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Bromelain Induces Osteogenic Differentiation In Human Gingiva Derived Stem Cells, Elisa Palmer, Sheena Jain Apr 2016

Bromelain Induces Osteogenic Differentiation In Human Gingiva Derived Stem Cells, Elisa Palmer, Sheena Jain

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bromelain on osteogenic differentiation of human gingiva derived mesenchymal stem cells (HGMSCs). Background: HGMSCs are highly proliferative with the ability to differentiate into osteogenic precursor cells. While dexamethasone is a traditional inducer of osteogenic differentiation, many antioxidants play a vital role in enhancing osteogenic differentiation and offer a potential alternative to dexamethasone. Bromelain, an antioxidant derived from pineapple extract is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Studies have shown that bromelain inhibits adipogenic differentiation. Methodology: Cryopreserved HGMSCs were used for the study. The cells obtained from passage 4 were …

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Damsel To Super Hero, Liz Burbano Apr 2016

Damsel To Super Hero, Liz Burbano

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“Damsel to Super Hero” is a short documentary film that explores how women are portrayed in comics. This documentary will also view how the messages within comics affect society as a whole. The film is directed by Liz Burbano. This documentary includes interviews with NSU professor and gender studies expert Dr. Kathleen Waites.

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Dead Air, Adam Deross Apr 2016

Dead Air, Adam Deross

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“Dead Air” is a short murder mystery film taking place mostly in and around a local college radio station. The protagonist, a young disc jockey, finds the corpse of his co-worker after coming in for a shift late one night. The young disc jockey is forced into a situation where there is no way for him to contact help and he must solve the mystery on his own, but the solution is a sickening discovery. The film is directed by and starring Adam DeRoss. Other crew members include Ryan Dahm, Mykella Mitchell, and Stephen Rafferty.

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Detection Of Lagenidium Giganteum In Plant Axil Metagenomes, Paula Leoro Garzon, Andrew Gonedes, Gregory Edwards, Isabel Olivera Apr 2016

Detection Of Lagenidium Giganteum In Plant Axil Metagenomes, Paula Leoro Garzon, Andrew Gonedes, Gregory Edwards, Isabel Olivera

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The entomopathogenic oomycete Lagenidium giganteum is known to infect and kill mosquito larvae and therefore has been seen as a potential biological control agent against disease vector mosquitoes. Phylogenetic analyses have consistently demonstrated that L. giganteum is a close relative to plant pathogens (Phytophthora and Pythium spp.). In addition, a recent transcriptome analysis showed that L. giganteum expresses oomycete genes that have been associated with plant infection. These observations suggest that L. giganteum might have evolved from a plant pathogen to an invertebrate pathogen, and have retained the ability to establish symbiotic or pathogenic interactions with plant tissues. To …

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Digit Recognition Through Machine Learning, Patrick Alexis Apr 2016

Digit Recognition Through Machine Learning, Patrick Alexis

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Handwriting recognition finds itself in many domains. Developing improved methods for handwriting recognition is an open research challenge. I will focus on the sub problem of digit recognition. By using the MNIST dataset provided by Kaggle, I will use the Random Forest approach to train and test a digit recognition system. Random Forest is a learning technique that uses an ensemble of decision trees. An ensemble of classifiers has better classification performance than individual classifiers and is more resilient to noise. Thereafter, I shall compare the results with the Random Forest approach with those obtained using Support Vector Machines. Through …

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Does Canine Interaction Impact A College Students' Stress And Anxiety Levels During Exam Time?, Caitlin Mccoy Apr 2016

Does Canine Interaction Impact A College Students' Stress And Anxiety Levels During Exam Time?, Caitlin Mccoy

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The use of therapy dogs on college campuses has increased dramatically in the last decade. The current study will examine the impact of interaction between canines and college students during an exam period to determine any impact on perceived stress and cognitive functioning. It was hypothesized that following a brief interaction with a canine, participants would report lower levels of state anxiety and higher levels of sustained attention than participants in a control condition. Fifty-six students from Nova Southeastern University participated in exchange for course credit or a gift card. Participants were randomly assigned to a canine interaction or control …

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Does Fidgeting Affect Cognition?, Ashley Lonergan, Alexis Koob Apr 2016

Does Fidgeting Affect Cognition?, Ashley Lonergan, Alexis Koob

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Fidgeting is defined as small movements particularly in the hands and feet. It includes tapping feet and fingernails, shaking legs, readjusting one's position, or one's clothing. Fidgeting can arise in individuals for various reasons like boredom, stress, or anxiety. It may be that fidgeting behavior can be helpful with increasing attention span. However, inhibiting fidgeting may also lead individuals to pay attention to nothing else but the inhibition of fidgeting. This study was conducted to see if fidgeting, while performing vigilant oriented tasks, lead to better performances on such tasks. All participants wore pedometers on both their wrists and ankles …

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Efficacy Of Nematicidal Engineered Bacteria Against Diverse Nematode Species, Chelsey Thachettu Apr 2016

Efficacy Of Nematicidal Engineered Bacteria Against Diverse Nematode Species, Chelsey Thachettu

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Infections with parasitic nematodes remain a significant global health problem particularly in developing nations. Despite their widespread occurrence and high rate of morbidity, few strategies have been developed to prevent and treat such infections. With the growing incidence of resistance to anthelminthic drugs, there is a dire need to develop novel approaches to preventing infection by nematodes. Recent studies confirm that engineered bacteria, designed to simultaneously attract and intoxicate the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, may be effective novel biocontrol agents. However, the efficacy of these engineered bacteria against additional nematode species remains unknown. In this study, we tested the …

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Identification And Quantification Of Lipid Content In Oysters Using Gc Mass Spectrometry, Isabel Olivera Apr 2016

Identification And Quantification Of Lipid Content In Oysters Using Gc Mass Spectrometry, Isabel Olivera

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this research was to identify and quantify lipids in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Gas chromatography was used to separate the lipids found in the oyster samples, while mass spectrometry was used for analysis. Retention times of the sample were compared to known lipid standard retention times in order to identify the lipids. The lipids were quantified utilizing a lipid standard that is not present in the oyster. Using this same technique, oysters from various locations can be analyzed to see if there are any differences in the types of lipids or the quantity of lipid. …

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J.U.L.E.S., Juliet Romeo Apr 2016

J.U.L.E.S., Juliet Romeo

Undergraduate Student Symposium

J.U.L.E.S. is a documentary about people with sickle cell disease. Sickle cell is a hereditary, debilitating illness that affects millions of people on a global scale. Along with medical research, the film J.U.L.E.S. highlights the trials, crisis, and pain that sickle cell warriors like myself experience and triumph over on a daily basis. This film is directed by Juliet Romeo. Other crew members include Ricardo Lugo, Liz Burbano, and Aaron Abelto.

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Jurassic Dark, Ian Bates Apr 2016

Jurassic Dark, Ian Bates

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This presentation focuses on the tonal differences between Jurassic Park, the novel by Michael Crichton, and Jurassic Park, the film directed by Steven Spielberg. The novel contains scenes of explicit violence only alluded to in the film, while all sense of childlike wonder derived from the dinosaurs is absent. This sort of change at first seems without importance due to the frequency of directors altering source material beyond recognition. Evidence gathered from interviews with Michael Crichton and additions made to his own sequel novel, The Lost World, suggest that Spielberg’s film comes closer to the vision Crichton had for the …

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Late, Stephen Rafferty Apr 2016

Late, Stephen Rafferty

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“Late” is a short comedic film about a day in the life of college student Curtis Randolph, an obsessivecompulsive perfectionist turned bumbling klutz, as the wrong setting on his alarm clock causes Curtis to oversleep on the day of his final class presentation. It is up to Curtis to get to the class before he fails his presentation. The film is directed by Stephen Rafferty.

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Life In Verse: Historical Figures Reimagined, Qaas Shoukat Apr 2016

Life In Verse: Historical Figures Reimagined, Qaas Shoukat

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This presentation will revolve around the discussion of the lives of several historical figures (e.g. Rene Descartes, William Shakespeare, and John Lennon), and the reading of first-person autobiographical spoken word pieces in which the presenter assumes the roles of the historical figures. Through the use of the spoken word format, the stories of these individuals will be brought to life, shedding light on their ideas, their bodies of work, and their lasting legacies. The goal is to provoke interest in history and biographical research, and to showcase the impact and effectiveness of presenting information through new, creative means.

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Reactive Oxygen Species Production During Oxidative Stress In Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines From Autistic Children, Hannah Mathew Apr 2016

Reactive Oxygen Species Production During Oxidative Stress In Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines From Autistic Children, Hannah Mathew

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by deficits in social interaction, communication and repetitive behaviors. As the prevalence of the disorder increases, the need to understand the cause to account for its treatment increases. Besides the genetic factors that attribute to the cause, studies have examined other environmental factors that may lead to a diagnosis of autism. Children with autism are thought to be more susceptible to oxidative stress, which may contribute to the pathological nature of the disorder. Studies have shown nearly 35% of autistic children have low glutathione levels. Glutathione is an antioxidant that the body …

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Role Of Chinese Foreign Aid Upon Educational Infrastructure Development In Africa, Afrin Naz Apr 2016

Role Of Chinese Foreign Aid Upon Educational Infrastructure Development In Africa, Afrin Naz

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of Chinese foreign aid upon educational infrastructure development in Africa. This study will discuss the origin of Sino-African relations, the current framework of cooperation between the two nations, and the overall effect this collaborative effort has on the hierarchy of education development in Africa and its other outcomes. The basis to Sino-African relations along with other developing nations are founded upon mutual respect, noninterference, equality, and sovereignty. The education plan directed under the Forum of ChinaAfrica Cooperation (FOCAC) focuses on human resource training, student and teacher exchange programs, higher education …

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Science And Activism: Overcoming Stereotypes, Alexis Good, Kathleen Taylor Apr 2016

Science And Activism: Overcoming Stereotypes, Alexis Good, Kathleen Taylor

Undergraduate Student Symposium

There is a rift between environmentalists and environmental scientists brought on by societal stereotypes (Sissenwine). Environmentalists strive to advocate for environmental change; however, when they are defined by their stereotypes, their political movements are minimized by society so that they are no longer effective (Bashir). Environmental scientists often disengage from environmentalists because they do not want to obtain the associated stereotypes of these activists (Bashir). This is problematic because it prevents knowledgeable individuals from coming together in order to address the larger environmental problems in society (Castano, Paladino, et al). Therefore we will provide solutions that will allow environmentalists to …

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Selective Stimulation Of At2 Angiotensin Ii Receptor Subtype Increases Neural Stem Cell Proliferation, Nadia A. Siddiqi, Brigitte Blanco, Leena Couling Apr 2016

Selective Stimulation Of At2 Angiotensin Ii Receptor Subtype Increases Neural Stem Cell Proliferation, Nadia A. Siddiqi, Brigitte Blanco, Leena Couling

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Angiotensin II is a potent hormone in the renin-angiotensin system that regulates blood pressure through vasoconstriction. Altered levels of angiotensin II has been linked to several diseases, such as kidney disease and stroke. The angiotensin II receptors, AT1 and AT2, have a similar affinity for angiotensin II. The AT1 receptor is found in heart, blood vessels, kidneys, lungs, and brain. The AT2 receptor is abundant in the fetus and neonate, but has a controversial role in the adult. Recently, the AT1 and AT2 receptors were found to be expressed in neural stem cells. As neural stem cells have a demonstrated …

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Shedding Light On Banana Spiders In Urban Habitats, Ashley Lonergan Apr 2016

Shedding Light On Banana Spiders In Urban Habitats, Ashley Lonergan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The Banana Spider, Nephila clavipes, is the largest non-tarantula spider species and commonly colonizes urban habitats. This species is an orb weaver, relying on trapping aerial prey in its large vertically oriented webs. Many nocturnally active insects are attracted to light sources found throughout urbanized areas. I hypothesize N. clavipes exposed to higher light levels in urban areas will be larger than individuals in darker natural areas. Forty nine spiders were observed and recorded; twenty four in natural areas and twenty-five in urban areas. For each spider the following was recorded: GPS coordinates, web height and diameter, size of …

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Synthesis And Characterization Of Bipyridine Bridged Iron-Ruthenium Photosensitizing Complexes, Safiyah Muhammad Apr 2016

Synthesis And Characterization Of Bipyridine Bridged Iron-Ruthenium Photosensitizing Complexes, Safiyah Muhammad

Undergraduate Student Symposium

New bimetallic and polymetallic ruthhenium and iron complexes with bridging bipyridines have been synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR, electrochemistry, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. These complexes are: Rc(bipy)2Rc, Rc(bipy)2,Fc, and Ru(bipy-Fc2)3, where Rc = ruthenocene, Fc = ferrocene, and bipy = 2,2-bipyridine. The electrochemical behavior of the complexes reveal strong electronic communication between ruthenium and iron transmitted through the bipyridine bridges. These can be used as building blocks for the design of luminescent and redox-reactive species containing a higher number of metal centers. The complexes as well as analogs can prove useful as …

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The 'Triangle' Formula: A Role And Play Option Analysis Of The Triple-Post Offense, Tiffany Kelly Apr 2016

The 'Triangle' Formula: A Role And Play Option Analysis Of The Triple-Post Offense, Tiffany Kelly

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The triple-post offense, widely known as the triangle offense, has been accredited for producing 11 NBA championships, but has vanished from the league since the absence of all-time winningest coach, Phil Jackson, pre ‘14-‘15 season. With his return, there has been much interest in the offensive system and its functionality. However, there are more questions than answers surrounding the triangle offense when validating the reason for its success. Excluding the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks in the current league season (’15-’16), the offense stands untouched by many teams due to the confusion in how it operates. This research …

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The Effect Of Y15 And Curcumin On The Ovarian Cancer Cell Line Ovcar3, Nicole Coelho, Amanda Ramnot Apr 2016

The Effect Of Y15 And Curcumin On The Ovarian Cancer Cell Line Ovcar3, Nicole Coelho, Amanda Ramnot

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Curcumin gives turmeric, a spice derived from Curcuma longa, its yellow color. Previous studies have reported that curcumin inhibits the proliferation of multiple cancer cell types, including ovarian, pulmonary, brain, and breast cancer through various pro-apoptotic mechanisms. In advanced ovarian cancer, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a tyrosine kinase, is overexpressed and contributes to cancer aggression and resistance. 1,2,4,5-benzene tetraamine tetrahydrochloride (Y15) is an inhibitor of FAK and combining it with curcumin shows promise in reducing the FAK activity in ovarian cancer. Therefore, in the current study, the cytotoxic effect of Y15 and curcumin in combination and alone on the …

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The Impact Of Gender Inequality On Earnings Of Women In Stem Fields: Historical Evidence And Possible Solutions, Matthew Hoy, Teodora Suciu Apr 2016

The Impact Of Gender Inequality On Earnings Of Women In Stem Fields: Historical Evidence And Possible Solutions, Matthew Hoy, Teodora Suciu

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This study examines the current gender inequality in STEM fields, as well as its causes and some possible solutions. STEM–also known as the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math–are heavily male-dominated fields. The matter of gender inequality in these fields begins with gender separation during childhood and continues to the issue of the pay gap during adulthood. It is proven that currently women generate less capital than males in the same position in STEM fields, leading to a harsh divide between genders. Recent and relevant studies describing the statistics and explaining the reasons behind these gender and pay gaps …

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The Loss Of Modernism In Nazi Germany, Taylor Duggan Apr 2016

The Loss Of Modernism In Nazi Germany, Taylor Duggan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Modernism in Germany was ultimately detested, ridiculed, and outlawed by Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany but in turn was the movement that assured his position in power. In the year 1929, an opportunist and German Art Society organizer, Feistal-Rohmedar, designed the artistic revolution within Germany and first introduced the thought regarding the extermination of modern artwork. Between the years of 1933 and 1937, the Third Reich and the German Art Society were also on a mission to rid Germany of Modernism and it wasn’t until 1936 that Modernism was completely ruled out. The Third Reich believed that artistic manifestation and …

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Working Memory Capactiy And The Benefits Of Mental Imagery Practice On A Ring Toss Game, Kavan Thompson Apr 2016

Working Memory Capactiy And The Benefits Of Mental Imagery Practice On A Ring Toss Game, Kavan Thompson

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The goal of this experiment was to investigate how individual differences in working memory capacity affected an individuals’ ability to benefit from mental imaging. The main hypothesis for the experiment was that individuals with higher working memory capacity would benefit more from mental practice than individuals with lower working memory capacity. Subjects were placed in either a mental and physical practice group or a physical practice only group. The mental/physical practice group practiced a ring toss game for three minutes, then had five minutes of mentally visualizing a 25-point toss, followed by another two minutes of physical practice. The physical …

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How To Get The Word Out, Kathleen Bowman Apr 2016

How To Get The Word Out, Kathleen Bowman

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The survey, “How to get the Word Out”, was taken by 185 students of the NSU community at the end of April 2015. This survey was handed out as well as taken online. Thirty-six students took the online survey, while the other 149 students took the handout version. The surveys were collected from Parker, the UC, Flight Deck, and the Library Deli. The goal was to make sure to get a variety of different people represented in this data.

The purpose of this survey was to figure out a better way for student organizations to advertise on campus. The questions …

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Analyzing South Florida's Waterways For Lead Contamination, Megan Bruce Apr 2016

Analyzing South Florida's Waterways For Lead Contamination, Megan Bruce

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Periodic testing and analysis for lead contamination in surface waters is important to better prevent tragedies like the one currently happening in Flint, Michigan. For this project, water samples will be taken from various locations in South Florida, and the locations will be recorded using GPS coordinates listed as degrees, minutes, and seconds. The samples will then be analyzed for lead concentration using an Atomic Absorption Flame Spectrometer; the vales will be recorded in ppm. Finally, the concentrations of lead from environments that have little to no development will be compared to that of urban and rural locations. This type …

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Bacterial Analysis Of Skin Flora On Hands Throughout The Day, Leonor Sarria Apr 2016

Bacterial Analysis Of Skin Flora On Hands Throughout The Day, Leonor Sarria

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This project was part of an investigative report for Al Rojo Vivo’s “Amenaza Escondida” (“Hidden Threats”) on Telemundo. The television network’s team followed an individual as he carried on his daily activities. A sterile swab was used to test the objects being touched by the individual, as well as the individual’s hands after touching that object. The samples were placed on a nutrient agar plate and brought to us for incubation at 37 °C overnight. The goal of this study was to identify the bacterial changes on the hands of an individual as he goes about his daily activities. A …

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Biosorption Of Metal Ions By Neochloris Minuta And Neochloris Alveolaris Alga Grown In Regular And Nitrogen Depleted Media, Sara Rodriguez Apr 2016

Biosorption Of Metal Ions By Neochloris Minuta And Neochloris Alveolaris Alga Grown In Regular And Nitrogen Depleted Media, Sara Rodriguez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Heavy metals are the most hazardous pollutants present in industrial and domestic waste water. The conventional methods for metal ions removal from wastewater are limited by technical and economical barriers, especially when concentration of metals in the wastewater is low (<100 ppm). Therefore the search and development of efficient and low-cost metal removal processes is of great importance. In this research project, two strains of algae Neochloris minuta and Neochloris alveolaris were grown in two different growth media: one with high nitrogen content (+N) and the other which was completely nitrogen depleted (-N). Nitrogen depletion increases the algal lipid content whereas a +N media would allow for the algae to synthesize more proteins. The dried algae strains were then mixed for 1 hour with metal …

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Changes In Coral (Pocillopora Damicornis) Population Structure In Concha De Perla Lagoon, Isabela Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, Alexander Pich Apr 2016

Changes In Coral (Pocillopora Damicornis) Population Structure In Concha De Perla Lagoon, Isabela Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, Alexander Pich

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Elevated sea surface temperatures associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can severely impact coral populations in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. During the 1982-83 event, 95-99% of reefbuilding corals bleached and died. This study examines if the onset of the 2015-2016 ENSO affected the important reef-building coral Pocillopora damicornis. The largest known population of this species in the Islands is found in the Concha de Perla lagoon on Isabela Island. It was first surveyed in 2012 and was visited again in 2015 to determine if colony size and coral condition (bleaching, paling, or mortality) changed. Underwater photographs were quantified for …

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Development Of A Method To Analyze Electronic Cigarette Liquid Solutions, Bendik Stenersen, Rebecca Nosal Apr 2016

Development Of A Method To Analyze Electronic Cigarette Liquid Solutions, Bendik Stenersen, Rebecca Nosal

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Electronic cigarettes have become increasingly popular in the last decade although there is minimal evidence to support their safety. The goal of this study is to develop a method to separate and analyze the contents of electronic cigarette liquid solutions. Various solutions of different nicotine concentrations were obtained from a commercial distributor. The e-liquid solutions were diluted to optimize analysis and separation. A method was established to separate the components of the solutions, and multiple chemical analysis tools were employed to collect and analyze the data.

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