Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of Non-Saccharomyces Yeast Species As Co-Fermenters In Saison-Style Beer, Sarah Muncy, Kaiti Craven, Kristanna Bowers, Hailey Locklear

Symposium of Student Scholars

Brewer’s yeast, also known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is the yeast most brewers and beer enthusiasts know. Hops, grain, and adjuncts are commonly known to give beer distinct flavors, but the yeast species that are pitched can promote distinct aromatic profiles. Non-conventional yeast strains and their integration in beer is a new phenomenon being practiced in the brewing industry, and their unique characteristics are still largely unknown.

This study focuses on applying non-conventional yeast strains and the effects on the sensory and aromatic characteristics of the beer. Ten strains of yeast were analyzed in a base beer wort of a Saison, …

New Ant In The Big City: Known Natural History Of Lasius Cf. Emarginatus In Its Native Range And Potential Impacts Of Recent Us Introduction, Samantha M. Kennett, Clint A. Penick

Symposium of Student Scholars

New York City has been the site of introduction for some of North America’s most damaging invasive pests, from chestnut blight to the Asian long-horned beetle. Despite these cautionary examples, there has been no formal tracking of a newly introduced ant species, Lasius cf. emarginatus, which has quickly become among the most common species in the city. Sometime between the first ant diversity survey of New York City in 2006 and the second in 2011,L. cf. emarginatus was introduced and quickly became established in the most urban habitats with the highest human contact. In contrast to other urban …

The Periodic Table Of Women Of Color In Stem, Ella Wasson

2022 Claremont Colleges Library Undergraduate Research Award

This research project analyzes the resistance and resilience of women of color in fields of STEM by exploring three themes. The first theme investigates the historic and ongoing systemic barriers women of color face. The second theme reveals the erasure and exploitation of women of color, highlighting the testimonies and experiences of real women of color in STEM. The third theme explores possible solutions to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of STEM. This project was exhibited on an interactive physical poster, the images of which are embedded throughout.

Modeling Covid-19 Spread Through The Seird Epidemic Model And Optimal Control, Luz Melo

Proceedings of GREAT Day

Mathematical models serve as a powerful tool for visualizing and describing the dynamics of infectious diseases. In this article, the SEIRD (Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered-Deceased) epidemic model consisting of a system of five non-linear differential equations is considered. By using COVID-19 data pertinent to the United States and the world situation, the use of existence and uniqueness of the disease-free equilibrium is established, the value of the basic reproductive number is determined, a stability analysis is carried out, and the parameters that fit the model to the data are estimated. An optimal control approach is performed to study the effect of quarantine and …

Disentangling Nature Versus Nurture In A Mouse Model Of Alcohol Use, Laura Bauer

Proceedings of GREAT Day

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major societal concern and so understanding how it develops is an important topic of research. Epigenetic mechanisms induced by mother-infant interactions can turn genes on or off in response to being reared in a different environment. This research attempted to disentangle the roles of nature and nurture on the development of AUD. Two strains of inbred mice were cross-fostered to see if the postnatal rearing environment can reduce alcohol consumption in the strain of mice genetically predisposed to drink alcohol. Researchers recorded mouse maternal care, pup anxiety, and pup alcohol consumption. It was hypothesized …

Environmental Education: An Active Pedagogy To Integrate Environmentalism, Engagement, And Equity, Olivia Whitmarsh

Proceedings of GREAT Day

The environmental and climate changes occurring on our planet are largely the result of human actions. In concert, rampant bias and inequity exist in many human spheres, including—but not limited to—social, academic, and civic. Environmental education (EE) is a methodology and mindset that integrates systems thinking, hands-on learning, and social justice work across a cohesive curriculum. EE empowers educators, learners, and community members in many ways. Whether it is taking an active role in learning, protecting and restoring the environment, or dismantling biases, EE provides tools for success. I provide five lesson plans that serve as a basis for the …

The Effect Of Goats As Biological Controls On Soil Seedbanks And Long-Term Habitat Restoration In A Secondary Successional Forest, Anna Meichenbaum

Proceedings of GREAT Day

Invasive plant species are a major threat to the biodiversity of a habitat. Biological controls, on the other hand, have been implemented in such areas to eradicate or reverse the effects of invasive plant species. Capra hircus (Goat) are being used increasingly as biological controls for eradicating invasive plant species from natural areas. In Fall 2020, we investigated the magnitude to which Goats can alter the dominance of invasive plant species in a secondary successional forest environment near Conesus Lake in Lakeville, NY. To measure this extent, we compared the soil seedbank to the seed rain at our site, along …

An Interview With Jaime Devita, Ethan Owens

Proceedings of GREAT Day

Jaime DeVita acted as a student editor for the Proceedings of GREAT Day for 2019 and 2020.

The Mental And Emotional Impact Of Being A College-Aged Black Woman Amid The Current Sociopolitical Climate, Drew Brody O'Neil

Proceedings of GREAT Day

Although many Americans assume that systemic racism has been washed away through history, research shows that this is far from reality. Across a range of interdisciplinary scholarly research exists a consensus that systemic racism induces Black women’s suffering. The main question guiding my research asks how systemic racism facilitates college-aged Black women’s mental and emotional health outcomes. The goals of this study included documenting where systemic racism is prevalent, analyzing the mental and emotional impact of systemic racism on college-aged Black women, examining the coping mechanisms that college-aged Black women employ to minimize race-based distress, understanding how media attention to …

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Evades Predation By Myxococcus Xanthus, Sarah Joie Beauvais

Symposium of Student Scholars

Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes an estimated 32,600 hospital-acquired-infections and 2,700 estimated deaths in the US in 2017(CDC). Myxococcus xanthus is a strain of myxobacteria that preys on Pseudomonas sp, through the production of antibiotics and digestive enzymes. In previous experiments, P. aeruginosa evaded predation, through an unknown mechanism. Using confocal microscopy, this research investigates if quorum sensing, a cell density-dependent signaling pathway, could be a factor in motility and evasion of M. xanthus. Liquid suspensions of log-phase PA01 were dyed with two fluorescent dyes: SYTO 9 for marking live cells and Propidium iodide (PI) for marking dead cells. …

Urban Surveying Of Bees And Wasps And Conscious Management, Sofia Castro, Grace Cope, Francis Mullan, Jaden Keys

Symposium of Student Scholars

Pollinators are integral to the functioning of urban ecosystems and agriculture yet face decline from habitat loss and fragmentation associated with urbanization. Recently, a growing number of urban universities have taken steps to ensure their campuses support pollinators. Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a semi-urban school located in the unique ecological area between the biodiversity hotspot of the Southeastern Appalachians and the urban space of Atlanta, Georgia. Before the present study, no survey had been conducted to determine what pollinators and associated floral resources exist on the school’s grounds. Thus, we present the first inventory of pollinators and the floral …

Characterization Of Erinacine-A, Justice Brakache

Symposium of Student Scholars

The wood-rot fungus known as the lion’s mane mushroom (H. erinaceus) has a long history of usage in ancient eastern medicine, noted for its health-boosting properties, particularly to neurological health. Claims include this mushroom’s ability to stimulate nerve growth as well as prevent the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. Recent studies on the subject have shown promising data supporting these anecdotal claims, proving the ability of extracts from this mushroom to stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF) in human cells, among other beneficial findings. This study seeks to assess the effectiveness of the diterpenoid erinacine-A, present in H. …

Microbial Diversity And Community Structure In Sediments Associated With The Seagrass (Thallassia Testudinum) In Apalachicola Bay, Florida, Rahma Ahmed, Thomas Mcelroy, Troy Mutchler

Symposium of Student Scholars

Seagrass is an angiosperm which provides many ecosystem services in coastal areas, such as providing food, shelter and nurseries for many species, and decreasing the impact of waves on shorelines. A global assessment reported that 29% of known seagrass meadows are in a state of decline due to the effects of human activity. Seagrass is commonly found in shallow marine waters where they form meadows containing a microbiome that plays an important role in providing nutrients for seagrass growth, though little is known about the microorganisms within the seagrass meadow sediments. Our project collected sediments from seagrass meadows and adjacent …

Tissue-Specific Diversity Of The Muscleblind Expression In Adult Flies., Davron Hanley, Anton Bryantsev

Symposium of Student Scholars

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Kennesaw State University

The muscleblind (mbl) family of RNA-binding proteins regulates alternative splicing, determining mRNA transcript composition for various types of tissue, and has been implicated in myotonic dystrophy. The mbl gene is subject to alternative splicing in Drosophila, leading to multiple isoforms, and has several paralogs in humans. Mbl proteins vary significantly in length, although the significance of such diversity and the role of specific isoforms have not been fully explored.

Using immunofluorescence microscopy and polyclonal serum, we analyzed Mbl protein expression across adult Drosophila tissues. Mbl was detected in …

Neurodiversity-Affirming Practices Are A Moral Imperative For Occupational Therapy, Aaron R. Dallman, Kathryn L. Williams, Lauren Villa

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The term neurodiversity encompasses neurological differences such as clinical labels of autism, learning disabilities, synesthesia, hyperactivity disorders, and more. Proponents of the neurodiversity movement argue that current therapeutic and medical practices often attempt to “normalize” behaviors and ways of participation that originate from these differences in neurology and contribute to an individual’s sense of identity. This paper argues that an ethical and morally just occupational therapy practice should affirm neurodivergent ways of being, and that occupational therapists must be active agents of change by listening to and collaborating with their neurodiverse clientele. We focus the discussion on our work with …

Practice Guidelines: Addressing Vestibular And Visual Problems In The Neurologically Impaired Adult, Mary J. Mcguire

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The visual and vestibular problems experienced by adults post brain injury (concussion, traumatic brain injury, cerebral vascular accident, tumor removal, etc.) must be evaluated and treated in conjunction with each other for best outcomes. The American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) Practice Framework categorizes both the visual and vestibular sensory systems as client factors (body functions) that are a part of the scope of practice of occupational therapy (AOTA, 2020). AOTA’s statement on vestibular impairment, vestibular rehabilitation, and occupational performance emphasizes the importance of occupational therapists addressing this critical client factor. The skills of entry-level and advanced-level occupational therapists are outlined …

A Conceptual Framework: Life Course Health Development And Partial Hand Loss, Alison L. Johnson

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Partial hand loss can be a profound source of disability with far-reaching economic and social consequences across the lifespan. Compared to other limb loss populations, perhaps surprisingly, the partial hand loss population experiences higher rates of whole-person impairment and disabling mental health conditions. Despite these known health disparities, the long-term health outcomes of the partial hand loss population are not adequately understood. Deepening understanding and preventing further disparity requires a multi-perspective approach examining factors contributing to health and well-being across the lifespan. This paper examines the partial hand loss population through two separate but overlapping lenses: population health and the …

The Lived Experiences And Occupational Performance And Satisfaction Of Young Adults With Multiple Sclerosis (Ms) As Related To Fine Motor Skills, Mary Squillace, Pamela Linden

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Young adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) may experience fine motor (FM) challenges that prevent them from engaging in age-appropriate occupations. Disease mediated changes in occupational skills can affect how a young adult perceives their occupational performances. This study aimed to gain an understanding of how young adults with MS perceive their FM abilities and social and emotional performance during daily activities.

Method: Eighteen young adults with MS who previously scored equal to or less than the low average range on FM pegboard tests and who reported high satisfaction and low performance on a modified self-report were interviewed. …

Degradation Of Vitamin E Acetate Through Vaping Produces Byproducts Cytotoxic To Thp-1 Monocytic Cells, Joshua Alcon

Pharmaceutical Sciences ETDs

Electronic cigarette or vaping use associated lung injury (EVALI) is a pulmonary disease among those who vaped illicit tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cartridges that resulted in hospitalization or death. Vitamin E acetate (VEA) was a common additive present in the bronchioalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients who were hospitalized with EVALI. However, little is known about pulmonary exposure to vitamin E acetate (VEA) when inhaled through vaping. The hypothesis of this study is the cytotoxicity of vaped VEA is due, at least in part, to the pyrolytic breakdown products of VEA produced by vaping, as opposed to VEA itself. From this study, …

Groundwater Pollution Regulation In The U.S., Nicole Hornbuckle

Research and Creativity Symposium

The primary purpose of our field research was comparing chemical analysis of groundwater samples from the present day with the laboratory analysis taken after underground storage tanks (USTs) leaked pollutants (TPHs, VOCs, PERCs) into the groundwater located under the University of Mary Washington campus, a discovery made in 1993. We read through three WOTUS Supreme Court cases (SWANCC vs. the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rapanos vs. the United States, Maui vs. the Hawaii Wildlife Fund) to appraise how the Clean Water Act has been interpreted judicially in the past, as well as to speculate how the pollution from 1993 …

Future In Phage Therapy Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria​, Elizabeth Breckenridge, Sandra Arias, Bonnie Butter

Research and Creativity Symposium

The genus Bacillus is a medically important genus because several species cause disease like cereus and anthracis, that involves several species within it. We chose B. thuringiensis, a non pathogenic species of Bacillus, as our host as it is very abundant in the environment and therefore it is easy to isolate phages. The University of Mary Washington Class of 2021-2022 isolated a total of eight phages. The phages were photographed using a Transmission Electron Microscope to determine their morphotype. They were further characterized by host range analysis showed that KoopaTroopa grew on other Bacillus species such as B. cereus. B. …

Myokine Expression In A Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Cell Culture Model, Abigail Vorsteg

Research and Creativity Symposium

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystemic disease characterized by muscle weakening and wasting. DM1 is the most commonly diagnosed adult-onset muscular dystrophy, and skeletal muscle wasting is responsible for 60% of DM1 related mortality, although the mechanism responsible for the DM1 skeletal muscle wasting phenotype has not been concretely identified. DM1 is caused by expansion of CUG repeats in the 3′ untranslated region of the DMPK gene. Pervious research has suggested that myokines, signaling molecules typically involved in cell-cell communication, play a role in muscle wasting. Additionally, gene expression analysis of a mouse DM1 model identified elevated expression …

The Effects Of Voluntary Physical Exercise On Hedonic Drive And Hypothalamic Orexin In Cd-1 Mice, Katie Warlick

Research and Creativity Symposium

Orexin, also referred to as hypocretin, is a peptide produced in the hypothalamus that regulates many physiological and behavioral processes, including sleep, wakefulness, metabolism, thermoregulation, and reward (Chieffi et al., 2017). The multiple mechanisms of orexin stem from the neural circuit or nucleus where it is synthesized or released. Orexin produced in the perifornical and dorsomedial hypothalamus projects to the amygdala, and is most heavily associated with arousal and wakefulness, whereas orexin produced in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) projects to the mesolimbic pathway and is associated with hedonic behavior, as it influences the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) and the Nucleus …

Grumio Bacteriophage Genome Annotation, Celeste Lockwood

Research and Creativity Symposium

Bacteriophages, or phages, are virus particles which are only capable of infecting bacterial cells (Clokie et al.). These phages are of interest as a potential replacement for antibiotic therapies in cases of drug resistant bacterial infections (Sulakyelidz et al. 2001). One such phage, Grumio, was discovered and isolated at the University of Mary Washington. As a recently discovered phage there was very little known about it, such as the specific sequences of DNA responsible for its infection of certain strains of bacteria. By analyzing this genetic material, the genomic sequences responsible for the phages ability to infect certain strains of …

Essential Oils As Bacterial Disinfectants, Chandler Carlson, Julia Rizzo

Research and Creativity Symposium

Essential oils have become quite popular in natural medicine and their uses as an antibacterial household cleaner have been touted. We investigated how essential oils compared to bleach when used as disinfectants. Previously, we examined eight essential oils and two recipes (mixtures of oils) from Art Naturals for bacterial inhibition and found that six oils and both recipes consistently inhibited bacterial growth. In this study, we tested bacterial inhibition of individual oils, combinations/recipes of oils, exposure time to oils, concentrations of an oil, and build-up/toxicity of oil residues from doTERRA. Escherichia coli was plated onto McConkey agar as a lawn …

Improving Maternal Outcomes Through Quantifying Blood Loss In Cesarean Sections, Michelle R. Barrier

Dissertations

Abstract

Problem: Postpartum hemorrhage is a preventable, leading cause of maternal death in the United States and is a direct result of a delay in diagnosis, intervention, and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. Inaccurate measurement of blood loss from the use of estimation instead of quantitative techniques leads to a failure to recognize and respond appropriately. While there are risk factors for postpartum hemorrhage, all pregnant women are at risk.

Methods: This Quality Improvement (QI) project used a descriptive cohort study design, utilizing a retrospective chart review, to evaluate the quantification of blood loss during cesarean sections on maternal outcomes. Data …

Eccentric: Writing Through The Lens Of Empathy, Steven M. Blacksmith

Theatre & Dance ETDs

In this essay, I detail my growth as a writer through different periods of empathic learning. I examine my childhood struggle to understand many common emotions and the ways in which I began to logically dissect and replicate them in life and in art. I further delve into this examination through my discovery of comedy and the lifelong process of understand the deep connections humans make with humor. I then discuss how my understanding of empathy allowed me to write my dissertation play, The Eccentrics, and create a world in which empathy among the characters can be a catalyst …

Data-Driven Staging Of Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Using Multi-Modal Mri, Jillian Mccarthy, Barbara Borroni, Raquel Sanchez-Valle, Fermin Moreno, Robert Laforce, Caroline Graff, Matthis Synofzik, Daniela Galimberti, James B. Rowe, Mario Masellis, Maria Carmela Tartaglia, Elizabeth Finger, Rik Vandenberghe, Alexandre De Mendonça, Fabrizio Tagliavini, Isabel Santana, Chris Butler, Alex Gerhard, Adrian Danek, Johannes Levin, Markus Otto, Giovanni Frisoni, Roberta Ghidoni, Sandro Sorbi, Lize C. Jiskoot, Harro Seelaar, John C. Van Swieten, Jonathan D. Rohrer, Yasser Iturria-Medina, Simon Ducharme

Neuroscience Institute Publications

Frontotemporal dementia in genetic forms is highly heterogeneous and begins many years to prior symptom onset, complicating disease understanding and treatment development. Unifying methods to stage the disease during both the presymptomatic and symptomatic phases are needed for the development of clinical trials outcomes. Here we used the contrastive trajectory inference (cTI), an unsupervised machine learning algorithm that analyzes temporal patterns in high-dimensional large-scale population datasets to obtain individual scores of disease stage. We used cross-sectional MRI data (gray matter density, T1/T2 ratio as a proxy for myelin content, resting-state functional amplitude, gray matter fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity) from …

Utah State University Commencement, 2022 - Brigham City, Kaysville & Tremonton Campuses, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

2022 Commencement Ceremony for the Brigham City, Kaysville & Tremonton Campuses of Utah State University.

Spreading Rates Of Bacterial Colonies Depend On Substrate Stiffness And Permeability, Alison Patteson, Merrill Asp, Minh H. Thanh, Danielle A. Germann, Robert J. Carroll, Alana Franceski, Roy D. Welch, Arvind Gopinath

Physics - All Scholarship

The ability of bacteria to colonize and grow on different surfaces is an essential process for biofilm development. Here, we report the use of synthetic hydrogels with tunable stiffness and porosity to assess physical effects of the substrate on biofilm development. Using time-lapse microscopy to track the growth of expanding Serratia marcescens colonies, we find that biofilm colony growth can increase with increasing substrate stiffness, unlike what is found on traditional agar substrates. Using traction force microscopy-based techniques, we find that biofilms exert transient stresses correlated over length scales much larger than a single bacterium, and that the magnitude of …