leverage in Iraq and pursue an agenda-setting partnership in Jordan. Despite pursuing different …

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Consumerism Is The Perfection Of Slavery, Kashish Kirpalani Apr 2026

Consumerism Is The Perfection Of Slavery, Kashish Kirpalani

Undergraduate Student Symposium

In consumer capitalism, freedom is often defined through participation in the market where identity, financial stability, and happiness are tied to one's earning and spending. This paper examines how modern consumer culture restricts personal freedom by drawing on the ideas of Karl Marx, Herbert Marcuse, and Jean Baudrillard. These theorists explain how individuals become separated from their labor and from their own sense of purpose, creating dependence on systems that reward consumption. To connect these ideas to everyday life, the paper analyzes data from the National Election Studies. The results show that financial worry and recent financial hardship have the …

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Aging In Remote Waters: How Are Hawaiian Monk Seal Teeth Documenting Environmental Impacts?, Megan Martiello, Mason Schleicher, Ally Sheehan Apr 2026

Aging In Remote Waters: How Are Hawaiian Monk Seal Teeth Documenting Environmental Impacts?, Megan Martiello, Mason Schleicher, Ally Sheehan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The Hawaiian Monk Seal (HMS) is the second most endangered pinniped species, and an apex predator endemic to the Hawaiian Archipelago. Majority of the population resides in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands which are divided into three regions for research purposes: Northern Hawaiian Island (NHI), Central Hawaiian Island (CHI), and Southern Hawaiian Island (SHI). This study analyzed long-term trace elements (TE) exposure in HMS by measuring 17 TEs (Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ba, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn, Sr, V, Zn) in cementum growth layer groupings (GLGs) of canine teeth using laser ablation induced coupled plasma mass …

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Assessing The Thermal Tolerance On Genotypic Variability In Acropora Cervicornis And Acropora Palmata Corals Maintained In An Offshore Nursery In Broward County, Florida, Luisa Maria Torres Arango Apr 2026

Assessing The Thermal Tolerance On Genotypic Variability In Acropora Cervicornis And Acropora Palmata Corals Maintained In An Offshore Nursery In Broward County, Florida, Luisa Maria Torres Arango

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Global warming and constant stressors are threatening the most diverse and abundant reef-building coral, causing their rapid decline. Elevations in ocean temperature have contributed to massive bleaching events and increased mortality in key coral species throughout Florida. The degradation of coral ecosystems not only reduces marine biodiversity but also threatens fisheries, coastal protections, and tourism that depend on healthy reef systems. In response, coral nursery programs have arisen as a conservation strategy for restoring reefs. Acropora species, particularly Acropora palmata and Acropora cervicornis, are among the most widely used corals in restoration due to their fast growth, large branching …

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Protecting Citrus Through Patents: Legal And Economic Implications Of Uf/Ifas Biotechnological Advances, Laeila Scott Apr 2026

Protecting Citrus Through Patents: Legal And Economic Implications Of Uf/Ifas Biotechnological Advances, Laeila Scott

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Citrus greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB), threatens the survival of Florida's citrus industry, driving innovation in disease-resistant crops through biotechnology. This research examines how intellectual property (IP) law shapes these advancements, focusing on the direct industry impact of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Through analyzing patent strategies, licensing models, and governance structures, this study explores the balance between proprietary protections and public access. Additionally, it considers broader ethical and economic implications, including the challenges of patent enforcement and the impact on citrus growers. This research situates UF/IFAS's biotechnological innovations within the larger legal and economic …

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The Impact Of Ai On The U.S. Electrical Grid, Madison Doyle Apr 2026

The Impact Of Ai On The U.S. Electrical Grid, Madison Doyle

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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The Purest Form Of Religion: Christians' Obligation To Foster And Adopt, Judson Starling Apr 2026

The Purest Form Of Religion: Christians' Obligation To Foster And Adopt, Judson Starling

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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A Quantitative Study Of The Influence Of Natural Rights On Virginia Manumission, Stephen Langeland Apr 2026

A Quantitative Study Of The Influence Of Natural Rights On Virginia Manumission, Stephen Langeland

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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Judicial Review: A Hallmark Of American Jurisprudence, Or A Weapon Of The Judicial Activists?, James Black Apr 2026

Judicial Review: A Hallmark Of American Jurisprudence, Or A Weapon Of The Judicial Activists?, James Black

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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The Rise Of Quasi-Law: Administrative Governance And The Erosion Of America’S Constitutional Order, Lawrence Berdan Apr 2026

The Rise Of Quasi-Law: Administrative Governance And The Erosion Of America’S Constitutional Order, Lawrence Berdan

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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Manipulation Behind The Pro-Choice Movement, Madeline S. Schlautman Apr 2026

Manipulation Behind The Pro-Choice Movement, Madeline S. Schlautman

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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Psycological Effects Of Problem Gambling On Adolescents, William Mccain Apr 2026

Psycological Effects Of Problem Gambling On Adolescents, William Mccain

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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When Morals And Systems Fail: Understanding The Roots Of Youth Violence, Alex Perry Apr 2026

When Morals And Systems Fail: Understanding The Roots Of Youth Violence, Alex Perry

Helms School of Government Spring Public Policy Conference

No abstract provided.

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Cytokinesis And Dbf2, Katharine Gray Apr 2026

Cytokinesis And Dbf2, Katharine Gray

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

The Mitotic Exit Network (MEN) is a signaling pathway that allows a dividing cell to exit cytokinesis. Dbf2 is a MEN protein kinase in yeast, which provides a simplified model for studying this pathway. By altering Dbf2’s activity through phosphorylation mutants, its effect on cytokinesis can be studied. Transformed cells with a mutant and degron Dbf2 allele are prompted to destroy the degron Dbf2 protein, leaving only mutated Dbf2 behind. This allows for clear analysis of the effect of the phosphorylation mutant on division. Fluorescence microscopy can be used to visualise this degradation, and the impact on actin ring formation …

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Not Yearning To Be Saved: Arranged (2007) And The Politics Of Liberal Savior Narratives, Shaheer Afaqi Apr 2026

Not Yearning To Be Saved: Arranged (2007) And The Politics Of Liberal Savior Narratives, Shaheer Afaqi

Journal of Religion & Film

In recent decades, Western film and television platforms have devoted growing attention to portrayals of Orthodox Jewish and Muslim communities. However, a significant subset of these productions is marked by an important limitation: the trend of savior narratives. Such narratives are based on the notion that Orthodox Jewish women and observant Muslim women are often yearning to escape their customs and communities. These narratives are a product of the liberal assumption that individual autonomy is central to human flourishing. However, this article argues that Arranged (2007) prepares audiences to question this assumption and thereby revisit savior narratives. Analyzing the film …

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Connected Automated Vehicles As Emergent Control Agents: Reinforcement Learning For Cooperative Traffic Control In Urban Networks, Ayomide Afolabi, Duleep Rathgamage Don, Mahyar Amirgholy Apr 2026

Connected Automated Vehicles As Emergent Control Agents: Reinforcement Learning For Cooperative Traffic Control In Urban Networks, Ayomide Afolabi, Duleep Rathgamage Don, Mahyar Amirgholy

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) Conference

Traffic congestion continues to pose a significant challenge, particularly in urban areas characterized by large populations and increasing vehicle ownership. Despite the implementation of various traffic management systems to address this issue, there remains substantial potential to introduce more advanced, intelligent and data-driven traffic management systems. These systems could further mitigate traffic congestion when integrated with existing measures. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning-based system (CAVRLS) that uses connected automated vehicles (CAVs) in mixed traffic environments to enable real-time centralized cooperative traffic control with the aim of reducing congestion in an inner congested network encircled by an outer …

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Distance-Based Clustering For Identifying Patterns In Lifetime Smoking Trajectories, Maryam Eghbalizarch, Niloufar Eghbali Apr 2026

Distance-Based Clustering For Identifying Patterns In Lifetime Smoking Trajectories, Maryam Eghbalizarch, Niloufar Eghbali

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) Conference

Cigarette smoking remains a major public health issue in the United States, causing more than 480,000 deaths annually and leading to significant healthcare and economic costs. Understanding smoking behavior over the life course is important for developing effective public health interventions. In this study, the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) Smoking History Generator (SHG), which simulates individual life histories of smoking and mortality in the United States, was used to generate the smoking trajectories. A total of 200,000 individuals (100,000 males and 100,000 females) from the 1960 birth cohort were simulated. An unsupervised distance-based clustering (k-means) algorithm was …

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Xagentmaint: Explainable Agentic Systems For Predictive Maintenance In Industrial Digital Twin Environments, Shikhar Patel, Sankeerth Adisha Apr 2026

Xagentmaint: Explainable Agentic Systems For Predictive Maintenance In Industrial Digital Twin Environments, Shikhar Patel, Sankeerth Adisha

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) Conference

Predictive maintenance in manufacturing demands more than accurate failure forecasting. Maintenance engineers require transparent and auditable decision rationale to act confidently. Industrial digital twin environments produce rich and continuous streams of sensor data. Existing AI models typically surface only numerical anomaly scores without contextual explanation. This paper presents XAgentMaint, an explainable agentic AI framework for predictive maintenance. The system integrates a Retrieval-Augmented Generation knowledge base with a ReAct reasoning agent. An XGBoost failure classifier serves as the core prediction component throughout the pipeline. All three components are evaluated on the NASA CMAPSS turbofan degradation dataset across all four sub-datasets (FD001-FD004), …

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Economic Analysis On Healthcare Costs With Ai, Kemi Daramola Apr 2026

Economic Analysis On Healthcare Costs With Ai, Kemi Daramola

Research Days

This research paper analyzes rising healthcare costs in the United States through core economic concepts in public administration, including market failure, public goods theory, externalities, cost-benefit analysis, and price elasticity. These frameworks explain persistent inefficiencies such as information asymmetry between providers and patients, high administrative expenses, limited price transparency, and restricted competition among healthcare systems and pharmaceutical companies.   The paper integrates the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as both a response to and driver of economic change in healthcare. AI technologies—including predictive analytics, automated claims processing, and clinical decision-support systems—have the potential to reduce administrative waste, improve diagnostic accuracy, …

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More Utilitarian Or Less Deontological? A Process Dissociation Approach, Kyle Fleming Apr 2026

More Utilitarian Or Less Deontological? A Process Dissociation Approach, Kyle Fleming

Undergraduate Student Symposium

It is well known in consumer behavior research that normatively equivalent tasks can elicit different preferences. Recent work has extended this finding to moral judgments, showing that matching tasks elicit stronger utilitarian preferences than choice or rating tasks. However, the processes driving these reversals remain unclear. According to the reflective utilitarian view, deeper processing increases utilitarian tendencies (i.e., the perceived importance of the outcome increases relative to the intrinsic moral value of the action). The intuitive deontologist view posits that deeper processing decreases deontological tendencies (i.e., the moral value of an action becomes less important). Finally, the reflective minimalist view …

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Understanding Atopic Dermatitis In East Asian Populations, Kaitlin Chao Apr 2026

Understanding Atopic Dermatitis In East Asian Populations, Kaitlin Chao

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder driven by disrupted skin barriers and immune dysregulation. While much research has explored its mechanisms, most studies focus on generalized populations, overlooking critical ethnic differences. East Asian individuals, for example, experience a particularly high prevalence of AD, linked to unique genetic and immunologic patterns. Common FLG mutations in East Asians include R501X and c.3321delA; however, certain ethnic subgroups carry other variants, such as K4022X, S3296X, and S2889X, demonstrating how different mutations contribute to a range of atopic dermatitis severity. Immune analyses further reveal heightened Th17 and Th2 activation, elevated IgE levels, …

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A Civil War Of Screens: How Partisan Media Fractures American Democracy, Ava Khlopin Apr 2026

A Civil War Of Screens: How Partisan Media Fractures American Democracy, Ava Khlopin

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Political polarization in the United States has always consistently posed a fragile threat to democratic stability, as seen in historic timelines of the Civil War. With the rise of highly partisan media, these threats have rapidly increased over the past two decades, forcing ideological division and threatening our nation's unity once again. This research focuses on whether partisan media affects political polarization. The study utilizes the NES data set and incorporates Framing Theory, Selective Exposure Theory, and Participatory Media Theory to examine the relationship between exposure to a particular media stream and ideological extremity. The results indicate that viewers of …

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Low-Dose Atropine As A Therapeutic Intervention For Myopia Progression, Annabelle Chang Apr 2026

Low-Dose Atropine As A Therapeutic Intervention For Myopia Progression, Annabelle Chang

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The prevalence of myopia (nearsightedness) is growing at an increasingly alarming rate throughout the world. Data from 2010 measured myopia presence in the world's population to be 27% yet is predicted to reach 52% by 2050. One of the most common interventions implemented today is low dose atropine (0.01-0.05%) which acts upon muscarinic receptors in the back of the eye to slow eyeball elongation. The objective of this experiment is to examine the effectiveness of low dose atropine on slowing myopia progression in children by monitoring refractive error and axial length. It was hypothesized that low dose atropine will produce …

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Importance Of Patient-Provider Concordance And Sickle Cell Disease, Hamza Atiq Shaikh, Shivank Lattupally, Stavya Gupta Apr 2026

Importance Of Patient-Provider Concordance And Sickle Cell Disease, Hamza Atiq Shaikh, Shivank Lattupally, Stavya Gupta

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder that affects millions of people worldwide and approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States, with a disproportionate impact on African American communities. The disease is characterized by abnormally shaped red blood cells that restrict blood flow, leading to chronic pain, organ damage, and reduced life expectancy. While medical advances such as hydroxyurea therapy, bone marrow transplantation, and emerging gene therapies have improved disease management, many patients continue to experience barriers in receiving effective and equitable care. One factor that may influence patient outcomes is patient-provider concordance, defined as shared characteristics such …

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Effects Of Pfas On Willow And Poplar Growth, Jamie Koester Apr 2026

Effects Of Pfas On Willow And Poplar Growth, Jamie Koester

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are being evaluated for uptake and distribution in vascular plants, with unique findings for PFAS concentrations within different plant tissue. This work investigates the effects of PFAS on willow and poplar growth in an attempt to extrapolate findings to other tree species. These findings allow for an understanding of the consequences PFAS has on agriculture and the food chain. As PFAS are persistent the need for sustainable and safe remediation techniques to protect human health and the environment are critically needed.

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