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A Natural Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe For Cancer Cell Imaging, Benilde E. Adriano, Nycol M. Cotto, Neeraj Chauhan, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Murali M. Yallapu

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Near-Infrared (NIR) fluorescence-based imaging is a noteworthy and safer strategy for cancer cells/tissues imaging compared to radiological imaging. NIR fluorescence offers deep tissue penetration and have minimal obstruction by autofluorescence and photon scattering [1]. There are several NIR dyes including indocyanine green (ICG) [2] and IR-1061 [3] that allow high-resolution tissue imaging. However, these dyes possess some low-quality characteristics which limit their use, namely photo instability, toxicity, poor water solubility, and short half-lives [4]. Therefore, more efficient and effective alternatives are urgently required to provide the desired clinical outcomes. Chlorophyll (Chl) is a natural dietary NIR fluorescence emitting …

Development Of Targeted Drug Delivery System To Improve Immunotherapy In Pancreatic Cancer, Poornima Devi Shaji, Ana Martinez Bulnes, Nirnoy Dan, Subhash C. Chauhan, Sheema Khan, Murali M. Yallapu

Research Colloquium

Introduction: About 95% of tumor arises from epithelial cell lining ducts known to be pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, with less than 5-7% survival rate. Unfortunately, little progress has been seen in the outcomes of patients with PDAC as tumor develops high desmoplasia and chemo-resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, such as gemcitabine (Gem). Immunotherapy has shown promising results in other cancers but limited response in pancreatic cancer due to desmoplasia and fibrotic tumor microenvironment. A recently identified mucin, MUC13 is aberrantly expressed in pancreatic tumors but not in normal pancreas. Due to its high membrane expression, MUC13 may serve as an excellent target …

Effects Of An Isotonic Medinilla Speciosa During And After Exercise, Nur Azis Rohmansyah, Fafa Nurdyansyah, Ashira Hiruntrakul, Mancharee Phumphitarkpanya

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(2): 1269-1283, 2023. Maintaining an adequate fluid balance is crucial during extended physical activity. It is currently unknown how drinking an isotonic medinilla speciosa beverage affects the autonomic regulation of heart function during and after exercise. The purpose of this study is to examine how drinking isotonic beverages affects heart rate variability (HRV) during and after intense exercise. A maximal exercise test to assess protocol loading, a control group, and an experimental group were all carried out by twenty-one young man (19.3 ± 1.2 years) over the course of three distinct protocols, with a 48-hour …

Emergentism Reconsidered, Kenji Lota

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

This paper argues that emergentism is not committed to downward causation but of direct causation. Events that are believed to be caused by a mental state, whether physical or mental, are actually caused by a physical state with a mental property. These mental properties are caused by the complexity of a collection of several physical components. Emergentism, as a view, is often faced by the fallacy of composition given its nomological nature which leads one to resort to dualism. Mental properties cannot exist in and of itself, but it only supports the physical through entailment. Lastly, it gives a brief …

On Time, Chengquan Xiang

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Contemporary philosophy discussions on the nature of time begin with McTaggart, who introduces two ways of describing temporal relation between events: the A-series, focusing on the past, present and future, is about positions of time; and the B-series, which an event’s position in the series is described only in relation to other events: “earlier than,” “later than,” or “simultaneous with.” Along with McTaggart’s objection to the reality of time, I provide a detailed exposition of why change can be expressed within the A-series and why the A-series contains a contradiction. In addition, I demonstrate step by step that time does …

Two Objections To The Eliminativist Research Program, Lorenzo Nericcio

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Eliminative materialist philosophers, like Paul and Patricia Churchland, argue that the common use of mental state language is confused. They hold that neurological descriptions of mental states, more accurate and scientifically rigorous than “folk psychology”, should replace mental state language in a serious research program. In this paper, I argue that eliminative materialism instead poses an awkward and unwieldy research program. I take a computational functionalist position in order to demonstrate the way that mathematical descriptions of natural phenomena are useful in a scientific research program, and that mental states are in principle amenable to mathematical descriptions and modeling. I …

Developing A Protocol For Creating Microfluidic Devices With A 3d Printer, Robyn Collette, Eric Novak, Daniel Rosen, Kathryn Shirk

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Microfluidics devices have high importance in fields such as bioanalysis because these devices have the ability to manipulate small volumes of fluid, typically ranging from microliters to picoliters. Small samples of fluids can be quickly and easily tested using reactions performed with complex microfluidic devices. Many methods have been previously developed to create these devices, including traditional nano- lithography techniques borrowed from the field of microelectronics. However, these traditional techniques are cost-prohibitive for many small-scale laboratories. This research explores a relatively low-cost technique using a 3D printed master, which is used as a template for the fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) …

Epistemic Warrant For Ethical Beliefs In Relation To Living Freely And Patriarchal Systems Of Oppression, Kartik Raj

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Regarding the epistemic warrant1 for ethical beliefs, I will make three arguments. First, that warrant for an ethical belief can only be transferred interpersonally if the adopter fully understands the justifications for that belief or takes the reasoning of the testifier as a proxy for their own. Second, that if most or all of one’s ethical beliefs are based on other’s testimony, that person will be living freely only if those beliefs were adopted with proper warrant. Third, that systems of oppression are unethical in part because the oppressed are expected to take on ethical beliefs from authority figures without …

The Phenomenology Of Temporal Experience, Hilda Loury

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In this paper, I will explore the dissonance between “physical explanation” and “human experience,” while focusing on the experience of temporal passage. As a starting point, I will introduce J.E. McTaggart’s A-Series theory of time and BSeries theory of time. The A-Series illustrates how humans intuitively experience time; the past is fixed and expired, while the present moment seamlessly unfolds forward into an open future. On the other hand, the B-Series is very unlike the intuitive experience of time; “time” is merely the culmination of “static snapshots,” where each snapshot possesses different properties than the preceding snapshot and succeeding snapshot. …

Affordance Ontology: Towards A Unified Description Of Affordances As Events, Larry A. Moralez

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

An argument is developed that suggests the concept of affordances can best facilitate the pursuit of new knowledge if it’s defined as an event. The first description initially generated by James J. Gibson was deceptively vague. This has led to several attempts by additional researchers to re-describe it. These efforts fall short of describing a concept that is consistent with both the historical context of Gibson’s work and his motivations for introducing the term. Additionally, no definition has been introduced that aims to limit the scope of information researchers must consider when using the term. I put forth a description …

Materialist And Casual Bridges Over The Explanatory Gap, Celine Geday

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

I offer that the explanatory gap about consciousness can be bridged by a materialist account that is compatible with the causal closure of the physical world. I suggest that Jaegwon Kim’s argument for causal closure is the best motivation for materialist explanations of consciousness, or the character of subjective experience. I then propose that the best materialist account available to do this explanatory work, that is also compatible with a causal closure condition, is Austen Clark’s feature-placing hypothesis. Feature-placing has it that sensory individuals, or qualitative properties, are picked out by their locations in space around a perceiver, and it …

Feminist Themes In Philip Roth’S Goodbye, Columbus, Haley E. Van Bellingham

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

The current article presents evidence that, in his novella Goodbye, Columbus, Philip Roth should be commended for illustrating the limitations placed on women in Jewish-American culture during the 1950s, rather than criticized for exhibiting the misogynistic viewpoints of that era. Roth uses a combination of male narration and female characterization to show the limited opportunities available to women. Brenda, the primary female protagonist, is presented from the perspective of the male narrator, Neil, as frustrating and incomprehensible. This characterization demonstrates the difference between Neil’s way of thinking, as a male, and Brenda’s as a female. Brenda is an affluent character …

Arabidopsis Thaliana Growth More Than Defense Affects Myzus Persicae Populations, Biran S. Falk-Dotan, Mindy Chapman, Nafis Wazed, Chad T. Harvey

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Aphids and other herbivorous insects are able to travel between plants in their environment. While plants cannot directly choose their consumers, they may stop or mitigate the harmful effects of herbivory using secondary metabolites. A salicylic acid (SA) pathway facilitates defense from biotrophic fungi and some necrotrophic pathogens, while a jasmonic acid (JA) pathway is associated with defense from other necrotrophic pathogens and chewing insects. We investigated the effect of deficiency in SA or JA in Arabidopsis thaliana on plant growth and on herbivory by green peach aphids (Myzus persicae). Three ascensions of A. thaliana were placed in two blocks …

Towards The Selective Inhibition Of Glycolytic Pathway Enzymes: A Computational Analysis Of Plasmodium Falciparum And Human Triosephosphate Isomerase Ligand Interactions., Nicoleta Alexandru, Neville Y. Forlemu

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Plasmodium falciparum is main causative agent of malaria, a disease that affects half of world’s population. The parasite’s dependence on glycolysis makes this pathway a suitable target for drug development. Understanding the structure-function dynamics of glycolytic enzymes in different species has an important impact on the development of selective drug analogues. Parasitic resistance and drug side effects of current antimalarial drugs have complicated and increased the cost of curing malaria.Molecular docking was used to explore structural motifs responsible for the interactions between triose phosphate isomerase (TIM) from Plasmodium falciparum (PFTIM) and human (HTIM) tissues. Fourteen antimalarial drugs were examined. The …

Novel Therapy Targeting Mutant-Krasg12d And Galectin-1 In Pancreatic Cancer, Ana I. Martinez Bulnes, Nirnoy Dan, Poornima Devi Shaji, Swathi Holla, Murali M. Yallapu, Sheema Khan

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Although, surgical resection and chemotherapy are the gold standard for treating Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC), low patient survival rate remains the problem. The activating point mutation of the KRAS on codon-12 is present in 70–95% of PDAC cases and so far, no success has been achieved to inhibit KRAS. KRASG12D regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis. Recent preliminary and published studies show high Galectin-1 (Gal-1) levels in both pancreatic cancer and stromal cells, which modulate tumor microenvironment and metastasis. Additionally, genetic deletion of gal1 inhibits metastasis and improves survival in KRAS mouse model of PDAC (1). Therefore, our objective is …

Hepatoprotective Role Of Cucurbitacin D On Benzo[A]Pyrene Induced Liver Injury, A. Rodriguez, Mohammed Sikander, Shabnam Malik, M. Vela, Fathi T. Halaweish, Meena Jaggi, Sumeet S. Chauhan

Research Colloquium

Background: Epidemiological findings show the strong correlation of co-morbidity factors including smoking with the development and progression of liver cancer. Moreover, benzo[a]pyrene, a main component of tobacco smoke, is extremely carcinogenic and contributes to liver injury as well. Cucurbitacin, chemically classified as triterpenes, have shown diverse biological activities including potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. However, their hepatoprotective activities are not completely understood.

Objective: In the present study, we investigated the cytoprotective activity of novel analog of cucurbitacin, cucurbitacin D, against benzo[a]pyrene-induced liver injury in human HepG2 cells.

Method: Proliferation, clonogenicity, migration, invasion, Western blotting and qPCR analysis were conducted …

Trans Phenomenology: A Merleau-Pontian Reclamation Of The Trans Narrative, N.F. Baldino

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Transgender identities have historically been faced with erasure by the cisgender community, particularly through being forced to use cisgender terminology to define their own non-conforming experiences. This systemic cisgender inscription upon transgender identity is seen clearly through Bernice Hausman’s medicalizing reading of transgender narratives, leading her to falsely conclude that transgender individuals perpetuate the cisgender binary. I argue that Hausman’s analysis denies trans individuals the right to speak for themselves, thus denying them the agency of creating their own narratives. In the wake of this particular form of gender violence, the transgender community must create their own method of narrative …

On Perception And Autonomy Considered Through The Phenomenological Understanding Of Emotion Described By Kym Maclaren, Erika Grimm

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Female philosopher Kym Maclaren, in her article, “Emotional Metamorphoses: The Role of Others in Becoming a Subject,” explores a phenomenological view on emotion as being-in-the-world as well as the ethical implications of understanding emotion in opposition to the moralistic view. In the first part of this paper, I provide an exegetical assessment of Maclaren’s thesis; in the second I introduce a critique of Maclaren’s argument and argue a claim of my own which explores perception and autonomy in the human body along with its implications in the context of Maclaren’s phenomenological account of emotion. I discuss the necessity of both …

Dismantling The Race Label, Dillon Rockrohr

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In racial identification, certain known characteristics about a person, usually visible, morphological ones, are picked out and taken to signify the presence of other characteristics which are unknown or not visible and which mark a person as similar to or different from a particular set of people. Race, used in this way, often produces negative, discriminatory behavior where group identities are placed in relation to each other in the form of a hierarchy. This paper aims to synthesize Linda Alcoff’s descriptive accounts of race as an extant ontological category and of social identity as a location within a complex network …

Duality Unresolved And Darwinian Dilemmas, Anson Tullis

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

By using Sharon Street’s Darwinian Dilemma, Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek and Peter Singer attempt to show that Sidgwick’s duality of practical reason, whereby an agent has equal reason to act in their own interests or act impartially for the benefit of all, is not actually a duality, rather, reasons for action are solely impartial due to the unreliability of intuitions favoring self-interested behavior. My contention is that the author’s fail to accomplish their goal. To show this, I argue that the authors are inconsistent, that Singer has previously provided an account of impartiality that makes it just as unreliable on the …

Dissolving Dualism In Medicine: Reuniting The Body And Mind Through Patient Narratives, Heather Stewart

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

This paper looks at how the practice of health care tends to follow a dualistic system of thought, seeing the mind and body as distinct. Approaching patients in this way leads to a failure to understand them in a unified and holistic way, often leaving patients feeling less than “healed” and often facing “crises” that go beyond their physiological illness or ailment. This paper critiques this dualistic trend in medicine and looks at some of the ways in which this divide might be bridged through the inclusion of practices being developed by the emerging field of Medical Humanities.

Artificial Intelligence, Zygotes, And Free Will, Katelyn Hallman

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In this paper, I assume that strong AI is possible and I question whether AI robots would have free will. The ultimate goal of this paper is to use our intuitions regarding AI and free will to motivate incompatibilism. I argue that AI cannot act freely because the nature of an AI robot’s design keeps it from being able to have the kind of control required for free will. The strategy of this paper is to first define the control condition of free will. Then I discuss Mele’s Zygote Argument and compare it to AI. Then I briefly discuss advancements …

Frank Jackson’S Knowledge Argument: On Qualia, Physical Information, And The Supposed Falsity Of Physicalism, Andrew Watters

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In “Epiphenomenal Qualia” Frank Jackson argues against Physicalism (the thesis that all correct information is physical information) and for the existence of qualia on the grounds that all of the physical information possible cannot explain the qualitative feel of experience (qualia). In “The Knowledge Argument for Qualia” Jackson partakes in a thought experiment using the examples of “Fred” and “Mary” to show that having all of the physical information about color; including all of the information about physical history, physiology, behavior, light waves, and the physical sciences fails to provide the information of what it is like for Fred and …

Hume In The Light Of Bayes: Towards A Unified Cognitive Science Of Human Nature, Jason Krivo Flores

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

David Hume hoped future advances would bring his nascent science of human nature nearer to perfection. He conjectured that since it is probable one operation and principle of the mind depends on another it might someday be possible to subsume all mental operations under one absolutely general and universal principle. I argue that the day Hume hoped for may now be upon us, as an increasing number of theorists suspect that predictive Bayesian models of cognitive architecture provide the best clue yet as to the shape of a unified theory of mind. A theory in which the manifold operations of …

Climbing To Consciousness: The Mind-Body Problem And The Computational Order, Yarrow Eady

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In his book The Structure of Behavior, the philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty proposes a solution to the mind-body problem. Merleau-Ponty argues that there is a nested hierarchy of three orders—the physical order, the biological order, and the mental order—in which each lower order composes each higher order. Through the structuration or organization of a lower order, a higher order is created. Merleau-Ponty’s solution is promising, but it leaves an explanatory chasm between the biological order and the mental order that cannot be crossed without introducing an intermediary order. I propose just that: the addition of a fourth order—the computational order—to bridge …

Bayesian Techniques For Surface Fuel Loading Estimation, Ryan Karpisz, Alyssa Pedersen, Taylor Russell, Rick Brown

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

In previous work, researchers compared three sampling techniques for estimating the biomass of surface fine woody fuels by using them on known distributions. An important result was that precise estimates of fuel biomass required intensive sampling for both planar intercept and fixed-area methods. This study explores Bayesian statistical methods as a means to reduce the sampling effort needed to obtain a desired precision. We examined how initial estimates of the minimum and maximum fuel loading at a site could be used as prior information in a Bayesian framework. We found that, under certain scenarios, Bayesian techniques dramatically increased the precision …

The Science Of Romantic Love: Distinct Evolutionary, Neural, And Hormonal Characteristics, Lacey S. Gibson

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Romantic love is a psychological state that encompasses extreme euphoria and feelings of passion and intimacy for another individual. It can be characterized using Dr. Helen Fisher’s system of evolutionary, neural, and hormonal profiles that are distinct from those of attraction and attachment, which are two additional love-related processes. A broad review of scientific articles, classic literature, and popular culture is employed to define romantic love, and to explore its distinct evolutionary, neural, and hormonal characteristics. The possibility of romantic love under special circumstances is then explored. The discussion is specifically focused on the prospect of love without physical contact …

The Photophysical Properties Of Cdte/Zns Core/Shell Quantum Dots, Christopher Z. Eddy, Hayley M. Johanesen, James J. Butler, David B. Cordes

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

The distinctive fluorescent properties of semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) make them advantageous for use in optoelectronic and biological applications. We report on experiments done to characterize the optical properties and the general photostability of CdTe QDs with varying ZnS shell thicknesses. Steady-state and time-resolved absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements indicate that increasing the ZnS shell thickness results in longer absorption and emission wavelengths, increased quantum yield, and improved photostability.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. James J. Butler and Dr. David Cordes

A Multifaceted Device For Discreetly Acquiring Natural Behaviors Of Children With Autism, James Mcmahon, Walter Goodwin, Jay Thakore, Abdelaziz N'Goan

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Autism is a multifaceted neurological disorder that affects the four fundamental areas of sensory processing, communication mechanisms, social interaction skills, and whole child/self-esteem. The underlying mechanisms and symptoms of the disorder have been shown to largely vary from patient to patient, and therefore, a durable, effective therapy is best achieved through multifaceted, multidisciplinary approaches that allow a direct assessment of each individual’s behavior, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The aim of this project was to simulate, design, manufacture, and assess a device that can help cultivate sensory, social, communication, and motor skills in autistic children while being able to extract data …

Development And Evaluation Of A Borohydride-Palladium System For Selective Reduction Of The C=C Bond Of Α,Β-Unsaturated Carbonyl Compounds, Kerstin L. Amezcua, Tony J. Mull, Amy L. Mayhugh, David B. Cordes

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Selective reduction of the carbon-carbon double bond of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds is most commonly and reliably effected using a palladium metal catalyst together with molecular hydrogen from a pressurized tank. Sodium borohydride, like other hydrides, is ordinarily associated with reduction of the more polarized carbonyl of such compounds. However, we have developed an alternative means of employing sodium borohydride in combination with palladium metal to selectively reduce the carbon-carbon double bonds of these compounds. In this survey study, we introduce sodium borohydride as an alternative hydrogen source for such selective, palladium-catalyzed reductions. We also compare the results of this new, …